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BIG EAST CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 13, 2014Oliver PurnellBrandon YoungNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK Creighton – 84 COACH OLIVER PURNELL: Just a couple thoughts on the game, and I'll open it up for questions. I didn't think our energy level was as high as it was when we started the game yesterday. I guess that's understandable playing a late game last night. But if Creighton hadn't been so good and shooting the ball so well‑‑ obviously, McDermott was facilitating everything, and then Manigat hits a couple of shots. Maybe we get a chance to get our legs under us because we finally got our legs under us in the second half, got our energy level up, and got to going. Obviously, we dug ourselves a hole‑‑ or Creighton had dug a hole for us at that point. So I thought it was a combination that we weren't quite as energized and ready as we were yesterday, and a combination of Creighton and McDermott were really good. They've got a really, really good team. I think they've got a chance to obviously do well in this tournament and really represent our league well in the NCAA Tournament. I think McDermott, once again, proves that, in my opinion, he's the best player in the country. Q. Is it just like picking your poison with McDermott? He can score from the perimeter or the inside. COACH OLIVER PURNELL: Yeah, and we had Brandon on him one time. Brandon did a decent job. But if he continues to post, then we come over and double on him, and he picks a guy out on the other side. He's a really good passer. Then we put a big on him, and he goes out and shoots threes. So he makes it hard. And he gets a few stick‑backs to boot. So he's a good player, and you do have to pick your poison. Some nights, Georgetown a week or two ago, he goes 9‑for‑22, and that's what you want. That's a good night. You want him to be inefficient, shot a low percentage, and you've got a chance to get him then. When you're shooting it really, really well from the outside, you're not going to miss many layups, not going to miss many free throws. Q. This question is for both of you: What difficulties did you encounter in defending McDermott? Oliver, you just alluded to it. COACH OLIVER PURNELL: I'll just leave it to Brandon. BRANDON YOUNG:  We're just trying to throw different type of people at him. We know he's a great player. You know, like Coach said, I was sticking him at one point, Charles, Jamee. We're just trying to throw different pieces at him and trying to make it tough on him.  Like Coach said, he's a great player. Great players do great things. Q. Coach, is there something that, after getting that win last night, that you taught your team that maybe you look forward to in the off‑season and headed into next year? Just your main takeaway from this week. COACH OLIVER PURNELL: You know, I told the guys that they came up here and battled and played some really good basketball. Second half tonight, obviously. Last night was one of, if not our best, game of the year. And they just kind of hung in there. I told the seniors, if they hang in there and spend the amount of time and the amount of work they have this year and the amount of stick‑to‑itiveness, then they're going to be successful in whatever they do beyond basketball. And I told some of the other guys that we've gotta learn from this year and some of the things that maybe we did to ourselves or other things that happen to you, you just have to hang in there, and you have a chance to be successful. I think we have the opportunity to do that with the guys we have coming back and the few guys we have coming in, and we can do really well this year. Q. I see Jamee Crockett had a really good game tonight. Was that important for him? COACH OLIVER PURNELL: I think that helps him from a confidence standpoint. Jamie was out for a long time with a suspension, and then he got mono. So it was a while for him coming back and getting his legs under him. He's not in great shape, but today was probably the longest stretch he's gone in a while, and he played pretty effectively. Q. Coach, can you talk about what Brandon's meant to the program, especially this year since February, when you've asked him to do a lot? COACH OLIVER PURNELL: I think Brandon exemplifies what our program is all about, this year in particular, but over the last three or four years. He just hung in there. He hung in there, and he fought through, and he battled to the point where he's playing his best basketball. He wouldn't say this, but I think he's playing his best basketball by far coming down the stretch when we needed him the most. Sometimes it wasn't enough for us to get over the hump with everything he had going, but he came back the next day, and he came back the next day, and he came back the next day. Again, I'll say to him now what he said to he and the seniors in the locker room. If he battles like this in anything he does, basketball‑‑ he's going to play some basketball, but anything he does beyond basketball and sticks to it, the amount of time, the work ethic, the approach, he's going to be successful. Q. I guess it's a follow‑up question to Brandon himself: How was passing George Mikan on the scoring list and winning the first Big East Conference game last night? BRANDON YOUNG: It was a great feeling to be recognized with those great group of guys. But our first Big East win meant a lot to us. Coach told me that I did a pretty decent job yesterday, but I told him I played horrible. You know, we just was competing yesterday. We fought, and we just played together. Like Coach said, we didn't come out with the energy that we came out with yesterday until we looked at the scoreboard and we were down by 20. So that was a habit of ours just looking up and seeing that we're down and trying to fight back into it. But you know overall, I had a great four years here. I want to thank Coach Purnell, and everybody that's with DePaul Athletics and just giving me the opportunity to play basketball here and maturing as an individual. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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