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BIG EAST CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 14, 2014Fuquan EdwinEugene TeagueKevin WillardNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK Providence - 80 Q.  Kevin, what was your plan on that last possession there where you called time‑out and you shuffled the personnel in, did you want a two at that point or a three? COACH KEVIN WILLARD: No, we were trying to get a three. That was the tough thing about that lineup was‑‑ that's why we got Eugene back in there, was you had three guys‑‑ you had four guards and Patrik. We didn't have anything to run. We tried to get Eugene in there and slip Ryan out to the corner and hit them for a three. At that time, I didn't think we could foul and go back down. We still got a good look. We got a good layup and just missed it. Q. Kevin, what can you say about what the program accomplished the last few days here? COACH KEVIN WILLARD: I told the seniors that. I told the team that. These guys, unfortunately, their win‑loss record hasn't been phenomenal, but over the last two years, they've provided a solid foundation for us to build on the future. It's hard‑‑ young guys don't‑‑ can't see what they've helped build, but these guys have really, through their hard work, grades, everything, helping recruiting. These guys have been instrumental in helping us go from a very unstable situation to a pretty stable situation. Q. Fu, you made a lot of big shots down the stretch. Talk about what was going through your mind in the final minutes of the game and what you're thinking about now? FUQUAN EDWIN: I just wanted to stay in attack mode. I knew we wasn't too far away. Just going down the stretch, it was tough on me. So I just wanted to stay positive and stay in attack mode. Q. What are your emotions right now? FUQUAN EDWIN: I'm very sad. I wish we could have pulled through with the win. It would have been good playing in the championship game. I just want to give credit to our effort. I think we battled hard. Q. Kevin, you've had difficult locker room things to deal with at the end of the season, but was this tougher because of what you guys were able to do the last two days? COACH KEVIN WILLARD: No. I think every time you're done playing, you always have seniors whose careers are over. No, actually, this was kind of maybe a different feeling. When you take over a program, you always have‑‑ I got close to Herbie because of what happened to Herb, and I got close to Jordan, but all the other seniors come and go when you first take over a program. So you don't have such a connection with the guys that first came in. These guys, Eugene and Brian, have been here for three years. Fuquan's been here for four. Aaron's been here for four. So it's a little different feeling for me because I have a little different connection with these guys. Not that I don't have a good connection with the other guys. But when you spend time and you see these guys grow, not only as players but as men, it's a little different feeling. I can't explain the feeling. I don't know if it's a proud feeling, a sad feeling. It's just a much different feeling than when you take over a program. Q. For the players, I guess it felt like you guys were within an arm's length the whole game, like four then eight then nine then six. Was it a level of frustration that caused not being able to get over the hump? And did it have anything to do with playing three games in three days? Were you guys just out of gas at the end? FUQUAN EDWIN: No. We just got to give credit when credit is due. Providence played a great game; had a good game. They hit some tough shots. You know Cotton, he led his team. He handled the pressure we was throwing at him. Just tough when we couldn't get over the hump and make some tough shots. But games go like that sometimes. Q. Eugene, those two fouls you got in the first half, did that sort of change the way you played the rest of the game? EUGENE TEAGUE: Yeah, it definitely changed the game. When you get two fouls quick, it's hard as a player to play your game because you're just worried about getting the next one. But getting those two fouls like that in the beginning is tough. It was frustrating. Q. Fu, I know you're not the kind of guy that makes excuses. Your shooting hasn't been as good as it's usually been lately. Has the thumb been giving you any problems lately? COACH KEVIN WILLARD: Yeah, it has. I'll answer that for him. It has. He's battling through it. It's supposed to be taped up. He doesn't have the tape on it because of the feel of the ball. So he's battled over the last four days, four games with a very sore thumb. I asked him to take the tape off, not for the shooting, but he was having trouble catching it with the tape on. He did what he had to do for the program and for the team. Q. Coach, their zone looked really active and in sync tonight. You guys got some good looks in the post, but did them coming off the three‑point line, was that the difference in the game for you? COACH KEVIN WILLARD:  We haven't seen zone‑‑ I was trying to think of the last time we saw zone. That's where this league has changed so much. You used to see zone every other game. I don't think we've seen zone since Georgetown, and they played only two or three possessions. I knew that he does that to give Cotton some much needed rest, but we just hadn't gone against it. We went over some stuff this morning, but it's probably not enough to really attack it effectively. It was active. They did a good job in it. Q. I know this is probably not your first thought right now, but what are you thinking about as far as the postseason tournament? Would you like to play in something? Are you hoping to get an NIT bid? Would you consider the other tournaments? COACH KEVIN WILLARD: No, we won't consider the other tournaments. He's got to heal up. Eugene, again, needs rest. Patrik has to get shut down. The only older guy that's probably not battling anything is Brian right now. Brandon, he‑‑ I'm not going to risk something, one of these guys for one of those. They're good tournaments. They're well run, but right now with my seniors where they are, getting him healthy is my most‑‑ my number one, and getting Eugene kind of ready for his next stage is probably most important. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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