|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NCAA MEN'S 1ST ROUND: DAYTONMarch 17, 2014Jamion ChristianJulian NorfleetSam PrescottRashad WhackDAYTON, OHIO THE MODERATOR: Introducing Mount St. Mary's Sam Prescott, Rashad Whack, and Julian Norfleet. Gentlemen, congratulations on making the NCAA Tournament. Open the floor to questions. Q. Any of you, you guys opened up 0‑5, played some good teams, but was there any possibility in your mind at that point that you could reach the juncture you're at now? JULIAN NORFLEET: You know, we started off the season, we never looked towards the end of the season. We just focused on improving every day. So when we started off 0‑5, we knew we had to play some great teams. And we knew if we kept improving, we would be able to get to our goal at the end of the season. RASHAD WHACK: Same as he said. We knew we wanted to have a tough nonconference schedule to prepare us for our conference. So I think even though we lost, we learned a lot from those games and prepared us for our journey. SAM PRESCOTT: Just growing pains, you know. Young team, got a lot of freshmen, so we have to get them prepared for a nonconference schedule. So starting out tough. It wasn't easy, but it paid dividends. How much fun is it to just shoot the 3s? Seems like you guys love to shoot 3‑pointers. SAM PRESCOTT: We do like to shoot 3s. Big part of our offense. We've got a lot of players who can spread the floor for us, and then Julian, being one of the best point guards in the league ‑‑ in our conference, or even in the nation, if you want to, can find us. That's a big weapon we have. RASHAD WHACK: Like he said, we like to shoot them. And it's fun. Our coach definitely like gives us the green light to shoot shots we feel we should take. And just having that freedom definitely helps us offensively attacking, getting in the paint. And then once that opens up and people collapse, just shoot the wide‑open 3. JULIAN NORFLEET: Like Rashad said, Coach gives us a lot of freedom to play. He usually gives us the green light. So it makes it easy for us, where we're really trusting each other and we're able to just spread the ball out. When teams fly at us, we're able to drive the basket. It makes the game a lot easier when we're all hitting 3s. Q. It's one thing to get to the tournament, it's another one to win one. Neither team has won a NCAA Tournament game. What do you think it would mean for your program if you finally won on the big stage? JULIAN NORFLEET: I mean, it would mean a lot. I think it would bring a lot of exposure to our university, small school. So to get a big win in the NCAA Tournament, you know, it brings a lot of exposure. It would be a great feeling as well. RASHAD WHACK: Definitely be a great feeling. Our program will definitely be going in the right direction over the past two years. So just to get a win and get that experience and that exposure, definitely great for our program. SAM PRESCOTT: Tremendous honor getting to this point in our careers. Especially being the seniors, we haven't been able to get here. So to win here for The Mount would be tremendous for us. Q. Because your record is 16‑16, do you guys think you're getting the respect you should get? You are in the NCAA Tournament. RASHAD WHACK: As far as respect, I mean, we are a mid low major team, so a lot of teams look down on us. But we don't pay attention to that. We try to stay together and focus on what we need to do to get better and just work on it, preparing us for the game. SAM PRESCOTT: The same as Rashad said, we can get glossed over sometime. We're not one of the bigger schools, but we just take the challenge. We're always open for the challenge. If they doubt it, it makes it even sweeter when we're here. JULIAN NORFLEET: You know, for the most part, as a team, we don't really focus on the outside sources and stuff like that, so the respect thing doesn't really come into play. We just focus on whatever is in that locker room and go out and execute what we're taught. Q. Can you allow‑‑ I realize that the big thing is the game tomorrow night. But do you ever, even in your wildest dreams, think, boy, if we get through that, then we're playing the No. 1 overall seed in Florida, no less? JULIAN NORFLEET: You definitely think about that. You think about going in and trying to win the game tomorrow. And if you win that, you go and go up against a monster like Florida, who is an outstanding team. They've got the overall No. 1 seed. But you've got to win the first game, which is tomorrow, against Albany. That's all our focus is on right now. RASHAD WHACK: We like to talk about standing in the now, hopefully get past the game tomorrow. And facing Florida is definitely going to be a tough game, but we also accept that challenge. SAM PRESCOTT: Take it one day at a time. Can't get too far in the future, even if it is Florida. But it starts tomorrow, winning a game. Q. Did any of you guys watch the Albany‑Stony Brook game on Saturday? And even if you didn't, what do you know about Albany now? SAM PRESCOTT: What we know about Albany, did a little film, a little research. I bet some of my teammates have looked over them. They're almost the complete opposite of us, a slow‑tempo team. I think they're 61 possessions; we're 71. So ten possessions off . They're going to try to slow the game down and pound the post. They've got some good big men down low, and they'll try to slow the game down and grind it out as we're going to try to speed it up. I'm interested to see whose will will be imposed on the game. RASHAD WHACK: I haven't got a chance to see them play. We got a chance to see some film earlier today like Sam said. Like he said, it's complete opposite. They're slow, kind of bigger, a little more physical, but we have speed and make the tempo a lot faster, get them out of their comfort zone. JULIAN NORFLEET: I remember I played them my freshman and sophomore year. I didn't get a chance to watch the game. But they're playing totally different from the film we saw so far. So definitely they're a lot slower and they're going to try to slow the game down, and we've got to just try to speed them up. Q. Rashad and Sam, you guys have played for three different coaches in your collegiate career. What's it like playing for Coach Christian? RASHAD WHACK: It's been a great honor and experience to be able to come in here and witness the change that the program has made. And just being able to help, it's been a great pleasure and I'm just very blessed to be in this situation. SAM PRESCOTT: Playing for Coach has been an honor. He's a very upbeat guy. Nothing but positive vibes coming from him. Coming from Marist and playing for ‑‑ under Burke it's complete different a lot more energy, exciting guy to be around. Q. A lot of people put down the trip to Dayton and the First Four, it's a play‑in they call it or whatever. They don't even think of it as being a main part of the tournament. But tomorrow night you guys are going to be playing in the NCAA Tournament; you're the only game being played at that time. Just how big of a stage is that? Are you concerned at all you'll be nervous or anything like that? JULIAN NORFLEET: Everybody gets those pregame jitters before a game. I wouldn't say it's nervousness or anything like that; I would just say it's a little bit of excitement, anxiousness. But being on that national stage, it's an honor. Just took a lot of hard work to get here. We're just going to take it step‑by‑step and hope we can come out with a win. RASHAD WHACK: Like he said, some people will be a little nervous. And we like to try to keep a steady like emotional not too high, not too low, so concentrate on that. And it's going to be an opportunity for us to showcase our talent, so we're just going to go out there and play our game and do what we have to do. SAM PRESCOTT: I wouldn't say we were nervous. I think we're all excited, you know, especially us seniors because we've never been here before. And now it's a bigger stage to showcase our skills. I think that we'll be ready for the challenge. THE MODERATOR: Any other questions for players? Good luck, gentlemen. Thank you for your time. Up next will be Mount St. Mary's head coach Jamion Christian. Introducing Mount St. Mary's head coach, Jamion Christian. COACH CHRISTIAN: Thanks so much. We're excited to be here in Dayton to open up college basketball's March Madness. Well, obviously tremendous year in all of college basketball. 68 teams were chosen yesterday. All very deserving of a chance to continue to play for a national championship. The Mount, we're excited to be here to represent the Northeast Conference. We had a great league tournament, and we're very excited to be here and play. We're highlighted by three seniors: Julian Norfleet, Sam Prescott, and Rashad Whack. THE MODERATOR: Questions up in the front. Q. You guys play a lot different than Albany. You want to play fast; they want to play slow. What happens when those two meet? COACH CHRISTIAN: Mayhem meets. Well, you know, quite honestly, I've watched Albany a lot through the past few years. I was assistant at Bucknell when I played them, and I just have so much respect for their program. They've done an unbelievable job over the years. They've always played a physical style of basketball. They've always had one or two guys that could stretch the defense, but never too many, and they've always played under control and with a lot of pace. I remember from our game we played them way back then, that they really dominated the pace with their physicality and ability to rebound the ball. So our number one thing, coming in now, is that we've got to get the tempo to an insane level, insane pace. Really make it difficult for them to get the ball inbounds. And we've got to play really good offense, but it has to be early in the shot clock to get the pace at the level we need it at. Q. When you were 0‑5, was it difficult at all to not lose the younger guys, in particular, just to tell them that, hey, look, we'll get through this; there's stuff we can still accomplish? COACH CHRISTIAN:  I'm a really positive, upbeat person. And I think when you take over a program, you have to understand there's going to be some highs and lows. You're not going to be in the NCAA Tournament right away. I think we've been able to get here over the last two years because we have great senior leadership. And one of the things we've tried to do over the past two years is we try to coach each one of our guys very differently. We try to take a lot of time understanding their strengths and weaknesses, and we try to coach them to play through their strengths and weaknesses. Again, there's going to be some highs and lows with that. We opened up the season with a very tough schedule. One of the things I learned from Pat Flannery at Bucknell and Shaka Smart from VCU is that if you're going to be good in March, you have to challenge yourself and can't be afraid to take some bumps and some bruises and get back up. I thought that our tough nonconference schedule has really helped us later here in the season. Being able to beat Robert Morris and Wagner on the road, and they're two of the best defensive teams in our league, but we played very well against them because we played at BYU, we played at Villanova and West Virginia and Michigan State. I thought that stuff really helped us as we began to grow as a program. Q. Going into your conference tournament and also when Albany was going into their conference tournament, the way the seed was, neither of you were expected to be here. What does it say about each team; that they were able to beat a higher seed on their home floor to get to the NCAA Tournament? COACH CHRISTIAN: It says that both programs have a lot of character and a lot of substance. I think the reality of it is, you know, when you go on the road in a conference tournament setting‑‑ and one‑bid leagues, the reality if you're in a one‑bid league, all the pressure is in the tournament. Because if you don't win, you're not making it in. So both teams have a lot of character to be able to go on the other team's home floor and play against the best opponents. They beat a very good Stony Brook team. They've just been unbelievable for the last three seasons. It says how good they are, and it says they're very tough, mentally tough and physically tough. It says they can go into a conference opponent and be able to exert their will onto another opponent. Q. Is this just as simple as speed against physicality, outside shooting against inside shooting? COACH CHRISTIAN: I would say it's probably as simple as that. I'm looking at it as it's a battle of wills between two teams that have both earned their way into this tournament and that both have a distinct style that they like to play. Q. When people say, oh, they're 16‑16, they must not be any good but they're in the NCAA Tournament, what do you say to them? COACH CHRISTIAN: I say there's 68 teams that have an opportunity to play for a national championship. And we're one of them. And I think being 16‑16 means we try to challenge ourselves. It means we're not afraid to fall down sometimes and get back up. I mean, it could have been very easy for us to schedule six really easy opponents at the beginning of the year. So I sort of look at it like we're 16‑10 on the year against opponents that are like us. And so that would mean we'd have a very good season, if people looked at it that way. So you can look at it 16‑16. The reality of it is we're going to get a chance to open up college basketball tomorrow night, to put on an excellent game to start March Madness. And we have an opportunity, like the other 68 teams do, to play for that trophy at the end. Q. Obviously you've scouted Albany. What players on their team impress you? COACH CHRISTIAN: Hooley is excellent, his ability to shoot the ball from the outside and his ability to get hot. They do a great job ‑‑ because they don't play a high‑tempo game, they do a great job of screening for him, getting him open. We have to know where he is all the time. One of the things, the way we press a guy like that can sometimes find some open looks. So you've got to really key on him defensively. The kid on the inside, Rowley, is really talented as well. Really versatile. I think that's the key, is, you know, you're looking at a 4‑man there that can stretch out and knock down a 15‑footer but is also very physical in the glass. And there's not a lot of guys in college basketball that do that. I bet if you went through the tournament, you'd only find eight to nine guys that can knock down that shot and be physical. Those two guys can be really tough defensive matchups. THE MODERATOR: Any other questions for Coach? Coach, good luck tomorrow. Sorry, one more. Q. If you don't shoot the 3‑ball well tomorrow, are you in trouble? COACH CHRISTIAN: I don't think so. I think we are‑‑ actually, we're 8‑2, I believe, when we make seven or less 3s. So it's not all about 3‑point shooting for us. The 3‑pointer is more of a weapon to allow the pace to get to a level we need it to be at. We have four guards also very skilled, and they shoot a high percentage from 2. And we're one of the better teams making it to the free throw line and making free throws, the number one free‑throw shooting team in our league. So it's a little bit more than just knocking down outside shots, although we do love the 3‑point shot and we're going to use that. And hopefully we knock some down early to kind of get us going. But I think the biggest thing is when you play a team that has such a physical prowess, we've got to really try to get into the paint and make them chase us down with our speed. If that ends up being layups or pullups, we'll take those. Most likely it will end up being in attacking from the 3‑point line. Q. Albany's coach says the team with the most Australians will probably win. COACH CHRISTIAN: One of the things he's done an unbelievable job of‑‑ much respect to him. Over his time, I think early on when they had a lot of success they had some JUCO guys on the inside that are very physical and very talented, and now they have some Australian guys that are very physical and talented. I think that's a lot of credit to him, of his ability to go out and find the best players for his program, and that's going to be able to put Albany at the top. Again, I really respect him for that because there's not a lot of guys in this business that‑‑ they were unbelievable back there in like the mid‑2000s or so, but now he's been able to rebuild it back up with guys he can really coach. And you've got to give a lot of respect for someone that can have that kind of‑‑ have that kind of ability throughout the course of the career. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. Congratulations on making the tournament. Good luck tomorrow. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|