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NCAA MEN'S 2ND & 3RD ROUNDS: ST. LOUISMarch 20, 2014Ron BakerCleanthony EarlyGregg MarshallFred VanVleetST. LOUIS, MISSOURI THE MODERATOR: The Shockers are here. Questions will begin. Q. You guys are the only team that have signs on the side of the road telling people that you're here. You guys have played here several times obviously over this season with the tournament, and are pretty comfortable here. Does it help you at all in all of the build‑up to this? THE MODERATOR: Ron and Fred, please. RON BAKER: I did see a Cleanthony sign up on the way here, it is pretty cool. It is great to be back in St. Louis. It is kind of like a trip down the road for us. We are used to playing here after conference play. We really look forward to our game tomorrow and hopefully we'll stay for the weekend. FRED VanVLEET: At this point I hope it is an advantage. You want to take any advantage you can get. But really, it is just about going out there and playing. And it's good to be in a familiar place. Now, whether that affects us any different than any other teams, we don't know. But just going to control what we can control and get ready to go play. Hopefully we have a lot of Shocker fans here. Q. For Cleanthony. I wonder if you feel a greater pressure at all to advance in the tournament this year as opposed to maybe being a Cinderella in the past? CLEANTHONY EARLY: I wouldn't necessarily say "pressure," but I think all the guys here want to advance and they are going to work really hard to advance. So if we go out there, I am pretty confident that if we do what we do and continue to play team basketball and continue to give maximum effort, that we will make that happen. Q. Ron, can you give us kind of an idea of how small Scott City is and also the level of your celebrity in your hometown since you started playing for Wichita State. RON BAKER: Population is about 35 to 4,000 in the whole county. That's a lot of people compared to where I grew up in Utica, Kansas, where the population is approximately 250 people. I'm not exaggerating. Growing up do just about anything. No cops. [Laughter.] But as far as now going back home, you can't do much. People‑‑I tried watching my brother's state basketball game back in Wichita the past weekend and I think a lot of people were trying to watch me get my concessions instead of watching my brother. It's pretty hectic when I go back home, but there's a lot of love and a lot of support. The community has actually raised money to give to my parents to make the NCAA trips this season, which is great. Q. Had you heard of Cal Poly before the brackets came out? THE MODERATOR: The question is to? I will have Fred answer it first. FRED VanVLEET: Yes. Q. And the follow‑up, what do you make of them on short notice, turning around to play you? FRED VanVLEET: It's a good team. There's no shoe‑ins or favors getting teams in the tournament; you have to earn it. And they earned their way, they're playing really well lately. So we will do some scouting and see what we can have success against them. With this short turnaround, obviously they just finished playing yesterday, so we're going to do our normal scout and get ready for the game and just come out and try to play our best basketball. Q. For Cleanthony. You guys obviously went about as far as you could go last year, one game short of the final. Are you surprised by the lack of respect for what you can do from the Selection Committee, that they would set up such a tough bracket? CLEANTHONY EARLY: Well, I don't like it is a lack of respect in any sort, and I just feel like what we have been doing this year is pretty special. And I just look at it that way. If we continue to do what we do and make noise and go through this tournament in this side of the region the way we want to, that just continues to put us on a path towards greatness. That's all. Q. Welcome to St. Louis. I am wondering if you can compare, just kind of take yourself back a year and before you started the tournament a year ago ‑‑ and I will let Cleanthony first direct this to ‑‑ give me a thought of what it was like last year anddo you think it will be different, that you will be treated as a target on your back? Are you celebrities? How is it different from a year ago? CLEANTHONY EARLY: I think last year we flew under the radar with people underestimating how good we can be, you know. I think this year we are over that radar, but there's obviously still people who underestimate what we can do compared to certain competition. And at the end of the day we have to go out there and play the game of basketball the way we do. And I'm pretty confident, and like I said before, in these guys and in myself where if we do that, we play hard and we do what we need to do, that we will be successful and we will become winners. THE MODERATOR: And Fred, I will let you answer that as well. FRED VanVLEET: There are two parts to that. I think the first part for us is the same as last year. We have the same mindset. The seeding and everything doesn't have anything to do with how we are taking our approach. It is still us against the world and we are still hungry, still being the hunters and not allowing ourselves to be hunted. So from that aspect it is the same. But the difference would be, I think, opponents. And also more attention obviously with the season we had and the No. 1 seed, so we'll have a lot more teams' respect from the jump before they even get to the scouting report, you know. I think last year it took a lot of teams actually watch us or even until the game started to have the full respect and we'll have that in advance now. So it's just another challenge that we're looking forward to. Q. For Ron and Cleanthony. Have you noticed any particular growth in Fred's game as the season progressed? RON BAKER: I think Fred's biggest progression was not just throughout the season but also in the summer, from last year he's brought in all this confidence from the Final Four run we had. Throughout the year he has just been playing smarter and playing harder. And I think his decision making has gotten a lot better, as you can tell from his assist‑to‑turnover ratio. And he wants to win. If you have those combinations in the back of your mind and that's what your goal is as an individual, you're going to progress and become a great player. CLEANTHONY EARLY: Yeah, pretty much what Ron said. I would agree. Just the type of person he is. The way he adjusts and the way he thinks about certain things and has a certain viewpoint. It just gives credit to the results that he has made and the strides that he has made. And I remember from last year I was playing one‑on‑one full‑court to him being here now, you know what I am saying? And putting all of the work in the summertime to him getting all the accolades and leading this team. And I completely respect that and everything about him, you know what I mean? So his progression is solely based off of the type of person that he is and everybody has to respect that. Q. For Fred, these days experience means a lot in the NCAA Tournament. The fact that you guys have guys back, so many guys who made the run to the Final Four. You know, how did that affect you in going undefeated this season? And how do you expect it to help you this time around? FRED VanVLEET: Well, it gives you confidence, first off, knowing that you've been in that situation. We had success already. So it gives you confidence for those type of situations going forward. And then, also, allows you to be calm in those adverse moments, you know. We drew upon a lot of those experiences this season. We were down, thought about being down to Gonzaga last year and different situations like that. And I think the way we played last year and throughout the tournament, there was no doubt or, you know, room for question about how good we were. We were playing pretty well and being pretty dominant in that run. So it gave us a lot of confidence. And, you know, once you have done something once, the second time around hopefully is a little bit easier and it allows you to know what to expect. Q. Ron, do you feel like three years ago when you signed up for Wichita State you were joining a program that wanted to get to the NCAA Tournament, and then now three years later you're part of a program where expectations are really much different, you know, the Final Four, No.1 seed. Do you understand what I'm asking? How things maybe changed. How people view the program and how you view the program in those three years. RON BAKER: Sure. When I was on my visit at Wichita State I brought my parents along and one thing the coaches emphasized the most was when you get here the program's going to be on the rise. We just won the NIT, we are going to bring a lot of seniors in this year. And they talked about red‑shirting and all that stuff. The biggest thing they were talking about is we're on the rise. And I remember my parents just getting along with the coaches. And those two things pretty much kind of brought me into the program and sold me to go there. Q. You know once you get to the tournament, as you guys know, anything can happen. I'm wondering, your approach this year has been a really calm demeanor about everything and I am wondering, can you continue that? And also this is directed towards Fred, where does that come from? Are you the point guard, are you most responsible for the calm demeanor this team has under all circumstances? FRED VanVLEET: First, I think we've been doing it for 34 games and a couple of months now, so now is not the time to change up anything that we have been doing, just try to take it up another level and play even better. And secondly, I think that is some of it. But at the same time, a lot of these guys, we all share similar qualities. We might show them different ways. But all of these guys are pretty calm, laid‑back guys at the end of the day. And that experience, that confidence allows you to not run out of your shoes in certain situations and allows you to stay in the moment, understand what it takes to get out of adverse situations, and understand what it takes to extend leads and keep leads and things like that. So if you want to give me credit for that, I'm just going to send it back to my teammates and you have to give them credit for it as well. I am not mind‑controlling anyone out there. But I kind of get credit for it, so I'll take it. CLEANTHONY EARLY: I would agree. He is the calmest. THE MODERATOR: Anything else for the student‑athletes of Wichita State? Q. This is for Fred. Obviously it's been well‑noted that you kind of flew under the radar when it came to recruiting. How much do you think that was due to the fact just that you weren't one of the Chicago players and playing outside of the city in Rockford or what do you credit that to? FRED VanVLEET: There is a lot I can say on that topic, but I'll just say this‑‑that, you know, there are two ways you can look at it. One, I wasn't good enough obviously. I wasn't doing enough for whoever was recruiting to notice me. And/or two, people had different options. Recruiting can be tricky. You have to be lucky sometimes, you have to develop players. So I give my coaches a lot of credit for that. I am way better now than I was then obviously. But, you know, it just depends on how you view it. I don't have any hard feelings or, you know, shame about it. I am pretty blessed and happy to be where I am. And obviously those situations help me, give me a little bit extra motivation. But I am happy it worked out the way it did, and I think, you know, a lot of things happen for very good reasons and this is one of them. THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, thank you very much for your time. Good luck tomorrow. Now the head coach of the Shockers is here, Gregg Marshall. We're going to ask him to start off with a statement about his club, about being back right here on this dais two weeks ago in St. Louis and then we will go to questions. Gregg? COACH MARSHALL: Great to be back close to home. Shocker fans know their way to St. Louis, which is good. Our guys are familiar with the court and the hotel, and it's like we were just here. So we're excited. Ready to get back to basketball. It's been 11 days now for us since we last played, but we've gotten our guys some rest and gotten some nicks and dings healed, so hopefully they'll be ready when the ball's tipped. There won't be any rust for tomorrow. Q. Is it the same hotel? Is the routine exactly the same as it was before? COACH MARSHALL: Yes. The Westin, that's where we stay every year for the Valley Tournament. So they know us. We know exactly where the meeting room is. The same meeting room, the same breakfast this morning. It's kind of like "Groundhog Day." [Laughter.] Q. Gregg, I don't know that have you been back to Scott City on any recruiting trips, but can you tell us the way Ron's playing how popular a figure he is back home? And maybe even in Wichita, too, for that matter. COACH MARSHALL: Yeah, he's quite the favorite of a lot of people, but especially young ladies and some older ladies as well. [Laughter.] It's amazing. I get texts and emails regularly, on at least a weekly basis, about their daughter who‑‑usually there's a story involved and they would like for Ron to have lunch with them or sign something and send it to them or go to the prom with him. So there's‑‑he's getting a lot of play. And Scott City is a town that has Baker fever, if you will, but when we got the announcement that if we win tomorrow we play the winner of Kentucky and Kansas State. If it's Kansas State he was lamenting that may be a stretch for people in Scott City, but undoubtedly there are a lot of folks that are K‑State fans out there as well. That was really interesting. I didn't realize that. Q. Ordinarily the No.1 seed in a region is all the focus. Does it kind of fit in with all of the things that happened at Wichita State that maybe you are not all the focus here at this one with the huge fan bases and programs like Kentucky and Kansas? COACH MARSHALL: I've never been a No.1 seed, so I don't know what it's like generally. But this has been a surreal season, if you will, just the way the win streak has accumulated and grown. So being a No.1 seed, having so many wonderful programs in this pod, if you will, there's going to be a lot of blue, there's going to be a lot of purple, there's going to be a lot of yellow and black, probably some red. I just know no matter what, we just have to play well. We have to shoot the basketball, take care of it. I know we'll defend and rebound, but in order to advance you have to continue to play well. And we've been playing well, but it's been awhile since we've actually played against outside competition. Q. Gregg, when we saw the Midwest region bracket come out, I would assume most fans and a lot of the media say wow, you guys got stuck in this bracket. For you though, was this absolutely the perfect situation for you because of all the challenges that you had something built in for motivation? COACH MARSHALL: We're going to have something built in anyway. This is definitely a daunting task. You're talking about the No. 1 team in the country in the preseason, or Kansas State, if we are fortunate enough to beat Cal Poly. I saw Albany was beating Florida deep in the first half, and the last I checked they were beating Florida. Cal Poly is playing very well. I was in that boat that Cal Poly has been in where you play six or seven guaranteed games when I was a coach at Winthrop. You go on the road and we would usually win one of those per year. Going on the road five or six times and having to play the blue bloods of college basketball, it is after Christmas when you realize that you are not a pincushion or punching bag. We can now win some of these games. That's what they did. I understand they had some injuries, but they are playing really well right now. And I watched the film of their game, when was it last night? Yes. I tell you, they are a talented team. They are injured, but they play 13, 14 guys. They are deeper than us, which will help with the quick turnaround for them. We're just excited to have an opportunity to play them. And we know it's going to be a local state team, which would add a lot of intrigue, or the No. 1 team in the country in the preseason, which has probably seven NBA guys. Q. Again, on the selections, what did you tell your team when you saw the potential line‑up would be Kentucky, Louisville and either Michigan or Duke? COACH MARSHALL: Didn't talk about it at all. You don't get to 34‑0 by talking about three games from now. We've been dealing with Texas Southern and Cal Poly. That's what we've practiced the last couple of days against 1‑3‑1, the Texas Southern runs. You just try to prepare for these games as they come. We're not trying to get ahead of ourselves. And as you see, the brackets don't always fall the way they seem to, maybe they should, or people anticipate them falling. I mean, there's already three or four upsets today.  So our job is to prepare them for the next game. And right now that's Cal Poly. And if we get to Kentucky or Kansas State, we'll be excited about preparing for them. Q. You guys not so much this year but in the past have sort of played that underdog, outsider role. Can you imagine what Cal Poly is feeling and thinking right now? COACH MARSHALL: Yes, because I've been there. I've been a 16 seed, I've been a 15 seed, a 14 seed a couple of times, and finally in '07 we were an 11 seed. That was by far the best the Big South had ever gotten. So I know exactly what they are feeling. My first year as a coach taking Winthrop to the NCAA Tournament against a great Auburn team, with Chris Porter and N'Diaye and some of those guys, I thought we were going to win. I was preparing to win that game and stick around Indianapolis, and it certainly didn't happen. But that's what they've got to believe. They're talented. If they keep shooting the way they are shooting, who knows. Q. How do you describe Cal Poly's style of play? Looks like they are very careful with the basketball. What sticks out about them? COACH MARSHALL: They get great shots. That's a well‑coached team. They get great shots. They don't turn the ball over. They have a lot of weapons. They can shoot the ball from the perimeter. They have a couple of guys that they can bang it down low to. And they play good defense. They don't overextend. They're not really trying to turn you over, but they're playing underneath you and making you shoot over the top. Very similar to a Missouri State in our league. And they also run a 1‑2‑2, 3/4 court press, goes back to a zone. They're very similar to Missouri State. Q. It has been a few, if any, close games that you had in quite a long time. Is there any concern about that, if you are involved in a close game? COACH MARSHALL: No, I just hope we win it if we are in one. We practice that all the time. We practice late‑game situations at least every other day. And, you know, great players usually make great plays at the right time. So we've got a lot of good players. And I think that if we're in a close game, there will be ample opportunity for the guys to make the plays they have been making all year. Q. Hi, Gregg. Let me ask you to take us back a year and tell us how life is different for the Wichita State Shockers because of their Final Four appearance. COACH MARSHALL: Well, I have a new sweat suit on here from Nike and it's pretty nice. That's different. There's a different feel back in town. A lot more people have jumped on the bandwagon and we have plenty of room for that. Applications are up at the University. Acceptances are up at the University. There's a little more focus this year nationally on the city of Wichita, Kansas, and our region, our state. A great state for basketball, as you can tell. You have three teams here. Three DivisionI teams and all in this region and all with a 9 seed or better. But we have a lot of confidence. I think that would be the key. We have confidence. These young players that we have gain so much confidence with that Final Four run last year. Because every game this year, whoever we've played, they have been playing a team that had been to the Final Four just last year. So they're amped to play us and they want to win. And they are ready to party, especially when we're on the road. They're ready to start a Mardi Gras as soon as the horn sounds and they are one point ahead. We were able to deal with that all year long because of the confidence and the inner calm these young players have. Q. I would just like to follow‑up on the other thing. I certainly respect that you're preparing for the game at hand. But I'd just like you to comment on the philosophy of taking three Final Four teams from a year earlier and putting them in the same region when they all are conference champions. Is there any element of unfairness to that that you could replay a Final Four game in the Sweet 16? COACH MARSHALL: Are you wanting me to say that it's unfair? [Laughter.]       Q.  I am asking what your thought is. COACH MARSHALL: They didn't ask me my opinion when they put this together. Obviously it's a great region that's stacked. But I will be honest with you, I didn't even think about it. I didn't talk to my team about it. Last year as a 9 seed we made a Final Four run, I couldn't have told you where we were going after Salt Lake. I had no idea. I didn't know the teams, I didn't know the Regional site. That's not the way you do it. You don't look that far in advance. You just take care of the business in front of you. Eat an elephant one bite at a time. Q. Gregg, by April 2007 when you were looking at this job and touring Koch Arena, how did you kind of approach it, not setting any limits on these kind of possibilities and this program has now done more than a lot of people thought. What was your thinking back at that time? Was this kind of thing possible? That's what I am interested in. COACH MARSHALL: You know, Paul, I knew that the program had great tradition. I knew that it had great leadership with Dr.Beggs and Jim Schaus at the time. I knew they were offering me a lot of money to come coach the program. They obviously had the finances to support it with all the 10,000‑plus that are in attendance every night. I didn't really set a limit on what we could achieve, and I didn't set a minimum on what we should achieve. I just believed in myself and my staff and the players that were there. I knew the players that we could recruit with that type of fervor in the fan base, the great facilities. And that's come true. And did I think Final Four? Did I think No.1 seed, 34‑0? No. I didn't. I didn't think like that. But, you know, we're two possessions away from playing for a National Championship, so we can. Butler has proven that. They had a shot in the air to either tie or win that game against Duke a couple of years ago, so basketball has changed. And teams like us, programs like us have a chance now. They don't put us in a different division like a AA or whatever like they do in football. We're in this tournament, this region as a No.1 seed, so we have a chance, but we have to play well. Q. Gregg, talk about the development of Nick, you know, has a younger brother who is obviously a superstar in the making. How do you think he has had that, having a younger brother that way? And also, how he has come along for you guys. It seems he developed and is a vital part off the bench. COACH MARSHALL: I think that Nick has handled that very, very well, because that can be difficult. A great point. The younger brother comes to the same state and has more notoriety and fame. But here's what I can tell you about those guys. They really love each other. They are like best friends. They just embraced right outside of our locker room when they saw each other in the hallway. So they're pulling for each other. It will be interesting what happens if, in fact, we can play them down the road, but they‑‑Nick's handled it very well. And I think Andrew has handled it well, too. Because he is friends with a lot of guys on our team. Our guys went out and greeted him when they left the locker room, like Cleanthony Early, Ron Baker, and Chadrack Lufile. There's a relationship there and it's based on love. Nick has come along. He hasn't played great offensively this year. He was much better offensively last year, but he's better on the defensive end. So it is a wash. He is still helping us win every single night. He is out there doing what he can and he is a wonderful teammate. Whether it is 12 minutes or 22 minutes, he is doing everything he can to help us win. Q. What would 35‑0 mean? I mean, that's a significant accomplishment? COACH MARSHALL: That would mean Antoine Carr. Right now we're at Xavier McDaniel, 34. 35 is Antoine Carr. It would be awesome. But we are 5 away from winning a championship. We are 0‑0 in this tournament and now we need a six‑game win streak to try to win the tournament. That's what we will be focusing on. It will be really more like 1‑0. And that's what we did in the Valley Tournament as well. When we came to the Valley Tournament, we threw away 31 and we said we have three games or bust, and that's what we needed to do. And now it's six games. If you don't win six, you're not the champions. Who remembers whether you're runner‑up or beat in the Sweet 16, it doesn't really matter, you didn't win it. Q. Coach, I asked a couple of the players this, and it happened so long ago, how much of an inspiration is D.J. been, looking at him on the sidelines? He didn't have to be here with you guys but he is. How much of an inspiration is that for you as a coach seeing him knowing he would give anything to be on the court with you? COACH MARSHALL: It's amazing, Jen. When you watch ‑‑ just having him with us as you mentioned. Watching what happened with him in the fall and understanding how close it came to being final, and the miraculous work of our training staff and Todd Fagan and his crew, to save his life, to bring him back to life really, because his heart had stopped beating. It is awesome. I think our guys draw a lot of strength from him and they are very close‑knit group. They care for each other. And he's one of their brothers and they probably play a little better, a little harder, a little smarter, a little tougher simply because he's unable to do that. And it's really great that he's here with us and hopefully he's enjoyed this. Unfortunately he hasn't been able to be a part on the court, but he certainly has been a part off the court. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Gregg, good luck. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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