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NCAA MEN'S 2ND & 3RD ROUNDS: SAN ANTONIOMarch 20, 2014Melvin EjimFred HoibergDeAndre KaneGeorges NiangSAN ANTONIO, TEXAS THE MODERATOR: Okay. We are joined by Iowa State University student‑athletes, Melvin Ejim, Georges Niang, and DeAndre Kane. Questions for the student‑athletes. Q. Start with Melvin, where do you think this game or the Big 12 tournament has helped you guys the most? Is it just playing the competition or confidence‑wise, what's helped you guys the most? MELVIN EJIM: I think both. I think definitely confidence‑wise because we play against some of the best teams in the country. With our league being so strong, it definitely helps you when you know you're playing the best. I think going in we have some momentum winning the tournament as well as experience from playing in a neutral site where it's win or go home. So I think the Big 12 tournament definitely helped prepare us, and in both those aspects it's really taught us a lot. Q. Melvin, just doing a little background reading on you, it sounds like you come from a‑‑ your mother is very rigorous on academics and everything. Can you talk about the emphasis you put on that and the effort into your studies? MELVIN EJIM: Yeah, my mom has always made it a point to us in my family to make sure we had our grades right and we're doing school at the best of our ability. I've just been able to carry that through to the college level. One thing at Iowa State, we've had a number of people, especially with all of these guys, we've had a number of people who have been on us and helped us and who have made us able to have such great grades and have been in our corner. So I know that just for me and a lot of these guys on our team, it's important to have those people there to help you out. Those are the people that have really helped us do well academically. Q. I know you've got bigger things to worry about this weekend, but looking at some of the draft projections you aren't rated as a particularly high prospect. Do you have a chip on your shoulder with that? Do you feel like you have something to prove in those regards? MELVIN EJIM: I think our whole team has something to prove. I definitely have something to prove. I don't necessarily think it's because of the draft stuff or anything like that. We just are going in and wanting to do the best that we can. As a team, we play with that chip on our shoulder, and that's what motivates us and makes us play our type of basketball. But definitely have a chip, but that draft stuff is not even here yet. So I try not to think about it and just focus on this game. Right now we're just focused on NorthCarolina Central. I know I have a chip, these guys have a chip, and we're excited and ready to go out and play. Q. There is plenty of talk this year about parity in all of college basketball. If Central is able to get past you guys[], would you guys look at it so much as a huge upset? GEORGES NIANG: You know, I don't like to think of us losing, but NC Central is a really good team. They have older guys. They're an older group. They know how to play the game. They've won 20 straight, so when we go to prep for this team, it's like prepping for a team like Kansas, a dominant team in their league. They've won 20 straight and they're a good team. So we're not underestimating anybody in this tournament. Seeding is out the window for us, because this team is just as dominant as teams we've played, and they've won 20 in a row, so we for sure have to respect them. Q. Georges, how long did it take you guys to flip the switch from the Big 12 tournament to start focusing on this weekend? GEORGES NIANG: I think after the game we enjoyed ourselves, and then the next morning we enjoyed ourselves. When we found out who we were playing and found out some more background on them, they have some really good guys. Ing gram can really score the ball. They have a bunch of guys that are really talented. They're older and they know how to play. So I think we knew that we had our hands full right after we found out who we were playing. Q. DeAndre, just coming to Iowa State, what's the season been like for you coming from Marshall under certain circumstances and being allowed not only the individual success but also getting into the NCAA tournament? How has this whole experience been for you? DeANDRE KANE: It's a great experience. Playing three years at Marshall I never made the tournament. So just to come here to San Antonio and enjoy this with this group of guys. It's been great all year. I enjoy playing with this team. Enjoy playing for Coach Fred, and I'm looking forward to keep going. Q. Maybe same thing, doing some reading, your father, it's been something he stressed on you getting to the NCAA tournament. Now that you've achieved that goal has it been pretty emotional for you? DeANDRE KANE: No, I wouldn't say emotional. I just say I'm blessed. Me and my dad used to watch some games and used to always say the tournament is where you want to be. Where stars are born, stars are made and it's a fun time. We made it thanks to these guys and Coach and the rest of the team. But I wouldn't call it emotional. I'd just say I'm happy and happy to be here. Q. Can you speak to how much you've seen of Jeremy Ingram? Have you guys seen much film yet? Speak to how difficult a guard he is. GEORGES NIANG: Well, before I saw a little bit of the highlights of him playing Oregon State, and then we've been watching a bunch of film on him. He's just a real crafty guard. He can shoot the ball. He's really good at using his hesitation move to get to the rim, and he just doesn't take no for an answer. Whenever you play guys like that, it's trouble. You know what I mean? Because those guys are looking to take over games. He's a really talented player and so are all the other players on this team. So we're going to have our hands full. Q. Along those same lines, this is directly to DeAndre, Emanuel Chapman, smaller point guard, doesn't necessarily look the part. You as a 6'4" t 200 pound point guard, talk to me about what you notice from his game and what makes him so effective? DeANDRE KANE: I'll be watching the other guy. I think Monte Morris would be guarding him. But he's crafty; he's good. He doesn't turn the ball over. He's averaging 7 assists, and that's top 10 in the country. He runs the team. He's a leader. He knows when to take shots and he knows when to get guys involved. So he's the type of guards you want on your team. I think for us the thing is to slow him down, try to keep him in front of us and try to limit him to a lot of points. Keep him in front of us, and we go from there. THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, thank you very much. We'll be joined momentarily by Iowa State University head coach Fred Hoiberg.         THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Iowa State University Coach Hoiberg. We will proceed with questions from the floor. Q. Coach, in terms of confidence from the Big 12 tournament, how much have you seen the carry‑over into this week's practice and just the travel down here? COACH HOIBERG: I think the number one thing is you have to get your team refocused, and our guys have done an excellent job of that this week. They know what's at stake after a great run to a Big 12 conference tournament championship. You're always a little worried after an emotional week like that how your guys will bounce back. Our guys have done a tremendous job all year after a heartbreaking loss, after big, emotional wins of finding a way to get back to focus, and there's been no exceptions to that this week. The first day back after the tournament went a little bit lighter with them to let them get their legs back, three games in three days. I'm glad we play on Friday to give us an extra day of preparation for this team that runs a lot of different actions, but our guys are ready. They're itching to get back out there on the floor, and get a great opportunity to see some games today. We've had several players that have played in this tournament, and we've got some others being their first time. But after cutting down those nets in Kansas City and realizing how special a feeling that was, these guys want that opportunity to do that again. So we're excited about tomorrow night, and hopefully we'll come out and play well. Q. Coach, given DeAndre's circumstances at Marshall, what kind of process did you go through to kind of assess that, yeah, I think he's going to be a good fit here? And just the season he's had and what he's meant to your team this year? COACH HOIBERG: Yeah, well, like we do with anybody that goes through that process, number one, you talk to the kid and you talk to him about the situation, if they had some issues at their previous school, what happened? Did they take accountability for it? DeAndre did that. Then you talk to as many people involved in their life as possible. Very similar to what you do when you go through the NBA draft and working in that front office and doing background work on the kid. When he came in, we talked about the fit. We talked about our system, and most importantly we talked about fitting in and helping us build chemistry to where we're competing for a championship. He did all those things. He came in, and he was very gracious. He fit in well with our guys. He met with people in our administration, and it seemed like it was going to be a good fit for him. He's had an unbelievable year, obviously. He's put up numbers that you just haven't seen very often at any level. To go out there and be as versatile as DeAndre is, first of all, it makes it difficult to prepare for a kid like that because it can hurt you from all over the floor, especially when he's knocking down shots which he's been shooting at an extremely high clip lately. The way he gets others involved, the way he can rebound the ball and start the fast break without an outlet pass, he just does so many things. He always takes the challenge of a lot of times guarding the other team's best offensive player, and he's really been good at that. We put him on Chery at the end of the game at Baylor[], and he completely shut him down. So just his overall ability with what he's done and the biggest thing is he's played unselfish and really meshed well with our guys. Q. Another question about another player, but Ejim, in doing the research[], he would seem like a dream player to coach with the emphasis on academics and accountable and he's produced at a high level. So just talk about him and his contribution this year? COACH HOIBERG: The biggest thing about Melvin is it blows me away that Melvin is a senior. This is the last stretch of basketball he'll play in an Iowa State uniform. It was very emotional on senior night, not only for Melvin, but for all of us that have had the opportunity to be around him as much as we have. He's got his priorities straight. The minute he stepped on campus he had that. It was all about academics for him, and you credit his mother for that for raising him the right way. You're right. He's been a dream to coach. He comes to work every day. To see him come in as a raw, wide‑eyed freshman to where he is now as Big 12 Player of the Year, which I believe was the best league in the nation this year, scored 48 points in a game. He's just done so many things that make all of Iowa State University proud to say that Melvin Ejim's going to walk out of there as alum. He's excited about this tournament. He's played in two of them already, and we want to go further. Melvin's going to be a key to that if we have that opportunity. Q. You've got bigger things to worry about, but he isn't projected to get drafted in most of the assessments I've seen. Given your experience in the NBA, do you disagree with the stock that he has, I guess? COACH HOIBERG: Yeah, I do. I think Melvin's got an excellent chance to play at the next level. Big thing for Melvin is after this season that whole process is going to be very important for him, starting with the combine and then going through individual workouts. He'll knock the interview process out of the park, obviously, because of his intelligence and his IQ. But I think he'll have a good chance at the end of the day because he'll go into those workouts and shoot the ball well. He'll really compete and he'll defend, and he'll do a lot of things to put himself on the NBA radar. Whether that gets him drafted or not, who knows? But I definitely think he belongs in that league. Q. Fred, I know that Creighton's not in your bracket. But given the history with you and Ames, and the McDermotts, does it make you happy that you guys are both here at the same time? COACH HOIBERG: Well, we were excited to be in the same bracket‑‑ I'm sorry, the same region as Creighton, or same site as Creighton is the proper term. The McDermotts are very good friends of ours. I got to know Greg very well when he was coaching at Iowa State and I was working in the NBA. Doug couldn't be more proud of another Ames High alum to see what he's doing and the numbers he's put up and to see him become a top three scorer of all time in Division I has just been unbelievable for him to do that. So, yeah, it's been great to see those guys. I obviously hope for a big run. I think Greg's a tremendous coach. We scrimmaged those guys earlier in the year, and we talked today a little bit and said would you ever envision that the two of us would be calling ourselves 3 seeds after that debacle. So we had a little laugh over that. Q. NorthCarolina Central is here after just their third year in full Division I status. They dominated their league. What do you see in their team, in their program, and in their arc in getting here? COACH HOIBERG: I've seen an excellent basketball team that is as well‑coached as any team that we'll face all year. LeVelle does such a good job of getting those guys to play and put them in spots on the floor where they can be successful. He's got a senior‑laden team. They're, I think, the fifth oldest team in Division I. And they've got some transfers that started out in high majors. They're having a tremendous impact on that program. It's going to be a tough game. It's going to be a very, very tough game. They run a lot of different sets and a lot of different actions, and they really try to control tempo. When teams do that, it's going to be a battle out there. So I've been very impressed. He's won 20 in a row, the fourth longest winning streak in the country. When I saw that match‑up, I got a little worried. But, again, we go out there and play with the same confidence and do what we did in the Big 12 tournament. We're confident we can beat any team in this tournament. Q. I'll just follow that with do you feel like your players are of the right mind to have that same sort of respect that you do? Because these are some guys that have been here and they're looking at a program that hasn't. COACH HOIBERG: There is no doubt our players respect these guys. We've watched enough film on them. If we overlook this game, we're not going to make it to the next round. I can promise you that. THE MODERATOR:  Thank you, Coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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