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NCAA MEN'S 2ND & 3RD ROUNDS: ST. LOUISMarch 21, 2014Cleanthony EarlyChadrack LufileGregg MarshallFred VanVleetST. LOUIS, MISSOURI Wichita State – 64 THE MODERATOR: Chadrack Lufile, Fred VanVleet, Cleanthony Early represent the Shockers on the court. Gregg Marshall is here. We ask him to make a statement on the game and have questions for all four gentlemen from Wichita State. COACH MARSHALL: We were very, very focused tonight. It's been a long time since we had played and this team had our attention having won four in a row. I talked to the guys about the fact that I had been in a school where you would play as many guaranteed games as they had to do prior to their conference and how it can really make it hard for you to understand that you can compete and win games. So once they got healthy, I think they do a great job and it was a very good win for us. So we're just looking forward to getting back out there and scouting this next game and seeing which group of Wildcats that we face on Sunday. THE MODERATOR: Questions for all four Shockers. Q. Gregg, they described Wichita State's defense gets stronger deeper into the shot clock and that was one of their concerns. How happy are you with the defensive effort tonight? COACH MARSHALL: I was very happy with the defensive effort. I am not sure about that. I've never really thought about it, but I appreciate the compliment. I know that these guys guard, that's what we ask them to do for 35 seconds, deny, penetrating passes, be in the gaps at other times, support their teammates, help and rotate and close out and then try to clean the glass. We definitely did that at one point. To hold a team under 40 is a great accomplishment, especially a team that won their league. Q. How important was it to play well in this game? I think the assumption was that you would win this game. How important was it to play well? CHADRACK LUFILE: I mean seeing other teams play and seeing all of these close games for us is really important to come out and show the world, you know, we're here to play regardless. Just come out there and play hard and play angry. One of our things we base ourselves off is playing defense. And get defensive rebounds and stop them from scoring points and execute the plays that coach asks from us. COACH MARSHALL: I thought it was really important to play well because having been off 12 days you anticipate there being a little bit of rust. But these guys are so focused, our practices have been so sharp and so good that I've really, really cut them down. I've taken Coach Knight's advice and gone another step. We're practicing about an hour at the max now because they are playing so hard. Playing so well. But it's good to play well now and have an opportunity to come back on Sunday to hopefully play even better. Q. Gregg, got to rest a lot of guys in the second half. Was that an important goal for tonight? COACH MARSHALL: It wasn't something I thought of going into the game, the primary focus was to win the game. But Clea got into foul trouble in the first half, as well Tekele, that cut down their minutes. Then he got an immediate third foul, Clea did, in the second half. So yeah, able to minimize their minutes because they are going to need a lot of energy and probably are going to be asking for subs on Sunday. So just their legs should be fresh though with all the time that we've given them off in the 12 days that we discussed earlier. Q. Congratulations on the win. Question for Fred and Cleanthony. When you get to the first television time‑out or maybe even the second, was there a sense of relief that you guys were on, that were you in control and Cleanthony was on fire and things were going the way you wanted in light of that you haven't played a game in 11 days? CLEANTHONY EARLY: Yeah, I think there were a lot of TV time‑outs and I kept telling coach, man, how long are these things? And there were so many and they were calling a lot of time‑outs. But I think the guys used that as an advantage to take a break and rest the bodies a little bit and continue to play hard. COACH MARSHALL: I think we got through the first time‑out, I think it was 4‑2 or 4‑4. And take a deep breath, to be finally back on the court playing and get the rhythm back and start clicking. And after that time I think we started playing well after that and Clea got a lot of open looks and was playing well, so kept trying to feed him the ball. When he is making shots like that we can be pretty dangerous on that end. And we were pretty sound defensively for the most part. And had to do a little bit better on the boards and grabbing loose balls, but other than that, it just felt good to be back out there playing. Q. I'm wondering after the layoff and then the game that was obviously in hand, is what happened tonight the last taste you want in your mouth as far as competitively before stepping up on Sunday against a team like Kentucky or Kansas? COACH MARSHALL: Yeah, I want a 27‑point win regardless of who we play. I will take that in a heartbeat. Is that the last taste I want in my mouth? Yes. Am I misunderstanding the question? Q. I guess I wonder after the layoff, if there's anything that you were looking to accomplish obviously besides the win. COACH MARSHALL: Get everyone to the Sunday healthy, feeling good, knowing that we're going to be in a dogfight. But if we can win by 1, I'll take that. But 27 would be better. So we just want to compete against ‑‑ whoever we play is going to be a really good team with great athletes and great size. And this hopefully will serve as a good tune‑up. Q. Cleanthony, the last game you had in the NCAA Tournament was pretty good against Louisville. Did that run across your mind at all tonight when you started the way you did? Is there something about this stage that maybe plays into your game even more? CLEANTHONY EARLY: I just felt like these games could potentially be your last. And I try to go out there and play as hard as possible because I do want to win. And I do want to give my all for my teammates. Q. This one can be for any of the players. 35‑0, new record. How does it resonate? Or if you're deciding to be oblivious, 1‑0, how does the 35‑0 not even resonate or appear on the radar if it is the approach you are taking? CHADRACK LUFILE: We just come in to play basketball, you know what I am saying? It is just a blessing to be 35‑0, but at the same time we have to keep our head on our shoulders and look past and look towards the future. We have great expectations for our team and it is good that we win a lot of games that we did and set history, but I don't think anyone is shocked at what we are doing right now. Q. I think you had 8 points, 5 rebounds. Playing a much bigger role this year than last year in the NCAA Tournament. Any nerves or butterflies going into this game? CHADRACK LUFILE: Not really. Just doing my job at the end of the day. Just knowing what I have to do. Just coming out there and trying to be a leader on the offensive glass and the defensive glass. Make sure my man doesn't touch the ball. I did an all right job today, I could have done better. Me being more aggressive and helping my team out. And I feel I am one of the energy guys that gets our team to the next level, so I have to keep that energy every time. Q. Are you guys tired of people talking about your record? Are you guys kind of just wanting to focus on the end goal? COACH MARSHALL: No, I think it is really fun. It has been a great season thus far. Tonight we get to 35‑0, for Antoine Carr and ‑‑ Evert Wessel, who happens to be Evan Wessel's grandpa playing for the shockers in the '50s. 35‑0 is awesome, but really to condense it even more, we're talking really about being 1‑0 in this tournament. And it takes six to win, takes two to get out of the weekend. And that's our goal right now to get out of the weekend. Q. Fred, take us through the offense. Was this a good start to the tournament? Did you like what you see, especially considering the layoff? FRED VanVLEET: Yeah, overall it was pretty smooth. I thought we were pretty crisp for the most part. A couple of things we can get better at. A lot of guys didn't shoot particularly well percentages, but it was the flow of the game. Clea got hot, we were mostly looking for him. But obviously a more spread out game, guys making shots. The way the game was going we had the lead for the most part, so most guys were not pressing too much. It was just good to get back out there playing a game. You know, it's been awhile, so I think guys got the jitters out and we'll be ready for Sunday. THE MODERATOR: Anything else for the Shockers of Wichita State? All right, gentlemen, thank you very much. We've see you tomorrow on the court on Sunday. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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