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NCAA MEN'S 2ND & 3RD ROUNDS: SAN ANTONIOMarch 22, 2014Brice JohnsonMarcus PaigeRoy WilliamsSAN ANTONIO, TEXAS THE MODERATOR: We are joined by University of NorthCarolina student‑athletes, Brice Johnson and Marcus Paige. We'll take questions from the floor. Q. Brice, can you describe your game to me and what you set out to do each game in terms of hustle and doing the little things? BRICE JOHNSON: Well, first thing I set out to do is just help my team win any way I can. Just doing the little things. Trying to not be a liability on defense like I was last year. So I try to be a shot blocker like I was in high school. I know I can really score the ball, so I just try to post up low, post up early like Coach always tells us to do so I can help my team get a win. Q. What was your mindset after Henton's miss with 30 seconds to go last night? BRICE JOHNSON: Just find a shooter. Try to find Marcus or Leslie, whoever is running around trying to shoot the three. Help us tie it up or give us the lead. I just wanted to grab it and be able to give my team another possession. Q. Marcus, can you talk about the responsibility of Carolina and winning? I know Christian Laettner said this would never happen on our watch when your friends at Duke lost last night? What is your responsibility at winning at Carolina when you have Montrose in the audience and the history? COACH WILLIAMS: I guess it's important. We've had a great tradition and won a lot of games in the tournament and won championships and everything. So I don't know if it's the responsibility to win no matter what, because there are so many great teams in the tournament. But there is a responsibility to carry on the tradition, and the easiest way to do that is by winning, especially when you're a higher seed. So we felt a little pressure to get it done, and we wanted to challenge and make a run in the tournament. And that starts with a good Providence team that just won the Big East tournament. So there is a little pressure wearing the Carolina blue, but you have to respond, and that's why you chose to come to this school in the first place. Q. Marcus, what are the origins of you being recruited by NorthCarolina? Why did you go there when you had many choices, I'm sure? And what were the overriding factors in the decision? MARCUS PAIGE: Well, I mean, I just felt most comfortable with Coach Williams. They didn't start recruiting me until my junior year, at the beginning of my junior year, and they didn't get really serious until probably midway through my junior year. But as much as I talked to Coach Williams and was comfortable with him, that was a big factor. I had a bunch of options closer to home that I did like. But at the end of the day, I had dreams of playing at a school like NorthCarolina. I grew up a NorthCarolina fan. Kendall Marshall was having a fantastic run; he had just won the starting point guard job. So it was kind of hard not to see myself in a few years following his footsteps and being the next point guard in that lineage. So I felt like it was the right choice for me to make. Q. Either Marcus or Brice, obviously Iowa State had a big injury last night. Have you guys talked about not taking that for granted and maybe overlooking them with such a key piece going down? BRICE JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean, at the end of the day it's still going to be five guys that are going to come out there and play. NorthCarolina and Iowa State are still going to play. He's a key factor for them, but at the end of the day, they still have other guys that come out and step up and play at the same time. MARCUS PAIGE: Just to add to that, they're a really talented team. They have a bunch of guys that score in double figures. Obviously, he's one of their heart and souls. He does so many things well for them. That's going to be tough. But I think they're going to use that as motivation. They'll probably come together as a team, and they'll definitely be ready to play. So we understand that there is no letdown on either side. We've still got to come out and try to impose our will, use our size to our advantage. And like he said, Iowa State's still going to play NorthCarolina, so we've got to try to find match‑ups that are going to best prepare us to win. Q. The offense has struggled at times in the half court set. So I'm curious, playing a team like Iowa State that likes to get up and down the floor, how refreshing is it to have that opportunity to thrive in transition? BRICE JOHNSON: It's very refreshing knowing that is our style of play, that's what we need to play. Coach always talks about us being a running team. So just playing against another running team might force us to run even more and get more transition baskets and more fast breakpoints than they do. It's going to be a shootout when we have to run with them. Just have to be able to stop them and not allow them to get as many points as us. MARCUS PAIGE: Yeah, I'm excited for the fast tempo. I feel like a lot of our ACC games especially were slow, grind‑it‑out type of games with teams that play really slow pace and like to burn 30 seconds of the shot clock. So it will be interesting to finally get a switch and play a team that's going to run it right back at us. Because we're going to run no matter who we play. But to have them run right back at us, it will make it interesting. We haven't had that many games, I can probably only name a few, where teams have tried to run us. So it will be definitely something to watch. Q. Marcus, as a point guard, can you talk about how enjoyable it is to play with someone like Brice that can play above the rim and fill the lane so well? MARCUS PAIGE: It makes my job easy when you have a guy like him that can catch a bad pass. Or if I get into a bad situation, I can put it up by the rim and he'll take care of it. Also, he's been great on the boards the last couple games. He had four offensive rebounds the last game, and boards total, he's been really active. And those kind of things help our team. Plus he can get up and down the court. We like the run. If our first big guy down the court is as athletic as this guy, then I can throw lobs or he can get inside positions and score. So it's always great to have somebody like him playing well. Q. Marcus, apologies if this is the 100th time you've been asked a question, but what was going on in the first half of the season with you guys? And what changed for you guys to be playing so well? Do you feel like at this point in time are you playing your best basketball of the season? MARCUS PAIGE: I think we've played very close to our best in stretches this year. I don't think right now this past even last game we didn't play our best basketball. Early in the season we struggled with consistency. We had a young group of guys. We were going on the road, playing some tough games. Lost a couple tough ones at home. But we really started finding our way defensively, and that's what enabled us to turn around our season. We've gotten away from that a little bit recently. But offensively we've been able to make up for it. So we're not playing our best basketball, but we're finding different ways to win. We're grinding out a lot of games, and we're valuing clutch time. We've handled that pretty well in a lot of games recently. We're playing well enough to win. I guess at this point, that's all that matters. THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, thank you for coming. We are joined by University of NorthCarolina head coach, Roy Williams. Coach, like to ask you to make an opening statement, and then we'll take questions from the floor. COACH WILLIAMS: Okay, we just finished practice. Everybody was still walking and laughing and cutting up, and they felt great about yesterday. But we've got an unbelievable challenge for tomorrow. We're extremely happy to still be here. Ed Cooley and the Providence team, I thought, did some great things last night. We were the luckier team down the stretch and I'm glad we were. We had a couple of players that made some big time plays for us when we were down, and I'm very appreciative of that. But trying to look forward now to Iowa State, and that's a big‑time challenge for us. You hate that they lost the youngster. I remember two or three years ago I went to watch a high school workout and Nerlens Noel was there, and I asked, who is that guy right there, because I love him. They told me he had already committed to Iowa State, and that was Georges Niang, and I just think he's a great, great player. You hate that for the kid. Coach Smith used to say he hated to play somebody when they just lost one of their front line players because everybody banded together even more and were more motivated and all that kind of thing. So hate it for that reason too, but I hate it even more for the youngster because I've watched him play three or four times this year, and he appears to be really the kind of kid I would love to coach. Q. With Niang, everything that you guys went through in 2012, particularly the situation with Kendall, you have empathy there for Fred and what he's going through trying to rearrange things so quickly here? COACH WILLIAMS: You know, it was strange because in 2012 we had lost John Henson during the ACC Tournament and then we got him back, but he wasn't full speed. They say you cut off the head of the snake, you really bother him, and that's what happened when we lost Kendall. We're in the Elite Eight to play in Kansas to try to go to a Final Four with a little 5'10" kid from Wilmington that I brought in at the end of the year just so we'd have another guy. He was our third point guard, and our back‑up was our back‑up power forward. It was just unfair. I'll never forget the feeling of disappointment for that team because I thought we're good enough to play on the last Monday night. We had beaten Duke at Duke on their Senior Day, and I got on the bus and said, guys, we're good enough to play the last Monday night, and I really believed that. Then Kendall got hurt, and there is nothing you can do about it. You've got to try to get everybody going. We had‑‑ I'm drawing a complete blank who we played in the first game. Ohio, right. And I think that one went into overtime so we really blew them out, that kind of thing. But it is hard to do. He really does so many things. He scores from three. He rebounds and passes. He's just a complete player. Q. You hadn't allowed an opponent to shoot 50% all season and you have in each of the last three games. Is there something you can pinpoint as to what's going on that end? How big a concern is that considering how Iowa State shot the ball last night? COACH WILLIAMS: They shot 65%. They'll shoot 75 against us the way we've been playing defensively. But I haven't been pleased with our defense. We won 12 in a row and then ten. The first ten of those, I think eight of those we held the other team under 45%. Nobody shot 50%. Everybody was saying, boy, you guys are really good defensively. I kept saying they've missed a lot of open shots. Well, they stopped missing the dad gum open shots we've been giving them. We've got to play better defensively. There is no question about that. We've got to bother the shots more. It is a big‑time concern. I think Iowa State, it was almost 65% they shot last night. So we know that it's something that we're not doing well. We've got to get better. We did not rebound the ball well the last two weeks, and we've rebounded it very well last night. So we got better at that, so hopefully we'll get better on the defensive end too. Q. With Niang being out, does it complicate things for you guys as far as preparation not knowing what they're going to‑‑ you know, it's whatever you were preparing before, he's not there. So how much does that complicate things? COACH WILLIAMS: It does complicate things, as you know, because there is indecision. You don't know if they're sitting over there saying, NorthCarolina, boy, they rebounded it really well. We better play a big guy, or are they saying the heck with the big guy. Let's put our best five basketball players on the court. You know, my guess is that they would do that, but it is a guess. So there is some indecision. I wouldn't be surprised if Fred would say there is some indecision about what they're going to do and that kind of thing. But it's easier on their side because they control it, and we're reacting to what they do. But it is a big‑time loss for them. But they can spread you even more now, and that's something that's difficult for us because we like to play some big guys. Q. You could have a great starting five with the recruits you had gotten out of with a, not just at NorthCarolina, but at Kansas. How have you been able to do that and what do you think their level of popularity is in that state? COACH WILLIAMS: You know, it's funny. Wendel may be the only person here old enough to remember this. I knew you'd like that. "Sports Illustrated" did a deal many years ago on high school sports. When they did the state of Iowa, one of the questions they had the answer to in their most hated man in the state of Iowa was George Steinbrenner. I never figured that out because there was no major league team in Iowa I wondered why you'd hate my Yankees so much. And the second most hated man was Roy Williams. That was in "Sports Illustrated." But that was okay, because I had Raef LaFrentz, Mark Hollis, Kirk Hinrich, Harrison Barnes, and some pretty good guys, and we have some right now too. You know, it's strange. When I was at Kansas, I went into Iowa to recruit a lot because of the location. We had a lot of Iowa coaches come to our coaches' clinic. Marcus Paige's mom came to my coaches' clinic when I was coaching at Kansas. So it was great. We were very lucky, bottom line. There were some things going on almost every time. I remember that Kirk Hinrich had committed to Iowa State, and then Tim Floyd leaves and goes to the Chicago Bulls. Raef LaFrentz, his sister wanted to go one of the places and they didn't want her, so there was a little discomfort there. I mean, I went there a million times more than anybody else. I went to see Harrison Barnes, I was there 11 times in a two‑year period. So I think I worked it very hard. Kansas had a great reputation basketball‑wise. NorthCarolina has a great reputation basketball‑wise. Some kids don't mind going away from home. Fred Hoiberg said this when I was at Kansas, and I can still say it, Fred Hoiberg in the 15 years I was at Kansas was my favorite player ever on another team that I coached against. I just loved the way he played. Loved the way he handled himself. I remember his Senior Day they kicked our tails in Hilton Coliseum, and the crowd rushed the floor. I tried to fight through the crowd to get there to congratulate him. And his mother wrote me a nice note about doing that. I mean, he's one of those guys that I really just enjoyed and would love to have had the opportunity to have coached. They're good people. They've gotten disappointed, I'm sure, when a player left. But they've always treated me fantastic. Q. (No Microphone)? COACH WILLIAMS: Well, Fred was already there. I would have recruited his butt, I guarantee you. But I'm not that damn old. I was already at Iowa State when I got there. Q. One guy you didn't get out of Iowa was Doug McDermott. You saw him a lot in high school. Put him in perspective four years later and just what the type of player he's become? COACH WILLIAMS: You know, Greg's father is a good friend of mine. Greg came down and spent three days with us at Pinehurst at the end of the summer and played golf. We played poker on the coaches trips and we have some fun. He was, I think I'll get this right, he was at Iowa State and he told me one night sitting in the gym. I'm watching Harrison, he's there. I said Doug is really good. He said, yeah, I just wish he were a couple inches taller. He said, I don't want to put him in a bad situation. I said, Greg, he's really good. Then all of a sudden he got better and better and better. We're standing in the hallway outside the locker room after they won the state championship for Ames. At that time Doug had already signed at Northern Iowa. I said to Greg, let me tell you something. You are dumb. I said he's good enough to play for us, and you don't think he's good enough to play for you. I understand you don't want to put him under that kind of pressure or something like that. But then a month or so later, Greg took the Creighton job and got out of the letter of intent with Northern Iowa, and Jake and the coach at Northern Iowa said Jake hasn't spoken to Greg since. But Doug's had a great career, great father, great mother, great family. Big‑time player, and it has to have been one of the most wonderful father‑son experiences that you could ever have. I'm really jealous. Q. Brice Johnson was just up here and described himself as a bad defender last year. How far has he come in that regard? Just talk about how valuable he is in that sixth man role? COACH WILLIAMS: He was a bad defender last year. He's not as bad now. I'm not going to give him any more that. But there is one thing that he can do, and he had a couple of big ones last night. He can block some shots and protect the rim. Those were some big plays he made for us last night. He knows that he's got to get a lot better defensively, and he's trying. But he's got a long way to go. I really think that before it's over with, that he's going to be a very, very good defender. But he's extremely important to us. I always say when you make a substitution, you want him to add something. Not get worse, but to add something to your team. And Brice does most of it on the offensive end. Sometimes it's his rebounding that's really important. But every now and then those blocked shots are pretty darn important too.  But hopefully he's going to be a fantastic defender, and really hopefully it will be in my lifetime. Q. Coach, a few weeks ago you described your team somewhat jokingly as slow compared to some of your previous teams. I'm curious, do you like this match up because of Iowa State's preferred pace of play? Or do you still have concern that your team hasn't played as fast as you would have liked them to this year? COACH WILLIAMS: Yeah, we still haven't played anywhere close to the pace that I want us to play. Iowa State's playing the way I want to play. I mean, their pace is really good. Five guys run. I mean, I don't know what we're averaging. We're averaging 70‑something a game. I had a team that averaged 92 a game one time. We didn't shoot a thousand threes or anything like that. So we're not playing at the pace that I would like for us to. But we're still working on it. We played at a better pace last night. We got more fast break opportunities last night that we had gotten the last couple of games. But Iowa State's pace of all five guys running is really going to be a challenge for us. Our transition defense is going to be a big key for us in the game. Q. Coach, you talk about your players laughing and cutting up. How important is it for them to be loose in this kind of environment? Is that something you like to see out of them? COACH WILLIAMS: I like not just loose. I mean, loose can be a loose cannon I guess, too. But I like to see them have fun, and I think they're doing that. There is nobody in the world that likes to have more fun than me. But on game day, I want to beat your butt. On game day I want to beat your butt a heck of a lot more than I want to have fun. Because if I do that, then I'm going to have fun. Somebody would say how are you doing it? I said it depends on how my team plays. If my team plays well, I'm doing great. But I do think that basketball is a fun thing. Competing at a high level is something that should be fun and is fun. To be led by your dreams, not pushed by your problems. We want to enjoy the heck out of it. It's a wonderful ride. I don't think of just what might be down at the end of the road. I think about enjoying the ride. Q. Coach, you touched on of course how much you liked Fred as a player. How do you see him in terms of his development as a coach getting into three straight tournaments, et cetera? COACH WILLIAMS: Fred's‑‑ I'm not trying to act like we're bosom buddies, because that's not what it is. But there is nothing about him that I don't like. He told me after 2005 what they were going to do in the NBA draft and they did. I trusted him before he said it, and exactly what he said he was going to do, he did. I've watched his teams play. I've watched some losses that were extremely difficult. I'm still a big Kansas fan. I watched some of their games with Kansas last year, and they had a chance to maybe win all of them. And there were some bitterly disappointing things. But Fred's just a big‑time guy. I don't sit there and evaluate other people's coaching very much. I really don't. I just enjoy them. When I see Iowa State's name in the box score, I think of Fred Hoiberg. But watching them, I've seen two games. I saw their Baylor game and then watched the game last night. So I've seen their last two games on tape, I guess. He knows what he's doing on the bench, too, but he doesn't need Roy Williams to certify that. He's really good with his team. They're hard to guard. They're unselfish. They play really hard. There is not a lot else you have to do because they play hard and they're unselfish. They shoot. I mean last night I thought they were making every shot kind of thing. So he doesn't need me to certify how good he is. Q. Coach, two‑part question. Is the first game of the tournament always the hardest? And if so, are you expecting a much better performance from your team and Iowa tomorrow? COACH WILLIAMS: Well, if Iowa State plays better, we've got no hope. If you can play better than shooting 65%, that would be awfully hard. But each tournament is different. I think Coach Smith, again, I'm a copier, Coach Smith said you gain your momentum once you get in the tournament. I told my guys in the locker room a long time ago, 1982, we had James Worthy, Sam Perkins, Michael Jordan, three pretty good players. In our first NCAA first round game that year, we played James Madison, and we blew them out 52‑50, and we won the National Championship. So we gained momentum from that. In 2009, we won six games by at least 12 points when we won the National Championship. So it depends. You gain your momentum once you get in there. We've got to play better. I'm hopeful that Iowa State does not play better. It's pretty simple right there. But I think we gained some things from the experience. I mean, Marcus, J.P., Brice, three of our most important players are sophomores. All right, we also had Nate Britt and Kennedy Meeks, very important players and they're freshmen. This is the first time most of our guys have ever gone through this. I want them to have fun, but I want them to get better with each round of it. The experiences you go through, you've got to learn from those. Q. Roy, aside from maybe just one player and you may not be able to answer this, have you got everybody in Iowa that you've wanted except maybe one guy? COACH WILLIAMS: No, we went in, Adam Woodbury, for example, we went in and tried to recruit Adam. Oh, gosh, I can't believe I'm having a senior moment. I'm having a moment you and I both can understand. Your hair's as gray as mine. There was a player our first or second year, and I'm drawing a blank, that went to the University of Iowa that we really wanted. So, no, I didn't get everybody I wanted by any means. But I want to keep going back, because every player I've had from there I've loved his values and everything about him. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. COACH WILLIAMS: Thanks, guys. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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