|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NIT POSTSEASON CHAMPIONSHIPApril 1, 2014Austin HollinsDeAndre MathieuRichard PitinoNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK MINNESOTA – 67 COACH PITINO: Well, that was a fun game, difficult game in the sense of we knew we were undermanned versus a very big team. We really talked about staying out of foul trouble, and we got in foul trouble, so we had to do a lot of unorthodox lineups. But we found a way to win. We started the game off really, really hot, and just proud of the way‑‑ with missed free throws at the end and we just found a way to win when everybody else probably thought we were going to lose, and we just gutted it out. We're really, really excited to play on Thursday. Q. Can you just talk about the very end, the free throws, what the mind‑set was in overtime? DEANDRE MATHIEU: We conditioned hard all year, so we knew we were a better conditioned team. Coaches told us to stay calm in the huddle and we knew it wasn't going to be easy, and we rallied together as a team and pulled it out. Q. Just seeing that last shot, the three‑pointer go in with six seconds left, were you guys thinking it was an opportunity to get it off? AUSTIN HOLLINS: You know, once it went up, you couldn't do anything about it. I mean in, that situation, you just have to let it go and move on and that's what we did. Q.  The block in transition‑‑ do you ever get sick of seeing him make big plays like that and how much does that fire you up as a team? DEANDRE MATHIEU: Sometimes I call him Hollywood because he's a show. He does big things, he works hard, he's a big‑time player. So we're not shocked by the things Austin does. He's big‑time. Q. What was the message going into overtime amongst yourselves? AUSTIN HOLLINS: We were just stay calm like Deandre said and be solid. We didn't want it to end and the guys stuck together in overtime and played as hard as we could, and we really toughed it out. Q. Talk about the difficulty of the size you had to manage‑‑ COACH PITINO: I never said his career was over, so I don't‑‑ we never once said that. We said he's not going to play next year but we didn't say his career was over. It's a credit to him because he came to me and just said, coach, I want to play. You know, he was practicing probably the first 20 minutes and the pain subsided a little bit probably because he got a lot of rest, and he came to us and just said, I want to play, I want to help this team when Elliot went down. You talk about the player of the game, it has to be him. He had a big‑time free throw rebound and that was huge. It just shows the character of this team, and for a guy who made the decision to basically be done after this year, he wants to do everything possible to help this team win. Like I said, he's been practicing at the beginning of practice, but then when Elliot went down, he started practicing full‑time and he was playing really well. He just said, you know what, maybe it was the rest that was really helping me and he had great bounce to his step, he was dunking in practice, he was doing a lot of things. So we thought he would play well. I certainly didn't expect to play him 32 minutes. But he's a great kid, loves the team. He's what a student athlete is all about. Q. Would you say your dad was calmer down the stretch‑‑ COACH PITINO: I don't know if he was calmer than me. I was losing my mind there. It's hard being a fan. It's difficult. I did it. I went to his Kentucky/Louisville game the other day and it's much harder to be in the stands than on the sidelines, because you feel like you have no control whatsoever. He was probably yelling at me; I was trying to ignore him. It's the one time I'm allowed to ignore him. Q. Larry Brown was complimentary about the job you've done with the team; can you talk about matching wits with him on Thursday? COACH PITINO: Well, it's amazing what he's done to that program, and he's recruited at a high level, which is great, obviously. But they are so well coached. They are fundamental. They don't beat themselves. They have got great players who make plays. It's so cool to see a guy like him is still so passionate about the game. You see him on the road all the time. He works his butt off and he's getting the most out of it. That's nice to see, as a young coach, to see a guy who still has great passion. I looked it up, he was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 2002. That's amazing, and he's still doing it. I've got a lot of respect for him, a lot of respect. He's one of the greatest coaches in this game. Q. The free throws in overtime pretty much sealed it for you‑‑ COACH PITINO: Yeah, Mo came in; he's hit big free throws all year. I forget the game at home he had some big‑time free throws, I think it was Iowa maybe and Malik has, too. So tough misses by Malik, but he was so excited, Malik was, in the locker room to continue to play, and Mo made some big‑time free throws obviously at the end of the game. Q. Guard play has been big for this team all year, André, Deandre, 47 of 67‑‑ what was it like to have all of them clicking? COACH PITINO: Finally, yeah ‑‑ it hasn't happened much and tonight it was. I tell you what, at the beginning of the game we showed what we can become offensively, and then we got in foul trouble and it just was very difficult. We had to change up a lot of things. But we were really tough to guard at the beginning of the game and things were clicking and when those three guys are clicking, we are hard to guard and then we have got a low post threat with Mo, even Joey King who has been playing great, but he was in foul trouble but that was a character win. Q. Inaudible. COACH PITINO: I think it's two things about this tournament. Everybody tells you you're not supposed to be excited about it and it's a failure to be in the NIT and not the NCAA. We don't look at it like that. We look at it: It's a privilege to play this great game. It's a great opportunity to get to 24 wins after losing three starters and bringing in some guys who had not played at this level before, is a testament to our kids. We have a lot of guys back next year. So it's twofold; we don't want our seniors to end because they deserve to go out on top but we also want to build off it.  This year top to bottom, there's been a lot of really good things. 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
|