Opening Statement…
“Well, obviously excited. We’re going to do one more practice and then hit the road. That was fun Sunday, obviously, it was a great moment for our guys to kind of celebrate with each other was a lot of fun. Now it’s about execution, and about dealing with all the distractions that we’re going to have to deal with over the next few days-- which are good distractions, they’re fun distractions-- and make sure that we have a good practice today, and tomorrow. We have to prepare for a very good Middle Tennessee team who I’ve got a lot of respect for. I’ve coached against Kermit Davis, I think three times, my year at FIU. I think he is a phenomenal coach. He’s always been one of the names that always comes out of my mouth when people talk about coaches that many people may not mention. They play hard, they’re tough, he’s got a lot of players. He’s been that way for a long time. I have nothing but respect for him, I consider him a friend, and I’m excited about the opportunity.”
On telling Nate, Dupree, and Amir to rest now because they won’t during the game…
“The plan is to tell everyone to rest up. We all have to make sure we’re ready to go. We’ve worked a little bit on other guys playing different positions, and we’ll work on it a little bit today. It’s not ideal to play two guys 40 minutes and one guy 39 minutes, so I’d like to not do that. We were just climbing an uphill battle against Michigan and kind of had to do it. Timeouts are long, CBS timeouts are a little bit longer, so the guys are fine.”
On reinventing rotation this late…
“I don’t think you can reinvent it. You try to give them some minutes here and there, but we are who we are. We’re not going to change the way we play. You have to plan for contingency plans, and knock on wood, no foul trouble and things like that. Guys have to be ready. I don’t think there will be a significant change.”
On playing Amir at the two…
“Yeah. But you know, it just depends how the whole game goes. Now Mike and J.R. have to be ready. We’ll see. We’re just kind of playing for everything.”
On what he’s going to tell Nate about possibly playing the whole game…
“Nate’s played a ton of minutes already this year. I don’t know what he’s averaging but it’s gotta be around 35-36, and he’s well conditioned, so I just kind of watch for it. And if I have to adjust I adjust. I don’t talk to him much about it, I think he knows.”
On professional approach, players thinking just making the tournament is enough…
“I think everyone thinks we shouldn’t show up, from what I’ve been hearing and reading. So I don’t think that’s the case. These guys have been good with that stuff. I think nationally, there are a lot of people saying that we’re not going to win. Now I know, Kermit Davis, and know how good of a coach he is so I don’t need to be told to respect them. Our guys are excited about the opportunity. I don’t think that they feel they are done by any means. Coaches don’t worry about complacency in the NCAA tournament. That’s every team, and that’s a major problem if you do. I don’t worry about that with our guys.”
On how fast they settle into the game…
“We’ve got an inexperienced team. We’re going to go there with no seniors. No one has ever played in an NCAA tournament game. So they need to make sure they just focus on basketball. I think we’ll be fine. We’ve been pretty poised all year. When you’re in the Big Ten you play in a lot of big games, and we’ve been good on the road, and we’ve been good in neutral site games. We we’re pretty good against Michigan State, and then Michigan we settled in. I’ll watch for it, but you never know it until you play it obviously.”
On what % of time the best team wins in the NCAA tournament…
“Geez. I don’t know. The best team does not always win, I don’t know the percentage. That’s what makes the tournament so great. It makes it so fun to watch. Throw the seeds out the window. Middle Tennessee is a terrific team. Winthrop, they went at Illinois, they have a terrific guard. Butler beat Villanova twice. That’s what’s fun about this tournament. The best team definitely doesn’t always win, and that’s just what makes it enjoyable obviously. I don’t know about a specific percentage.”
On the contrast between the two teams…
“They play zone on makes, and then like a switching man-to-man on misses. The 1-3-1 or 2-3 on makes. So that’s obviously different from what we’ve seen, so we have to prepare for that. Offensively they do a lot of stuff that we do. They cut hard, they play hard. We’ll have to adjust to that defense, that’s something we haven’t seen.”
On what they guys learned in the Big Ten Tournament…
“You think about Dupree, who didn’t play last year. Nate I guess had one year of experience with the conference tournament, and they were great. They were good. I think it’s just that you can’t make it bigger than it needs to be, I guess. Just go play and have fun. Play loose, play free. It’s a single elimination deal but you put yourself in a great spot and a great opportunity, so go embrace it and don’t worry about anything else. I have to make sure to keep them loose. That’s probably a big goal of mine and an objective that I have to do. When the game starts, I think all athletes, they’ve played in big games, and we’re obviously in the Big Ten so we play in so many high pressure games.”
On early NCAA tournament memories and being around it…
“You know, It’s kind of amazing that I got into coaching. The first moment that I remember is Christian Laettner hitting that shot. That’s really my first vivid memory. Growing up around it, I’ve obviously been very very lucky. When I grew up, my dad was at Kentucky, so they had a phenomenal run of Final Fours, National Championship, Elite Eights. It’s a fun time of year. This time of year you make your plans, where’s your dad’s teams and where are they playing. Now it’s cool to see my brothers and cousins, they’re going to come to Milwaukee. So that part of it is really cool.”
On if he’s talked to his dad about being in the tournament at the same time…
“No. It’s cool, but you know, how many coaches have been coaching at the same time as their son, probably not a lot. It’s cool, but we have not talked about it. He’d probably get mad and say that it means I’m calling him old or something. I know he’s excited. It’s a fun time for both of us. He likes his team a lot, and I like his team a lot, so it’s cool. I’m happy we’re not playing each other. I didn’t want to even think about that, and I’m glad they didn’t do that.”
On being a head coach for the first time in the NCAA tournament…
“I think it’s nothing but basketball right now to be honest with you. I’m excited that it’s in Milwaukee, it’s a close trip for us, we can get some fans there. My biggest thing is focusing on Middle Tennessee. I’ll reflect on a lot of cool things after the season. We’ve done a lot of great things, but more than anything it’s my job to focus on basketball more than anything.”
On if he looked back at how he followed his dad around at the tournament, and now he’s there himself…
“No. It’s not a movie. I woke up this morning, I had coffee, and took my daughter to school. We didn’t really do that in the real world. There’s no narrator while I’m driving or anything like that.”
On distractions that the players face during the open practice…
“I think the hardest thing about that day, is that it’s a long day. You’re waiting around a lot in the arena. It almost takes away from it a little bit. Not in a bad way. But the open practice, you’re not going to get anything done from a basketball standpoint. Then you have to wait around for media, all those things. Then we have to hop on a bus and go practice. Just making sure they’re not mentally exhausted with all of it. There’s a lot of separate media requests that guys are doing, and you have to do it because it’s great publicity for your program. It’s good for everybody, but then you just have to understand that there’s an important game to be played. You have to get that stuff over with so you can focus on the game day, which is the more important things.”
On if Reggie has improved with his defense, not fouling…
“He’s been better. I definitely think he’s been better, and he’s learning how to defend without fouling. I think offensively he’s gotten better. Last game he was putting the ball down to quickly, and they were slapping it out. I think he’s playing really well, and he’s starting to get better from the standpoint of when to take risks and when not to take risks from a shot blocking standpoint. Michigan brings you outside the basket so much, you’re not gonna block shots there. I think he’s playing well, I really do. He’s getting smarter as a defender.”
On how Mike and J.R. have stayed ready when they haven’t got much time…
“Well It’s hard for them. I’m not going to act like it’s not. I think Mike only played a minute, and that’s difficult. But they’re going to have to be ready. They want to win, they have great attitudes and they practice hard. It’s never been about anything else except helping the team. Both of them, if they are thrown in there, they don’t need to spell guys, they need to be productive. I think they know that, and I think they’re excited about that.”
On Mike and J.R.’s strengths…
“I think they both have versatility. They both have length, they can stretch the defense. Both are smart players, both are great kids and care about winning. I’m excited to see what they both do with the opportunity if they get it.”
On his trust in them…
“Coaching is about that. You know, it doesn’t mean I don’t trust those guys, they’re young. It’s more of a feel thing for me more than anything.”
On if he puts priority on Lynch as an offensive option…
“I like to. A lot of that is on him to demand the ball, and post up physically. I think he’s getting better at that. I think he’s improving on that. I think he’s productive when he catches it there, now he has to be patient and not put the ball down so fast, to see what’s coming. He hit Amir on a double team with a nice pass. If he continues to improve with that, he’s definitely an option.”
On difference in defense against Michigan….
“They hit shots. When they’re clicking they’re pretty tough to guard. When they have a five-man that’s hitting shots they’re tough to guard. I think they’re a terrific offensive basketball team. Derrick Walton is a phenomenal player. When Wagner is hitting shots, what are you gonna do? Are you gonna switch the ball screen, and then Walton is gonna go by you? You have to give them credit for it, and I give our guys credit for fighting back.”
On not having Akeem’s vocal presence…
“They’ve been good with that. Jordan and Nate have. Dupree has to get a little bit louder on the court, Reggie has to get a little bit louder. Everybody does. Akeem has definitely been that vocal guy, and not just from a leadership standpoint, but from a defensive standpoint as well. He’s very good at that. That is definitely something they will have to improve on in his absence.”
On if there has been an emotional change since Springs went down…
“You know what, it was a weird injury because I don’t think anyone really noticed it. He got hurt, and then it was right into a timeout. It wasn’t like this dramatic moment where I had to go on the court, and then this and that. I don’t know if it’s a good thing. The way that Akeem handled it, it really put everyone at ease. I swear to God, I texted him, after the game while he was going to the hospital and I said, ‘Hang in there man’. There was not any feeling sorry for himself. He just said, “Let’s go get a ring”. I saw his mom in the lobby, and she said the same thing. Like, ‘We’ll be fine, no big deal’. The way he has handled it, and the way his family has handled it has helped our guys.”
On if he cried when Laettner hit the shot…
“I don’t remember. I’m sure I did, but I don’t remember.”
On if he makes it a priority to make sure Murphy and Lynch stay out of foul trouble…
“We put a big emphasis on defending without fouling, and that’s with everybody. Play hard without fouling, defend without fouling. Everybody-- nobody is allowed to foul so we try to make sure they’re all as fundamentally sound as possible.
