|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 12, 2015Nick DuncanDerrick MarksLeon RiceLAS VEGAS, NEVADA Boise State – 80 THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Boise State. Coach, just some thoughts on today's game. COACH RICE: Well, we knew this was going to be a tough contest. I thought Air Force played great yesterday. They shot the ball so well. Their offense is so hard to guard. They present so many different problems. Dave does such a good job with them. We knew it was going to be a tough go of it. We knew also they played good yesterday, they were clicking. They came out that way in the first half against us. We got in a little foul trouble, weathered the storm. I thought we had a great second half, though. THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions for the student‑athletes. Q. Nick, what is it about Air Force that kind of brings out the best in you? NICK DUNCAN: I think it's more about me on the day. Definitely against Air Force, I like to shoot against them, our offense suits playing against Air Force as well. I think it's good. It's my teammates, as well, finding me when I'm open. So credit to my teammates for finding me. Q. Defensively you came out and forced seven turnovers in the first six or seven minutes. How important was that to set that tone? NICK DUNCAN: You know, it's always good. The offense is really, really hard to guard. With all the slip action on their screens, it's hard. It's always good to come out strong. I think we need to improve on our defense there for the next game. We lacked off there in the first half and the second half. We need to tighten up our defense for the next game. Q. Air Force kept creeping in. Was there a point where you wondered what you had to do to shake them loose? NICK DUNCAN: A little bit. I'm pretty confident on my teammates on the defensive and offensive end. We always have confidence. We just have to play 40 minutes of basketball, and that's it. Q. Nick, we've seen this from you before, where you hit one or two, get rolling in the second half. What is it about your confidence when you start to make a couple? NICK DUNCAN: Yeah, I think the first one or two shots, if they go in, especially the second half, I go on a roll. It's a good feeling, they're going through the hoop. Hopefully get another shot and do the same thing. Q. Derrick, how frustrating was it with the fouls, then to be able to score 13 big ones in the second half? DERRICK MARKS: I mean, it happens. I wasn't frustrated. That's why it's two halves of basketball. I can't worry about the first half no more. The second half I just came ready to play and we got the win. Q. Nick, what is this experience like for you compared to last year? NICK DUNCAN: It's different. Last year got a few minutes here and there. It's more pressure on me, but I love that pressure. I love the teammates giving me confidence going out there this year. It's great to get a win. Q. Derrick, you've been known to have big second halves. After you have a first half like that, in the back of your mind do you know that a good second half is coming? DERRICK MARKS: I mean, I don't come into the half saying I'm going to have a big‑scoring second half; I'm going to do what I got to do, even if I don't score again. It doesn't matter to me. I want to win. Q. Nick, you didn't have Derrick in there, but you were able to get the lead and keep it in the first half. What is it about this team? NICK DUNCAN: I think since we started winning games, we've proven we can play with anyone on the court at any given time. Also with Derrick, how he's been playing this year, even if he's in foul trouble we can continue on and play the game. Obviously, when he comes back in and scores 13 points at the end of the game that we need, that's great as well. Great to have a player like Derrick and a team that we can play without Derrick at the same time. Q. What is it like when Nick starts hitting the threes and gets into a rhythm like that? DERRICK MARKS: I mean, when he makes, you know, like four in the first half, it's like we all looking for him because we know the next one going up. Even if he miss it, we still going to look for it. We all understand that he's hot right now. We just keep looking for him without forcing it. Q. Derrick, how much have you seen Nick grow in the last year in the role he's now playing on this offense? DERRICK MARKS: I mean, he was the same smart player last year. He just, you know, is making more shots this year (smiling). Q. Derrick, what is the feeling like when he hits those three‑pointers and gets about as excited as anybody? What does that do for you guys? DERRICK MARKS: I mean, it makes all of us excited, too. That's the one thing about this team, no matter who's doing the scoring, whether it's from the best player to, you know, the player that doesn't get all the media attention, like we're all happy for each other no matter what. We'll dismiss the student‑athletes at this time. Thank you, men. We'll continue with questions for Coach Rice. Q. Was there a number, if the deficit had shrunk to a certain you would have brought Derrick back in in the first half? COACH RICE: As long as we had the lead I was going to stay with him off. Dave Southern was so kind to point out, he's a second‑half guy. He's being humble. I know he plays a lot better in the second, so I want to make sure I didn't lose the game in the first half by letting him pick up his third foul. Could have changed the game. Our guys were playing pretty good. So, you know, I just kind of went with it. Q. Air Force's resiliency, you've seen them a lot. COACH RICE: You get to the conference tournament, everybody's playing good, especially the teams that win, they played great yesterday. I was like, Oh boy, here we go. Their kids play so hard. They run one of the hardest systems to guard in the country. That's a tough task. I thought our guys did a great job with it. Q. How big was Nick in the second half with those threes? What is it like for you when he gets on a roll like that and makes three or four in a row? COACH RICE: Well, yeah, you expect those to go in the way Nick can shoot the ball, what I've seen from him, the consistency to shoot the ball. But a couple of them were so deep, I turned to my assistants, Does he have to shoot that? He's made like six in a row, it's probably a heat check. Our guys do a great job. I thought Chandler made an awesome play when he drove baseline, looked like he was going to kick it out to the top, no‑looked to Nick and got him another one. Our guys teed it up for him pretty good today. When they do that, Nick is a good enough shooter, he makes them. Q. Derrick said he wasn't frustrated. Coming back in the second half with 13. What do you see in his mindset when he is forced to sit on the bench? Did you see him get frustrated at all? COACH RICE: No, no, no. Maybe the younger Derrick would have. This one, the Mountain West Player of the Year, he gets it. He knows what's going on. The silver lining of our foul trouble was I was able to play him 25 minutes, now we move on. You know and I know I don't take him out very often in these close games. That's what's ahead of us. Maybe there's a benefit to him not playing heavy minutes tonight. Q. Can you tell us how you found Nick in Australia? COACH RICE: Well, I've got a great staff that does an unbelievable job recruiting. We've got two other Aussies on our team. Aussies attract Aussies. I have one on my coaching staff, too. Nick isn't even the best shooting Aussie we have. The one on my coaching staff is the best shooter, without question (smiling). So, yeah, like I said, my staff does an unbelievable job. Q. When Derrick was out, the rest of the team was able to carry it, keep the lead. What are your thoughts on them being able to do it? COACH RICE: Yeah, we looked good, too. A lot of it's the feel. If things wouldn't have felt good and right, I probably would have went back with Derrick. Again, Air Force can isolate you. They can put foul pressure on you in weird ways that are unique. So I just felt like he was better off sitting next to me for a while. If we kept it close and had him a little bit at arm's length, get to the second half. When you got Derrick out there with not having to tiptoe around with foul trouble, he's a lot more effective. Q. If I told you Derrick wouldn't have taken a shot in the first half, what would you have thought? COACH RICE: That would have been a little concerning, no question. That's Derrick, though. That second half was terrific.  I mean, 13 points. All of his assists came in the second half. Five assists, one turnover. That was a Mountain West Player of the Year second half. That's what we said to him at halftime, too, You get to go show them now. Q. When you look at the two teams, say something about each of them that would concern you? COACH RICE: We played Wyoming so long ago, that's an interesting matchup. That was two and a half months ago. It seems longer than that. Both these teams are hard, hard matchups because of unique styles. With Wyoming, you know, their style, then Utah State, Stew's system. Neither one of them are easy to prepare for. Like I said, they got unique systems that are difficult to prepare for in such a short turnaround. Q. The runs you had to start the second half, then close it out when they got within five, how big were those? COACH RICE: That was huge. I think they cut it to six or something, or eight. We kind of had them where they were creeping back in. I thought Iggy's shot in the middle of the key, that was a big one. It wasn't the nail in the coffin, but it gave us enough breathing room that we're going to be okay. Q. Looking back quickly at the regular season, you had so many close calls against SanDiego State, what has it meant to you that you broke through this year against them? What were some of the keys to finally getting those wins? COACH RICE: Well, Coach Fisher and I talk about it all the time. When those two teams get together, it's epic. I mean, it's been amazing games. I think we only won one going into this year. Just every single one of them was not down to the last minute but almost down to the last possession on every one by one maybe, maybe two. They're such a great program. They have one of the best home courts in the country, not just in the league, in the country. If you haven't experienced that or seen it, it's an amazing thing. For us to go in there this year, be trailing at halftime where they'd won 4,700,000 games in a row, you know, the stats are astounding when you look at all those stats that you always hear, their winning streaks. For our guys to go in there and have enough moxy to come out with the win, it was an impressive one. THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much, coach. COACH RICE: Thank you. 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
|