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NCAA MEN'S 2ND & 3RD ROUNDS: COLUMBUSMarch 19, 2015Will BrownPeter HooleySam RowleyCOLUMBUS, OHIO THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student-athletes. Q. Already today two No. 3 seeds have gone down. Are you aware of that? And what are your thoughts about that going into tomorrow? SAM ROWLEY: We are aware. We were watching the games. You know, it gives us a little bit of motivation, a little bit of excitement. You know it can happen. You know it does happen. Obviously it doesn't change our game plan in any way, shape or form. But there's other teams that have gone out and done it, obviously gives precedent for us to go out and do it and we're excited for the game. Q. Peter, I just wondered, in the wake of your story coming out on Saturday, just are you still flying high? I just wondered how has this few days been? PETER HOOLEY: It's been pretty crazy. It's been pretty full on. But it's been something I'll obviously remember forever. And I'm glad that I've heard a lot from people saying they've been touched by the story and it's helped them in many ways. I said from the start, if it inspires one person to help get through a tough time then it's done its job. And as far as I'm concerned I think once we all get ready to hit the court tomorrow, then we have one goal in mind and that's all we'll be focused on. So we'll be ready come tomorrow. Q. Have you talked to your family since that night? PETER HOOLEY: Yes, I have. I speak to them regularly -- dad and my sister, my uncles and aunties and stuff -- and I think they were planning a big viewing party to watch which will be pretty cool. Obviously you wish they were here with you, but I've got through it before so I'll be able to get through it again, and I talk to them as much as I can so it's good that they're still there. Q. Have you seen the shot again? PETER HOOLEY: Too many times. Q. How many do you guess? PETER HOOLEY: You see it on different types of platforms and stuff. It's pretty exciting. It's a fun time I'll definitely never forget. Q. Do you almost think the way the tip -- that's almost like better than the shot, right? PETER HOOLEY: Yeah, exactly. SAM ROWLEY: Yeah, it was. PETER HOOLEY: He can claim it. He did it. There's plenty of hands in there. SAM ROWLEY: Thanks for the credit. PETER HOOLEY: Plenty of hands in there for the ball to come to me. Everything had to go right. Somehow it did, it's pretty special. Q. You mentioned how you've seen the shot so many times now, kind of the way the last week has gone. Are you glad that now you can finally get back to playing and kind of put that stuff to the side now after the way the last few days have gone? PETER HOOLEY: I wouldn't say glad. I think I'm pretty good at making sure I focus on what I have to at the right time. I think all these guys are. When it comes down to it we still have to put the ball in the basket on both ends. That doesn't change anything. It has been a hectic few days. I think we've all handled it well, I think I've handled it well. I think Coach has handled it well, and I think we've been through so much this year we know what it takes to prepare for game time tomorrow. Q. Obviously today there's been a couple of upsets for 14 seeds. I'm sure you're confident anyway but does that give you added confidence that you can come in and do the same thing for tomorrow? PETER HOOLEY: Yeah, it definitely does. I think you can't help but watch any player who is a part of March Madness -- maybe not any college basketball player who says they're not watching the games is lying to you. Obviously we'll see what happens and it doesn't change anything for us. Still have to prepare the same way, we're still going to go out and play the same way and make sure we stick together and grind it out. SAM ROWLEY: Just reiterating what Pete says. It doesn't change our game plan at all. But the fact that other teams have done it gives us more confidence. It can happen. It does happen, and hopefully it will happen. Q. When we were talking to Oklahoma, they were saying that one of the big things for them was controlling tempo and kind of setting a fast tempo because you guys like to play in the half court. But after seeing you all season, you guys can get out in transition. Do you think you can maybe use that to your advantage tomorrow? SAM ROWLEY: Yeah, we hope to, certainly. If the opportunity presents itself. But we are historically a more half court team. That's sort of the way we played this season and I think we certainly don't want to come out and change the way that's been successful for us. And we certainly understand that they're a very fast, athletic, quick team. And we certainly want to stop or limit them in transition because we know how effective they can be. PETER HOOLEY: Yeah, I think as Sam said we're not going to change what's been successful for us. But we need to make sure that we just don't get thrown back off of on the back foot, that we keep our foot forward and attack them. It's all about who is going to weather the storms, who is going to throw the first punch, who is going to throw the last punch. We're just going to stick it together and ride it out. Q. What did you learn from your past NCAA experience that's going to help you tomorrow? PETER HOOLEY: I think we just learned how to stick it together and literally grind it out. Sam and I have been here for the last two when we played Duke first then Florida last year and obviously they're major programs. And we just try to let these guys know on our team that anything can happen. It's March. Anything can happen. And as long as we stay together and do what's successful for us, the coach has given us the best game plan possible as they always do. We stick to that, stick together, and good things should happen. Q. You've both seen film now of Oklahoma. What has to happen for you to beat them? And the other thing, Peter, I guess you're going to start tomorrow, your thoughts on that? SAM ROWLEY: Okay. For us to beat Oklahoma we obviously have to play very well on all fronts. We have to shoot well. I think defense is the biggest thing for us. They've got a lot of guys that can score. We need to limit them. And we just need to shoot well. I think we need to be willing to take shots that perhaps we wouldn't normally take because the truth is we won't get better opportunities. And we need to be confident enough to step up and knock them down. And then in transition, just halting them and limiting them in transition. The way they play is very run and gun. They're very fast and athletic. And we can't let them play to their strengths. PETER HOOLEY: Yeah, as Sam said, they are a terrific program. They've got scorers all over the court. Anyone can put it up at any time. They all have the green light. So I think it's paramount that on defense we stick together and limit their transition opportunities and try and just play, play five guys on defense at all times guarding the ball and in terms of starting, it doesn't change much for me. I think as you saw as I started to come back even when I came off the bench my game was still the same. Still stayed as aggressive as it was. It doesn't mean much for me. It just means I start out a bit earlier. Q. What lures guys from Australia to go to Albany? SAM ROWLEY: The weather. (Laughter) I think the fact that they take us, more than anything. Q. Was there something at school you wanted to study? SAM ROWLEY: No, honestly it just started with a teammate who graduated last year. He was the first to go. It was really successful, said great things about the program and that led to the beginning of the sort of cross-continental relationship and it's blossomed from there. Q. Sam -- Peter I know how you feel from your tweets about the kind of your mom thing. But Sam, did you believe in, I don't know, divine intervention, or the angel, you know what I mean? SAM ROWLEY: I won't touch on that. But I know that Pete's mom was an amazing lady and she's always with him, she's always looking out for him. She supports him now as she always has. It was an amazing moment. Knowing what he's been through, being sort of alongside him for most of the way. I'm really happy for him and I'm happy that his story is out there and that it's managed to touch as many people as it has, because it's a pretty amazing story. Q. You guys have been here before three times in a row now. But what have you seen from the guys who haven't been here before, going through kind of the workings of practice and prepping for tomorrow? PETER HOOLEY: You see a lot of excitement at least some of these guys have dreamt of this as kids. I think everyone wants to play in the Big Dance. They're excited, relishing this opportunity, and you just know they're good enough that when that ball gets thrown up tomorrow they'll be ready, they'll be focused and they'll be ready to go on all cylinders. As exciting as it is, they're enjoying this opportunity. I'm sure they'll never forget it for the rest of their lives. When the ball throws up they'll do what they've done since they first started playing basketball and that's to try to put the ball in the hoop. Q. Time zone challenge. What time is tip at home? Is it a reasonable hour, do you know? PETER HOOLEY: 9:00 a.m. or 9:30. It's different for both of us. SAM ROWLEY: It's doable. Early in the morning. Q. You touched on the fact that you guys will use motivation, the fact that 14 seeds have beaten 3s already. But on the opposite side I'm sure it will open the eyes of Oklahoma a little bit more as well. Do you agree with that? SAM ROWLEY: Yeah, I mean if I remember correctly, they lost in the first round last year, I think. So they're going to give it their best shot no matter what. I don't think they're going to underestimate us in any form, no matter what in a first-round game. So I think we all expected to get their best shot perhaps even more so now. I don't think it's going to change their approach at all. It's pretty late in the preparation for anything sort of dramatic to happen like that. I don't foresee them playing any differently. But obviously the fact that it has happened means that it can happen. And I'm sure they'll be very aware of that. PETER HOOLEY: Yeah, they'll be ready to go. They know what it takes. They're a big-time program and they have guys who know what to do in these situations, guys who have the ceiling through the roof in terms of basketball. All these guys who can play, who can score, exactly, they're going to come out ready to go. There's no chance they weren't focused before what happened today. And if they were, they definitely would be focused now. Q. Sam, for a lot of this season everything that you guys have done offensively has kind of flown through you in the post. Oklahoma has a bit of a size advantage on you. So what do you feel like you have to do? SAM ROWLEY: Just be willing to distribute, I think. A lot of guys touch the ball on our offense. We just have a lot of different guys that can score. So on any given night it can be anybody willing to step up and make shots or take shots. So whoever is having the hot hand we've got to make sure we find them, and just more now than ever I think in this game given their defensive prowess we need to find guys that are willing to take shots and are open. And if they collapse on one guy we got to find the open guy. Simple as that. I don't think it's going to change our game plan dramatically or our offensive plan. But we just have to be willing to distribute. Q. We're talking about the pressures of the NCAA Tournament. But there really isn't any pressure on you, is there, as a 14 seed. It's on Oklahoma; is that correct? SAM ROWLEY: I would say so. Obviously they're the favorite, as they should be. And despite the fact that we've had sort of lesser seeds in years past, being a 15 and then a 16, we may put pressure on ourselves, I think all the pressure is on them. PETER HOOLEY: Yeah, obviously I agree with Sam. Even though things have happened differently today in the rest of the bracket, the pressure is on them. But as you said, they're a talented program. They're a big-time school. They know that the pressure is on them and they know how to block it out when it comes to putting the ball in the hoops. They'll throw the ball out and be ready to play. Q. Peter, I wanted to ask about when you came back after the eight games you missed, what was the reaction from the team? I'm sure they were very enveloping, how can you describe what it was like? PETER HOOLEY: It was pretty special. I think that was going to be one of the hardest things for me was coming back after I went home and they had so much success off the court. To see when I came back they were all waiting in my room for me and refused to shake my hand they gave me a hug and made me feel special, and welcomed me back pretty much, literally with open arms, made me feel back at home and made me realize this is where I was supposed to be right now. Q. I know there's a fan bus coming out here tomorrow. You guys were on the bus going from just Albany to the airport yesterday. Can you imagine being on a bus for 10 or 11 hours coming out here? PETER HOOLEY: We've been on planes for 16 hours too. So I think we're well aware of what that's like. I think it will be pretty exciting for everybody to come out. We'll love to have everybody here. We love playing in front of our fans in when we play in Syracuse. I think it's going to be great to step on the court and see a lot of purple out there. SAM ROWLEY: The same. We enjoy playing in front of our fans. We're fortunate to have some very loyal fans willing to make that bus trip out. That not everybody wants to sit on a bus for that long. So we appreciate that. And we hope to give them a good show. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. Coach, can you tell us about your arrival in Columbus and what you think at this point. COACH BROWN: So far so good. Took us a little while to get here but once we arrived, everything's been great. We're looking forward to this opportunity that we have tomorrow night against a very good Oklahoma team. And we're proud to be here representing an outstanding conference like the America East Conference and our tremendous university, the University at Albany. So we're looking forward to it. Q. You've been probably aware watching games today, you've seen the two 14s have beaten a 3. What are your thoughts on it happening again tomorrow? Notre Dame almost lost too? COACH BROWN: This is what I'm thinking -- two Big 12 teams have already gotten beat in the first round. Oklahoma, we're not going to catch them sleepwalking. They're going to be ready. They're going to be excited to play. They also lost in the first round last year. So I think they're going to be ready. Tremendous program. Lon Kruger is one of the best coaches in the country. Won everywhere he's been. Arguably, I've heard several people say this, they might have the best starting five in the country outside of Kentucky. So they're good, they're going to be ready to go and we're looking forward to the tremendous challenge that's in front of us. Q. Sam and Peter have been here before three times and you've got some guys gone through the process before, maybe not seen a lot of minutes, but what do you need from those fresh faces here? COACH BROWN: Well, I need our new guys like Evan and Ray Sanders and Richard Peters, who have been really good for us all season long, I need them to continue to do what they've been doing -- just relax, play the way that we play. Don't waiver from what you've done individually, don't waiver from what we've done as a team and take the game to Oklahoma. Take the game right to them. We can't get back on our heels. We've got to be the aggressor. We've got to be a smart aggressive. But I want our guys to relax. No reason for us to be tight. We were really tight in the America East Conference Tournament championship game in our building. We were not relaxed for whatever reason. So I think we'll be much more relaxed in this environment knowing that we're in the NCAA Tournament representing University of Albany the America East Conference. I think we'll be ready to go. Whether it's good enough or not, we'll find out tomorrow night. Q. After such an emotional victory, do you wander is that going to lift your team up or do you wander what's next? COACH BROWN: It's so hard. We're not a BCS-level conference or school. So if we come in fifth or sixth place in our league we don't get an opportunity to come to the NCAA Tournament. So it's a grind. We won the regular season, which was a tremendous accomplishment, but the bottom line is you have to find a way to win your tournament. We're a one-bid league. So it was a tremendous accomplishment to win both. And I wanted our players to enjoy that. Once we got to Monday, all business. Focus on Oklahoma. We're here to win a game. We're here to win more than a game. We're not just happy to be here. We're going to have to rely on Peter Hooley and Sam Rowley, guys that this is the first time they've been to the NCAA Tournament. We need to be able to rely on those guys early and often. We're here to fight, to win, to scrape, to claw, find a way to get it done. That's our mentality right now. I think what happens, when you're just happy to be here, that's when you get beat and you go home. And we want to stay here as long as we can. Q. This season, what can you say about -- COACH BROWN: I could have sat back there with everybody else and listened to those two individuals talk all day and all night. I get to coach those two kids, Sam for the past four years. Peter for the past four years as well. And I was a proud coach back there listening to them. I wish they could sit here and answer the questions for me. We build our program around character. I've got high character kids, tremendous students. We had three of our student-athletes on the all-academic team. It's a five-man team in our league. The most all-academic selections in our conference. This is about basketball and trying to win the NCAA Tournament and the national championship, but Peter has had to deal with so much. Our university, our conference, our community, our team has rallied around Peter and supported him and his family. Coaching is easy. The Xs and Os, it's simple. Putting together a game plan for Oklahoma, simple in comparison to what Peter has had to endure and what he continues to go through. And it's my job as a coach to sit there and help him in any way possible so he can move forward. My wife, Jamie, deserves a lot of credit, because she's become very close with the Hooley family. Peter has a twin sister who is 21 years old. My wife's been on the phone with Emma every day since mom's passed. And it's hard. We're dealing with it every day. But Peter has done a wonderful job. I don't know if anybody saw the New York Post today. Peter won a 700-word guest column for the New York Post about what he's been through and his experience. Like I said, they don't teach you as -- nobody prepares you as a coach how to deal with situations like this. It's sad. It's unfortunate. That's why I can't think of a better individual to hit that shot the other day than Peter Hooley and I firmly believe his mom, Sue, guided that ball a little bit and made sure it dropped through the net for us. So it's a process. And it's ongoing. But Peter has handled this as well as a college-aged kid could handle this. And I think he should be commended for that, because it's a very difficult situation. Q. What has to happen for you guys to win tomorrow? And secondly when did you decide to start Peter even though I know he played the whole second half against Stony Brook? COACH BROWN: I think if Hooley hits ten 3s and Rowley fouls out their entire front court we should be in good shape. No, the tough thing about Oklahoma is they're one of, in my opinion, one of the top five defensive teams in the country. Terrific in the defensive half court. Then you turn around they can score from all five positions. They're big, strong, physical and athletic. I think they're a top 10 team without question. Usually in these games what we've tried to do, especially the past two years, is make them ugly. Control tempo. Limit possessions. The tough part with Oklahoma is if we pass up a decent shot, we might not get a better shot during that possession. So we're probably going to have to take some shots that we ordinarily wouldn't take. We're going to have to take more 3s than normal, and we're going to have to step up and knock some of those shots down. So when we attack their pressure, I told our guys, if we're open from 3, let it fly. We get a good look, shoot it with confidence. Just please make a few. Q. What about Peter starting? COACH BROWN: He's arguably the best guard in our league. It's just that I think now is a good opportunity to get him back into the starting lineup. We're going to see a lot of pressure from Oklahoma early and often. It's another ball handler on the floor. This is the third time that Peter's been in this situation. We need to rely on his experience, and it's crucial in these games that you get off to a good start. So I think the timing is right for Peter to be back in the starting lineup. Q. Three straight trips. But you also had a pretty good run in 2006. What have you learned from all these trips that you can use tomorrow against Oklahoma? COACH BROWN: I've learned we didn't play well the first time we were in Columbus. I know that. Just to relax. Don't be happy to be here, but relax, be aggressive as long as it's a smart aggressive. Don't get caught up in the atmosphere. We're going to have to rely on Peter and Sam early I think because they've been here before. Third time in a row for each of them. This never gets old. The one thing I want to make sure our guys do is they embrace the opportunity, they respect the opportunity. Because you don't know if you're going to have another opportunity. It's so difficult. The America East Conference is a good league. There's some really good coaches in our league. We've got a great commissioner, and we're growing, and it's going to continue to get better and better as we move forward. But again, it's a special opportunity that we have. And I want all of our guys to enjoy it. But we have to rely on our guys that have been through it before, I think. Those guys have to relax and show our new guys or our guys that haven't been here how it's done. Q. Obviously you mentioned everything Peter's been going through, it's been kind of a crazy week. Given kind of all the attention that's been on him, everything that's been happening, is there any concern that he might just kind of be spent by the time the game comes tomorrow? Obviously that's not a knock on the way he's handling it. COACH BROWN: Not at all. It's a tough situation. With every request that I've received for access to Peter, I went and I asked Peter: Are you okay with this? Because he's being asked the same questions over and over about his mom. So everybody's asking him about it. So obviously that's all he's thinking about. And he's handled it with class and he's done a great job. I just want to make sure that he's relaxed heading into the game. Even though it's tragic, the situation and the circumstances, I do think it's been good for Peter. I think it's been good for the university. And I just think that he's handled it really well. And he's wanted to do this. As you're well aware, he's on the back page of the New York Post, full page, and he wrote a 700-word column. He did it on the plane and he did an unbelievable job. I'm sure you read it. And he wanted to do it. So I do think in a way this has been good for him. And he would tell me if, hey, Coach, this is enough. He's that type of kid. But it's been good for him, and I'd like to thank all of you for your patience and your interest and your support of Peter, because he really respects that. Q. I'm curious about the Australia connection. Was there somebody, I don't know, kind of opened the door? COACH BROWN: Sure. Sure. Absolutely. One of my former assistants, Jeremy Friel, his college roommate was from Australia. He played at the University of New Hampshire. Since then, the individual has moved back to Australia, and he's director of basketball in the northern territory in Australia. Kind of got the pipeline going. If you follow college basketball, years ago, Saint Mary's really started that Australian pipeline with Matthew Dellavedova in the NBA and Andrew Bogut, getting those guys. A lot of Australians that have come over to the United States and had success. There's several in the NBA. The coaching is good over there. They're tough, hard-nosed kids, high basketball IQ and they value an education. Those are the kids I like to be around. So what happened is five years ago we were fortunate enough to sign Luke Devlin from Sydney, Australia, and the pipeline developed. The one thing about the Aussies, it's not about levels. It's about comfort. And once we got Luke, he became our best recruiter. And then we were able to get Sam. Then we were able to get Peter. Then we were able to get Mike Rowley, Sam's brother, and we were able to get Geremy McKay, and it's really worked. Very low maintenance kids. I love them. They're a coach's dream, every single one of them. And we're going to continue to recruit Australia. It's been good to us. Q. What would it mean to you and this program if you're able to pull off an upset tomorrow night? COACH BROWN: Well, it means we advance to the next round. It means we live for another day. It extends our season. It would be an upset. Obviously it's a 14 beating a 3. My goal is for us to go out and play well and represent our university and our conference. The goal is to win. Our program's continuing to grow, so is our conference. I think it's a win-win for our university and for our league. It's the next step for our program, to be honest with you. And we'd love to have an opportunity to play on Sunday, and that's our goal right now. Q. Just one thing I wanted to qualify. When you said Peter kind of needed this, like a catharsis-type thing? COACH BROWN: As far as the attention? Q. When you said you think it's good for him, in what way did you mean that? COACH BROWN: I think he's comfortable right now. I think he's proud of his mom. She was a wonderful woman. And if you spend time talking to Peter, you know she was his biggest fan. She was his biggest critic. It's an unbelievable family. And I think Peter knows that she's watching and she's listening. And I think every time he talks he's sending a message to her and I think he enjoys that. I think he enjoys it. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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