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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: PROVIDENCEMarch 16, 2016James JonesBrandon SherrodMakai MasonJustin SearsProvidence, Rhode Island Q. Brandon, would you rather perform at Carnegie Hall or play in the NCAA Tournament, like you're about to do this week? BRANDON SHERROD: I think I'll go with playing in the NCAA Tournament. It's been a long time coming for the school and something I've dreamed about since I was a pre-freshman coming into Yale, watching Selection Sunday, and seeing guys be a part of media day here has always been a dream of mine, and it's nice to see those dreams coming true. Can't really beat this experience. It's an awesome experience. Q. Justin, you guys have been pegged as a pretty popular upset pick this week. How have you guys been responding to that and what do you think about the coverage? JUSTIN SEARS: Big games first, and yeah, we're just trying to take it all in, just have fun right now. But it's good we're getting a little bit of respect. We'd prefer that people are looking over us. We're just going to go out there and play hard and give it our best effort. Q. What do you see from Baylor, and do they look like anybody you've played so far this year? MAKAI MASON: I think they're definitely a little bit different. They play an interesting zone that we haven't really seen anything like this year. But they're really athletic, they really hit the boards hard, which is something we do well, too, so it'll be an interesting battle down there. Q. Justin, could you describe what type of player you came to Yale as, maybe some shortcomings you've tried to overcome over the last four years, and what type of player you feel like you've developed into. JUSTIN SEARS: Coming into Yale, I was 6'8", 190 pounds soaking wet maybe. Right now I'm still 6'8", and I'm 225 pounds now, so I've put on a lot of weight. But most importantly, I've matured a lot as a basketball player as well as a man. Coming in, I chased the ball. I played really hard, and I had maybe a right-handed hook and I could dunk really well, but that was just about it. Three and a half years later, I can dunk with my left hand now, which is pretty cool, and I impact the game in more ways than just chasing the ball. I've become a better shot blocker. I communicate a little better. I feel I've become a more vocal leader, and I impact the game in many ways as possible, whether it be making the right pass, a hockey assist, or just diving on a loose ball. I just play much harder and impact the game in a lot of ways now. Q. Makai, about half your roster played in the NEPSAC leading up to this. Talk about how that league prepares you for the high level of competition that you see in the college game. MAKAI MASON: Yeah, I think it's definitely a great league. Every team has like four or five D-I players usually at least. So when you're competing against those guys every game, it definitely makes the jump to college a little less hard. Q. Justin and Brandon, Yale has been one of the best rebounding teams in the country throughout this season, but you guys are going up against Rico Gathers, one of the best rebounders personally in the nation, especially on the offensive glass. What are you going to try and do on the rebounding front to try and combat that? BRANDON SHERROD: Well, one thing Coach has been talking about, just putting a body on guys, and we work on rebounding almost every day in practice, and we know whoever hits first usually wins the battle. Hopefully, we'll be able to do that on Thursday afternoon. He's a load, 275. I don't think we've played anybody that's been that big, but I think we're definitely going to be relentless on the glass and continue to do we've done in the past to be successful. So I have a lot of confidence in Justin Sears, myself, and Nick Victor, as well as the other guards who are going to be coming in, flying in for rebounds. But we know it's a monumental task and hopefully we'll be up to the challenge. Just got to keep doing what we've been doing. Q. Justin, you guys have fought a lot to get here over the last couple years, but in the last couple months Jack Montague's story has become prevalent. How has that experience tainted your experience coming here and getting prepared for this NCAA tournament game? JUSTIN SEARS: Not at all. I really can't comment on the Jack situation specifically, but like I've said before basketball is a sanctuary. We go to one of the hardest academic schools in the country, and when we step on the court all the outside distractions are gone. This is the game we love to play. And when I step on the court, I'm not thinking about anything except putting the ball in the basket and helping my team win. Q. Justin and Brandon, you have one-and-done tourney experience already with the CIT. How does that help you going into an environment like this? JUSTIN SEARS: It helped a lot. I think that CIT run prepped us for this moment right here with the senior class that's here right now. But just learning that you've got to leave it all out on the floor. You never know when it's going to be your last game of the season. Now we're seniors, so my sense of urgency is high. I want to make sure my last game, I'm going out on my terms and everything. BRANDON SHERROD: Yeah, I totally agree with that. I mean, playing in the CIT was an amazing experience. Obviously the stage is a little bit bigger, but it's the same approach. I think we've been trying to take that approach with every game, and the Ivy League season, you're pretty much one and one if you're successful on every occasion that you go out on the floor. So looking at that, that's really prepped us for what we're going to be going up against on Thursday. We're just looking to have fun and enjoy the experience and play our best. Q. Makai, what do you see at the point guard match-up? Any thoughts on the guards you've faced this year and what you're looking forward to with this match-up? MAKAI MASON: I think he's obviously a very talented kid. He does a great job of facilitating everything. He's averaging over six assists. He really makes the team go, I think. I mean, he can shoot the three. He can shoot pull-ups. It's going to be a challenge to keep him in front and challenge the threes, too. Just being aware of where he is on the court and trying to contain him, his penetration mostly. Q. How sweet is it to make the NCAA Tournament, and also to play close to home? JUSTIN SEARS: Yeah, it's great. I was a little bit selfish at first. A lot of the guys wanted to fly out to Denver. A.J., he's right by in Washington. But I wanted to be in Providence or New York because I live close. We're right in New England now, and this is just my backyard. So this is a great experience, and the best part about it is it's my senior year. I'm going out on top, but at the same time I'm not done yet. I want to win a game or two in the tournament before my career is done here. BRANDON SHERROD: Yeah, for me also being from Connecticut, it's nice to have all my family members coming up. All the Yale faithful will be there. I've heard a lot of people have gotten tickets and it's been a hot ticket, too, so that'll be fun. And we've had some success here in Providence. We've played the Brown Bears obviously that live right down the road. We've played at Providence, so the Dunkin' Donuts Center is like home to us. Hopefully, we'll be able to play like it's a home game, and hopefully all the Yale fans will be out there to support. MAKAI MASON: Yeah, it'll be interesting. Most of the high major teams -- well, all of them are playing on the road, so hopefully to have a bigger fan base at a big arena will be a cool experience. Q. What's it like for Yale playing in the shadows of UConn? Or is it UConn plays in the shadows of Yale? JUSTIN SEARS: Good question. Let me compose my thoughts real quick. Yeah, it's huge. Everyone when they look at Connecticut, you automatically think UConn basketball. But I think these past two years, we've done a great job, especially last year when we upset UConn. It may have been a down year for them, but that just shows how far along the program has come this year, and Kevin always does a great job there. I'm happy they made the tournament. I think Yale is going to be one of the better teams in Connecticut now that we've got the basketball culture going up and everything now. Q. For any of you guys, you've all played here twice against Providence. This is known as a building that's not necessarily the easiest to shoot in. How much does that experience help you guys going into tomorrow? BRANDON SHERROD: I think a basket is a basket. It's still 10 feet high, and you've got to put the ball in the hole. I don't think we take that too much into consideration while we're playing. Hopefully we can just find some success. Shooters will knock down shots if we just stay focused. But I don't think we're really looking to that too much. JUSTIN SEARS: Just to follow it up, I can't remember I shot really well. I had 31, and then the second game I believe, Javier had a really good game, and Greg Kelly shot really well. So I know guys will be confident coming into this gym, and we've always shot well. I think this is going to be more of a defensive battle, who controls the boards, rather than who shoots the better field goal percentage. Q. What do you think people who haven't watched Yale basketball before will learn about this team tomorrow? MAKAI MASON: I guess just our ability to compete athletically with a team like Baylor. I think we have some underrated athletes on our team, especially Nick Victor. He's always flying around, and he's a strong dude. So I think we'll be able to compete with them, and just overall toughness, I think. BRANDON SHERROD: Yeah, I think the three things we do well, as Coach Jones always alludes to, is we rebound the ball, we defend, and we also share the ball on offense. That's a recipe for success, and hopefully we're able to show the country that we can do that on a big stage against a big-time team. We're looking forward to it. JUSTIN SEARS: These guys said it all. We're a blue-collar team and we played hard. We're going to leave it all out on the floor. JAMES JONES: Well, we're really excited to be here. First time for everybody in our program here, and it's a chance of a lifetime. I think our guys have acclimated pretty well. I just heard a question about playing here in Providence, being a tough place to shoot. We've played fairly well here. Haven't had an opportunity to win a game, but we've played Providence really close. And Justin Sears, I think his sophomore year, had 31 points or something like that in the building, and Makai Mason had 20 something as a freshman. We feel pretty good about the venue, and it's close to New Haven, so we should have a lot of fans that come out and support us. So we're really looking forward to the opportunity to play. Q. James, Justin was talking about his evolution as a player, and said he's particularly pleased that he can dunk with his left hand now instead of just his right hand. I'm wondering, in your mind, what has he done to become such a special player over the last few years, and what type of player did you see when he first came to you? JAMES JONES: Wow. That's a great question in terms of trying to figure Justin out. He's very difficult. He's a different kind of kid. He still doesn't pick-and-roll the right way. He doesn't do half the things you want him to do the right way, and at the same time, he's tremendously effective at doing it his way. What he's done better, he's in better shape. He understands the game of basketball better. And he's fortunate to have guys next to him that are quality players that make his job a lot easier. I think it was a little bit more difficult for him as a freshman. I think we have some guys like Brandon, Makai, and other guys around him that make his life a lot easier. He doesn't have to rebound as much and to spend as much energy as he had in the past. But he has the heart of a lion. He really wants to be successful at this game, and he puts more time into getting shots up and playing than just about everybody else in our program. That's really what has helped him out a lot over the last four years is putting in more time on his game and working on trying to get better. Q. I asked Makai this, and I'll ask you the same. About half your roster played in the NEPSAC, and I wondered about recruiting that league and how that league really prepares guys for playing at a high level of basketball in college. JAMES JONES: Well, the one thing it does, you get guys that are a little older. You have some guys that do a year of prep. For instance, last year we had a guy named Armani Cotton on our roster. Armani out of high school, we didn't like him as much. Then he went to a year of prep and we watched him grow and become better and all of a sudden, he's a guy that we think can help us, and he did a great job for us the last year. Similar to Nick Victor, he's a grown man. He's 23 years old, he's a big, strong kid, and those guys make the difference. One of the things about Baylor's team, they start three seniors, and that's something that's rare in college basketball these days at that level to start that many seniors and have that many guys on your roster that actually play and do well. So to have those guys from the NEPSAC and do a year of prep and to come to play, just gives us opportunity to have a much stronger, better team. You'd much rather have those guys in the fifth year as opposed to that first year. Q. In terms of the 14-game tournament you guys played in the Ivy League season, every game is essentially a playoff game. That's how everybody approaches it in the course of the league. How does that help you guys today or tomorrow, and what are your thoughts on the Ivy League having a 14-game tournament at the end of the season? JAMES JONES: Well, great to see you again. In any event, the 14-game tournament does a great job because everything is so important every game. And you're asked every single weekend, it's an important game, it's an important game, it's an important game, and that's because they all are. And I think playing with that kind of intensity on a night-in and night-out basis has given our guys the strength and ability to believe in themselves, especially when we come out on top. Our league is very good, and we -- as a team, we did a great job of getting through it this year, and I think that's given us a great deal of confidence. You know, I've been waiting all year for the shoe to drop, so to speak, with this team, trying to figure out how good we are. We started the season off, and we had a bunch of wins in double digits by 20 points. And I just kept going to myself, geez, how good are we, how good are we going to be? And I was surprised night-in and night-out for the most part what we were able to do, and getting through our league the way we did gives me a great deal of confidence in what our guys can do. Q. The tournament next year? JAMES JONES: Well, the tournament next year is the tournament next year. I'm glad we're having it next year. This year, not so much. But I started 17 years ago, as you know, and that's a long time. I thought I had some teams in the past that were good and maybe could have made a run in a two-game tournament. We finished in the top half of our league each of the last 16 years, so we beat one of the top four teams every single year they're playing it, and I would suspect we would have had an opportunity going on a run in a two-game stretch to win, but such was not the case. Fran Dunphy, who's a good friend, said in our coaches' meetings that the Ivy League playoff game wasn't great for Penn, but it was the best thing for the Ivy League. So he always voted for it because it was the best thing for our league, and that makes the most sense. It gives us an opportunity to showcase our teams and gives our teams -- people take a look at us. I heard a lot of people from ESPN and networks talk about our program and our chances against Baylor. And they've never even seen us play, have no idea who those three gentlemen were that just got up and left. It's kind of hard to figure out how good, what we should be, predict us in this game who have never seen us play. But if we have a playoff game and we are in a championship, then the nation watches, and that will give us a much bigger, better profile going forward. Q. Coach, have you seen many teams as athletic as Baylor, and do they compare to anybody you've played? JAMES JONES: Well, Baylor leads the nation in offensive rebounding percentage by just a few percentage points above SMU, who we played. So yeah, we certainly have seen teams like this this year, and every year we try to play a very competitive schedule. Justin Sears in his four years has played at least 20 games like this that we're going to play. Certainly, it's going to be a challenge with them, and they do what we do a little bit better than we do it. We're a great rebounding team and they're a great rebounding team, they're just a little bit better. Rico Gathers is the size of a small town, and I'm going to have, like, seven guys try to block him out because I think we're going to need it. Going to try to change the rules in NCAA where I can play seven and I can put a couple guys on him and get him out of the paint. Q. You just mentioned a lot of your strengths overlap. What is one area where you think you might have an edge on them or something you may try to exploit, and how do you want to try to attack the 2-3 zone which gave you some issues at Duke? JAMES JONES: Well, I hate to correct you, it's not a 2-3 zone, it's a 1-1-3. And it looks -- it morphs from a 1-3-1 into that 1-1-3 the way they play it. In any event, our strengths, we're a pretty good defensive team, and I think that could help us. I watched tape of every team that we've played this year, and I say to myself, how are we stopping them? Every single team. I watch them on tape, because basically you're watching highlights of what teams do, and as a coach, you watch it from the positives of what they're able to do, and you don't really see some of the weaknesses because you're worried about the strengths. So every time I watch a tape or scout a team that we're about to play, I don't know how we're going to be able to stop them, but somehow we do. And I suspect that this team tomorrow will be able to put a game plan together to be able to stop them defensively and give us a chance to win. Q. I'm curious if you have any reaction to the lawyer statements from James Montague yesterday and do you feel like his lawyers are using the publicity of you being in the tournament at this moment to try to further his cause? JAMES JONES: I've been a head coach at Yale for 17 years. This is the first time we've made the tournament since 1952. We are one of the best defensive teams in the country. We are one of the best rebounding teams in the country. So I think that's a great story. And I'd like to tell that one going forward. If anybody has any questions around those types of things, I'd love to answer those questions. Q. You mentioned you were waiting for the other shoe to drop as the season went on. How surprised are you that you did what you did after losing Jack and dealing with all the fallout, distractions, the skirmish that come with something like that? JAMES JONES: It's been, I think, five or six weeks since all this stuff came out, and our record is 7-1. We lost one game on the road to the second best team in our conference. So handling distractions, if you want to call them that, I think our team has fared tremendously well. We've done a great job. These young men that I've had the privilege to coach are wonderful people, and they're focused every day in practice. I go to practice every day, and it's a joy to be around these young men, and they've done an outstanding job. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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