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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: HARTFORDMarch 20, 2019Markus HowardSam HauserSacar AnimHartford, Connecticut Q. Markus, Ja talked about when you met at CP3 camp. What's it going to be like playing against him and a lot of fun, too? MARKUS HOWARD: Me and him were pretty close. We got close over that time in camp. We've been in contact throughout the season, supporting each other. To be able to share the court with him on Thursday is going to be pretty cool. He's had a great year, their team has had a great year, and, us as a team, we're looking forward to playing against a great opponent. Q. Sacar, you're probably going to get the tough assignment of Ja Morant tomorrow. After studying him for a few days, what is the important thing in defending against him? SACAR ANIM: Obviously, he's a terrific player with a lot of speed, the way he can create for his other players and also get his own shot. Like I said, just being able to stay in front and making sure we don't get on the side where we let them get a head of steam going to the rim. Q. Markus, can you give us an update about your wrist and how you're feeling? MARKUS HOWARD: My wrist is all good. I've been seeing our athletic trainer each and every day about it. But taking really good precautions with it, so I'm ready to go and I'll be perfectly fine for tomorrow. Q. Sam, what is the defensive philosophy going to be tomorrow. Murray State is a pretty versatile team. How do you start that? SAM HAUSER: It starts on the offensive end, taking care of the ball, taking good shots. They're very good in transition, very athletic. So taking them out of transition and blocking them out because they're a very good rebounding team as well. And then obviously guarding the drive. Q. Sacar, you had guarded a lot of the really good guards from the Big East, Myles Powell, all those guys. Do you think that prepared you for the tough assignment you have tomorrow? SACAR ANIM: Definitely. I play against a lot of top players in the country. Since this is my first time playing them, I haven't had that much time to watch a lot film on them. But I played against a lot of great opponents in the Big East, so I think that's prepared me so I'll be ready to go. Q. Again, Markus, what is your philosophy to successfully play your position especially in a big game like you have tomorrow? MARKUS HOWARD: I think definitely just leading my team in different areas, being a vocal leader, making sure I'm taking care of the ball. And then when the time present itself, maintaining and being aggressive, finding my guys in open spots. I play with a bunch of great teammates that can really make plays. So being sure I get them going to start the game. Q. I'm sure you guys are used to this any time you go into a game, Markus gets the attention and against the other top scorer or whatever. For the two of you, could you talk about what it's like? This game's getting so much attention because of the high profile match-up. When you're playing, do you ever get caught watching Markus and the other guy sometimes, or is that too much of a distraction? Do you just focus on what you have to do. SACAR ANIM: Basically, I just focus on what I got to do. Obviously, Markus is a terrific player. When he gets to playing his game and gets the hinge shots, I just worry about doing what I can do to help the team, just focus on that. When he gets hot, we let him do his thing. We have a big mission. We're just focusing on winning the game. SAM HAUSER: Kind of piggybacking off that. We're not a one-man show; we're a great team. Markus knows that as well. Usually the teams we are playing against are great teams as well like Murray State. They're not a one-man show. I just focus on that, not getting caught up in the hype and focus on what sets us up in the game. Q. Has he done anything that just kind of stops in your tracks and makes you go wow? SAM HAUSER: He's had 40 like five times this year, so that kind of speaks for itself. Q. Sam and Markus, in your minds what makes Sacar such a good defensive player, and how nice is it to have him on your team to take on tough assignments that he's done. SAM HAUSER: Sacar, he's very athletic and very versatile. He's been able to guard multiple positions over his years here. He really takes pride in it. I think that's what makes him great, his competitive edge on that end, and he continues to show it. MARKUS HOWARD: Yeah, a lot of people -- just playing with Sac for so long, he's has one of the quickest first steps I've ever seen. Him having that in his arsenal, he's able to defend players really well. Sac's one of the most competitive people I've been around. When he competes on the defensive end, he can guard anyone in the country. I think he's one of the best defenders in the country just based off his competitive spirit alone. Q. Sacar, you redshirted a couple seasons ago when these guys last made the NCAA Tournament. What are you most looking forward to tomorrow and your NCAA Tournament debut, and have these guys told you or given you advice or anything? SACAR ANIM: I was looking forward to just going out there and competing, honestly. Like you said, I was off that year and didn't get to play, so I was just watching. I'm looking forward to going out there and compete. The NCAA Tournament is something you grew up wanting to play in, competing on the big stage. I'm just focusing on going out there with my boys, competing, and getting the win. Q. Markus, can you talk a little about your own personal approach when you know you're going into a Big East game or whatever it is. Whoever you're playing, it's kind of another high profile, maybe all-American kind of guy. Do you prepare any differently? MARKUS HOWARD: No. I treat every game the same in term of how I prepare. I know I'm with a great group of guys that have my back no matter what. So going into games, I don't worry about doing anything too extra. I just stick to the plan, stick to the game plan that our coaches draw up for us, and then just trust our guys. I play with amazing teammates with amazing ability. So just relying on that each and every game is how I prepare. Not really thinking too much into it, just going out and playing our game. That's really we focus on each and every time we step out and play. Q. Markus, going back to that Chris Paul camp experience. That was when Ja started generating a lot of buzz. What stood out for you in that experience? Can you see his game developing? MARKUS HOWARD: There is some play where he just displayed his athleticism. There's some alley-oops thrown where his torso was above the rim. Just seeing that, I was blown away by that. Yeah, there's some crazy plays that he made throughout the camp in terms of him playing above the rim. That was definitely something that caught my eye. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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