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NCAA MEN'S 1ST & 2ND ROUNDS REGIONALS: GREENSBORO

March 18, 2009

GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA

AMY YAKOLA: We're joined by the Binghamton student-athletes: Reggie Fuller, Tiki Mayben, and D.J. Rivera. Questions, please.

Q. Can you just kind of describe the experience you've had so far from leaving campus yesterday to getting here today, and just what it's been like for you?
REGGIE FULLER: Well, it's like a whole new experience for us. And right now we're just still gathering all the excitement still. And we're just ready to play come tomorrow.
D.J. RIVERA: Coming from back home, we had a lot of support, lot of fans. The community came out to support us. That was great. Getting down here and just being with each other and seeing new things, it's been a great experience for us. Like Reggie said, we're ready to play tomorrow.
TIKI MAYBEN: We're just trying to take everything in. It's all of our first time, so we're just trying to enjoy the moment. But at the same time be prepared for what we've got in store tomorrow.

Q. Can you tell me how well you know Gerald Henderson? I guess you guys played against each other in high school?
D.J. RIVERA: Definitely. We've been playing versus each other since we were younger. I pretty much know his game. He knows mine. I've watched him a lot. It's like a reunion, basically. It's just that we're playing against each other. So I pretty much know him really well, and I get to see him tomorrow.

Q. You guys all came under Kevin Broadus. What attracted you to his coaching style and to him in particular?
REGGIE FULLER: With me, I came in last year when he came. And I figured since he was a new coach coming to Binghamton, let me go ahead and see the experience that would be at Binghamton. So I just followed him because I knew he was a good guy. And my coach from junior college said he was. That's what really made me become a Binghamton Bearcat.
TIKI MAYBEN: I would have to say just his respectability as a man. Not necessarily nothing to do with basketball. Obviously, Binghamton hasn't really been heard of basketball-wise. So it was just him as a man, and his coaching staff. When I went on my visit, I got to meet with the president and the A.D., and I just kind of felt like kind of like a family environment, and that's really what I needed. So I just went from there.
D.J. RIVERA: Just being a fresh start for me. I met the team. I met coach. He was taking me around campus, things like that. Malik Alvin, my childhood friend was coming here. He told me to check it out. So when I came on my visit, I told Coach I was coming here.

Q. As far as the game is concerned, how important do you think it's going to be to come out really strong and start the game well against Duke tomorrow night?
D.J. RIVERA: You know, they're one of the top teams in the nation. They were number one at one point. So for us being a mid-major school, we have to come on strong. We can't start from behind. Those guys will pound you if they're up by much in the beginning of the game. So we have to come out strong and play tough against those guys.
TIKI MAYBEN: I don't know if it's going to be the start, the finish or the middle. Like he said, they were number one in the country at one time this year. I think it's just going to be us playing as hard as we can for 40 minutes and just trying to stay together.
REGGIE FULLER: Well, I think we just have to stay focused throughout the whole game, including tonight, leading up to the game. And if we play as a team, and if we play defense as a team, we'll be all right.

Q. Your thoughts on playing a program like Duke down here in the hot bed of college basketball in the state of North Carolina where UNC is also here. So you have a lot of people that have seen the game, watching Duke and North Carolina for years, watching you guys play in person tomorrow. Just your general thoughts about that?
D.J. RIVERA: We're excited to be down here. We know what type of environment's going on down here. Duke and North Carolina, us having a chance to play Duke. And North Carolina is a great experience for us. We've never been to the tournament before. We're just taking it step by step and waiting for tomorrow night.
TIKI MAYBEN: To me it's kind of like they say that Madison Square Garden is the mecca of NBA basketball. This is kind of like the mecca of college basketball. North Carolina and Duke. So I think we've got a tough one being that we've got to play them here, but hopefully we'll get some Carolina fans that don't like them, that come show us some support. We're just happy to be here, and we hope the effort that we give will bring respect to our program as well as our conference.
REGGIE FULLER: Well, I don't think -- the only time I've been to North Carolina is just to come visit friends and family. So being here to play in the NCAA Tournament is something special for me. It's also something special for the school and this program. So I'm just ready to play tomorrow.

Q. Could you talk a little about, you're smaller than those guys, what you kind of have to do to counteract that, I would think probably try to spread them out and drive kick, that type of thing?
D.J. RIVERA: Definitely, they have a height advantage over us, but we are tough. We are tough. We're small, but we're tough. A lot of teams may play back on through and worry about their kids. But we play up. We don't give them an inch to look and pass and things like that.
They're big on going one-on-one, so we have to be tough on defense and limit their three-point shot. So we're just going to go out there and play tough against those guys.
AMY YAKOLA: Thank you very much. We'll have Coach Broadus give us an opening statement.
COACH BROADUS: Reminds me of a talent show with all the lights and the Auditorium here. We're just happy and elated to be here to represent the America East. We're going to give it our best shot. We're playing against one of the storied programs in Duke. Have a Hall of Fame coach, Coach Krzyzewski. Bunch of pros on their ball team.
My guys are ready for the task. They're going to come out and play as hard as they can, and we'll just leave it out there. We've had a great run to get here. We're just elated to be here and play as hard as we can, and may the best team win.

Q. I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about playing a team like Duke that's going to be bigger than you guys are? I know they're probably a little bit concerned about your quickness, but how you can take advantage of that?
COACH BROADUS: They're concerned about our quickness? I watched them on tape, they have some quick players, too. The thing about size with us, we've done well against bigger teams this year. We've done not as good against smaller teams. But the thing that worries me more about Duke are the guys like Singler and Scheyer, one of the guys reminds me so much of Larry Bird. He's an unbelievable player.
And they have Lance Thomas, a heart, glue guy, tough, energetic. And of course, Gerald Henderson, he's pro. I mean, these guys can really play. They have McDonald's All Americans. They have a lot of good players. Everything concerns me about Duke, trust me. Even the guys like Greg Paulus who haven't played much this year but was an integral part in the last few years and playing a little more now, concerns me.
He can make open shots. Zoubek when he comes into plays. They're a good ballclub. We've got to be on our A-game against those guys tomorrow.

Q. Just curious with Carolina being here and a lot of their fans in the building, have you guys talks about trying to get them on your side at all or trying to get a backwards, home court advantage that way?
COACH BROADUS: Let me flip the question. Let me ask you, how's that going to help us when the fans don't play the game? If we can get -- say if Carolina sent Ty Lawson over and we can take him on the floor, and Danny Green who I recruited at Georgetown, those two guys, they give us a few of their players, that would help us. The crowd, truthfully I don't think can help or hurt us at this point. The ballplayers have to play the game. It's our guys against their guys. We don't look at it as fan support, nonsupport. We're here now. We need to put on our best show tomorrow to show the world that we belong here. And we want to represent on our league to the fullest.
You know, I wish Carolina could help us. I was talking to Coach Williams today who gave me a heads up on something, some encouragement about something. He could help us out, he really could, if he sent us the big guy. What is the big guy?

Q. Hansbrough.
COACH BROADUS: Yeah, Hansbrough. How could I not know him? We could use him tomorrow. Then the Carolina people can help us out that way.

Q. There's a report today that a staffer at Binghamton has filed a sexual misconduct complaint against an associate athletic director and assistant athletic director at Binghamton. Given the news coverage of your team of late and this latest news, is there a cloud over your program right now?
COACH BROADUS: You know, and I haven't -- oh, you turned that one on. Truthfully, I haven't heard nothing about it. Our players and when you say cloud, have looked at the stuff that's gone on around the peripheral. We've been like race horses. We've put blinders on. Horses run races with blinders on. When you get in the airplane, you put ear plugs in.
We can't control what people write about us or write about our university. You know, we just play the game. I've got a saying to our players, no matter what they say, they he can't take that away from us. We're champions. We're American East champions.
You know, it's freedom of speech. We've played through all this. We've put the blinders on, ear plugs in. And I've got a saying, don't be bitter, be better. We're just trying to be better. As far as the New York Times, I mean, that's a closed issue. I can't control nothing they write.
I just like for people to get to know us before they pass judgment on us, that's all.
AMY YAKOLA: Thank you very much.

End of FastScripts

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