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BIG TEN CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 13, 2010Colton IversonRalph Sampson IIITubby SmithINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA Minnesota – 69 THE MODERATOR: We'll ask Coach Smith to make an opening statement. Coach? COACH SMITH: Well, you know, I thought we really -- it was a very impressive and dominating performance. I thought our guys were focused and ready. We got off to a very good start once again. I think that's been a big key, making shots and defending. I think certainly Purdue is a very good team. Again, but we were -- it's as good a half as I think I've been a part of as a coach. THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student-athletes. Q. Can you guys just talk about what it means to you guys as players after all that's happened this season to become the first Minnesota team to make it to the Big Ten championship game? RALPH SAMPSON III: Well, for me personally, I feel that it's a great honor to be here, make the championship. I didn't know that we were the first team to make it here, but upon hearing that, I feel that you look back at all the hard work we've done over the course of preseason and practice and battling people like Trevor in practice and how it's all paid off to this moment right now, and I feel the team, we're very motivated for this game, and we feel that we've come a long way and we have a lot more to go. COLTON IVERSON: Yeah, I just think that us hanging in here through the season, I know we've had our ups and downs and we've just been hanging in there. We've been working hard and it's paying off. We wanted to reach our goals, make it to the tournament and win the Big Ten championship. I just think we need to come prepared tomorrow. We have a tough Ohio State team and we need to come ready for it. Q. When do you guys realize that this team was as talented as it showed in this game against Purdue? COLTON IVERSON: Are you talking about them or us? Well, we've always had the talent, just we needed to be able to build chemistry and start working together, play as a team. Losing some players, we've had some distractions, and we just needed to learn. Devoe has done a great job replacing Al Nolen this season, second semester, and we've all clicked together in the second part of the season. RALPH SAMPSON III: I agree with Colton. I believe we always knew that we were talented and we always knew what we had, but we needed to come together as one unit, work like a unit to reach our goals. And I feel as the season went on we were able to do that because we always knew we had the right pieces but just had to, instead of playing as individuals, play as a team. And as soon as we were able to accomplish that, we were able to get anything done, and I think that's what's showing right now. Q. Can you talk about how physical you two were today in the paint and how much that contributed to your success as a team? RALPH SAMPSON III: Personally I feel that the aggressive -- being physical today came off of the game last night. I think it carried over because Michigan State was a very aggressive and physical game. It was a close one all night, went into overtime, and I feel that coming into today, I don't think that the level went down for me and Colton in the post. I feel that we kept it up through the night and came into this game with it. And I feel that -- we knew that Purdue was a good team, we knew we had to keep them off the boards, and we just carried it on from there. COLTON IVERSON: Yeah, I agree with Ralph. I feel like the game yesterday against Michigan State got us really prepared for a tough Purdue team and then just carried over from last night, a very physical game, and we just came tonight ready to play with the same intensity as we would any other game. Q. After building such a tremendous lead in the first half, what did you guys talk about in the locker room to stay focused and stay ready because Purdue is a fantastic basketball team? COLTON IVERSON: We just knew that we had to come out in the second half like the game was starting over. You can't let any halftime lead -- you can't be comfortable with any halftime lead. You've just got to come prepared in the second half again and act like it's 0-0 and just keep the intensity and just keep going hard. Q. Ralph, how different is this Purdue team from the one that you guys saw during the regular season, and specifically how different is it in terms of guarding them? RALPH SAMPSON III: Well, it definitely was an adjustment guarding them because they had lost Robbie Hummel. He's a great player and a value for the team. They adjusted for that and it made them look a lot different than we saw them during the season. I didn't play the first time against them, and in the second half of the season, second game, I did, and it was -- from that game to here was a big difference. They definitely were a lot more tougher this game. They really came out and were trying to knock down shots, but I think that we pressured them out of the comfort zone that I felt that Robbie Hummel was really putting them in there, and I feel that -- just the game looked different from the first time -- second time we played them. Q. For both players, how much do you think it'll help tomorrow, the fact that no one on your team had to play more than 26 minutes tonight? COLTON IVERSON: That's good. I mean, we spread out some minutes so people don't get too tired. I didn't even realize that. But I guess that's good, keeps some legs fresh. We've been playing -- we had three games in a row, tomorrow is going to be the fourth, and we can't let it -- we can't get fatigued or anything, so we've just got to come like it's any other game, and you've just got to have the same intensity. RALPH SAMPSON III: I feel that, like Colton said, it keeps our legs fresh, it keeps players still energized. And like Colton said, this will be our fourth game coming up against a really good Ohio State team, so we're going to need everything we have in order to compete and in order to keep our focus on this game and to eliminate distractions that still might be lurking around. Q. Yesterday Devoe said he felt that you guys were as good as any team in the Big Ten, and he also said as good as any team in the country. Do you guys feel that you are playing with that sort of confidence as a team, and do you also look at that confidence going into the Ohio State game? Do you guys feel like you can play with anyone in the country at this moment? RALPH SAMPSON III: Yeah, I have to agree with Devoe on that one. I feel that our team has really come together. We're really playing -- I wouldn't say our best basketball right now because we still had some slips on this game right now, but I feel that we're getting there, and I feel that we can compete with any team in the country, and I feel that we can compete with any team in the Big Ten. I feel that we've kind of proven that in this tournament right now. THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Smith? Q. In a situation like this as you're advancing through a tournament, how much does your experience, being in these situations, advancing in tournaments like this, how much does that help in terms of getting these guys prepared to play a game like this? COACH SMITH: It can be useful, but it's more important to have good players, and we have some pretty talented players. Colton and Ralph are very talented, big men that are proven now and starting to play their best basketball. It helps because you've been through the wars and because of age, I guess, and longevity and experience in a number of different opportunities. But it's all about preparation, whether it's with your staff. That helps, also, because all the guys on the staff have coached in tournament play, and so we draw from all those resources, and it's been helpful for I think the focus of the team and their mental concentration, probably all starting with -- they talk about being a unit, one unit, team work, playing together, playing unselfishly, and those are the things as a coach you work for. You want your team to get to this point. So experience, it's a combination of the whole year of -- for them, understanding what it takes to get better every day, and we proved that today. The thing about coaching, when you have good players, you look like a pretty good coach. Q. Late in the first half I believe you were up 37-9 at the time. Lawrence turned it over like 26 seconds to go, and it seemed like you were kind of irate at him at that time. Two-part question: No lead is safe in any ballgame, and in the start of the second half, Damian, the defense he showed out there on the court, is it just the tone you guys wanted to set for the second half? COACH SMITH: Well, Damian is as good a defensive player as I've ever coached. I've been in the business a long time, and I've had some pretty talented -- coached some pretty talented players over the years. Damian Johnson is the most versatile, defensive player I've ever coached at any level. I said before, I was disappointed he wasn't part of the All-Defensive Team, and I think our kids were disappointed and he was disappointed, and he's proven that he can do it all defensively, that he can go at anybody on the court. Having said that, Wes turned it over two or three times by halftime, and he was leading us in turnovers all year, so we need him to just be a little more patient, let the shot come to him, keep it off the floor. That's what that's about. Q. Do you think your team play its way into the NCAA Tournament today? COACH SMITH: You know, you never know. It's one of those, there's a lot of -- the committee has a tall task ahead of them. There's a lot of good teams, a lot of talented players. You know, the best way for us to get in is to win tomorrow. Q. You didn't let up on the gas, and I think we were talking about last night, my perception of your team from one minute to the next is so good at times, but you out-scored them, ran them off the court and still managed to out score them in the second half. That must make you feel good as a coach. COACH SMITH: Well, we've had two bad games this year, and that's it. I said that last night. We've been as consistent as anybody. We may not have showed it in the win column, but we've been a pretty consistent team, even through a lot of challenges and distractions. I've said all along, this group has been as -- I'm proud of their camaraderie, their solidarity, their unity, and they're pulling for one another. You can see they care about each other. Devoe Joseph has evolved into a pretty good lead guard. People have accepted their roles. They appreciate what we've been trying to get them to do all year long. As I said, this is a culmination of all those hours of preparation. We're looking for that type of consistency. You shouldn't get too high and you shouldn't get too low, just -- we always talk about moderation. John [Wooden] used to talk about balance, and we try to get that as a coach and we try to get that from our players and in life and in the game, too. Q. With the stretch of games you guys have played here at the tournament with Ohio State going into double overtime, most of their top players played almost the entire game, do you think fatigue will play a factor for both teams tomorrow? COACH SMITH: It's a good question. It's all about mental preparation. They've got it all. Those guys, I've been impressed with them, Matta, and just the conditioning of Lauderdale and Evan Turner and Lighty. You're right, Buford, those guys. It's a championship game. The adrenaline will be high, the intensity level will be high. You know, we've tried to prepare for this point in time with the use of our bench and developing -- because you never know what's going to happen, injuries, other things, and so we've been able to plug guys in, and they appreciate their role like a Devron Bostick. He hasn't played much, but he steps in and gives us quality minutes, Paul Carter, Justin Cobbs, all the guys have done -- you can see what Colton Iverson has done for us and right on down the line. So we have a lot of faith in each individual player, and that being the case, I would hope that we'd have an advantage when it comes to that. Q. What would it mean just to win a Big Ten Championship for Minnesota, to you as a coach? COACH SMITH: Well, it would mean that we have -- and I said before, I think we've been doing it the right way, preparing the right way, recruiting the right way. There are things that happened in the course of the season that may not -- that people question, but that's part of being a coach. You know that's coming. So for these guys, as they mentioned before, sticking to it, just sticking to the game plan, fellows, just don't be diverted by all the negative things you hear, see. Keep your eye on the prize. That's what it would mean, for not necessarily trophies; they come and go. I'm worried about how these guys take something with them into their life after dealing with so many things and then fighting through it, whether it's from the media, from anywhere else. That's going to take them a long way in the future in their life. Wins and losses, that's really nothing. But we're going to play and we're going to give our best effort, and we do that and we'll be fine. As long as we do that, we can hold our heads up high, and we can look in the mirror and say we did our best, and that's all we can do. THE MODERATOR: Coach, thank you. End of FastScripts |
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