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BIG EAST CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 7, 2012Otto Porter, Jr.Henry SimsJohn Thompson IIINEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK GEORGETOWN – 64 Q. No.14 on your team, I didn't see a lot of before today. Who was that guy? COACH THOMPSON III: The same guy that's going to show up tomorrow (laughing). I disagree. I think Henry has been pretty good most of the year. I thought he was very good today in terms of his effectiveness on the block, his effectiveness as a passer and, his decision making out there. We're pretty good when we get that kind of effort out of him, smart effort, when he produces like he did today. Q. (No microphone.) COACH THOMPSON III: Yes and no. I say that because they know what time of year it is. This is their last time here with us, and they've been through the ups and downs, the highs and lows that it takes to be successful and the experiences that are necessary to be good this time of year. Now, that being said, we also had a few freshmen out there that had stepped out pretty well, also. So I expect someone to step up. If a couple of them do we'll be okay most nights. Q. Talk about Ashton. COACH THOMPSON III: Gosh, it felt like he made a lot more than that. Our zone was effective tonight. I think Greg Whittington was very good at the top of the zone. The first time we played them, our back line wasn't good, and they ended up with a handful of lay‑ups and dunks, and I think they got a few today, but I think our back line, the communication of our back line in that zone was much better today. Q. You've seen Henry take a large step from where he was the past three years. Can you talk about what went into that? COACH THOMPSON III: I mean, I think that it's growing up. I think it's evolution maybe in Henry's case. But you come in, everyone think back on when you were in college. I know I was a much different person as a senior than I was as a freshman, and Henry has had, in what I think in many ways, is a progression in terms of how he views everything, whether it be life off the court, on the court. But we have seen a steady progression to where tonight was probably one of his better games, if not his best game, wearing blue and gray. Q. Can you talk about Otto's outburst in the second half? COACH THOMPSON III: Yeah, and I think if you go back and look at it, the guy sitting next to him probably threw him the ball on most of those plays, and I think it had come to a stretch where Henry had had a little bit of success and they were starting to pay attention to him, and I think they were doubling a little bit off of Otto. And so he hit a couple of shots in the middle of that zone, and then he got to feeling good and his teammates did a good job of finding him for open looks. Q. I just wanted to ask Otto, you were very vocal out there. You're a freshman, but you and Whittington played major roles. How mature do you feel at this point compared to the start of the season? OTTO PORTER: I mean, I just tried to step up for my team when it comes down to playing hard and things like that. And me and Greg, we know that we've got to play our roles and step up and help this team throughout the rest of the season. Q. Henry, what did you think of your performance tonight? And since the regular season ended did you have that moment when you realized that this is it? HENRY SIMS: I had that moment over the summer, honestly. But when it came to this tournament, you know, last year we had an early exit, and me and Jason talked and we didn't want that to happen this year, and I did my best to make sure that didn't happen today. Q. Can you just talk about giving a lift to guys like Jason and Hollis? HENRY SIMS: They handled it well. They understand on any given night on this team anybody can step up. Tonight it happened to be me and Otto. Tomorrow night it could be Jason and Hollis. They know we've got another one tomorrow, not to dwell on this one because you've got another chance. Q. Talk about the turnaround from the last time you played Pitt. Today you shut them down. HENRY SIMS: That was a major focus, protecting the paint this game because last time they had lay‑ups and dunks almost all their points, so we made sure we held that to a minimum today. Q. The second half started, Pitt went right into the paint for three straight baskets there, then the time‑out. What did you tell your guys right there? COACH THOMPSON III: Go back to the zone. I mean, we came out in the second half and I wanted to‑‑ I gave one of those speeches at halftime as a coach where you challenge the guys and say we've got to guard these guys. You've got to step up and guard them man to man, and that might not have been the brightest thing to do, because our zone was effective in the first half, so we took their time‑out, said, fellows, back to the zone. Q. Otto, can you talk about the three‑pointer you hit in the corner to start the second half? Did you kind of feel the momentum shifting? OTTO PORTER: Yeah, I mean, I just stepped up and knocked the shot down. We went back on defense. Also the pass was just great. They were just looking for me all over the place. Q. The zone certainly played a part, but what does it say about your team given how the first meeting went and you guys were able to control the glass today? COACH THOMPSON III: Yeah, I think it's a good sign. Going into this afternoon's game, there were a few things that we wanted to stress, take care of. One is their points in the paint, which in the first game they killed us on. Two, limiting or trying to limit them to one shot, and us controlling the boards, and that's something that's very hard because they're very good at that. That's one of the things that down through the years‑‑ and their team this year is no exception‑‑ that's something they're good at is getting second shots and third shots, and Robinson in particular it is very persistent. We wanted to limit that. That was one of our plans the first time, too, but I think our guys just did a better job today. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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