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NCAA MEN'S 2ND & 3RD ROUNDS: LOUISVILLEMarch 14, 2012Jamal CrookGeorge FantRay HarperVinny ZolloLOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome the Western Kentucky University athletes. George Fant, Jamal Crook, Vinny Zollo. We are going to open up to questions from the media. Q. Jamal, talk about what tomorrow‑‑ what you expect tomorrow to be, being from here, and getting to play in an atmosphere like this. JAMAL CROOK: Playing Kentucky, Number1 seed, it's going to be a crazy environment. They pack their fans in the arena everywhere they go. So you know it's going to be crazy. It's basketball. I'm just going to approach it as just another game. Just going out and just playing ball. Q. Is it any type of dream come true, considering you're from here and have this opportunity? JAMAL CROOK: It's definitely a dream come true. Throughout my career, I never got a chance to play against UK, and I played against almost all the Kentucky teams except for UK and Morehead. It is a dream come true, especially coming back and playing in the Yum Center, playing against Kentucky. Q. Guys, can you detail your travel journey the past five days or six days, what it's been like, and maybe your physical stamina right now? VINNY ZOLLO: I think we're running on fumes right now. It's been total adrenaline. It's been a ride for us. I know a lot of the guys, it's just a matter of staying focused, I think. It's postseason. That's what it's all about. That's what you work hard for. That's what we get up early for in the off‑season. It's what we live for. It's what we'll be ready for every single game. GEORGE FANT: He's right. We've been on the road for a while, playing a lot of games, but we're here to play. Fatigue is going to be on the back burner. We're just ready to play. Q. Vinny, what's this going to mean to you, given your history with Kentucky and just sort of what that will be like? VINNY ZOLLO: For me, it's the second NCAA game. We were very fortunate to win the first one. For all of our guys, we had to stay focused.  We knew we played a very good team the first round. Moving on, playing Kentucky, we're just going to have that same amount of focus and execution. We've just got to stay focused. For me, personally, I'm going to go in not too high, not too low, like I do every game. Lace up my shoes like I do every game and play as hard as I can and give my team the best chance I can to win. Q. When you saw the brackets come up, did that pop into your head, seeing the potential for that game and sort of what it meant to you? VINNY ZOLLO: Well, I like the location where we're at, being close where our fans could come see us. Being in Dayton, it was nice having the support there. And being in Louisville, I think the location is what made us most happy for our draw. We knew we were going to be a low seed and play a good team. For all of our guys, we're competitors, and we want to play the best team out there. In the eyes of everybody, Kentucky is that team. Number 1 overall seed. No denying they're one of the best teams in the country. I think we're definitely going to accept that challenge and go out there and play as hard as we can. We've played some best teams this year. We're going to treat it like any other game. Go out there and not be intimidated whatsoever. All our guys are tough competitors. We've shown our toughness, come from behind so many games in this tournament run. For us, we're just going to keep moving forward and keep playing hard and give us the best chance to win by our toughness and how hard we play in executing the game plan. Q. Vinny, as you said, you guys are known for your comebacks. How much do you feel like you can't afford to fall behind by too much against a Number 1 seed? VINNY ZOLLO: You don't want to start out the game bad against a team like this because they can‑‑ it's kind of like horse racing. When you're racing a really big horse, you don't want to get behind too much because the race is only so long. But for us, I just‑‑ as much adversity as this team has gone through throughout the entire year, it's just brought us together as a unit. Coach Harper has put so much confidence in us and our team. Just go out there and play through mistakes and believe in each other. I think through that, we can overcome a lot of things throughout a game. Like I said, you don't want to get behind in any game, especially one like this. A good start for us would be huge in the game and just to execute our game plan. Q. Vinny, is there added incentive for you, given what happened with UK, and what exactly happened from your perspective? VINNY ZOLLO: No. If you can't find motivation to win an NCAA Tournament game, then you just need to go home. I'm here for my team. There's no added incentive, I don't think, to go out there and win. It's 100 percent for my team, it's 100 percent to advance to the next round regardless of who we're playing. I can't say I would go out and play any harder against any other team. This is the next team in front of us, and this is the team we have to play tough against. For me, I look at it every game, I'm going to go out and do whatever I can to help my team win, whether it be rebounding or shooting the ball or whatever it takes. Execute the game plan. Tomorrow it is a big game for all of us. We're close to home, and it means a lot to our fans. But to us, not overlooking anybody, but this is another game for us and another game we feel, if we play tough, we'll have a good chance to win. Q. Could you elaborate kind of what happened between you and UK. VINNY ZOLLO: It's one of those situations where it shows that this is a business. You have to do what's best for yourself, and you have to‑‑ you got to move on and do what's best for you as a person and a player. I felt that I did that, and I'm blessed to be where I am. I feel like we all have a path that we have to follow, and I feel like I'm following mine and I'm where I should be. Q. Four Kentucky teams play tomorrow, three of them here. What does that say to you guys about the state of basketball in this state? GEORGE FANT: I guess I'd have to say that basketball is picking up in Kentucky. It's always been good, but it's just a blessing for all four teams to be in the tournament. From what I've seen from all four teams, we're all playing hard, all working hard. Like I said, it's just a blessing. Q. As a followup, can you root for anyone that you're not playing, like Murray State or Louisville? Or is it past that? GEORGE FANT: You don't want to see any of the Kentucky teams lose. We want to win, but I wish them the best of luck between the guys that we're not playing. We're just here to play basketball and win for ourself. VINNY ZOLLO: It shows the enthusiasm through the state. There's huge fan support throughout the state. It's undeniably a basketball state, and it's really nice to see. Q. George, just want to ask you. I know you talked about seeing Ty Rogers' shot and what that meant. What do you think something like tomorrow, if you're able to pull it off, obviously, no 16 has ever beaten a 1. What do you think something like that would mean to you to pull off something that would be possibly the greatest upset in sports history? GEORGE FANT: Not just to me, but my team, it would be a great accomplishment for our whole team and our city. But like we're just here to win. We're not here to try to make buzzer beaters. We just want to win. If that's what it comes down to, then that's what it comes down to, and that's just luck. THE MODERATOR: Okay, guys. Thanks. We'd like to welcome WKU Head Coach Ray Harper. And we're going to open it up to the media for questions for coach. Q. Coach, you guys have done so much already to get to this point. What is the message you're kind of sending to your kids now that you're 16 facing a 1? It's never happened before‑‑ as far as winning. What's the message you're trying to send to your guys? COACH HARPER: Same we've been saying, just keep playing. We know what we must do to have a chance tomorrow, and we can't venture away from the game plan at any point during the game. More importantly, continue to compete, continue to play hard, and continue to represent this university in a positive and the right way. Man, these guys, they're guys that will not quit. They won't die. I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow or next week, but I couldn't be more proud of a group of young men, what they've been able to accomplish in these last six weeks. Q. Coach, can you describe just the journey in the past week physically, traveling, the hotels, and how you see that your players are reacting to this physically. COACH HARPER: They're good physically. Told them last night and the globe trotters get on the bus once again. Seems like we play and get on the bus and go to the next city. These guys love to play, and it's been fun. It's been good to travel with these guys. They've really had a great opportunity to spend a lot of time together. No one thought we could win four games in four days in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The guys that traveled together on that bus and the coaches, we knew that we had a great opportunity. We just went out and took advantage of it. We obviously did not play well last night. It wasn't one of our better games. But once again, they found a way to win. I think that says a lot about their character and a lot about their heart. I'm just excited that we're still playing. Q. In this short turnaround, how do you prepare for Kentucky? You kind of know what they're about already, or did you watch a lot of film, or is it more about your team now? COACH HARPER: With us, it's always about what we do. We did game plan no differently for Kentucky than we did Mississippi Valley. We have some things that we want to do tomorrow. But I think the most important thing in preparation is that you prepare the same way each time. We're not going to treat this game any differently than we did Arkansas Little Rock in the conference tournament. I think that's important because kids sense when you think it's a bigger game than the last game. We always talk about Kentucky right now is the biggest game we've got because it's our next game. So we're ready. We're going to go out and play hard and have some fun doing it. THE MODERATOR: Coach, thank you. Good luck. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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