home jobs contact us
Our Clients:
Browse by Sport
Find us on ASAP sports on Facebook ASAP sports on Twitter
ASAP Sports RSS Subscribe to RSS
Click to go to
Asaptext.com
ASAPtext.com
ASAP Sports e-Brochure View our
e-Brochure

ATLANTIC 10 CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENT


March 15, 2013


Jim Crews

Dwayne Evans

Mike McCall, Jr.


BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

Saint  Louis – 72
Charlotte – 55


THE MODERATOR:  We have Head Coach Jim Crews, Mike McCall, Jr., and Dwayne Evans.
COACH CREWS:  I just thought we really got off to a good start.  I thought our defense generated a lot of good things for us.  From an offensive standpoint, probably the first 10 or 12 minutes.  Then we got a little stagnant, went zone, gave us a little problems for a while, and we kind of got a better rhythm for the situation.
Then I thought at the 15‑ or 16‑minute mark of the second half, about five minutes, we kind of had another good little spurt that really was able to help us.
I thought our guys did a good job of going from the zone defense and switching back to man‑to‑man defense, did a nice job, and we did a good job‑‑ I don't know what the stats showed or not, but they got ten offensive rebounds.  They're a very physical team, very strong team.  I thought that our guys did a nice job of collectively rebounding.
It looked like Dwayne got a lot of rebounds.  I don't know if he got nine.  He did a great job on boards.  So we're really pleased to beat a stellar team.  Tournament play is tough.  We know we've got another tough opponent tomorrow.
THE MODERATOR:  Questions for the players.

Q.  Both you guys feel free to answer.  Playing here in Brooklyn, just obviously, you know, a very bustling, bustling scene, so to speak, and I know you have a business‑like attitude with this, but it obviously still is a very big thing to be moving to Brooklyn, playing on that stage, coming in, remaining focused, but still appreciating for the scene that's around you.  First to you, Dwayne, and then you, Mike.
DWAYNE EVANS:  To play here is amazing.  Would love to check everything out.  Even then, we know what we came here for.
MIKE McCALL, JR.:  Like Dwayne said, it's always good to play in an NBA arena.  Throughout the tournament, you've got to keep staying focused.

Q.  Dwayne, could you just speak to whenever you guys were able to get the ball.  You especially hit 8 of 9 shots and were very effective.  Just how it was inside when you got the ball.
DWAYNE EVANS:  It was good because we've got a bunch of guys who are really good three‑point shooters.  You have to cover them and leave the inside open.  So we kind of played in and out.  And they went out to in.  It was effective because we had a bunch of guys that could do a bunch of different things.

Q.  Mike, for the guards, when Dwayne is having a game like this where you're getting the ball inside and he scored almost every time, what's it like for you guys as the play makers and ball handlers aren't getting it to him?
MIKE McCALL, JR.:  I mean, he scores almost every time I give him an open shot, and that's something that he wants.  Give him the ball, and it's going up.

Q.  Dwayne, can you talk a little bit about the entry pass that you guys were getting in from the guards.  It gave Charlotte a lot of problems.  Could you talk about that.
DWAYNE EVANS:  I thought we had some of the best passes in America out there.  A lot of those passes I hardly saw coming from Jordair, Mike, even our bigs.  That's something we stress in practice, and something we were able to do.

Q.  Mike, they had cut it to three in the first half, and then you guys had a spurt where it was like 13‑0.  You had a hand, it seems, in every play during that time, either scoring or assisting.  It seemed to go by in a blip.  Take us through that a little bit.
MIKE McCALL, JR.:  Yeah, teams are going to make runs on us all the time.  We just need to go on to the next play and try to make a run ourselves.
THE MODERATOR:  Anything else for the players?

Q.  Dwayne and Mike, you guys don't know who you're going to play next, but having beaten Butler and LaSalle pretty handily the first time, can you talk about what it's going to be like playing those guys and actually, specifically, like what do you remember about the first game against LaSalle?
DWAYNE EVANS:  I mean, they played four guards was the biggest change.  They had a lot of speed out there on the court, and their big was inside and did a lot of damage too.  It's a different game playing them.  We've got to keep getting up to the line, keep at the three‑point line, and it's really been the same formula all year.
MIKE McCALL, JR.:  Like he said, they play four guards, and mostly they play like a lot of one‑on‑ones.  So get the guards in there and keep them in the lane.  Make it a tough shot for them.

Q.  Dwayne, just talk about getting the quick start you guys got off to in forcing the turnovers.  Charlotte having played a game, you guys hadn't played since last Saturday, and the importance of being able to do that today.
DWAYNE EVANS:  Yeah, we got out to a really quick start, and the guys were feeling really good, especially after we got that first round bye.  But, yeah, our defense, we weren't gambling with steals, making really solid defensive plays, and that's what contributed to the run.
THE MODERATOR:  Anything else for the players?  Thank you so much.
Questions for Coach Crews?

Q.  Coach, once Dwayne has three fouls fairly early in the second half, it made a little bit of a run, and you kind of knew you had to get him out there at some point?
COACH CREWS:  I think you always have a hard time sometimes with fouls.  I know a lot of coaches have a two‑foul policy in the first half.  We can't play off the seat of our pants a little bit in terms of situations and where we are.  But we'll play guys with two in the first half, and then what we usually do, if they get two or three quickly in the second half, take them out for a little bit, but we want them back in.
One thing that we feel like, if guys are playing‑‑ it kind of screws up our rotation.  We just want to keep the rotation as good as we can.  Every situation is a little bit different that we play with.  We're not right all the time.

Q.  Coach, it seemed like during the first half there were a few points where Charlotte got the lead to three and then Kwamain hits the three and gets the four‑point play, and you guys go on that run.  Can you talk about the ability of your players to make those plays to stop Charlotte from really making it a close game.
COACH CREWS:  I think the guys did a tremendous job.  Basketball's not a game of perfect, and so you're going to make mistakes.  When you make a mistake, or things aren't going your way, you just try to do the next right thing.  That doesn't mean that things aren't going to go well, but if you keep doing the next right thing, eventually good things are going to happen.
I think our guys have really had a good mentality and attitude with that type of attitude and mentality in terms of, hey, we're going to make mistakes, but it's going to be aggressive, and we're just going to bounce back and just play the next play.
There's, whatever, 160 plays a game.  You have those opportunities.  Now, if you have a mentality where there's 160 plays so we can keep making mistakes, that's not good.  I think they're always‑‑ they don't waste too many possessions.

Q.  Coach, does finding out your opponent give you a chance to make any last‑minute preparations at all?
COACH CREWS:  It's interesting.  We practiced Monday through Thursday, and we didn't know who we were going to play.  Every practice was done, and we didn't know who we were going to play.  So that's interesting.  That's different.  I don't think seeds mean anything in the tournament.  The number one seed, the thing we liked about it is our guys won a championship.  That's the only thing that it means.
Seeds mean nothing because the A‑10 is so strong.  So that's all thrown out the window.  And it's another question about Charlotte playing the second game.  It's always you like it, getting that bye, definitely you like getting the bye, but as soon as the other team wins and you know who you're playing, you're going, you know what, they feel really good about themselves, and they've got experience with winning.  So it's not such an advantage, you don't think, all of a sudden.
I don't know what the right answer is, but it does.  We play every 24 hours.  So there's not‑‑ you can't do a whole lot of tweaking.

Q.  Coach, when you look at the stats, you guys shot 37 percent.  Aside from Dwayne, it was like 27 percent.  Can you just talk about the other ways and the things you saw them do today that they got the win, helped the guys get the win.
COACH CREWS:  I think we got the win kind of like we usually do.  It comes from all kinds of different‑‑ I mean, we get a little from the defense, a little inside.  We don't shoot the ball that well from three.  It seemed like we get threes at the right time, get to the line‑‑ I mean, we have a lot of different ways.  I don't know if we're really, really good at any of them, but we're good at a lot of them.
And same thing with the players.  They just‑‑ this guy, this game or next game or these three guys or those four guys.  That's kind of the beauty of our team.

Q.  Coach, you mentioned earlier a crazy defensive start in this game.  The team that you were focusing on trying to stop their post‑scoring, how much emphasis did you put on that before the game, and what was your defensive game plan before this?
COACH CREWS:  They had 44 points in the game, and they're very, very physical in size, so the inside game was paramount.  So that was a focus of ours.  There's a lot of things that go into that from the perimeter standpoint.  It's not all isolated.  Getting guys to catch the ball maybe a little further out so the passes are longer and really have an active hand so the ball doesn't go in the post and get help side from the back side.
So it's a team thing to take away the post, but definitely‑‑ and they are extremely good interior passers with their big guys.  I mean, extremely good.

Q.  Coach, you guys won 13 of 14.  Can you just talk about the level of confidence the team's playing with and how their maturity has really built over the years.  I think you're 21‑3 since the first of the year.
COACH CREWS:  Our guys have had a good maturity on the court and off the court with a lot of different situations.  I think that they've really‑‑ another thing that we have which is a little bit different, I think we've got a bunch of guys that are leaders, but we don't have one or two guys that kind of stand on top of the mountain top and say whatever needs to be said.  We don't have those type of personalities.
So everything has kind of peaked with us.  They don't get real excited.  They don't get real down.  They just kind of keep plugging away.  That's a great trait that they have.
THE MODERATOR:  Anyone else?  Thanks.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




About ASAP SportsFastScripts ArchiveRecent InterviewsCaptioningUpcoming EventsContact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297