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SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 13, 2014Anthony GrantLevi RandolphTrevor RelefordATLANTA, GEORGIA LSU – 68 THE MODERATOR: We'll get started with an opening statement from coach and then take questions for the student‑athletes. COACH GRANT: Well, obviously a tough loss, tough way to end our season today, but give LSU credit. Obviously you look at their numbers, I thought coming into the game, we knew we had to do a great job on Johnny O'Bryant and on Mickey and Stringer. They had a couple of guys in Coleman and Quarterman that really stepped up from an offensive standpoint and really carried their team. 15 points between them. They go 7‑12 from the 3‑point line. That was probably the difference in the game. I thought our guys fought. We had a tough time, had a stretch there in the first half where we had a tough time scoring. And that kind of affected what we were trying to do from a defensive standpoint. But we had opportunities in the second half, as well, but unfortunately we weren't able to take advantage of those opportunities. Give LSU credit, their defense had a lot to do with that. So at the end of the day, our guys fought, but we came up short. THE MODERATOR: Take questions for the student‑athletes. Q. Trevor, obviously disappointed tonight, but what are your thoughts on the four years you were able to put together here at Alabama? TREVOR RELEFORD: Looking back on the four years of playing here, it was a great ride. It was a great four years. Enjoyed playing with these guys and learning from our coach and stuff like that every day. It's been a great time and I'm going to miss it. Q. Trevor, what did they do differently defensively for you, to you today as opposed to the first game against LSU? TREVOR RELEFORD: I think they played the same kind of way that they played the first time. It was just I wasn't able to knock down shots, and as a team we weren't able to execute. THE MODERATOR: Levi, would you just give us just a couple of general thoughts on the game, please. LEVI RANDOLPH: I feel like LSU's good team. They came out, they played hard. We dug ourself a hole and we weren't able to fight back. Q. For both players, for whatever reason you weren't able to win away from home all year. Can you find a reason? Can you pinpoint a reason? Was there any one thing that caused that? TREVOR RELEFORD: I really can't pinpoint it. It comes down to executing and things like that on the road. At neutral sites like that when you're away from home and you don't have your crowd, I think that's the biggest key. But next year these guys, they got to learn from this year and learn how to play on the road. LEVI RANDOLPH: Like Trevor said, away from home, it's more a focus thing, I think. It's mental. Just a different setting. But it's still basketball, so we got to get ready, try to get better for next year. THE MODERATOR: All right. We'll excuse the players. You can return to the locker room. Thanks. Take questions for coach. Q. Similar question, what has Trevor meant to this program and how much is he going to be missed moving forward? COACH GRANT: We'll miss him greatly. I told him after the game I'm just really proud of the way he's, first of all, walked in as a freshman and had a lot on his shoulders from day one, the way he's handled that. Just the growth he's made, not only as a player, but as a person. And I'm appreciative of his commitment, his work ethic, and his dedication to the program. I think that he's done a good job in terms of instilling an understanding of how to compete in our guys. Now we have got to be able to build off of the foundation that he laid, so to speak, and take that next step as a program. Q. You finished with a record of 13‑19. Obviously not the record that you desired or hoped for. But what do you take positive out of this season? COACH GRANT: We played an extremely competitive schedule right from the jump in the non‑conference and obviously playing in the SEC every night. No matter who you play, it's going to be a tough, tough matchup. So the thing I take from it is, as a program, we're trying to get to where we can compete for championships, so challenging ourselves against the best and seeing where we're at and then trying to take that next step and get better. I feel like our guys all year long continued to fight, continued to be committed to one another in terms of trying to get better, in trying to win every time we stepped on the floor. As you said, unfortunately, the outcome, the results weren't what we wanted them to be. But for me, it's all maybe just a part of the process in terms of trying to become what you want to become. So we have obviously ended our season here tonight. I'll look back and look at where we need to get better and reflect on it. But I think these guys competed every night they stepped on the floor, and for that I'm proud. Q. Do you plan to talk to Coach Battle in the next day, two, three, to evaluate things and how do you anticipate that? COACH GRANT: I haven't talked to him in regards to anything. So I think that we'll go back and we'll decide if we're going to go back tonight or tomorrow, and we'll go from there. Q. Personally, you haven't had a season like this going back even to VCU. How have you personally handled or dealt with this type of season, because you haven't had this type of season before? COACH GRANT: Same thing I tell the players all the time, vision over circumstances. I believe that in spite of the results, as a program, there are a lot of things that I think we have to build on. A lot of pieces that are there that if we can do some things a little bit better, I think the results may be a little bit more it in our favor. So we just got to continue to try to do the things we need to do to take that next step. Q. What gives you confidence that this year was a temporary set back? COACH GRANT: I believe in what we do. I believe in the way we do it. Like I said earlier, we challenged ourselves tremendously this year. I think when you look at what we did, who we chose to play in the non‑conference, obviously the results weren't where we wanted them to be, but I think that for us to take the next step as a program that's what we have to do. We have to be willing to do that. We'll continue to do that. I'm not afraid of that. So we'll have to raise our level of play to that level where we can get our program where we want to get our program. So we'll continue to play as competitive a schedule as we possible can and hopefully our guys will grow from this experience and understand where we need to get better. Q. Although your team struggled this year, what kind of optimism do you have moving forward in the next season with four starters coming back and a very strong recruiting class? COACH GRANT: Same thing I just talked about. We're going to continue to challenge ourselves to get better. We'll add some new guys to our team. Obviously for those new guys coming in, understanding the opportunity they have to make a difference. To our program, you just never know in terms of what will happen in terms of injuries or whatever, but I'm looking forward to the challenge of getting our program to the point where we can compete for championships. Q. Is there any doubt in your mind that you will be back next year? COACH GRANT: That's not for me to decide. That's completely out of my control. Q. You talked about the schedule. When you schedule like that, you have to be secure in where you are as far as your position. Do you feel that security at Alabama? COACH GRANT: Well, I know who I am, as a man, as a coach. I know where my vision is for our program. So with that, yeah, I'm extremely secure. THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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