March 15, 2009

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Memphis Head Coach John Calipari Opening Statement
I said all along that the last one and the first two seeds are not that different. I like what I see where we're going, Kansas City. I have no problem being out West. I just want our team healthy and ready to go, and if that is the case, then let's throw it up and let's go. We're all just ready to play.This has been a long season now with how we started and how we regrouped and got it together, it is just crazy. If we can win the first one, the second game is a hard game. We're talking about two storied programs (California and Maryland) with two great coaches. That's what this is all about. All we're worried about is this little bracket that we have right now and this little corner of the world which is Cal State Northridge, us, Cal, and Maryland. That's all we're worried about is that first tournament. We're not going to worry about anything beyond that.

Is it disappointing that they didn't give much credit to the smaller conferences?
It's disappointing, but not just for us. What that says is that you're at a real disadvantage in a non-BCS conference. I don't know how you solve it. Part of it is that you don't get home games. Well, they had all those top-50 wins, but they had them at home. In the non-BCS, you just don't get them. We tried to go out and play the best non-conference schedule which is why we were a No. 2 seed. We could have been a No. 4 or No. 5 seed. Here we are and if you think about it, five years ago, would we have been disappointed with a No. 2 seed? I know people in this city are not. It just kind of bows your neck a little bit and we need to go get it.

What do you tell your players about what happened with the seeding after campaigning for the No. 1 spot?
I haven't really been campaigning, but I just said that whatever the committee does, we'd be fine with it. They have been fair with us and they have been fair this year. They must have thought that UConn was just a better team, and that's how they felt and that's how they voted. I bet you it was close in that room, though. I bet there were a lot of people saying that you can't do it for this and that reason, and when they voted, it was close and that's what went down and that's fine. What I had said was, if you talk about road wins, we have them. If you talk about the last 12 games, we have them. If you talk about team defense, we have it and we've done it. If you talk about non-conference schedule, we've done it. There is no campaigning, it is just what we've done. So, if that's not good enough, then we won't get a No. 1 seed. From the beginning of this year, are you amazed at what this team has accomplished? To have lost everybody that we did and to be able to regroup along with creating our own identity is ridiculous. It shows that 30 wins is not enough for everyone. No. 1 seeds are the norm? Come on, it's crazy. It's fun and it's a ball. I'm a little tired right now. It has been a long season. I need to get my bearings back just like my team does. We're not going to do anything today. We're going to come back and do a sharp tomorrow and get ready because we'll probably leave Tuesday after practice.

How much do you do to prepare for a game like this?

I don't do much with the team, but I'll go over and watch four or five tapes. I'll call people that played them. I'll ask what their tendencies are and what they try to do in certain situations. I'll prepare the team, and they won't even know that they're being prepared. So, we'll put a practice plan around it and they'll have no idea that we're throwing small things at them because I want my team to worry about doing what we do. If doing what we do is not good enough, then we've had a heck of a season.

Memphis senior Antonio Anderson
Are you disappointed about not getting that last No. 1 seed?
We can't be worrying about UConn and them getting the No. 1 seed. We would lose track of where we are by worrying about the teams ahead of us. If we meet UConn, we'll meet them, but we're not worried about that right now.

What is the preparation that happens for a team that you know nothing about?
We just have to be ready to play. We just have to believe in what Coach has prepared us for and things like that and just be ready to play. They're the type of team that can sneak up on you and win the game, and we don't want that to happen to us. We just have to be on top of our game and everything will work itself out.

What are your emotions after four years of watching the selection show waiting for Memphis' placement?
Really, I'm just worried about what day we're playing. Now we have time to get down and focus and get back and practice to get ready for the tournament. When we're watching the show, my whole thing is to find out who we're playing and where we play.

What do you tell the newcomers about the postseason?
It's do-or-die. We have to come out and play 100 percent from the jump. That's all I have to tell them. I know every guy on the team is going to work really hard in practice and be ready for the game on Thursday.

There really wasn't much celebrating here, why was that?
It's business. That's how we're looking at it. We're not going to jump up and down. We knew we were going to be either the No. 1 or No. 2 seed. We weren't surprised, but now we just have to go get it.

Memphis senior Robert Dozier
What are your thoughts on where the team is right now heading in to the postseason?
I think we're on the right path. I think we're definitely playing the basketball that we need to play to be a good team in order to make a deep run.

There really wasn't much celebrating here, why was that?
It's business. We've been ready to get this over with for the past two weeks now. This is all that's been talked about. We're just ready to go out on the court and play now.

What goes through your mind when Memphis comes up on the screen?
I'm just thankful that it's over with. It's something that is talked about for the entire last month of the season. We get tired of hearing the questions. Where do you think you're going to be? Are you going to be there? We're a No. 2 seed, and we're just going to go out there and be the best No. 2 seed that we can be.

What do you think the other teams in your bracket thought when they saw Memphis in it as well?
I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure that they're not going to be so happy. We just have to be ready to go out on that court and play. They're going to give it their all whether they think they can beat us or not. So, we have to be prepared for it.

Kansas City means that the Memphis fans will be able to travel, what are your thoughts about having Memphis fans there at the first rounds?
Definitely, it's nice. It's not too far from Memphis. It doesn't really matter where we went, our fans follow us everywhere. I don't think having the fans there will be much of a problem.

What do you tell the younger guys about the post season?
It's a different level. It's 40 minutes and there are no breaks, and no laughs. You can't have that in these games. Two turnovers can turn a whole game around and you end up losing. It's more about being prepared and taking care of the ball. That's the biggest thing during NCAA Tournament time.

Memphis sophomore Roburt Sallie
What have Robert Dozier and Antonio Anderson told you about what happens now?
We really haven't had much time to discuss it, but I can tell from the coaches' mentality that we're just prepared. We're just ready to get this game going. This is why I came here.

What are your thoughts about not getting that No. 1 seed?
We're just here to play. That's it. We're not worried about what our seed is. We were obviously looking for a No. 1 seed, but a No. 2 seed is fine. We're just ready to play and get this thing rolling. That's what our mindset is, and we're ready to play.

Do you think that this team is past the point where Coach Calipari had said that the mentality had been that the switch could just be turned on? That is something that we're going to have to work through. With the preparation for these games, I think we'll be ready to play. We're just so excited. We're just ready to play.

Memphis junior Doneal Mack
What was going through your mind when the No. 1 seeds were announced?
I didn't think we were going to get a No. 1 seed. I expected us to get a No. 2 seed. I just wanted to know what bracket we were going to be in. I figured that we were going to get No. 2 seed because everyone else thought that the Big East deserved all of the No. 1 seeds, but like Coach Calipari said, when you throw the ball up, we have to be ready to play.

Do you come in with a chip on your shoulder now?
I think that we can. Especially from how we started the year to how we ended it. That's a great accomplishment. We dropped out of the top-25 and there was talk about us, discouraging us, and now we're back being talked about going to the Final Four. That's a great accomplishment and that can be used as the chip on our shoulder.

What do you tell the young about what they can expect in the NCAA Tournament?
All you can tell them is leave it all on the floor. Take it one game at a time. You're never going to look ahead to the other bracket or to the next teams because they have to play just like we do to get there. The only thing is to tell them to be focused and to be ready when your name is called.

Do you prepare for the game yourself or do you let the coaches take care of that?
I think Coach Robic and the rest of the coaches are going to give us a good idea of how they play. They are not going to just come in and give us the game. I can remember the last two years when we had tough first round games. They played us tough and we are going to try to set the tone from the first game on.