March 31, 2008

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Andy Katz
ESPN

Can you reflect on having time to realize that you are back with this group after three straight Elite Eights and how well you guys played over the weekend in Houston?

This stuff that we are doing is like you don't even have time. We were on the plane, we were coming back, I was reading a book and every once in awhile my mind would go to like `Wow, this group of kids really did some special things this year,' and then you go home and go to bed. This morning now all of a sudden you're thinking about UCLA.

I will say that the way we played this weekend, we do deserve to be in the Final Four with the way we played. We were really defensive minded. We were really unselfish. We really took care of the ball, and offensively we really executed. You got to the true jest of the third and fourth drive; the back door cuts and the post-ups. You know all the stuff that we do; you get a better vision of it, for those that didn't really know about it.

Diane Pucin
Los Angeles Times

How do you handle UCLA?

Well it depends on those two young men (Derrick Rose and Kevin Love). If Kevin and Derrick are out in the same mold I think they will defer everything to their teammates. We were up on the podium after the game or maybe before our Texas game and anytime anyone asked us a question through any of us about Derrick, he would start to moan `O geez', because that's how he is. He's not trying to steal anything from anybody. He is trying to add to the mix.

He's one of the great teammates that I've coached. One of the others is Marcus Camby. When a guy that good is that good a teammate, you've got great synergy. Our team is friends first and teammates second. It starts with him. He shares and that he tries to defer. He congratulates and he'd rather have other guys on the team happy than himself happy.

The past two years it's been six ones and two two's. Those are all with the first two years of the NBA rule. Is that a coincidence or do you think teams are going further because of these freshmen coming in for one year?

I think this year is just the first time ever. But I will tell you that there were a lot of people that picked us four, at the beginning of the year to be the first four teams. So, this year maybe we were just a little bit better than the field. There were still eight other teams that were right on our heals. I think the four of us had separated from the field. Next year may be different. Next year, it may be two six's, a three and a two in the final four. I just hope were a two or three or four or one of those sixes. This year was just a little different.

Blair Kerkoff
Kansas City Star

You use the `Us against the world mentality' pretty well and I was just wondering if that could carry onto the Final Four?

I really didn't. In this information era, they (the players) hear and see everything. When the majority were picking us to lose like every game we played and focusing on one area of our basketball team, and I mean focusing to the point of ridiculous, it just got to them a little bit. I laugh about it and say you know you're helping us, and if you continue to want to help us, keep doing it. But I'm not in the locker room talking in those terms.

What I'm talking about is it's our time. It's our time. They gave us a tough road. We had to play Texas in Houston, but still it's our time. This is our time. I also talked about they play on a dream team, so let's keep this up. Let's keep this going. So, I'm not talking about everybody hates us and all that. You saw what was written and what was said and what they were doing. Our style, we roll our balls. No organization to what we do. I mean, they're seeing it and hearing it; it's not me doing it.

Andy Paganotto
AP

What have you seen from UCLA's defense and what challenges do they pose for you?

The one thing I would say is that I just respect what Ben (Howland) has done. We played Ben early and we beat them in New York when he was just getting going. Between then and the final game we played them two years ago, there was a culturally change. There was a basic change in the mentality of the team; which meant that they bought in. Now, the thing they've been missing is the Bill Walton, the Kareem (Abdul-Jabar), the center, and they got one now, Kevin Love. All the mentality is still there.

Love gives them the Bill Walton, the Kareem that they really want to have. (Darren) Collison is as good as it gets; an NBA player. And then you have all these other kids who come in and do what they're supposed to do to help their team win. It's been a phenomenal year. I have always been impressed.

We know the challenge. It's body-to-body, man-o man-o; you're going to have some hands on your body. You're going to drive and there will be two hands around your waist. You better be ready to go and play a man's game because that's how they play.

Tim Gardner
USA Today

Is there anything that you are going to do defensively to prevent Kevin Love's outlet passes?

I'm going to call Wes Unseld and say `What bothered you the most when you grabbed it and threw it off the other backboard, so the guy could run it down and shoot the lay-up?' It's incredible. When he takes it out, he has an arm like (John) Elway. He just fires it and it doesn't have a side spin on it. It just goes. I don't know what you do.

There are some things that you say, `that is going to happen a couple times' You almost have that in your pocket and throw it out. You just say that's happening twice. If it happens four times than you are really angry. But the two times it's just going to happen. (Russell) Westbrook sprints like he is Jerry Rice. What do you do when nobody fast enough can run with him.