Albuquerque Regional Final - Practice Quotes
March 25, 2005 | Men's Basketball
March 25, 2005
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - University of Louisville men's basketball head coach Rick Pitino and several players met with the media today to preview Saturday's Albuquerque Regional final between the No. 4 seeded Cardinals (32-4) and No. 7 seeded West Virginia (24-10). Tip-off between U of L and WVU is set for 2:40 p.m. MT at The Pit with the winner advancing to the Final Four next week in St. Louis, Mo.
The Cardinals advanced to Saturday's regional final after dispatching of No. 1 seed Washington 93-79 on Thursday night. The Moutaineers knocked off No. 6 Texas Tech 65-60 in Thursday's second game to setup a matchup of future BIG EAST Conference foes.
Practice Quotes Courtesy of the NCAA
Louisville Head Coach Rick Pitino
Q. Could you just talk about the 1-3-1 that they play and you don't see that a lot these days and how difficult is it to prepare for?
COACH PITINO: Well, when the three point line came in, the 1-3-1 sort of disappeared in college basketball. But the way West Virginia plays it, they extended it so much that they guard the three point line much better than the flat 1-3-1 that you saw in the '60s, '70s, and '80s. But we haven't faced a 1-3-1 all year. We've played 36 games and we've not faced a 1-3-1. The good thing is we have practiced it throughout the year and this is the best 1-3-1 that you'll face. They are very good at that time they try to keep the ball on one side of the floor they try to stop it from going to the middle. We know this is a great basketball team. We know they play a unique defense. As you get ready for one game you haven't seen a certain defense but they also play man-to-man. They also play some two-three. With one day preparation, it is quite different.
Q. With the attributes that you have got physically with these guys, how do you keep them so unselfish and is this one of the most unselfish groups that you have ever had in your career?
COACH PITINO: I think when you motivate young people today from this generation, what I tell them is same thing when you look at Maryland or you look at the team I had in '96, when you win and you're successful, opportunities and doors open for each one of them individually if they play as a team. When you're regarded as a winner and you're successful, money chases you. When you go out for yourself and you go after your points, your status, then you loose, and success and opportunities never follow you. So the more you win, the more people realize who Ellis Myles is and how he's the key to the team, the more they realize what a great player Francisco is, the more they realize what a terrific freshman Tajo is. Larry goes from basic obscurity too now playing himself into the second round of the NBA draft. So that's what winning does, winning gets opportunities to chase after you in a mad dash. That is what we have tried to tell the players, as long as they stay with in themselves and understand what the team is and keep what we call that Ph.D. of being poor hungry and driven, they understand it that's what we built the whole year. Passing is essential to our offense, rebounding has been our Achilles' heel and when we have gotten into conference tournament play and NCAA play it's really picked up it's really enabled us to be a good defensive team.
Q. Professionally and personally from '96 to now, the Celtics and everything you had to deal within your personal life, how hard has it been to get to this point?
COACH PITINO: I have a unique perspective on professional basketball, you know, because I have seen so much, I took over a job that won 15 games and we got it to 36 and at that point we floundered. But I have a perspective on the pros. It's all about talent, and whether it's Pat Riley with the Miami Heat when they lost a talent or whether it's whoever, it's about talent and if things don't go your way the average life span of an NBA coach is a year and a half. So when I left that situation I said okay, what did you learn from it, what did you do wrong, and how could you be better. And I learned a lot from that experience and so I take it now and incorporate it into college basketball which is really where I belong. I enjoyed my experiences tremendously, learned a lot from it, but this is where I belong. So now I just take from those experiences and find out what to do as well as what not to do.
Q. You talked about their unusual defense, you haven't it seen much. Can you also talk about an offense that they play that you probably don't see a lot of either and what they do well?
COACH PITINO: Well, they're a great foul shooting team. In the Big East, they shoot 78 percent from the free throw line. They have centers that step out and shoot the three. We've seen that a lot lately. We saw it with Louisiana-Lafayette, we saw it with Washington. But now it takes it to a new level they're a great shooting team. They run. They're a Princeton with much better talent in their offense and they speed it up a little bit more. They're very tough to play against at all phases of the game. Any team that beats Wake Forest gets your attention right away, forgetting the fact that they beat Creighton, Boston College, Villanova, all top-20 teams. They're an excellent basketball team. This is not a Cinderella story and they don't have a Cinderella coach. They have one of the premiere coaches in the game.
Q. It seems like Francisco really embodies that philosophy you're talking about, the unselfishness. It appears that he can virtually score any time he wants to, but chooses not to until certain moments of the game. Can you talk a little bit, does he kind of feed off that mentality to the rest of his (team)?
COACH PITINO: Any time you're a great player thinking pass before shot, everybody feeds off of that and everybody believes in that philosophy and if you believe in making the extra pass then your transition defense gets much better, your offensive rebounding gets much better. I think great teams - one element of about this is you have to have great shot selection. Because if you have poor shot selection you're going to play poor defense. This team has great shot selection. They have had it all year and it's because they feed off the pass. We are underrated in a few areas, especially the way we drive the ball. We get a lot of credit for shooting it, but we do a lot off the drive and then Francisco is certainly good that. Larry (O'Bannon) made a great play last night. He made a steal went behind his back and went in and dunked the ball. If you could ever - for the guys that follow Larry - see how far he has come in such a short period of time is really rewarding for all of us to witness.
Q. When you think of a guy like Mike Gansey he left St. Bonaventure, what he has become - a scrappy kid and all of that - it would appear not many coaches would not wasn't him on their team you probably have only seen film but what you can talk about?
COACH PITINO: He's a great player because he can put it on the floor and beat you off the dribble. He can shoot it. These guys can really play the game they're triple threat people. They can pass, they can drive and they can shoot. This is a very talented ball club so he's someone that -he can flat out play. I would love to have him. He's a great player.
Q. Reflecting back on your NBA base, I wonder if you ever thought how your career might have changed if you guys had won the lottery and gotten Tim Dunkin at that time, and also how you feel you changed as coach from your time in Kentucky with this team here?
COACH PITINO: Not to get too personal, but yeah, I would probably still be coaching if we had Tim Duncan and whoever coaches Shaq would be coaching. A lot of people thought I was humbled by the Boston Celtics and a great dose of humility is great for everyone. What humbled me to the point where I recognize people and recognize other people is really 911...wasn't being human weld by Boston. I've always been a good loser and I have also understood what it would take...you win because of your players. But age and 911 has not mellowed me but just made me care about just everybody other than myself the pain of going through that and seeing so many people suffer. It wasn't the Boston Celtics, so that's really it. I don't look back and say what if I would have got - what if I didn't leave Kentucky because I've enjoyed every step along the way. Losing is fertilizer to help future things grow, and if you learn to get better from it and not point fingers and place blame. I look in the mirror and say any time we lose it is your fault, do something about it and get better. Don't place blame on the fact we didn't get Duncan or we didn't have this. You made mistakes, own up to them and go on and get better for it. I'm pretty much the same coach at country Kentucky we just adjust to weaknesses a little bit. I never coached very much zone at Kentucky. I did coach a lot of zone at Providence. We pressed nonstop at Kentucky. We press a little bit more, but it's not all out because we don't have the depth that we once had. We just changed based on our talent and adjust. And again it's - 911 will change me forever...I'll never be the same person ever again.
Q. You pointed out some of the differences when you were at Kentucky. With this team as far as making big, coming out and making big shots, getting contributions from guys off the bench. How much has this team reminded you of some of those runs you made with Kentucky in the '90s?
COACH PITINO: Well this team, like the Providence team, has caught me off guard. You know, it has happened so quick. As you know, when you get older a little bit - you're young time goes slow right - now it feels like it's been three weeks since the start of the season and suddenly we are at the end. Yes, a week away from the Final Four. It has happened so quick and this season caught me off guard because we felt we really did - sitting around a conference table - that we were going to struggle to make the tournament this year. Just based on all the problems we were having with defects to the NBA, injuries, we didn't know what Ellis Myles was going to be sitting out for a year and a half. We thought we were thin. We didn't know what was going to happen with Taquan coming off double hernia surgery. Ellis coming up with the patellar knee separation. We thought we were going to fight. We were willing to fight to make the tournament and suddenly we realize we have a really good basketball team that was unselfish and certain things you cannot measure. Taquan started getting better. We had injuries throughout the season, but we kept winning despite all of that. These guys just have great character and they are all very different people but they are all in it together it's one heartbeat.
Q. Questions about two of your players, one the follow up on what I asked Larry. Seriously how do you teach a kid who is that nice to perhaps be a little less nice on the court, and Francisco, you mentioned two days ago when you were up there, that early in the season when he wasn't shooting well, he was the one that said I need to work on distributing the ball, getting my teammates involved and it is going to pay dividends at the end and the postseason. Is that a uncommon level of maturity for him to have that vision and be able to see that?
COACH PITINO: I think he's 23. And some people have knocked him in the NBA. This is the strangest thing I have encountered in 31 years of coaching. The had NBA says he's a little old he's 23. If you want to win, if you want to turn around your pro franchise and you want somebody to make better, why would you want a young guy? He's not going to be ready for four or five years. Don't you want somebody who has the maturity, who won't be spoiled by professional amenities that they get. I could never understand that reasoning. It was not like he's 33, he's 23. With Larry, he changed mostly because of the weight room. Larry just got a lot stronger, a lot more physical and, you know, if you're thin you don't feel like going out there and beating on people. But now, you know, you're 4-5 percent body fat and you are one of the best guys in the weight room and you're cut like somebody just chisled you get confidence from that as far as being tougher. And so Francisco just went through a stretch where he just didn't take open shots and that is almost - you get taken out of the game sometimes with us if you don't take open shots. We believe in shooting with daylight, driving and passing. When you're covered he had a lot of open shots, when he wasn't taking them we had to bring him in, show them on film. He said, I got it I got it. Now he's playing the best basketball. That's what you hope for. For your best basketball player to be playing his best basketball in the tournament.
Q. You have a chance to take a third program to the Final Four, do you have any thoughts about where that would rank among all of your coaching accomplishments - being able to take three different programs and fairly different eras?
COACH PITINO: I think how great it would be for these players and for the University of Louisville. I'm not going to give you doses of humility. I really think so little of myself in this day and age I do think it would be great for the kids, for Louisville. I'd love to see the smiles on my family, of my nieces and nephews certainly, to go to a Final Four. But in terms of taking three programs, I really don't think to much about that. It happened so quick you never get time to think and also we know we're just we got such a great opponent to play against. So I try not to think about the next step. Try just to think about what we are doing now and we've got to play great to beat West Virginia. I know that.
Q. Rick, you've liken this team to the Providence team a couple of times now. And as a coach is there a special satisfaction to taking teams like this as far as you've taken them as opposed to you had some teams Kentucky with five, six pros on them. When you talk about that you were able to do different things with that team and Kentucky it gets contrasting also if there is any extra satisfaction because of that?
COACH PITINO: "It is same feeling inside. This is a physically much more talented team than Providence College. But the surprise element is from what the beginning and where we are today, playing this type of basketball, surprised me just like Providence. But this team is more talented because we didn't have Francisco Garcia. Billy Donovan was a terrific college player as good as it gets he wasn't a pro as Francisco as some of these other guys have a shot at that. But the surprise element is what's taking me back a little bit. And the way we're playing is the same way we played at Providence. We went into a Sweet Sixteen against an Alabama team that was had four NBA players on it. They looked like they were unbeatable on film and it was never a game. It was just never a game. We were up 25 at half time I think shot 68 percent in the first half and then Georgetown the second was number three in the country. A team that just killed us those last two games and was really never a game we won by 15 it was 20 at half time. It was the way we were doing if and we also had to struggle just like Louisiana Lafayette. We had to struggle with Austin Peay. We had to come back from the dead against Austin P, who upset Illinois to win. You always have to struggle one game and come back from the dead to get to a Final Four and we had to do with Louisiana Lafayette so the similarities are there."
Q. Rick, when you arrived in Louisville I'm sure that the expectation was that you were going to get to the Elite Eight. But how difficult was it during the last few years to get this program together?
COACH PITINO: "The difference between Kentucky and Louisville. Kentucky was embarrassed and on probation. They were humiliated by the scandal. But they still had a brand name. They still were Kentucky for good or bad. Notoriety keeps you in the spotlight. They still had that brand so it was easier to recruit. We got Jamaal Mashburn while we were on probation and we couldn't be on tv. Louisville lost its brand because they weren't in a marquee conference and they hadn't been good for like five or seven years. The recruits didn't know about Louisville and didn't know their brand anymore. So that was the toughest thing it took. If it wasn't for Francisco and Taquan coming and just because maybe they knew me of the past when I was coaching, but they really didn't know Louisville. We would be really up the creek but they helped us and we never suffered because of that. We went to the NIT first year and then two NCAAs. We never had to suffer but we were never a legitimate contender. We had great seasons, won a conference championship. We realized we almost had to play a perfect game to win in a tournament. We won one game one time. It's great we're back now because we've a brand back. It shows in recruiting and it's even going to get better because we are going in the Big East. We'll now be able we've recruited California this year but that was largely due to Reggie Theus. I think we'll be able to continue that."
Q. You talked about some of the things you learned in the NBA how you incorporated them into this team. Can you elaborate a little more on those things?
COACH PITINO: Well, the NBA has the greatest form of scouting. I mean for two years I worked under Hubie Brown. I learned probably more basketball in two years than I have in 20 years and it was all about preparing to stop the greatest players on earth each night. And it was so many games trying to stop from Kareen to Barkley to Dominque Wilkins and then you go into the Michael Jordan, the McKale.l the Bird era. You're always trying to stop the greatest players defensively. From a scouting preparation standpoint, I learned so much from Hubie in devising a game plan, a defensive scheme and I felt, you know, I look at Bill Bellicheck today. I am a big admire of his. I felt Hubie was that way in basketball. I learned so much being around the greatest players and trying to stop the greatest players is the most difficult defensive assignment that you could possibly learn. Quick hitting offenses so many things that you can pick up in the NBA that you learn from and then you got you learn an awful lot what not to do for motivation and that is a big key to being successful learning what not to do.
Q. Coach, I want to ask you about Father Bradley. I'm kind of interested in what kind of role he plays with this team. I'm wondering if he's played a role as a counselor perhaps for you given the personal tragedies you went through maybe with Francisco and what else he does with the team. Is he involved in a Good Friday sense with your family today?
COACH PITINO: Well, Father has eulogized my mom. He has baptized nieces and nephews. He's going to be the priest at my son's wedding so he's become a very close and dear friend. Back home we have three or four ministers who are part of the team like Father Bradley and I'm really a big believer in that. We alternate games so the guys have someone to go to spiritually. This is a very spiritual basketball team. When we are done with our team prayer seven of them are kneeling we're always late kneeling for a minute 30 by themselves. Tello is a young man who is extremely spiritual and religious when he got hurt this year he asked one of the Reverends to sit there and pray with him. It's very refreshing to see. It is not something we talk about too much. We don't talk about it at all but it's really neat to see that in the locker room and see these guys and the father Bradley is just one of four, five people. It doesn't matter whether you're Catholic whether you are Protestant. We have somebody travel with us at all times so Father Bradley is very important to me personally as well as to the team as well as the other Reverends from Louisville."
Louisville Players: Freshman Juan Palacios, Senior Larry O'Bannon, Senior Ellis Myles, Junior Francisco Garcia and Junior Taquan Dean
Q. Larry, for one would you just describe your feelings being one game away now from the Final Four?
JUAN PACACIOS: "You know, this is a nice experience and it's something that I have been dreaming since I was in Columbia. I used to watch this on TV and now being part testify it is just something there's no words to express the feelings that I have right now.
Q. Larry, talk about what it would mean to the City of Louisville to get a Final Four team. It has been a long time. You grew up there You may have been born before the last time the Final Four talk about what it would mean to Louisville?
Larry O'Bannon: "It would be great for the City. We are about due for one. The last time we went there would be 86. It would bring the community together and really support their college basketball team."
Q. Larry, you had one of the more unusual challenges this year, in that I've heard you have been called the nicest guy in Conference USA and coach told you that you had to adopt a more seriously demeanor on the sideline and kind of keep it throughout the game. Seriously how do you work on that? How do you go from being one of the nicest guys around to doing what you need to do on the court and not being that nice?
Larry O'Bannon: "It's not something you can really work on. Even though I improved on it I guess if you want it play you have to change it. So I mean in off season I worked on it, got in the gym and worked hard with my teammates and really just developed that confidence in the gym just going out there and playing and it's paying off for me."
Q. Talk about the how you feel today in terms of the injury from last night, and are you confident enough that you would be 100 percent, or how close would you be tomorrow?
Taquan Dean: "I feel good. It's a little sore. Tomorrow I will be ready to go thinking of the Final Four. It's not that really much of pain for me."
Q. Larry, John Beilein said that he sees a hunger in the way your team plays. Can you talk about that a little bit about where it shows up on the court?
Larry O'Bannon: "I mean we're in new territory right now. None of us have ever been in this situation, except for coach himself. We're destined for the big goal - the national championship. We know we have to take it one game at a time. And if we are going to go out, we're going to go out to a team that is better than us not because we didn't play hard or because we weren't hungry."
Q. Growing up in Medellin, did you ever hear of Louisville or know where it was or?
Juan Palacios: "Not really. I didn't have you know, much knowledge about college basketball. I heard about you know, I heard about Coach Pitino and, you know, playing for him has been a great experience."
Q. This is for Ellis and Francisco. West Virginia said how much they respect they have you for guys. They know you guys are a top ten team all season long. What do you think about them?
Ellis Myles: "We have a lot of respect for them as coach said they had knocked off about five top 20 teams so we have a lot of respect for the. I guess it is just two teams with respect for one another."
Francisco Garcia: "Like he said we got a lot of respect for them too, you know, they're a very good team. They play great in the tournament and you know, they all can shoot. They play a very difficult defense and we just got to concentrate and keep doing what we're doing."
Q. This is for Francisco. The last two weeks. We know that you and your mother are very close. What have the last two weeks been like for her as you guys have done well in the tournament, and what do you think it would mean for her too see you on the big stage at the Final Four?
Francisco Garcia: "I mean these last two weeks has meant a lot for her. She's been real happy. She is always inviting all my friends over to cook for them and for them to watch the game. She's real happy for me right now."
Q. You talked about how Coach Pitino is the only person that has been in this position before. How does that translate down to the players in terms of his knowledge of trying to get to the Final Four?
Larry O'Bannon: "Coach knows what he's talking about. He's been here numerous amount of times, so anything he said we want to soak in and take in that knowledge. He knows what it takes to win the championship. We know if we want to win the ultimate goal we have to take in and go out there and execute what he says."
Q. Ellis, a lot has been said by you guys this year about making sure you play hungry. Now you know you're in a big spotlight now and everybody is recognizing and giving this team a lot of attention. How do you maintain that same level of hunger? Is that a problem at this point at all?
Ellis Myles: "This is a mature basketball team. We have 14 guys that are so hungry and so determined to go out there and win. That's why we're where we are today."
