March 14, 2007

Press Conference Quotes
March 14, 2007
Georgetown Hoyas

Head Coach John Thompson III

Opening Statement
We're just excited to be here and represent our school and our conference. We're just ready to get playing.

Is there an accurate perception between your father's team and your teams?
I don't care. I've never put thought into that. That's for you guys to break down and analyze, compare and contrast. I hope that when you look at our teams you see some similarities between what we do and what they did, but at the same time I don't get caught up in `let's do this because pops did it this way.' We're out there trying to win games with the group we have.

Talk about the development of Roy Hibbert.
He has made progress and is still a work in progress. He is extremely committed, extremely dedicated and a willing player. What we show him he embraces. He has a tremendous work ethic and attitude, so he is getting better and will continue to get better.

Does Belmont remind you of anyone you played the past couple of years?
There is no doubt that you can make comparisons to Notre Dame and West Virginia. They have shooters and so many guys that can put the ball in the basket. They are also a terrific defensive team. They don't give up any easy baskets. It's easy when you look at them to tell they have shooters. They have a lot of guys who can make long shots, contested shots. Then you end up worrying about them. But they also have post players, who do a very good job of getting the ball to and are extremely effective. They also make it hard for you to score and I think that gets lost because they are such a great shooting team. On the defensive end I think they are a very good team also.

What did you learn from the BIG EAST Tournament that will help you and what concerns do you have?
I learned that wining is good. I take the same approach and the way we're approaching this game isn't any different than the way we've approached any other game. The next game is the most important game, so we've taken a couple of days and put all of our energy and focus on Belmont. We have to come out and play well on both ends of the floor if we want to have some success tomorrow.

Did you address the expectations of being a No. 2 seed compared to a year ago?
No I have not addressed that because it's irrelevant what other people think and we've taken that approach all year. It is important that our guys understand what we want to execute at the offensive and defensive end of the floor. I don't put too much thought into where we are seeded. You have to show up and play no matter what number is next to your name.

What are some of Belmont's strengths and weaknesses?
There are different ways and different teams and they know what their strengths and deficiencies are; and in the games I've seen they've done a very good job of putting themselves in a position for some success. It's easy to say lets try and take this away, but they know what you're trying to take away. They're very good at countering on the offensive end. If you try a specific thing on defense, they know what to look for to counter that. They're a very well coached team.

Has there ever been a moment when your father's presence has been awkward for you?
No, there hasn't been. He is a presence, but I'm used to that. He's my dad. To everyone else he is John Thompson the guy who used to coach at Georgetown. I cannot think of any instances when having my dad around has been awkward.

What is the general mood of the players coming into the tournament?
We're anxious. This is the NCAA Tournament. You work hard to hopefully put yourself in a position to be here all year. I wouldn't say we're tight. I wouldn't say we're loose; we're not a loose group by nature. I think we're just anxious.

Talk about Jeff Green's impact on your team.
Jeff Green is special and he is someone that has the ability to dominate a game and control a game in many different ways. So many people have equated all year with Jeff playing well with the numbers of points he has scored, but he has totally controlled, dictated and won games for us without necessarily scoring a point. I'm Linus and he's my security blanket. I'm comfortable when he's around. His role varies game to game and situation to situation. The beauty of our team is that we have an unselfish group of guys and on any given night, any particular person can score, throw passes; and so Jeff's role is to do all of that and to figure out how collectively to help us win. That is his role.

Are you concerned about your players paying attention to the expectations surrounding them?
I'd be a fool to think that they weren't seeing that. At the same time I think our group is focused and that we understand that it's about us. Its irrelevant what people are thinking and saying. You still have to come out and play and execute and work together. We have a group that knows how difficult it is to get to this tournament. I don't think our guys are anything but focused on the next game.

STUDENT-ATHLETES ROY HIBBERT AND JEFF GREEN

Is there anything scary about playing against a team that is counted out by so many people and who you guys probably didn't know too much about before you found out you were matched up with them?
Green: It's always scary because they feel like they have their backs against the wall so they are going to come out more aggressive, ready to play. So we just have to come ready to play and focused because we know they are a great team, a great shooting team. So we just have to come prepared knowing they are going to give their all.

Hibbert: Every team that plays in the NCAA is coming to win, they have the same agenda as we do, they are going to go out there and play particularly hard. But we have to come out and do what we have to do, make sure we run our offense and stayed focused.

Everyone seems to be jumping on the bandwagon now, a lot of people picking you to go to the Final Four, what are your thoughts about that right now?
Green: Our team chemistry is getting to where we need it to be, but we still have more improvement to go. We are just improving as the season goes on, getting better after every game, so we just need to keep improving and then we'll see if we make it that far. But we just got to keep playing, taking one game at a time. Are you guys hearing everyone picking you to go to the Final Four? Hibbert: I hear that on ESPN and you obviously just hear stuff. But we try to stay focused, focused on our objectives and that is to make sure we win games, one game at a time. Coach always talks about each possession you want to win on offense and on defense so that's what we're going to be focused on.

What is the biggest impact Coach Thompson has had on your development over the last couple of years?
Hibbert: He's pushing me and making me step outside my box and not just letting me become a lumbering big man inside the post. He's helped me work on my ball handling and made me go out and guard perimeter players and I've been able to get better at that stuff instead of just stayed at the post. He knows that I can do stuff. We do things over and over and over until we get it perfect. We'll shoot a certain shot a good 30 times so that when we do it in a game it looks natural. It's real monotonous and according to Coach Thompson, good players don't get tired of doing things over and over. I have to do those things to make sure our team wins. I have to be able to put the ball in the basketball when I'm two feet away from it.

Is Georgetown back? Or do you guys have to get to a Final Four to be back?
Green: I feel like Georgetown is back. We won the BIG EAST title and we are trying to get to the level they were during the `80s. We just have to improve each year. I don't feel like we're at the point we can be considered one of the top teams that Georgetown has ever had. We can't compare ourselves to those teams because we have a different coach and run a different type of offense. Hibbert: We have a different identity than those teams. They played really good defense and we aspire to do that. We just have to make sure we stay focused and know who we are playing for.

Roy, are you content to stay in the paint?
Hibbert: I want to be the type of player Coach Thompson wants me to be. If he's willing to put me out there, he wants to be sure I'm ready to set screens and pass the ball and helping my teammates out. But if I have to be down low, I'll be down low. But if I have to be on the perimeter setting screens, I'll do that as well. I'll do anything I have to do to make sure the team wins.

Does Coach Thompson invoke Georgetown history?
Green: He doesn't necessarily bring it up a lot. He knows we are a totally different team and that we have different type of players and that we are a very balanced scoring team. He doesn't bring it up much because we are trying to create our own identity.