March 15, 2007

Press Conference Quotes
March 15, 2007
No. 7 Boston College vs. No. 10 Texas Tech

BOSTON COLLEGE HEAD COACH AL SKINNER

Was it easier to play outside of the familiarity of the ACC?
It was really a combination of things, and Jared and Sean both eluded to it. I thought we showed a lot more patience on the offensive end. We didn't play hurried. Our guys were patient. You made some statements about us being four down, but that really wasn't a concern for us. I didn't think that we felt the game was getting away from us. We just made a couple of mistakes on the offensive end and allowed them to get out and get some transition baskets. I thought we were doing the things we had to do, particularly on the offensive end. I think that's what controlled the game for us today. As Jared already mentioned, our defense wasn't as good as we need it to be, but coming down the stretch it improved a lot. That's part of it too. I always tell the guys, `You've got to learn as the game goes along, what it is you can and can't do, recognize what they're doing and try to take some of that away. I thought they did that this afternoon. They learned, and they understood. The last eight minutes of the ball game they communicated really well and had a good understanding of what we wanted to do, but up until that point I thought that Tech was doing a pretty fine job.

Did the shot clock going down on the first possession give you an idea that your team would be more patient on offense?
I thought it was a sign that they were going to be patient because what we wanted to get we didn't get to, but they didn't exactly give up on it. That's what we had been talking about. I was disappointed we didn't run it better, but I was happy that they were patient, and they executed, and as Sean said, they just believed that this was going to work for them. I knew the shot clock went down, I understood why it ran down because of what happened on the floor, but I was glad that they kind of hung in there and stuck to it, and eventually, as you noticed, it started to pay off for us.

What concerned you most about the first half?
We gave up a lot of middle penetration. I thought Zeno got to the basket a lot. He didn't have very good help-side defense, so as a team, we weren't really functioning well defensively, and we needed to correct that. Again, offensively, I thought we were in pretty good shape, but we needed to execute better. The thing that we really did well coming down the stretch was we ran harder toward the end of the game than we did at the beginning of the game. At the beginning of the game I thought we kind of went half speed. Toward the end of the game, we really sprinted hard through our cuts, set good screens and had great movement. That's really unusual but played well for us this afternoon.

How were you able to shut Jarrius Jackson down in the second half?
He's a very fine player, and he's not a selfish player. He recognized that other guys were doing their job in scoring, so he doesn't demand the ball and get upset when he doesn't score. We worked him really hard, and we didn't really give a lot of help off him. We kind of stayed home with him. But because other people were scoring for him, they were in the game, it's not like the game was getting away from him. He just continued to do the things that he wanted to do, so I think it really had more to do with the fact that other guys were scoring. They shot a good percentage in the first half, and a good portion of the second half they shot a good percentage. He's just a very fine player, but he's not a selfish player. He's not a greedy player. Because of that, he just lets the game come to him.

How much was your size advantage a factor in the second half?
I think it was an advantage. I thought it was an advantage at the start of the game, but we didn't really start to utilize it until late in the game. We finally started to establish it. We have two big wings. Both Sean and Jared are a good size, so from a perimeter standpoint, we have pretty good size.

BOSTON COLLEGE STUDENT-ATHLETES JARED DUDLEY AND SEAN MARSHALL

On Marshall's mindset trailing 58-54 in the second half and his strong finish:
Marshall: It wasn't anything personal. I just got some open looks. We knocked down shots. I was fortunate to knock down some of those shots.

On holding Texas Tech scoreless for four minutes in second half:
Butler: We knew we had to get stops, especially at the end of the game. Both teams shot the ball well. I thought we did a pretty good job on (Jarrius) Jackson. (Martin) Zeno played a great game. We had trouble guarding him. They went small, with basically four guards and we just tried to match up and stay in front. Tyrelle (Blair) came in and gave us a big defensive presence, and got a couple blocked shots.

Marshall: It was a team effort. That four-minute stretch was really big for us. It kind of boosted us on the offensive end and led to good execution. We did a very good job on Jackson. I think Marquez (Haynes) did a great job on him. He made it tough for him to get open looks. I know Zeno made some great plays, and you have to tip your hat to the plays he made. I think we did a good job executing on offense down the stretch.

On Butler's 3 early fouls:
Butler: I was definitely concerned, especially at the start of the half when I thought I got a flop call. It basically took away my aggressiveness. I tried to hit the glass. I tried to get some easy tip-ins to get things going. I had a huge height advantage, so I stayed in the paint and tried to use the height to my advantage. They did a good job trying to contain me. Anytime you get in foul trouble, you are just a little bit less aggressive.

On the value of Boston College's prior NCAA experience:
Marshall: The biggest thing was getting stops on the defensive end, which we started to do down the stretch, and then execute on the offensive end. We stayed controlled and we set good screens, we waited for screens, and we got a lot of lay-ups in this game. It just came down to doing what we wanted to on the defensive end, how hard we wanted to work, and getting into our offense and executing.

On Butler's height advantage at the offensive end:
Butler: We're at a time in the season where every team presents a different challenge. This team was very under-sized, very quick and I just slipped a lot of screens, especially along the baseline. I just tried to use my body and get good position. Zeno was scoring so much offensively, I was hoping I could just wear him down and just keep going at him. I think it might have helped a little bit. Every team we play presents a different match-up. Sometimes I have to score outside, but today it was inside.

On Sean Marshall's career:
Butler: Sean is someone who has come a long way. He usually never played in the second half, at crunch time in the game. Now you see Sean in the game hitting big shots. His maturity level has definitely risen and because of that we've improved as a ballclub. (After) losing Sean Williams, Sean, myself and Tyrese (Rice) had to step up a notch. We can't say enough about what he has done for this ballclub. He is an energy spark. He gets up hyped up early in the game. Sean is our emotional leader on and off the court.

Marshall on starting more games than anybody else in BC history: Marshall: I didn't expect to start every game. The biggest thing for me coming out of high school to play for BC was just to contribute and help the team. Whatever role I was playing from freshman year to this year, my biggest thing was just contributing. I know every game I am not going to score the most points or play the best defense, but I try to bring the little things to the court - my hustle, just trying to get my team energized, and basically finding any way to win.

On Boston College's size advantage and rebounding edge:
Marshall: Coming into the game, we knew we were the bigger team. We focused on crashing the offensive and defensive boards, trying to take advantage of opportunities at the offensive end with our rebounding, and I thought we did and pretty good job on that today.

Butler: You have to control the rebounds, because it dictates tempo. I think today we did a pretty good job offensively and defensively. We didn't have many rebounds go long, but the ones that did come off, you have to get the rebounds, and you have to get out.

Did Boston College play its best ball today?
Butler: Offensively, yes, but defensively, no. Offensively, we ran the flex to perfection. I think it's the best we've run it this year. A lot of our plays were working, they were having trouble adjusting to it, that could've been because of the matchups, because they were smaller and they were trying to switch. All the time on the floor we had three of four guys who could score in the post. Defensively we couldn't stop their penetration or their quickness, and they definitely took advantage of that. I thought we played our style of play. When you get out of the ACC, you're not dealing with these people that are so much more athletic and know your plays.

Marshall: I think this is the best we've executed on the offensive end in a while - just in terms of getting a lot of cutters, not giving up on the flex. In the past we've seemed to break the flex, not get enough cutters and break it with a lot of time on the shot clock. I think we ran down the time on the shot clock. We got good cutters, we got a lot of lay-ups and open shots, and we made those shots today.

On a potential match-up with Georgetown:
Marshall: Whoever we play, we're going to have to come out ready to play. It's the tournament and anything can happen. Any team can win. We're going to go back to the hotel after the game and get a good scouting report on the team we are going to play. If it is Georgetown, I know our coaches are familiar with the sets they run. I think we match up pretty well with them.

Butler: I would say Georgetown is the hottest team in the country. I don't know how many games they have won in a row, but I would say 14 out of their last 15. They basically dominated Pittsburgh in the Big East Championship. Their size is a big problem for a lot of teams. We have had success over the years against them in the past. (Jeff) Green and (Roy) Hibbert, when we played them, they were young, I think freshmen and sophomores. Now they are basically juniors and seniors and they have better role players this year. No matter who we play, we have to play our game. A lot of people are happy that we are the underdog and say that we can't win, but the only people that matter are these people in the locker room. We have done it before. Just because we are the underdog does not mean we are not going to win. All that matters is these players in this locker room. We're going to go back and study the film and come out ready to play on Saturday.

TEXAS TECH HEAD COACH BOB KNIGHT

Opening Statement:
I think that their offense did a better job against our defense than our offense did against their defense. I think that was the major difference in the game. We got to a point in the second half where we were scoring pretty well but so were they. We wound up trading baskets with them. Then in the last seven or eight minutes of the game, again, I think their offense over the course of the game was better than our defense. At times our offense was better than their defense but not as much as vice versa. They're a well-put together team. They take advantage of what they can do. They did a really good job against us.

Would you liked to have seen Jarrius (Jackson) be more aggressive in the second half?
Well yeah, I'd like to see it rain dollar bills too. Sometimes I thought he was defended against well. They did a good job defending him. You can't just go out there and do exactly what you want to do.

What was Alan Voskuil able to give you all today?
He has given us a lot coming off the bench all year. We had three good contributions in the first half off the bench: Voskuil, Decensae White and Michael Prince. From last year to this year, I would say that Voskuil is the kid that's been able to make the most improvement on our team.

Was driving the ball down the middle of the lane something you thought you would be able to do going in?
Yeah, we've been a team that's driven the ball all year. We scored enough points. We didn't need to score any more points. We just didn't get it done defensively like we needed to do. Like I said, they played really well offensively. They took advantage of what they had. (John) Oates hit three 3's in the first half stepping out when we were trying to help in the middle. When you're playing against a good team, you always have to give up some things defensively. If the other team can't react to that, then you usually win. If they do, that poses a real problem, and that was the case today for us.

What are your thoughts on (Boston College Forward) Jared Dudley?
I think he's a really good player. Dudley's a good player, and I think (Tyrese) Rice is extremely good. Rice keeps your defense in difficult positions a lot because he's so quick. You try to help on him, and he gets away from you. I think the key to their play today was what Rice created and then what they took advantage of from there.

How do you feel when the season's over?
We were talking this morning about what we want to do with the kids we recruited and what we're going to do with the kids we have coming back. I'll talk to them about that when we get home. I think we're going to be able to do some things with the kids we have coming in that are really intriguing and really interesting. I'm still going to go fishing tomorrow.

TEXAS TECH STUDENT-ATHLETES

Jarius Jackson:

Why weren't you able to get in the flow offensively in the second half?
I was just trying to let the game come to me. We were doing a pretty good job scoring; other players were stepping up and scoring for us. I was just trying to let the game come to me.

Can you talk about playing your final game today?
I wish it could have gone the other way around but I think we did some good things this year. This is kind of a down point for me because this is the last game of my career.

Do you feel like you have done a lot over your four years here?
I know they are going to work hard starting in the spring and next year they will want to get back to this point in the NCAA tournament. Last year we didn't make it but three out of the four years I was here we made it to the tournament. I thought that was pretty good.

Martin Zeno:

What was it about their offense that made it so difficult to defend?
We made defensive mistakes. They cut and screened and we just missed assignments and stuff like that.