March 16, 2007

Press Conference Quotes
March 16, 2007
Georgetown Hoyas

HEAD COACH JOHN THOMPSON III

Do you feel like being "off the radar" helped your team?
I'm not sure if it helped or not. It was something I was extremely comfortable with. NCAA bids and the opportunity to play in the tournament aren't handed out in November or December, neither are conference championships or national championships, The early portion of the year is to get ready for the end of the year and hopefully along the way you can win some games and not go on a tailspin and lose a lot of games. That's how I approach getting our team prepared and part of that is Ivy League training and the fact that there is no conference tournament. By the time league play starts, every game is a playoff game so the thing you do prior to that are to get your team ready for that part of the year. I'm not sure that it helped us, but we did improve as the year went on.

Do you agree that this time of the year is all about match-ups and what do you like about your match-up and what concerns you?
To a certain extent that's true because if you lose you go home. Looking at them they are a very good team. They have a player in Jared Dudley who is one of the best players in the country not just because of his physical attributes, but of how he approaches the game mentally and how confident he is in himself with his teammates. Coach Skinner and his team have been through a lot.

Talk about DaJuan Summers and has he bought into being the defensive stopper you think he can be?
He's not there yet, but we're getting him there. I remember telling him that he could be a defensive stopper and he looked at me like I was crazy. Nobody ever talked to him about defense before. He's growing and improving like our other three freshmen. It's a process, but I think he's has had a successful freshman season and he believes in what we're doing. I feel strongly that he will improve each year as I do with all of our guys.

Can you pinpoint some things you've learned from coach Carril and your father about the job and doing the job?
No I can't. I get that question a lot and everyone is looking for that one particular story. If there is one thing I could pinpoint it would be the work ethic and commitment to your team and your institution. There are no shortcuts. It's not going to come easy and everything is a process. You just have to put in the time.

Describe your team's identity?
I wouldn't say we're a loose team. We've taken a business-type approach to this season. Leading up to league play we're trying to figure everything out, trying to piece things together, trying to collectively come up with the best way to skin the cat, how we're going to win games.

Does this still feel like a BIG EAST game you're preparing for tomorrow?
When you watch them play, it still has a BIG EAST feel for it. My first year at Georgetown was their last. The way the schedule worked out that season we only played against them once. It's not like me and my group has a long storied history of playing against Boston College. Georgetown obviously does, but the way they go about their business still has a BIG EAST feel to it.

Share your thoughts on Coach Skinner and his style of play?
In looking at his teams, they've always been tough. Everything you get you have to earn against them and that's at the defensive end. On the offensive end, they are very different to us, but very similar to us in the regard that they know where they want their shots to come from and they know who they want to get what shot and they do an outstanding job of executing and getting the possessions and shots they want. Coach Skinner's teams have been like that for years and this team is no exception.

What is the BIG EAST feel to BC's style of play?
When people traditionally talk about BIG EAST basketball, we're a bump and touch kind of league and they are a physical and aggressive team.

What is an ACC feel?
I'm in the BIG EAST, I'm not sure.

What ways has Jared Dudley improved the most over the past two years?
I'm not sure, but he's terrific. He's been terrific since the day he stepped on their campus. As much as any player I've watched, he has the ability to impose his will on the game just by the sheer strength of his personality. He's an extremely confident person in what he can do and what his team can do. His toughness and confidence is contagious with that group. He is a basketball player. He has the toughness, he has the physical ability and so when you bring all that together you end up with the ACC Player of the Year. He brings a lot to the table.

How will you handle practice today? Do you focus more on you or BC?
You have to do both. Throughout the course of the year most of the things we've focused on have been about us and what we need to do. At the same time you have very little turnaround and you have to think about the other team. Most of our preparation pertains to us and how we have to go about our business.

Is your sideline demeanor a reflection of your personality?
We are who we are. People's actions on the sidelines are just a small snippet of who that person is. I don't go into a game with any thoughts of `I need to act like this or do this.' I don't know that I'm calm. Maybe the exterior is somewhat of a facade of what's really going on in the inside. At the same time most of my energy is being spent on trying to figure out how to get through the next possession. I don't put any thought into this is how I'm going to act on the sideline. You are who you are.

Any concerns about playing an ACC team in an ACC venue.
No. All of my energy went into preparing for Belmont and preparing for that game. If you start worrying about those things in which you've just articulated, then you're not ready for Belmont or Texas Tech wins and all that goes out the window. Starting last night and yesterday afternoon we started preparing for Boston College. I don't look past the next game. All of my energy goes into the game. I'm concerned about Boston College and their team and their players. During the course of the season we intentionally went on the road and played in some difficult venues to try to prepare us for league play. As much as the crowd and the atmosphere is a factor, I'm more concerned about their players than I am about the atmosphere.

STUDENT-ATHLETES JEFF GREEN AND JONATHAN WALLACE

Do you like it when opposing players try to push your buttons and rile you up a bit?
Green: I don't pay attention to what they have to say. You just have to play the game and see how the outcome goes. We'll see how the game goes tomorrow. Wallace: Jon pretty much said it. Last game they got the win against us. Tomorrow is going to be a regular game, very competitive. We just focus on what we have to do. Guys can say what they want but it's about us and what we do and how we execute

What do you like about the match up with Boston College and what is your biggest source of concern?
Green: The match ups are pretty much even. They have great size and great guards and so do we. The game is going to come down to who makes the hustle plays and who can get stops on defense. I think that's the key to the game, getting stops on the defensive end. Wallace: As Jeff was saying, the hustle plays and defense, just bring a lot of intensity from the start. Setting the tempo from the start is going to be beneficial to us; it's going to be very key for us. We just have to play really hard.

Did it take a while for your offense to set in?
Green: At the beginning of the season and whenever you get new incoming freshmen you always have to start all over again. You have to show them the roadside offense, the things you have to look for in the game. I think that over time we always come down in the end knowing that the games count at the end. You always want to finish out good. I feel like the more the season goes the on the better our team looks so you have to keep working. Wallace: The team toward the end of the year begins to mature more. Throughout the course of the season you face a lot of adversity and a lot of changes throughout the season. Hopefully we are peaking at the right time.

Is this game going to feel like two different teams from two different conferences or is it going to feel like a BIG EAST game?
Green: This is going to be a competitive game. They [Boston College] were once in the Big East so you are always going to have that feel that it is a BIG EAST game, especially since after the first game we haven't had a chance to play them again. It is going to be a competitive game, two teams trying to get to the next round.

Does Jared Dudley remind you of yourself in a way?
Green: He is his own player; we have two different styles of play. He is more aggressive on the offensive end and I am kind of laid back and I take what the offense gives me. I can see the resemblance in the size and the way he plays, his height and the way he can handle the ball and the way he can shoot. It's a good resemblance but I don't try to compare myself to him and I hope he doesn't compare himself to me. We are just two different types of players.

How do you plan on defending someone as active as Jared Dudley?
Green: We just have to try to contain him. We have to communicate on defense, whether or not we want to switch or not. We just have to have good team chemistry on the defensive end and try to contain him because he is going to get his but we can't let him get too much.

After the loss to Old Dominion, if someone would have said you were going to be a number 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, what would you have said?
Green: I would still believe it. That was the beginning of the season. I think it was the third or fourth game of the season. We were still learning and still getting used to having new guys on the floor with us. We had three freshmen who played key minutes at the beginning of the season so we were just getting used to each other. Wallace: Like Jeff said, just getting acclimated to the system, as far as getting good team chemistry. We knew we had a chance to redeem ourselves through conference play and hopefully make a push towards the end of the year and get some momentum going into the tournament.

Is there one particular thing that shows how far you have come from the beginning of the season?
Wallace: The mindset we have coming into the game. We felt kind of lackadaisical before that game [Old Dominion] started. I don't think we took it as seriously as we should have. The mindset of coming to every game knowing it is a live and die situation. Just playing with more intensity is probably the biggest change. Green: Jon pretty much said it. Just coming into every game knowing that it is going to be a hard game and teams are not going to back down from us.

Is there anything left of the former in conference rivalry from a few years ago?
Wallace: We are two competitive teams; we have had some history in the past. They came out with the upper hand the last time we played them. We are looking to come out and give a better showing and hopefully play a better game.

Does Tyrese Rice remind you of anybody and what do you want to do against him that will play to your hand?
Wallace: He is a good player. He shoots the ball really well. He kind of reminds me of Marcus Williams. He is not as big as he was but he is a left-hander who is very smooth. He does a good job running his team. You have to force him into a situation where he takes a difficult shot and try to contain him as best as possible.