Interviews

- Coaches Q&A: Huggins, Painter, Miller

- Sign up for the free CHN Tournament Challenge and win great prizes!

- Check out various printable & downloadable NCAA Brackets

Get to Know Belmont: Player & Coach Q&A

Jon Teitel — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 17:56:41 -0400

Tonight, Jon brings us an interview with two Belmont players and their head coach Rick Byrd:

Interview with Coach Byrd

Q: What was the significance of moving to Division 1 in 1997?

A: It was important to make the move for recruiting purposes, as well as getting the chance to play in the NCAA Tournament.

Q: Have you felt that you contributed to the renaissance of college basketball in the state of Tennessee this year?

A: I have been asked about that a lot this month, and I am not sure if there has been a “renaissance”, as the state has a history of storied NCAA Tournament victories. It is fair to say that the rise of Memphis and Tennessee has been great. Some of the local programs do not have a lot of in-state players, but it has still been a great year, with residual effects trickling down to the smaller schools.

Q: Is Justin Hare the smartest/most clutch player you have ever coached?

A: He is by far the most clutch player in my decades of coaching, if not at any other school. He is as smart as anyone I have coached, which makes me proud because we have a bunch of real college students here.

Interview with Henry Harris and Jordan Campbell

Q: It seems like you have a veteran team compared to a lot of other schools in the Tournament: how much of an advantage is it?

A: We have 5-6 guys who are 3-time conference champs and playing in their 3^rd straight Tournament, so the experience is a big help.

Q: You were leading Georgetown in the tourney last year before losing: what did you learn from that?

A: It seems like each year we hang around throughout the 1^st half, and then have a 2^nd half let down and end up losing the game. One thing we learned last year is to keep our composure and not get into a panic mode.

Q: What are your thoughts on teammate Justin Hare?

A: Justin is very clutch, and a leader for us on and off the court. He is our go-to guy, and he often keeps us in the game. He is a very smart guy.

Q: What is Coach Byrd like?

A: He is a great guy, very knowledgeable, and has coached for a very long time. He does a great job of preparing us to do good things.

Q: What do you know about Duke?

A: Duke is a great team with a lot of history, so we will have to stick to our game plan.

Q: Have you felt that you contributed to the resurgence of college basketball in the state of Tennessee this year?

A: Harris: We are proud to play for the state of Tennessee. We played Austin Peay twice this season, and they beat us twice.

A: Campbell: I had not heard a lot about Belmont before they recruited me to come here. It is a great academic school, and it shows the type of people they recruit as well as the type of people they are.

Q: Jordan, You played with Indiana freshman star Eric Gordon in high school, what is he like?

A: Eric is a great friend and teammate, and I wish him well in the tourney. I have known him since 3^rd grade, and he has always been a good player. Some players who are good at a young age “grow out of it”, but he has obviously not, so the sky is the limit.

- Sign up for the free CHN Tournament Challenge and win great prizes!

- Check out various printable & downloadable NCAA Brackets

Tourney Coach Q&A: Huggins, Painter, Miller

Jon Teitel — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:42:16 -0400

Tonight, Jon brings us interview with big-time head coaches Bob Huggins (WVU), Sean Miller (Xavier), and Matt Painter (Purdue).

Interview with Coach Sean Miller (Xavier)

Q: You have worked with a lot of great coaches in the past: which one of them gave you the best advice about how to succeed in the NCAA Tournament?

A: I have been very fortunate to work with great coaches like Herb Sendek and Thad Matta. I am also friends with John Calipari, who I talk to a lot, and my dad was a successful high school coach as well. Rather than model myself after only one of them, I consider myself a hybrid coach who has taken bits and pieces from all of them.

Q: How did you feel about Herb Sendek’s Arizona State team getting left out of the NCAA Tournament?

A: I felt bad that ASU did not make the tourney, especially after they beat us soundly earlier this season. Herb is 1 of the most complete coaches I have ever met, from scheduling to recruiting to running a great program in general.

Interview with Coach Painter (Purdue)

Q: You have a very young team this year, but had a veteran team last year that had success in the NCAA Tournament: has your postseason preparation changed a lot from last March to this March?

A: Although we had a lot of veterans last year, we only had 1 player who had Tournament experience. While we have a lot of freshmen this year, we have several guys who are back from last year’s team. I also think that our experience this year against great non-conference teams during the regular season and on a big stage at the Big 10 Tournament will help us, and hopefully it will keep us sharp. We have a great tradition at Purdue, but it is important to get young guys to come here and help us get back to the top of the Big 10.

Q: What are your thoughts on Baylor?

A: They are a good team, and very fast. They are going to beat us off the dribble, as they proved they could do that against Kansas.

Interview with Coach Huggins (West Virginia)

Q: You are in a unique situation, having a lot of NCAA Tournament experience yourself, and being the first-year coach of a team that won the NIT last year: do you feel that your team is hungry because they missed the NCAA Tournament last year, or confident because they won the NIT, or other?

A: I wish you would go talk to them, because I cannot figure them out. We have won some games that I did not think we would win, and vice-versa. We do not have any guys who can play in the post, nor anyone who can break down an opponent off the dribble, so we have had to rely on our jump shots. I do not think our team feels slighted or uses that as motivation: it is all about making our jump shots.

Q: How much will last year’s NIT experience help this year’s team?

A: We lost 2 seniors who played a lot, and the majority of our current team did not play very much in the NIT. We have a very young team, and we have seen a lot of different styles by virtue of the number of different teams in the Big East. Our 7-footer is more of a 3-point shooter than a post guy: we are what we are.

- Interview w/ Baylor's Mark Shepherd

- Sign up for the free CHN Tournament Challenge and win great prizes!

- Check out various printable & downloadable NCAA Brackets

Live From DC: Q&A w/ Baylor's Mark Shepherd

Jon Teitel — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:34:31 -0400

Live from Washington DC, CHN's Jon Teitel is covering the NCAA Tournament pod featuring Xavier/Georgia, Baylor/Purdue, West Virginia/Arizona, and Belmont/Duke. He'll be checking in periodically with player & coach interviews as well as news updates from the Verizon Center.

Tonight, Jon brings us an interview with Baylor's Mark Shepherd:

Q: What is your day like today?

A: We had a walk through earlier today of our plays and Purdue’s plays, trying to find out their different habits, but I have no idea what we are doing later today.

Q: You were the last team announced on Selection Sunday: what was the mood like in the room before the announcement, and what happened afterwards?

A: It was very tense on Sunday. Once they called our names, there were hugs everywhere. In all honesty, I thought we were getting in, but it was torture waiting on the last spot.

Q: What was the 5-overtime game against Texas A&M like?

A: It was a battle all night, as both teams just kept on fighting. It was the longest game I have ever seen, but it was a classic, and a lot of fun.

Q: What is Coach Drew like?

A: He is a very nice guy, with great Christian morals, and one of the most enthusiastic people I have ever met. He is preparing us for our Tournament game just like he has prepared us all year long.

Q: How has the basketball program changed over the past several years since the shooting tragedy earlier this decade?

A: I am 1 of 3 seniors on the roster, so I got here right after everything happened. I saw it as an opportunity to build the program back up, and the fact that we made the tourney shows that we were able to turn it around. We have not received respect for a while, but now we have it.

- Sign up for the free CHN Tournament Challenge and win great prizes!

- Check out various printable & downloadable NCAA Brackets

Live From DC: Q&A w/ Purdue's Scott Martin

Jon Teitel — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 22:41:35 -0400

Tonight, Jon brings us an interview with Purdue freshman Scott Martin:

Q: What was your day like today?

A: Not much: wake up, practice, dinner.

Q: Your team (including you) is very young: what effect has that had on your team?

A: While we are young, we gained a lot of experience this year, which will help us a lot.

Q: What do you know about Baylor?

A: They are a very skilled/athletic team, and like us, they had a tense time on Selection Sunday waiting for their name to be called.

Q: You played on an AAU team with current teammates Robbie Hummel and E’Twaun Moore during high school: how did that experience help you during your first season together in college?

A: It helped a lot that we have spent so much time playing together, both at the high school and college level. Additionally, we have been able to gel with the entire team.

Q: What is Coach Painter like?

A: He is a great guy, and is great at getting us prepared for each game.

Q: What is Coach Martin like?

A: It is very fun playing for him: he really gets into it and gets fired up at practice.

Q: How much of your team’s success is based on the defensive end/creating turnovers?

A: We try to play pressure defense and force turnovers, and it has worked out pretty well.

Q: You have had a lot of single-digit losses, as well as a couple of overtime losses: what did your team learn from that?

A: We have tried to learn from all our close losses, and it is good to know that we have at least been close in a lot of games that we lost. Hopefully it will make us better able to handle close games in the NCAA Tournament.

- Sign up for the free CHN Tournament Challenge and win great prizes!

- Check out various printable & downloadable NCAA Brackets

Live From DC: Interview w/ Duke's Greg Paulus

Jon Teitel — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 18:11:08 -0400

This evening, he returns within an interview from Duke starting point guard Greg Paulus:

Q: Was there a sour taste in everyone’s mouth after losing to VCU in the 1^st round of the NCAA Tournament last year?

A: It certainly did not go the way we wanted it to, and we are glad we have another opportunity to come back to the tourney this year.

Q: What did you learn from the loss last March?

A: I think the whole experience taught us that we have to take advantage when we can.

Q: Your team seems to have lived and died by the 3 this year: how much is it a focal point of your offense?

A: We have a lot of guys who can shoot threes, but our offense is about making reads and finding the open man.

Q: What is Coach K like?

A: He does it all, and has done many great things for the sport of basketball.

Q: How about all the assistants?

A: All of them played here at Duke, and were great point guards, so they help me out a lot. I talk to each of them about different situations.

Q: What do you know about your opponent Belmont?

A: They are a really good team, and have a bunch of great shooters.

Q: Do you feel Duke is a young team or a veteran team?

A: Our freshmen are no longer freshmen after all that they have gone through this year. Guys like Kyle Singler have contributed a lot to our success, and we will need them to keep performing for us in the tourney.

- Sign up for the free CHN Tournament Challenge and win great prizes!

- Check out various printable & downloadable NCAA Brackets

Live From DC: Interview w/ Xavier's Derrick Brown

Jon Teitel — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:50:02 -0400

This afternoon, he returns within an interview from Xavier's Derrick Brown:

Q: What is your day like today?

A: We are just trying to maintain our concentration. Coach Miller has done a great job of getting us prepared.

Q: What do you know about Georgia?

A: I only caught glimpses of them in the SEC tournament, as we were busy in the A-10 tournament. I am not really worried about their nothing-to-lose situation. It is a 1-game season with a lot of adrenaline, and it is a chance for every team to redeem their entire season if they can keep winning, or end their season if they lose.

Q: I know you're not a doctor, but how is point guard Drew Lavender recovering from his ankle injury?

A: You will have to ask Drew himself, but he looks ready, and I know he will come to play with everything he has got.

Q: What is Coach [Sean] Miller like?

A: Honestly, he is 1 of the best guys I have ever been around. He is a players’ coach, and he makes us want to work hard for him, even when he occasionally yells at us.

Q: Your team is very balanced with a lot of double-digit scorers: how does that affect your offensive game plan?

A: Nobody cares who scores, which helps us play better as a team. If we need a basket at the end of the game, we have several options, rather than a single go-to-guy.

Q: You had a very difficult schedule this year: how has it prepared you for the NCAA Tournament?

A: Our non-conference schedule was pretty hectic, so we are ready to go.

Q: What did you learn from the loss to Ohio State in last year’s NCAA Tournament?

A: It was my first time in the tourney, so it was interesting to see what it was like to be on a big stage against a big-time opponent. Now that I have that experience under my belt, it will allow me to focus this year on getting the job done.

- Sign up for the free CHN Tournament Challenge and win great prizes!

- Check out various printable & downloadable NCAA Brackets

Live From DC: Interview w/ Georgia's Troy Brewer

Jon Teitel — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 12:52:25 -0400

Live from Washington DC, CHN's Jon Teitel is covering the NCAA Tournament pod featuring Xavier vs Georgia and Baylor vs Purdue. He'll be checking in periodically with player interviews & news updates from the Verizon Center (left).

This morning, he starts things off with a quick interview from Georgia reserve Troy Brewer:

Q: What is your day like today?

A: We got up early, had some practice, and will take a tour of DC later today. I am from Maryland, so this a great chance for me to come home and see my friends and family.

Q: How exciting was last weekend?

A: The SEC Tournament was an unforgettable experience. We were in the locker room when the tornado hit, so we did not know what happened. We were concerned about playing 2 games in a single day, but we were all focused, and we had nothing to lose.

Q: What do you know about Xavier?

A: They are a very talented team, and we are concerned about stopping their point guard Drew Lavender.

Q: What effect did all the suspensions this year have on your team?

A: I think it actually made us stronger, as it caused many of us to have to fill important roles on the team. Everything happens for a reason, and here we are in the NCAA Tournament.

Q: What is Coach Felton like?

A: He is a great motivator, and really brings out the best in a player.