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NCAA Press Conference Quotes and Notes
3/20/2004
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| Matt Freije, Scott Hundley and Mario Moore at Saturday’s NCAA Press Conference in Orlando. |
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NCAA Press Conference Quotes and Notes
Quotes and Notes from Saturday in Orlando
The following Vanderbilt and North Carolina State quotes are from Saturday’s press conferences at the TD Waterhouse Centre in Orlando, Fla. Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings and student-athletes Scott Hundley, Matt Freije and Mario Moore. NC State head coach Herb Sendek and student-athletes Julius Hodge and Marcus Melvin.
Vanderbilt Quotes
Head Coach Kevin Stallings
Opening Statement …
“North Carolina State is an awfully good basketball team. They are really good on the perimeter. They are really good inside. They are very well coached. There is not much there where you can find weakness. They play very well together and shoot the ball very well. They are a good free throw shooting team. There are a lot of problem areas in this game for us. I can only hope that as they look at film they feel as there are problem areas for them also.”
On the challenges of rebuilding the Vanderbilt program …
“Our job is difficult being the only private school in an otherwise public school league. There are a number of challenges and also some things unique about us that give us the opportunity to have our own little niche. The biggest challenge we face is that our recruiting pool is smaller than those of the people that we compete against. Our biggest challenge is to be really effective within that pool.”
On opponents defending Matt Freije and how the team has stepped up …
“I think that we have seen just about everything thrown at Matt. We’ve dealt with box and ones, all forms of zones, defenses that switch off screens we have dealt with just about everything that a defense could choose to do to one guy.”
“The players will respond how ever they have to. If Matt (Freije) is not going to score how we are accustomed to him scoring, then the other guys are going to have to start scoring more.”
On coaching influences …
“I have been very fortunate. I played for a high school coach that is in the National Basketball Hall of Fame. I played and worked for Gene Keady at Purdue and I worked for Coach (Roy) Williams at Kansas. A lot of the things we do the way we set-up our office, the way we set-up our team, the way we set-up our whole organization are things that I learned and did under him (Roy Williams) for five years. His influence is very significant.”
On having a deep bench versus a short bench …
“I don’t think their (North Carolina State’s) guys are going to get that tired. I don’t think that having a deep bench is as beneficial during the NCAA Tournament as it is during your conference season.”
On discussion with Matt Freije at halftime …
“He wants to do well so badly that he screws himself up by working himself into a frenzy in his mind. He gets these real focused looks like he is in a trance and he plays like it. I told him at halftime, Lose your look, start smiling and have some fun. Just go out there and play. You never know this may be your last twenty minutes. Don’t come in this locker room having any regrets.’ Sometimes he just wants to do too well, too badly.”
On free throw shooting …
“If we go eight for eighteen again, we’ll lose and we won’t be playing any more. We’ve been a good free throw shooting team all season long. I don’t know if it was comical or maddening to me that the number of plays that players did were so signifying of the fact that it was their first NCAA Tournament game.”
Senior Forward Matt Freije
On opposing defenses the past few games …
“I guess they’re paying more attention to me, but also my shots just haven’t been falling lately.”
On North Carolina State’s offense …
“They do some similar things (to Vanderbilt). Some things that we don’t do often, they do a lot more of. I guess Sunday will be a chess match between the two coaches.”
On comparing both team’s big men …
“Their big men are a lot like our big men. They can play the perimeter and play inside. It’s going to be whoever plays harder.”
On their first tournament game …
“It’s probably the most gratifying thing that’s ever happened to me.”
On his teammates stepping up …
“Since the SEC Tournament, we’ve seen what a team we are. I haven’t been scoring a lot, but the other guys stepped it up. I guess you have to pick your poison. You can shut me down, but Mario (Moore) will run around on you like he has.”
Senior Guard Scott Hundley
On North Carolina State’s Julius Hodge …
“He likes to drive to the basket and he’s real crafty with it. He’s obviously an outstanding player.”
Sophomore Guard Mario Moore
On their first tournament game …
“My wait wasn’t long, but the gratifying thing for me is seeing these guys (the seniors) accomplish it. Each game could be their last game.”
NC State Quotes
Head Coach Herb Sendek
Opening Statement …
“I think Vanderbilt is one of the best teams in the country. I have been watching them throughout the year and as a fan I am thoroughly impressed. They are very efficient and sharp, well balanced and experienced, and have great size. They are going to challenge and demand the very best from us.”
On Vanderbilt and North Carolina State’s similarities …
“It’s the same basic framework. We are the same, but not identical.”
On North Carolina State’s freshman Engin Atsur …
“He had a terrific freshman year. We put a lot on his shoulders and he has responded early in his career. There is a little bit of a language barrier but his English is pretty good. He is a great student and very bright.”
On Xavier’s coaching staff …
“Basically, it is our coaching staff in blue.”
On Julius Hodge
“He is a winner and a great competitor on and off of the court. He can impose his will.”
On free-throws …
“We recruit great free-throw shooters. It’s exciting to see in practice when you work with a guy for hours and hours in the gym and when he makes five in a row you think you turn a corner and when they go in the game you are afraid to look.”
On Vanderbilt’s Matt Freije …
“You cannot sellout on just one guy because it opens up the other guys, which makes it tough on everyone. It’s like robbing Peter to pay Paul.”
On Vanderbilt’s Mario Moore …
“He had a great SEC Conference tournament. I remember him from high school. He is a great player and his exceptional play does not come as a surprise to us.”
On the center match-up …
“They have a great size advantage. Both guys can go away from the basket. It will be challenging to try and match-up against the physicality that Vanderbilt poses. I think that they are a very physical team.”
On Orlando …
“We might go to the Magic Kingdom or Epcot Center but I wish it was like a bowl game where we would have a whole week, but they keep us pretty busy here.”
Junior Forward/Guard Julius Hodge
On game plan against Vanderbilt …
“Vanderbilt is big and very good at getting the ball inside. We need to work hard defensively and on our rebounding.”
On ACC/SEC pride being a factor in the game …
“We are not focused on that. We both know we are two very good teams and we want to continue marching through March.”
On vacationing in Orlando …
“We are strictly here on business, not vacation. We came here to win two games and hopefully we can do that.”
Senior Forward/Center Marcus Melvin
On the similarity of North Carolina State and Vanderbilt …
“Both teams have some of the same personnel, with players that can do some of the exact same things on the court.”
On Vanderbilt …
“They have great size, but we rebound well and need to use that to our advantage.”
On perimeter play of Vanderbilt’s big men …
“It will be a real challenge guarding Matt Freije and Dawid Przybyszewski because they play like guards around the perimeter. This is an area where I usually step up, but now I need to be aware of their inside-outside threat.”
On North Carolina State’s poor shooting performance on Friday …
“Our shooting was ugly. Our shots didn’t fall like we wanted to. Hopefully it is behind us and we can perform better on Sunday.”
On ACC/SEC Conference pride …
“The pride level is big for both teams. We come from the two best conferences in the world and I know both teams will be giving it their all on the court tomorrow.”
NCAA Second Round Notes
#6 Vanderbilt (22-9) vs. #3 NC State (21-9)
- The winner will meet the winner of the #7 DePaul-#2 Connecticut game in Phoenix next weekend.
- A win over NC State would be Vanderbilt’s third appearance in the “Sweet 16” and first since 1993 when the Commodores defeated Illinois 85-68 to advance to the regional semifinals.
- An NC State win would mark the Wolfpack’s first “Sweet 16” appearance since 1989 when Jim Valvano’s fifth-seeded club defeated Iowa 102-96. Since winning the first of two NCAA Championships in 1974, the Wolfpack have advanced to the “Sweet 16” four times including the 1983 National Championship.
- The series between the two schools is tied 1-1.
- Vanderbilt and NC State’s last meeting occurred over 35 years ago in 1969. The Wolfpack won the 1969 meeting 76-70 in Nashville, Tenn. Vanderbilt claimed the first game in the series 65-59 in Greensboro, N.C. in 1968.
- Both schools have coaches who are in their 11th overall season as head coaches. Kevin Stallings is in his fifth season at Vanderbilt while NC State’s Herb Sendek is in his eighth year at the Raleigh, N.C., school.
- By comparing the two teams’ season scoring averages and season points allowed averages, Sunday’s game should be a close contest. NC State averages 72.9 points per game and allows an average of 64.8 points per game while Vanderbilt averages 73.7 points per game and gives up 64.5 points per game.
- In addition to the close opponent average the two schools have some other similarities. One win separates the two school’s season records, the two leading scorers of each team are separated by one tenth of a point (Julius Hodge, NC State 18.4; Matt Freije, Vanderbilt 18.3) and both teams have a loss to South Carolina. NC State dropped a 58-55 contest to the Gamecocks in December, while Vanderbilt lost the first of two games to Dave Odom’s club 57-55 in January.
- Vanderbilt has held opponents to 60 points or less on 15 occasions in 2003-04. The Commodores are 14-1 in those games. NC State is 7-2 when holding opponents to 60 points or less. Both teams accomplished the feat in their first round NCAA wins.
- Vanderbilt guard Mario Moore poured in a career-high 26 points in the Commodores’ 71-58 win over Western Michigan in the NCAA first round. He is averaging 19.6 points per game in his last three contests. In the 28 games prior to the last three contests, the sophomore averaged 10.1 points per game.
- NC State’s last two losses in the NCAA Tournament have been by a combined five points. The Wolfpack lost to Connecticut 77-74 in the second round of the 2002 NCAA Tournament and fell to California in overtime 76-74 in the first round last season.
- NC State brings the nation’s best free throw percentage (80.0%) into the game.
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