March 6, 2008
Audio: Listen to the entire teleconference at SECsports.com
Vanderbilt basketball head coach Kevin Stallings and Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried discussed Saturday’s matchup with the national media during Thursday’s SEC Teleconference. Find out what each coach had to say about the upcoming game.
Vanderbilt Head Coach Kevin Stallings
Opening statement:
“We’re coming off of one of the great games I’ve ever been involved in as a college basketball coach last night. Our challenge will be to get our attention redirected and focused on going to Alabama. In any event, we feel fortunate but fantastic about our victory last night against an extremely good Mississippi State team. We’re looking forward to the (regular) season finale and hopefully we can finish it in the right way and have some momentum as we head into the tournament.”
How often have you cried after a basketball game like you did last night?
“I’m kind of a cry baby when it comes to seniors. Quite honestly, it had very little to do with Shan (Foster’s) 42-point performance. It was the emotions of senior night and the game itself. I’ve told a number of people there were far more emotions provoked in me because I’ve got a senior (Davis Nwankwo) out there that went into cardiac arrest on our court two years ago and could never play again. He’s a senior. He’s been at every practice, every weight lifting session, and everything we’ve done since he went down. There were a lot of things that produced emotion in me last night that were far more meaningful to me than Shan’s unbelievable and spectacular performance. This is a great group of seniors and guys I’m very fond of.”
Are you still focused on securing a first round bye in the SEC tournament if Vanderbilt defeats Alabama and Florida defeats Kentucky?
“To Kentucky’s credit, that’s a little bit out of our control. If they win, then it doesn’t matter what we do. We’ll approach it the way we’ve been approaching it. We want to finish the conference season in a good way. If we’re fortunate enough that would produce a number two seed (in the SEC East), then we would be really happy about that, but if it doesn’t, we’ll be playing on Thursday.”
Is the value of a first round bye in the SEC tournament overrated?
“No. I wouldn’t think so. It’s very difficult to win four games in four days. It’s only happened once since I’ve been in the league, and that was my first year.”
Why have transfer players had such an impact on SEC basketball programs?
“Transfers are a part of college basketball. Guys go to schools and things don’t work out sometimes. Ross (Neltner) has been a great addition to our program. Sometimes that second chance is better for the kid and it’s better for the program, both the one that he leaves and the one that he joins. We’ve had guys transfer in, and we’ve been better off for that. We’re certainly fortunate Ross is here and are appreciative of all that he has done.”
Is there any concern with players transferring between SEC schools?
“A lot of conferences have rules in place against guys transferring from one conference school to another, which does make some sense, but I don’t think that’s a direction that our league has wanted to go. Seemingly it’s worked out ok.”
Alabama Head Coach Mark Gottfried
Opening statement:
“We obviously have our hands full. They are terrific. They are an excellent team and are very talented. Kevin has done a great job coaching them. They’ve had a great year. We’ve got to play very well.”
What does Alabama do defensively to stop Shan Foster?
“He’s such a great player. He and I were together this summer in Brazil with the Pan American team. I know how good of a shooter he really is because I watched him. He was on our team. He’s one of those guys you have to try not to let get a lot of open looks. Even when you’re guarding him, he can make it the way he shoots the ball.”
Does the NCAA need to add spots to the 65-team postseason tournament?
“I’m in favor of it. I think we need to add seven more teams. I think there should be an opening round game that would lead into the one and two seed in every bracket. There’s one one-seed that has what we now call a play-in game which I would call an opening round game. I would add one of those in front of every one and two-seed which would take it from 65 to 72. I think the fact that we’ve grown from around 290 schools to around 340 schools would warrant a jump. I think you could play all of those games on that Tuesday just like you play the (play-in) game now on Tuesday and then jump right into the first round on the weekend.”
Do you think that will dilute the NCAA tournament?
“Absolutely not. There are some good teams that aren’t getting to go. I don’t think it dilutes anything. I think it makes it better. Plus, if you add seven more teams a year, which is 12 to 14 kids on a roster, that’s 80 to 100 more student-athletes that get to experience the tournament. What’s the downside to that? I wouldn’t see any.”
