NCAA 2015 Basketball Championship[/B]
Second/Third Rounds - Columbus, Ohio[/B]
Thursday, March 19
West Virginia[/B]
THE MODERATOR: We're joined by West Virginia student-athletes Juwan Staten and Gary Browne. Questions.
Q. For both of you, I assume that you've had an opportunity to see Buffalo, what are your impressions of them, what concerns you the most?
JUWAN STATEN: Well, they like to play in transition. We do a lot of pressing and trapping. And we ultimately want to turn teams over. But they get out in transition and they're heading downhill pretty much every possession. So that's something we definitely gotta get back out of our press and play good half court defense.
Q. Is that something you would like them to do, don't you want to play the same way they want to play too?
JUWAN STATEN: Yeah, we want to speed the game up but they excel in transition. So knowing we want to speed the game up we still have to get back and play great defense, because they'll always be attacking the rim.
GARY BROWNE: I feel he said exactly what we want them to do. At the same time, I feel like they're a scrappy team. They're a team that like to iso a lot, and they also want to run the court. I mean, we want them to play fast, but at the same time we want to be able to control the game. So we gotta make sure that don't happen at the game.
Q. Juwan, how is your health?
JUWAN STATEN: I've practiced for the last two days with no restrictions and no limitations. I'm feeling good.
Q. I was wondering, when Bob talks to you guys to try to prepare you for moments like the one you're going to face tomorrow, what type of storyteller is he in terms of going back to some of his experience with other players and how much do you actually take from those into games and have you ever really recognized when it's helped?
JUWAN STATEN: We've been programmed from day one to play a certain way that's as hard as we can, and that's what we've been doing all year and that's why we're sitting in the seats we're sitting in now. But he talks to us a lot about that Final Four team and the things they did to prepare for the tournament and how they took it one day at a time or one game at a time. So we kind of want to do the same thing. He tells us a lot about how we need to prepare for the game and some things that we need to know about Buffalo. So we just try to pay attention, soak everything in and go out there, play as hard as we can.
GARY BROWNE: He's definitely got a lot of stories to tell us, him being in the game for more than 30 years. He tries really hard to fire up before the games, even in our practice, but he do an amazing job at that. But at the same time we know how much this means to us. So we are coming to play as hard as we can.
Q. The fact that Coach Huggins, I think this is his 21st NCAA appearance, do you guys consider that almost an advantage, just that he's got so much tournament experience and probably seen it all?
JUWAN STATEN: Definitely. He's been here like you said 21 times. He knows what he's talking about. I've personally never been. This is my first time. That's all I have to go off of. He's a great coach. He prepares us well. As long as we listen to him, we always seem to be in good position. So that's what we just want to continue to do.
Q. Juwan, what do you do when you are in big games to stay in the moment, to stay composed, not try to let the situation overcome you so you can play?
JUWAN STATEN: Well, I've played a lot of basketball up until this point, AAU, high school. I've played college basketball. So I've had a lot of experience. I've played overseas. I've done a lot. So I just sort of count on all those experiences to help me. I just try to tell myself that it may be a big game but it's just another game. That kind of helps me settle down.
Q. Juwan, [indiscernible] were you to get a chance to play back in Ohio, close to home in Dayton. What kind of support from friends and family support do you expect this week?
JUWAN STATEN: It's a special feeling just to be playing in my first tournament game. It's my last season and I get to do it in my home state. So that feels amazing. I have a lot of family and friends coming. I actually feel kind of bad because I had to tell some people they had to buy their own tickets. But it's just a great feeling. And I've definitely been feeling the love from everybody that I know in Ohio.
Q. Juwan and Gary, when you originally got hurt it had to go through your mind that you wouldn't be able to play today or tomorrow. What went through your mind, what were your emotions at that point?
GARY BROWNE: Well, it was very sad when we both know that we were hurt and the kind of injuries we had. But at the same time we both I feel like we both believe in God and we have faith and we knew that we worked so hard this summer to end up like that it was not going to happen. So we did our best day-by-day working with our trainer and getting better and until this day, thank God, we are able to play. I mean, it's his first time playing, it's going to be my second time playing. So it's our senior year. We at his place so you couldn't have asked for anything better than that.
JUWAN STATEN: Gary said it best. First the news was kind of devastating because this is exactly what you want to come back to school for. But like he said, we both have faith in God and talking with my parents a lot and just keeping the faith, just knowing that he wouldn't have brought us this far to forsake us. So just staying strong to my belief and doing everything they asked me to do in the training room. And I'm just glad and blessed to be able to play.
Q. I guess this is a question for both of you guys, but Gary, it's been much discussed that you're the only player on the team that's had experience in this tournament. How much do you relay your experience to the rest of the guys. And Juwan how much do you talk to him about what this tournament's like?
GARY BROWNE: The guys laugh because we talk about it every time, all they know is about winning, us going on a tough play and win games and being able to win games most of the time. But I mean me and him have been through a lot. We didn't get a lot of wins. So my freshman year at first I thought I was happy to make it. And I had two seniors, Kevin Jones and Chuck Bryant, and they were pissed that we lost the first round, but I was happy that I made it because it was the biggest accomplishment because I was just a freshman, because I thought we were going to make it the next three years. But look at now. We didn't make it the last two years but we finally made it, but at the same time it's been a lot. But I try to make sure to tell the guys that do something you want to enjoy but at the same time you want to take advantage of it because you don't know when is the next time you're going to be here.
Q. How do you feel? Are you both 100 percent? Where are you at in that regard? And second, I'm wondering about the run-up to this game seems like it's been all Buffalo, everybody's talking about Buffalo and Hurley and the president picks Buffalo. I'm wondering has Coach Huggins challenged you guys and what's it like in the locker room in that regard?
GARY BROWNE: We don't really pay attention to what other people say, because if we were to pay attention to that from the very beginning of the season we would not be here right now because all the expectations from the beginning of the season wasn't positive. So right now we have a small circle. We have our teammates. We have our coaching staff. We have our state. We don't really care what other people say. But at the same time it fires us up a little bit. But until this day, if we wasn't that good we would not have made it this far so far. So we don't pay attention to what all the people say.
JUWAN STATEN: I honestly like playing the underdog role. I feel like we've been in this position before. And it kind of keeps us going. When people pick against us, it gives us that extra feel. And honestly I don't know how we would play if we were always favored to win. I think that's a big thing that drives us. Everybody on our team, I feel like it's been slighted in some way in their career. I feel like they deserved more in some way. So this whole season has just been about proving people wrong, and I think we done a good job up until now and I think we'll keep doing a good job of that.
Q. How are you feeling?
JUWAN STATEN: I'm feeling great. If I wasn't feeling good I wouldn't be playing.
Q. What's the biggest difference in the personality of this team from this year compared to the last two years when you guys weren't able to get to the NCAA Tournament, weren't able to get over the hump here?
JUWAN STATEN: Personality of the team. I think last year as a team we were kind of divided, kind of had different little groups that hung out. But from day one, with this team, everybody's been together. We've done team events. We've been together a lot. Everybody hangs out. Everybody gets along with everybody and sometimes it's to a fault. In practice talking too much or laughing too much and we get in trouble by our coaches. But ultimately that's what brings us together as a team. And that's been a big part about how we've been able to come so far.
Q. Just for both of you guys, I was wondering when you guys were out, did you see anything in your teammates' games that you didn't know what was there that kind of you saw from afar having watched it?
JUWAN STATEN: Yeah, definitely seen a lot especially from our freshmen with Dax and Jevon. They stepped up big time in the games we weren't playing because they had to handle the ball most of the time. They definitely showed that they could score a lot, that they're mature freshmen, not your everyday freshmen. It's something that's going to be big for us if we want to make a run in this tournament. It was good to see all the pieces come together, without me and Gary. So when we're back in the lineup and playing everything can come together and we can make a special run.
GARY BROWNE: I agree with what he said. I mean, you couldn't ask for better freshmen than we have. So they've been doing an amazing jobs, and I feel like the coaches and ourselves have been helping them a lot because we know that at some point in the season something like that could happen and it did happen. They handled it way good.
Q. Gary, you were saying on Selection Sunday it was special because earlier in the season a lot of guys on the team were able to go back to Puerto Rico see where you're from and back in Ohio where a lot of these guys are from. How cool is that to be around this part of the state and to see the looks on these guys' faces when they're back home?
GARY BROWNE: I feel, to be honest, with you to be more happy for him he's a senior never been in a NCAA Tournament and for him to go back now to his hometown and play his first game of the NCAA here in front of his family and friends and everybody, it's very special. When you're a senior, you want to go out with all the great memories you possibly can get and I had mine in Puerto Rico. Now he's going to have his in his hometown. So I feel very happy that we're here. Now we've gotta do the same thing we did in Puerto Rico, do it over here.
JUWAN STATEN: It's like he said, it's a special feeling. I saw how happy Gary was in Puerto Rico. Family, people that haven't got to see you play since you were a little kid. And now at the end of your career, end of your collegiate career they get to see you again. That's the biggest feeling. I have a lot of people -- my grandmother she doesn't really travel at all. But she's going to be here to watch me play. And that's something that's special to me. Just want to take advantage of it.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you. Questions for Coach.
Q. Just wondered, you had Juwan and Gary up there. Wondering how they've been at practice. Do you think they're both 100 percent?
COACH HUGGINS: Juwan has been terrific. Gary's been good. Probably not as bouncy as what Juwan's been, but they're both good. They're both going to go.
Q. Wonder from what you've seen on video, what concerns you the most about Buffalo and their style of play? Does it coincide with what you would like to do in a lot of ways?
COACH HUGGINS: I think the biggest thing is they really try to play downhill. They do a great job of pushing tempo. They do a great job of creating numbers. But that's kind of what we like to do too. And I think they've taken on Bobby's personality. I think they're extremely competitive and play extremely hard.
Q. I know it's been a lifetime ago, but do you remember anything about your first NCAA appearance, or were you just kind of swept up in the madness of it all?
COACH HUGGINS: Yeah, I remember we lost. What do I remember -- we led at halftime, I think. We led at halftime and played the best team in the country at that time, the No. 1 ranked team in the country. And I remember being incredibly proud of the guys I had. I had a walk-on start at 2 guard and a football player play center. So I was extremely proud of their effort and what they did that game.
Q. A lot of the players for both teams have talked about hearing about stories and anecdotes about what it's like to play in the tournament. With your experience, when you had players that haven't had that experience of the tournament, do those stories really help and when do you notice the experience sort of kicking in?
COACH HUGGINS: I don't think it has anything to do with anything. I went to Cincinnati, they hadn't been in the tournament for a long time. And the first two years we're in the NIT, and in '92 we go to the Final Four, and '93 we go to the Elite Eight and lose to Carolina in overtime, who won a national championship. And those guys hadn't been in an NCAA Tournament. Actually the majority of those guys were first-year guys. So I really don't think it has a lot to do with anything. It's just you go play basketball and hopefully you have a good day and make some shots.
Q. Wondering about the run-up to this game. It's been much about Buffalo and Hurley and the president picked Buffalo to beat you guys. And how much have you used that and challenged the guys?
COACH HUGGINS: I haven't. I think they're aware of it, obviously. They watch ESPN. But I haven't said a word about it. I mean, it comes down to, we have to go do what we're good at doing and try to do what we do better than what they do at what they do. And all that other stuff it sounds good and it gives you a column to write, which I know you struggle mightily at times to do. But in terms of winning and losing the game, I don't think it has much to do with anything.
Q. Is the leadership group of this team, at least the guys you count on, compare favorably to any teams you've couched that have had success in tournaments in the past?
COACH HUGGINS: We've had a hard year in some ways. We lose Juwan early and he misses the first week and a half of practice, and really he and Gary and Devin Williams are the guys we have back that had some experience. And Gary was terrific. I can't say enough good things about how good Gary was in terms of his work ethic, his attitude, the way he tried to get other people to understand what we did. Devin was the same way with the bigs. I mean, those guys were terrific. And then we get Wany back and Wany gets sick the first conference game and we don't have Devin in the Oklahoma game and then Wany goes down and Gary goes down. And you walk into Lawrence and Allen Fieldhouse with two freshmen guards and they were fine. I mean, I think it's so much more about personalities. I mean, the two freshmen we've got don't walk anywhere without any fear. That never registers with them. They love to play. They love to play. They love to compete. And I think because of that, we were able to overcome some things. Somebody said the other day, well, you were, whatever we were, 5-6 in your last 11 games. I said, let anybody else play who we played and see what their record would be. We played whatever it was, we played the fifth, I think the fifth most amount of ranked teams in the country, games against ranked teams. It's not like we haven't been tested. It's not like our freshmen haven't grown up a bunch. But the truth of the matter is they never really -- it wasn't like I had freshmen. They weren't apprehensive about anything and they didn't fear anybody.
Q. I just wondered, have you thought any about Dan Peters this season or in the last few days?
COACH HUGGINS: I think about Pete all the time. We were very close from the time we were probably 19, 20 years old on. And so, yeah, you think about him all the time. I talked to Danny Joe periodically. But you can't spend that much time together. I mean, we literally spent a lot of days every waking hour together. So you can't be around somebody that much for that long and not think about him. I think about him. I think about Charlie Spoonhour. I think about -- somebody will say something and Spoon pops in my head. I think when you're around people and you have the kind of relationship that I had with those guys, you're going to think about them.
Q. What have you seen on film about Shannon Evans and Lamonte Bearden in the back court and the challenges they present?
COACH HUGGINS: I think they've got great speed with the ball. And they appear on film to be fearless. They continue to attack and attack. And they've had games where they were down 14 and they're very capable of erasing big leads in a very short period of time. They're a good team. They're a good team, they're extremely well-coached.
Q. Juwan said earlier that one of the good things about this team is how much they all enjoy being together and how that kind of didn't exist the last couple of years, there was a little bit of a divide on the team. Was there a point early on where you saw something click with this group or you saw that they could be a special group?
COACH HUGGINS: Well, I think the thing that was most evident from the beginning and continues to be is their enthusiasm. I mean, they've just got great enthusiasm. They love to play. Sometimes you have some teams where guys come in and it's like a chore for them to be there, and they don't act like they really want to be there. This team is not -- it's not like they want to be there, they're extremely enthusiastic about being there. They want to get better. They love basketball. And if you think about it in anything and any workplace, I mean that's what you want. You want enthusiastic people, people who care. And these guys sincerely care. They've got great attitudes. They've got great enthusiasm. I have said for a long, long time it's hard to -- it's hard to motivate people to work hard and teach at the same time. If you're constantly trying to motivate them, you're spending your time trying to motivate them, you're not spending your time trying to teach them. And I think we got better day in and day out because they come in with the idea that they're going to be enthusiastic and then we don't have to worry about motivating guys to be excited about it and to listen and to do things, because they already do that. So then you can coach them.
Q. You're from Ohio. You've coached most of your college career in Ohio or close to it. I just wonder if it means anything extra just to be playing the game here?
COACH HUGGINS: No, not really. I'm not very nostalgic. I've told this story several times, but at the risk of boring some of you, I grew up in a town of 500 people, two stoplights. This guy used to come around and pick up Gene Ford and I. Gene's a coach at Muskingum College now. He used to pick us up to play in different towns around in the area. And I got in the truck one day and I looked and he didn't have a rearview mirror, and I said, Phil, you don't have a rearview mirror. He said, boy, we're not going backwards. That's kind of how I've lived my life. I don't look backwards. I don't have a rearview mirror. I just look forward.
Q. Just wanted to ask you about with Juwan and Gary going down towards the end of the season, being out for a few games. How beneficial was that for the other guys Jevon, Tarik, Daxter to get that playing time that added experience starting games and all that?
COACH HUGGINS: I think obviously it helped us. I think it helped probably J.C. more than Dax in that J.C. became the point guard. So the thing about being a point guard is you just don't have to know what you're supposed to do. You have to know what everybody is supposed to do. And really what I don't think the vast majority of people didn't realize is that we didn't just lose our point guard, we lost our point guard and our back-up point guard, because if you remember when Wany was out we gave Gary the ball. So we lost both of our point guards and both of our guys with any experience at all. So giving J.C. the ball, now he understands, I think, so much better what's supposed to happen, where people are. And I think it will help our offense, because he does understand now to look here and if that's not there to look here. So he's not -- he's much better than just knowing what he's supposed to do now in terms of the overall what we're trying to accomplish.
Second/Third Rounds - Columbus, Ohio[/B]
Thursday, March 19
West Virginia[/B]
THE MODERATOR: We're joined by West Virginia student-athletes Juwan Staten and Gary Browne. Questions.
Q. For both of you, I assume that you've had an opportunity to see Buffalo, what are your impressions of them, what concerns you the most?
JUWAN STATEN: Well, they like to play in transition. We do a lot of pressing and trapping. And we ultimately want to turn teams over. But they get out in transition and they're heading downhill pretty much every possession. So that's something we definitely gotta get back out of our press and play good half court defense.
Q. Is that something you would like them to do, don't you want to play the same way they want to play too?
JUWAN STATEN: Yeah, we want to speed the game up but they excel in transition. So knowing we want to speed the game up we still have to get back and play great defense, because they'll always be attacking the rim.
GARY BROWNE: I feel he said exactly what we want them to do. At the same time, I feel like they're a scrappy team. They're a team that like to iso a lot, and they also want to run the court. I mean, we want them to play fast, but at the same time we want to be able to control the game. So we gotta make sure that don't happen at the game.
Q. Juwan, how is your health?
JUWAN STATEN: I've practiced for the last two days with no restrictions and no limitations. I'm feeling good.
Q. I was wondering, when Bob talks to you guys to try to prepare you for moments like the one you're going to face tomorrow, what type of storyteller is he in terms of going back to some of his experience with other players and how much do you actually take from those into games and have you ever really recognized when it's helped?
JUWAN STATEN: We've been programmed from day one to play a certain way that's as hard as we can, and that's what we've been doing all year and that's why we're sitting in the seats we're sitting in now. But he talks to us a lot about that Final Four team and the things they did to prepare for the tournament and how they took it one day at a time or one game at a time. So we kind of want to do the same thing. He tells us a lot about how we need to prepare for the game and some things that we need to know about Buffalo. So we just try to pay attention, soak everything in and go out there, play as hard as we can.
GARY BROWNE: He's definitely got a lot of stories to tell us, him being in the game for more than 30 years. He tries really hard to fire up before the games, even in our practice, but he do an amazing job at that. But at the same time we know how much this means to us. So we are coming to play as hard as we can.
Q. The fact that Coach Huggins, I think this is his 21st NCAA appearance, do you guys consider that almost an advantage, just that he's got so much tournament experience and probably seen it all?
JUWAN STATEN: Definitely. He's been here like you said 21 times. He knows what he's talking about. I've personally never been. This is my first time. That's all I have to go off of. He's a great coach. He prepares us well. As long as we listen to him, we always seem to be in good position. So that's what we just want to continue to do.
Q. Juwan, what do you do when you are in big games to stay in the moment, to stay composed, not try to let the situation overcome you so you can play?
JUWAN STATEN: Well, I've played a lot of basketball up until this point, AAU, high school. I've played college basketball. So I've had a lot of experience. I've played overseas. I've done a lot. So I just sort of count on all those experiences to help me. I just try to tell myself that it may be a big game but it's just another game. That kind of helps me settle down.
Q. Juwan, [indiscernible] were you to get a chance to play back in Ohio, close to home in Dayton. What kind of support from friends and family support do you expect this week?
JUWAN STATEN: It's a special feeling just to be playing in my first tournament game. It's my last season and I get to do it in my home state. So that feels amazing. I have a lot of family and friends coming. I actually feel kind of bad because I had to tell some people they had to buy their own tickets. But it's just a great feeling. And I've definitely been feeling the love from everybody that I know in Ohio.
Q. Juwan and Gary, when you originally got hurt it had to go through your mind that you wouldn't be able to play today or tomorrow. What went through your mind, what were your emotions at that point?
GARY BROWNE: Well, it was very sad when we both know that we were hurt and the kind of injuries we had. But at the same time we both I feel like we both believe in God and we have faith and we knew that we worked so hard this summer to end up like that it was not going to happen. So we did our best day-by-day working with our trainer and getting better and until this day, thank God, we are able to play. I mean, it's his first time playing, it's going to be my second time playing. So it's our senior year. We at his place so you couldn't have asked for anything better than that.
JUWAN STATEN: Gary said it best. First the news was kind of devastating because this is exactly what you want to come back to school for. But like he said, we both have faith in God and talking with my parents a lot and just keeping the faith, just knowing that he wouldn't have brought us this far to forsake us. So just staying strong to my belief and doing everything they asked me to do in the training room. And I'm just glad and blessed to be able to play.
Q. I guess this is a question for both of you guys, but Gary, it's been much discussed that you're the only player on the team that's had experience in this tournament. How much do you relay your experience to the rest of the guys. And Juwan how much do you talk to him about what this tournament's like?
GARY BROWNE: The guys laugh because we talk about it every time, all they know is about winning, us going on a tough play and win games and being able to win games most of the time. But I mean me and him have been through a lot. We didn't get a lot of wins. So my freshman year at first I thought I was happy to make it. And I had two seniors, Kevin Jones and Chuck Bryant, and they were pissed that we lost the first round, but I was happy that I made it because it was the biggest accomplishment because I was just a freshman, because I thought we were going to make it the next three years. But look at now. We didn't make it the last two years but we finally made it, but at the same time it's been a lot. But I try to make sure to tell the guys that do something you want to enjoy but at the same time you want to take advantage of it because you don't know when is the next time you're going to be here.
Q. How do you feel? Are you both 100 percent? Where are you at in that regard? And second, I'm wondering about the run-up to this game seems like it's been all Buffalo, everybody's talking about Buffalo and Hurley and the president picks Buffalo. I'm wondering has Coach Huggins challenged you guys and what's it like in the locker room in that regard?
GARY BROWNE: We don't really pay attention to what other people say, because if we were to pay attention to that from the very beginning of the season we would not be here right now because all the expectations from the beginning of the season wasn't positive. So right now we have a small circle. We have our teammates. We have our coaching staff. We have our state. We don't really care what other people say. But at the same time it fires us up a little bit. But until this day, if we wasn't that good we would not have made it this far so far. So we don't pay attention to what all the people say.
JUWAN STATEN: I honestly like playing the underdog role. I feel like we've been in this position before. And it kind of keeps us going. When people pick against us, it gives us that extra feel. And honestly I don't know how we would play if we were always favored to win. I think that's a big thing that drives us. Everybody on our team, I feel like it's been slighted in some way in their career. I feel like they deserved more in some way. So this whole season has just been about proving people wrong, and I think we done a good job up until now and I think we'll keep doing a good job of that.
Q. How are you feeling?
JUWAN STATEN: I'm feeling great. If I wasn't feeling good I wouldn't be playing.
Q. What's the biggest difference in the personality of this team from this year compared to the last two years when you guys weren't able to get to the NCAA Tournament, weren't able to get over the hump here?
JUWAN STATEN: Personality of the team. I think last year as a team we were kind of divided, kind of had different little groups that hung out. But from day one, with this team, everybody's been together. We've done team events. We've been together a lot. Everybody hangs out. Everybody gets along with everybody and sometimes it's to a fault. In practice talking too much or laughing too much and we get in trouble by our coaches. But ultimately that's what brings us together as a team. And that's been a big part about how we've been able to come so far.
Q. Just for both of you guys, I was wondering when you guys were out, did you see anything in your teammates' games that you didn't know what was there that kind of you saw from afar having watched it?
JUWAN STATEN: Yeah, definitely seen a lot especially from our freshmen with Dax and Jevon. They stepped up big time in the games we weren't playing because they had to handle the ball most of the time. They definitely showed that they could score a lot, that they're mature freshmen, not your everyday freshmen. It's something that's going to be big for us if we want to make a run in this tournament. It was good to see all the pieces come together, without me and Gary. So when we're back in the lineup and playing everything can come together and we can make a special run.
GARY BROWNE: I agree with what he said. I mean, you couldn't ask for better freshmen than we have. So they've been doing an amazing jobs, and I feel like the coaches and ourselves have been helping them a lot because we know that at some point in the season something like that could happen and it did happen. They handled it way good.
Q. Gary, you were saying on Selection Sunday it was special because earlier in the season a lot of guys on the team were able to go back to Puerto Rico see where you're from and back in Ohio where a lot of these guys are from. How cool is that to be around this part of the state and to see the looks on these guys' faces when they're back home?
GARY BROWNE: I feel, to be honest, with you to be more happy for him he's a senior never been in a NCAA Tournament and for him to go back now to his hometown and play his first game of the NCAA here in front of his family and friends and everybody, it's very special. When you're a senior, you want to go out with all the great memories you possibly can get and I had mine in Puerto Rico. Now he's going to have his in his hometown. So I feel very happy that we're here. Now we've gotta do the same thing we did in Puerto Rico, do it over here.
JUWAN STATEN: It's like he said, it's a special feeling. I saw how happy Gary was in Puerto Rico. Family, people that haven't got to see you play since you were a little kid. And now at the end of your career, end of your collegiate career they get to see you again. That's the biggest feeling. I have a lot of people -- my grandmother she doesn't really travel at all. But she's going to be here to watch me play. And that's something that's special to me. Just want to take advantage of it.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you. Questions for Coach.
Q. Just wondered, you had Juwan and Gary up there. Wondering how they've been at practice. Do you think they're both 100 percent?
COACH HUGGINS: Juwan has been terrific. Gary's been good. Probably not as bouncy as what Juwan's been, but they're both good. They're both going to go.
Q. Wonder from what you've seen on video, what concerns you the most about Buffalo and their style of play? Does it coincide with what you would like to do in a lot of ways?
COACH HUGGINS: I think the biggest thing is they really try to play downhill. They do a great job of pushing tempo. They do a great job of creating numbers. But that's kind of what we like to do too. And I think they've taken on Bobby's personality. I think they're extremely competitive and play extremely hard.
Q. I know it's been a lifetime ago, but do you remember anything about your first NCAA appearance, or were you just kind of swept up in the madness of it all?
COACH HUGGINS: Yeah, I remember we lost. What do I remember -- we led at halftime, I think. We led at halftime and played the best team in the country at that time, the No. 1 ranked team in the country. And I remember being incredibly proud of the guys I had. I had a walk-on start at 2 guard and a football player play center. So I was extremely proud of their effort and what they did that game.
Q. A lot of the players for both teams have talked about hearing about stories and anecdotes about what it's like to play in the tournament. With your experience, when you had players that haven't had that experience of the tournament, do those stories really help and when do you notice the experience sort of kicking in?
COACH HUGGINS: I don't think it has anything to do with anything. I went to Cincinnati, they hadn't been in the tournament for a long time. And the first two years we're in the NIT, and in '92 we go to the Final Four, and '93 we go to the Elite Eight and lose to Carolina in overtime, who won a national championship. And those guys hadn't been in an NCAA Tournament. Actually the majority of those guys were first-year guys. So I really don't think it has a lot to do with anything. It's just you go play basketball and hopefully you have a good day and make some shots.
Q. Wondering about the run-up to this game. It's been much about Buffalo and Hurley and the president picked Buffalo to beat you guys. And how much have you used that and challenged the guys?
COACH HUGGINS: I haven't. I think they're aware of it, obviously. They watch ESPN. But I haven't said a word about it. I mean, it comes down to, we have to go do what we're good at doing and try to do what we do better than what they do at what they do. And all that other stuff it sounds good and it gives you a column to write, which I know you struggle mightily at times to do. But in terms of winning and losing the game, I don't think it has much to do with anything.
Q. Is the leadership group of this team, at least the guys you count on, compare favorably to any teams you've couched that have had success in tournaments in the past?
COACH HUGGINS: We've had a hard year in some ways. We lose Juwan early and he misses the first week and a half of practice, and really he and Gary and Devin Williams are the guys we have back that had some experience. And Gary was terrific. I can't say enough good things about how good Gary was in terms of his work ethic, his attitude, the way he tried to get other people to understand what we did. Devin was the same way with the bigs. I mean, those guys were terrific. And then we get Wany back and Wany gets sick the first conference game and we don't have Devin in the Oklahoma game and then Wany goes down and Gary goes down. And you walk into Lawrence and Allen Fieldhouse with two freshmen guards and they were fine. I mean, I think it's so much more about personalities. I mean, the two freshmen we've got don't walk anywhere without any fear. That never registers with them. They love to play. They love to play. They love to compete. And I think because of that, we were able to overcome some things. Somebody said the other day, well, you were, whatever we were, 5-6 in your last 11 games. I said, let anybody else play who we played and see what their record would be. We played whatever it was, we played the fifth, I think the fifth most amount of ranked teams in the country, games against ranked teams. It's not like we haven't been tested. It's not like our freshmen haven't grown up a bunch. But the truth of the matter is they never really -- it wasn't like I had freshmen. They weren't apprehensive about anything and they didn't fear anybody.
Q. I just wondered, have you thought any about Dan Peters this season or in the last few days?
COACH HUGGINS: I think about Pete all the time. We were very close from the time we were probably 19, 20 years old on. And so, yeah, you think about him all the time. I talked to Danny Joe periodically. But you can't spend that much time together. I mean, we literally spent a lot of days every waking hour together. So you can't be around somebody that much for that long and not think about him. I think about him. I think about Charlie Spoonhour. I think about -- somebody will say something and Spoon pops in my head. I think when you're around people and you have the kind of relationship that I had with those guys, you're going to think about them.
Q. What have you seen on film about Shannon Evans and Lamonte Bearden in the back court and the challenges they present?
COACH HUGGINS: I think they've got great speed with the ball. And they appear on film to be fearless. They continue to attack and attack. And they've had games where they were down 14 and they're very capable of erasing big leads in a very short period of time. They're a good team. They're a good team, they're extremely well-coached.
Q. Juwan said earlier that one of the good things about this team is how much they all enjoy being together and how that kind of didn't exist the last couple of years, there was a little bit of a divide on the team. Was there a point early on where you saw something click with this group or you saw that they could be a special group?
COACH HUGGINS: Well, I think the thing that was most evident from the beginning and continues to be is their enthusiasm. I mean, they've just got great enthusiasm. They love to play. Sometimes you have some teams where guys come in and it's like a chore for them to be there, and they don't act like they really want to be there. This team is not -- it's not like they want to be there, they're extremely enthusiastic about being there. They want to get better. They love basketball. And if you think about it in anything and any workplace, I mean that's what you want. You want enthusiastic people, people who care. And these guys sincerely care. They've got great attitudes. They've got great enthusiasm. I have said for a long, long time it's hard to -- it's hard to motivate people to work hard and teach at the same time. If you're constantly trying to motivate them, you're spending your time trying to motivate them, you're not spending your time trying to teach them. And I think we got better day in and day out because they come in with the idea that they're going to be enthusiastic and then we don't have to worry about motivating guys to be excited about it and to listen and to do things, because they already do that. So then you can coach them.
Q. You're from Ohio. You've coached most of your college career in Ohio or close to it. I just wonder if it means anything extra just to be playing the game here?
COACH HUGGINS: No, not really. I'm not very nostalgic. I've told this story several times, but at the risk of boring some of you, I grew up in a town of 500 people, two stoplights. This guy used to come around and pick up Gene Ford and I. Gene's a coach at Muskingum College now. He used to pick us up to play in different towns around in the area. And I got in the truck one day and I looked and he didn't have a rearview mirror, and I said, Phil, you don't have a rearview mirror. He said, boy, we're not going backwards. That's kind of how I've lived my life. I don't look backwards. I don't have a rearview mirror. I just look forward.
Q. Just wanted to ask you about with Juwan and Gary going down towards the end of the season, being out for a few games. How beneficial was that for the other guys Jevon, Tarik, Daxter to get that playing time that added experience starting games and all that?
COACH HUGGINS: I think obviously it helped us. I think it helped probably J.C. more than Dax in that J.C. became the point guard. So the thing about being a point guard is you just don't have to know what you're supposed to do. You have to know what everybody is supposed to do. And really what I don't think the vast majority of people didn't realize is that we didn't just lose our point guard, we lost our point guard and our back-up point guard, because if you remember when Wany was out we gave Gary the ball. So we lost both of our point guards and both of our guys with any experience at all. So giving J.C. the ball, now he understands, I think, so much better what's supposed to happen, where people are. And I think it will help our offense, because he does understand now to look here and if that's not there to look here. So he's not -- he's much better than just knowing what he's supposed to do now in terms of the overall what we're trying to accomplish.
