The Dayton Flyers and North Carolina Tar Heels participated in a pre-NIT Finals press conference on Wednesday morning. Here is what Dayton Head Coach Brian Gregory, and UD players Marcus Johnson, Kurt Huelsman and Chris Wright and UNC coach Roy Williams said at the media event.
NIT Finals Press Conference
Marriot Marquis, Times Square NYC
March 31, 2010
Dayton Head Coach Brian Gregory
On playing in the NIT finals:
“I am extremely proud of my team in terms of their commitment of staying strong and staying together. I remember when we were invited to the NIT we talked that night about what we needed to do to play well and what a great opportunity we have to play in this tournament. We have played with greater poise and composure. We have played with great discipline. Our guys have done a great job understanding what they need to do in terms of their role. Our guys, really, have done a good job seeing those, accepting those and putting those in action. There are some teams that enter this tournament that are a little upset that they weren’t chosen for the other tournament. There are other teams realize that they had to do with it, with their shortcomings and are a little ticked off. That is what these guys did, they took responsibility. We have beaten four really good teams which this tournament has proven to have. I looked at the list of past champions in the NIT and it is a very impressive list. Sometimes you get caught up in some other stuff and you don’t realize how many quality teams are playing. We face another one tomorrow. A Hall of Fame coach,(Roy Williams) last year’s national champion,(UNC) a team that has gone through some hard times themselves but have really found themselves the last month of the season.”
On North Carolina:
“They are still North Carolina. You are talking about a Hall of Fame coach, he didn’t become a dud the last two months. There is a Carolina way. They are tremendous in the open court. They really push the ball. They flow quickly in their secondary offense very seamlessly and they are extremely big. They (might) be the best offensive rebounding team we face. They do a great job of playing fast and being able to execute in a very fast fashion. If they don’t score in that manner, they are still able to get the rebound. It was a team that maybe didn’t mesh as well during the year but like us they are playing their best basketball of the season right now. They won at Mississippi State and UAB, those are tough places to play. I know how good Rhode Island is. To come back and beat Rhode Island speaks volumes to how they are playing.”
Chris Wright
On playing in the NIT finals:
“I just think we started in practice and holding ourselves accountable. We started to get on each other as a team. It is on you to go out there to execute and it is on you to go out there and get it done to play good basketball.”
Marcus Johnson
On the season:
“We just had to come together. Coach said it wouldn’t be easy. The season is not a sprint, it is a marathon. We knew we would have bumps in the road. During the season, we banded together.”
On playing in the NIT finals:
“We are excited to be here. Only two teams can have their season end with W's and we have a great opportunity to do that tomorrow.”
Kurt Huelsman
On the season:
“We expected to have this type of season, those type of games where every single point matters. The coaches got on us, we got on each other. We knew we wouldn’t fold and we kept working.”
On playing in the NIT finals:
“It means a lot to us. I understand that people had high expectations and people might see this as a negative but we see it as a positive. We just kept working and pushing every day. We are in a good spot and we feel really good.”
On the Dayton program:
“It is exciting to be able to go out in this situation, hopefully with a win. We have worked hard. We have put in a lot of time to try to put this program in a good spot. We are just thankful to be here right now."
North Carolina Coach Roy Williams
On Dayton:
"It is hard, because we got back here (from the game) late last night. Their pace of play is impressive. Substitutions are impressive. I substitute a lot but they substitute a heck of lot more than we do. Their athleticism, the pressure they put on one end is impressive. Chris Wright, Chris Johnson, Marcus Johnson...they have some youngsters that are extremely athletic, extremely quick. It is impossible to simulate it. We are not going to simulate that kind of athleticism. Brian (Gregory) does a heck of a job. We played them four years ago and it was a heck of a game."
