San Diego Player and Coach Quotes (March 20)

Head Coach Bill Grier

THE MODERATOR: From the University of San Diego, we have De'Jon Jackson, Brandon Johnson, and Gyno Pomare. Questions for the student athletes from San Diego.

Q. Brandon, could you talk about the progress of Rob Jones and his freshman season and what he's brought to your program.
BRANDON JOHNSON: Rob Jones has been a big deal to our program. Right now he's playing great. He's matured so much over the last couple of games. He's helped us. In the Gonzaga game he played a big part. I think he put good numbers in. Right now without him and Trumaine Johnson, they're just playing so good, it just opens it up for a lot of us.

Q. For Gyno, how do you condition yourself to play against a guy 7' 3" knowing that you're likely to get some shots blocked? How do you keep shooting in that environment?
GYNO POMARE: Like you said, he's 7' 3," I've never played anyone that tall before. I know he's going to block some shots. I'm going to just keep going at him. Find other ways of scoring. Maybe get other guys open. My role's going to change on the team this game for sure. So I'll just find other ways to get other guys open and other ways to score.

Q. This is for Gyno and Brandon, and even De'Jon if you want to answer this, how far away does Monday night at the JCP seem, when you guys won the West Coast Conference championship, to today and yesterday arriving in Tampa?
GYNO POMARE: Monday seems so far away. It took forever to get here. We're just excited to be here. I'm glad it's finally here. Playing a high powered team like UCONN is great. I've never experienced anything like it before. It's going to be a great game, great program, and a lot of great players out there.
BRANDON JOHNSON: Like Gyno says, it's just far away. We're happy about the game right now. It felt like forever. We're just practicing as individuals and now we've finally got our team. And the selection day came, we were happy about that, getting started in practicing, knowing what we needed to do. I think it's a blessing just playing in the tournament right now.

Q. From what you've seen of UCONN, what does A.J. Price mean to their team? And what do you see about his game that attracts your attention?
BRANDON JOHNSON: I think he's a great player. I've watched him on a couple of games over the year, and on ESPN a couple times we caught a couple games during the year. I think he's just an aggressive guard. He's one of the top guards in the country. And how you've got to respect his game. He's got a nice jumper and everything. Gets his team involved. So we've just got to go out there and try to play them solidly, and hopefully we can stop them.

Q. You're from Houston, did you encounter Hasheem at all there, summer leagues, anywhere? Did you play against him? Did you ever see him play?

BRANDON JOHNSON: No, this is my first time going against him. I didn't even know he was from Houston. I wish he could have played on my team, actually. If I would have seen him, we would have tried to get him in AAU ball.
But I didn't get a chance to see him in Houston.

Q. A lot of people talk about that Kentucky win being the big turning point, but actually what did you guys learn after you played Kentucky when you went on a little bit of a skid there?
DE'JON JACKSON: Well, after the Kentucky game we had went to Marshall, and we lost really bad. And we just said we've just got to stay competing, just like the Kentucky game. And Coach would always tell us, just don't worry about losing to a team like that, like Marshall, who we lost by a lot, and just stay focused. Focus on everything that we do. He just told us to keep our heads up.

Q. Do you pay attention to the seeds? I mean, 13s have won a lot in this tournament. They've upset the number 4. Do you look upon yourselves as the guys that can upset or Cinderella, if you will?
BRANDON JOHNSON: Everybody knows we're the underdogs, I think, going into this tournament. But when you go in there and the ball goes up, I think the seeds all go out the window. You've just got to go out there and try to perform to the best of your ability. And I think a lot of teams respect that. I read in a couple of papers that Coach said we can go in this game and win.
So I think UCONN respects us, and I think everybody else does. So we've just got to go in there and not worry about seeds and just give it our best.

Q. Where were you the last time USD went to the NCAA Tournament? Do you have any memories of that? And how do you feel about being the team that got the school back here?
DE'JON JACKSON: Well, really I don't remember when USD went. I wasn't really focused on that. But now this is a great accomplishment. I mean, it was something when I first came to USD, I didn't really think we were going to a tournament. It was like a dream. Now it's kind of come true to me. It's like it's a big achievement in my life, so it's great.
GYNO POMARE: I didn't know USD existed until they started recruiting me (smiling), and I didn't even find out they went to the tournament until they told me that when they started to recruit me. But the guys told me all about it, Corey Belser, and Nick Lewis, they told me what a great time they've had. I've seen Corey's ring.
BRANDON JOHNSON: Many times.
GYNO POMARE: I was like, I want one of those. It's just great to finally be here. They talked to me, they called me after we won and congratulated us. And it's just great now to be part of that.
BRANDON JOHNSON: Just like those two said, when we first came Corey Belser showed us his ring a couple of times and let us know what we need to get. But they all called us and congratulated us. And I think right now it's just a blessing to be playing in the tournament. Just to be playing against UCONN. They're a historical program right now. I mean, you always dream of this when you were younger to get in the tournament, and finally we made it.

Q. Do you take anything away from the Gonzaga game against UCONN? Did you watch that game?
BRANDON JOHNSON: We watched a couple of clips, but everybody's a different team. I think we struggled. Our preseason we were struggling. Right now we're up to a good little starts in the conference. We came out 11 3. So you don't look back at the games in the past, because every team has made a tremendous jump to their talents right now. I think they had two players hurt that game, also.
So right now you've just got to look to the future, and a couple of games put to the back, and just go out there right now and see what we can do.

Q. Did you guys know of Coach when he was at Gonzaga? And do you see any influences or things that he's brought with him, any characteristics?
BRANDON JOHNSON: Yeah, Coach Grier, I saw him a couple of times running by the bench. But I didn't really know him. But he's came into our program and changed us tremendously.

He's improved my game as an individual, and just recruiting the people he did, and how he's helped all our players. He gets to you personally and finds out what are your strengths and weaknesses. He just helps you like that. As you can see, he's done a lot for our program and we finally got to the tournament. I think his resume shows it all.

Q. How do you win this game strategically? Do you guys want to run, score a lot of points or do you want to slow it down? How do you attack them?
BRANDON JOHNSON: I think we've just got to let the game come to us. I know turnovers and rebounding are going to play a big part in our game. So I think we've got to take control of that. And you've just got to go out there and seize the moment. Give it all we've got. Whatever opens up, we're going to try to take advantage of it. Right now we're just focusing on trying to keep the turnovers down and rebounding.

Q. When you have a shot blocker in the middle like they do, does that influence your game? Are you a little more gun shy about driving toward the basket? And do you have to look for opportunities to retrieve blocked shots instead of releasing on defense?
BRANDON JOHNSON: I think that you've got to respect his game. He's a big man. I think he's probably leading in the country right now. So you've got to adjust your shot. At the same time you've got to still stay aggressive and go at him. I know we've got to respect him inside. But at the same time, you've got to just go in there, man. Be the most aggressive you can. If we can get them in foul trouble, we'll try. But you can't really adjust your game too much.
 

San Diego Head Coach Bill Grier

Q. Coach, is this the type of team that can go on loose, or were you concerned it might be a little tight?
COACH GRIER: You know, certainly I think for this group, being this group's first time in the tournament, you're concerned about them being tight because of it being the NCAA Tournament. But at the same time, this group's been pretty loose all year. They went into Kentucky, and I thought they'd be nervous and they weren't. They played pretty loose, and went out and played. So hopefully we'll come out and play aggressive tomorrow, and at the same time play loose and free and have fun.

Q. You have a common opponent in Gonzaga. I'm wondering what you can take from looking back at that game, and it's also both teams are quite different at this point.
COACH GRIER: Yeah, that game was in early December. I think certainly we don't have Gonzaga's personnel. And I also think UCONN's a different team than they were at that time of the year. You know, I think to win ten straight in the Big East like they did, you know, that's quite the feather in your cap. I mean, that conference is tough as it is night in and night out and how physical it is, just shows how good a team they are.

You know, certainly being at Gonzaga as long as I was, I've taken a lot of the things that were done up there and tried to implement them into our system. But at the same time we don't have that same personnel. And so you watch that game, it was a long time ago. You know. We weren't exactly that great of a team back at that time of the year ourselves. We've changed a lot since then. So I don't think we can read too much into that game.

Q. You've got some experience with the "underdog "whether it's a 12 or 13 seed coming into this tournament and maybe shocking the world, if you will. Do you play that up? Do you draw from the Gonzaga experience and try to play that up with your kids?
COACH GRIER: Yeah, I have this week. I've been fortunate. You know, this is the first, obviously, the first NCAA Tournament for myself as a head coach. But I was part of a staff that had gone to now their tenth straight. So certainly I've had some experience in the NCAA Tournament of being involved in the games.
I think sometimes, especially for teams that go for the first time or haven't been in a long time, those group of kids I think sometimes you get too caught up in the satisfaction of being there and forget to go out and play. That's really what I've tried to focus on this week. It's a great job that we're there, but now we've got to go play. We've got to go out and try to win a game, and go into this thing being aggressive, but at the same time playing loose and having fun.

Q. When you look at UCONN and looking at how to beat them, what is the first thing that sticks out about them?
COACH GRIER: Well, there's a lot of things that stick out about them. First of all, they have tremendous size. Thabeet is, I mean, we haven't played against anybody that size all year, and the way he can block shots and changes the game at the defensive end. You know, Adrien, I think is as tough a kid as we'll have gone up against all year. He's aggressive at both ends of the floor. He's as good a rebounder as there is in the country.
And then, Robinson is a 6' 9" long, athletic, bouncy wing that can shoot the ball. And he's really good on the offensive glass and he blocks shots. Then you have two, I think, jet quick guards in Dyson and Price. You know, I think, everybody wants to talk about their length and their size and those kind of things for good reason. But at the same time, I think A.J. Price is a heck of a player. It really makes them go. And then Dyson can really get going from the perimeter, but he can also hurt you off the bounce. So they have a lot of weapons, obviously at the offensive end. But I also have a lot of concerns on whether we're going to be able to score on them at the other end.
When I was coaching in high school, I remember listening to Coach Calhoun at clinics. You know, the same things he was emphasizing then, and it's different personnel, but it's the same things he emphasizes now. And his teams, you take the players out, you put different players in, but the whole, sum of the things is the same. They defend, they rebound, they push the ball, and they have really good players. So we have concerns on all fronts, you know.
I think the really big key for us is how we handle them on the glass. They're such a good rebounding team. They're always one of the best rebounding teams in the country. Certainly their athleticism presents a problem that way, and so does their size. And then, I think, taking care of the basketball. They can create turnovers which gets their break going, and that's when I think they're very, very dangerous.

Q. Could you talk about the progress that Rob Jones has made in his freshman season, and how much of a priority he is for your program?
COACH GRIER: Well, you know what, I was fortunate enough to get this job, one of the very first things I did I knew when Coach Holland had signed him in the fall the year before I thought, you know, that's a great get for San Diego. So I felt one of my first priorities when I got to San Diego was to go meet with he and his family, and make sure that they were on board, and that he was going to continue to come and all of that. And certainly they bought in, and his parents have been terrific.
But that kid I think for the first time in his life he's gotten the focus just on basketball. He's been a two sport athlete growing up. A terrific football player. Recruited at the highest level and certainly could have gone to a lot of different schools to play football. But his love was basketball.
You know, I think he's got such a great upside because of the fact he's never focused just on one sport. He has really grown throughout the course of the season. And I think like a lot of freshmen, he's been up and down. But his progress has made a steady climb, and he's had some really big games for us in conference play. I think that he and Trumaine Johnson, our other freshman, their emergence is why this team has grown. So much attention gets thrown on Brandon and Gyno, and rightfully so, but earlier in the year we were so dependent upon those two to carry us, that if they didn't, we didn't win. Now I think our team has grown where Rob and Trumaine have grown to give us that scoring punch that's made us a better basketball team.
You know, I think Rob's got a really, really bright future in our conference. He's got a tremendous upside, and I look forward to coaching him the next few years.

Q. I'm just wondering how you approach facing a 7 footer. Can you even simulate that kind of length in practice?
COACH GRIER: I believe he's 7' 3".

Q. He is, but is there anything you can do to prepare for that? And do you still have to try to attack him or do you just avoid some of that down there?
COACH GRIER: You know, we had one of our kids get on the shoulders of another one of our kids and practice all week. Then we held brooms up all around.
 

You know, I don't want our guys to play in fear of him, but we also have to be intelligent. He's a great shot blocker. You see some teams on film keep trying to challenge him, and he keeps blocking shots. Again, I think that like a turnover against their press or in their half court defense, that also leads to a fast break opportunity for him. So we have to be smart about it. But at the same time we can't play in fear of him.

Q. You're joking about the shoulders thing?
COACH GRIER: Yes, I am joking about the shoulders (smiling).

Q. I wonder whether there is a size differential between teams, the smaller team hopes that it's quicker. Are you quicker than UCONN significantly? And do you think that that's your significant advantage or it will help you in any way?
COACH GRIER: I really don't think we have a significant advantage anywhere against them. I do think we have good quickness. But I look at A.J. Price, and Dyson and Austrie off the bench, and Wiggins, and I think those kids are every bit as quick as Brandon and Trumaine, if not quicker. So, you know, I don't think we have an advantage that way at all. Maybe Gyno's a little bit quicker than Thabeet, I don't know. We can put them in a foot race or something after the game.
But I just don't think we really have an advantage. They just have tremendous size and great athleticism.

Q. How did you view the San Diego program when you were at Gonzaga? And now that you're here, do you see any similarities as far as that Gonzaga established itself as the national underdog and darlings of the tournament over that period of time?
COACH GRIER: Well, I always viewed the program as a very good program. I think when I first started Hank Egan was the head coach there and he did a great job. And Coach Holland was there for 13 years and he did a tremendous job. And I know our staff always had tremendous respect for what they did. And they were always very, very difficult for us to play when I was at Gonzaga.

But, you know, I looked at it as a program that had certainly a lot of potential. Being in a city like San Diego, what they say is true, it is America's finest city. It is one of my favorite cities across the country. I love living there. And then you take our campus, for the size of the campus, if there's a more scenic campus out there, I'd like somebody to show me. From the architecture to the layout of it, it's as beautiful a campus as there is in the country.

So I think you throw those two things in with we have a nice facility to play in. There's a lot of very good factors involved in the University of San Diego. You know, certainly there's concerns that you have in trying to build a program being in southern California. I think there's so many things for people to do, it is hard on a regular basis to get interest. And certainly we've worked at it, we're trying to get the students more and more involved. I can't say I blame them, you know. They have the opportunity to live off campus, and a lot of them when they do, they live down by the beach. I'd probably do the same thing.

But we're trying to get them more and more involved. And to try to get more of a community interest in the program. And certainly this helps in having our women in the tournament certainly helps.

You know, as far as being like you said about Gonzaga and the attention and those kind of things, being the "darling," you know, we have a long way to go because of that. That came because of a deep run in '99. You know, if we were fortunate to win a game, certainly there would be more attention.

I think the beauty of the NCAA Tournament, I've always felt, is I think America likes the underdog. You know, they generally like to pull for you. And if you can go win a game, it seems like people around the country kind of get behind you. And certainly we're hoping that the people of Tampa that come to these games, if we can hang in there, they'll get behind our team and support us.

Q. A lot of people point to that Kentucky win as one of the reasons you got here. But I'm curious from a coaching standpoint, did your fellas almost learn as much in those losses that preceded that big win? And how did those losses maybe fortify you for later on down the stretch?
COACH GRIER: Well, certainly I think going to the places that we went in our preseason schedule helped prepare us for the conference tournament, and, hopefully, for tomorrow. You know, playing at a place like New Mexico that is a very tough place to play and 15,000, and playing at Nevada, and playing some of the teams we've played in Anaheim. Certainly going to Kentucky. I think the win at Kentucky at Rupp Arena in front of 23 whatever it is, that environment is very similar to almost an NCAA Tournament environment when you go into there to play. So I think that that win gave our guys the confidence that if they played the right way, that they could go out and beat anybody.

But at the same time, like you said, we followed that up with a big emotional win with we got throttled two days later at Marshall. So I think our team learned a lot from that trip on being ready to go that next game, no matter what happens in the game before. So I do think it helped us, and I hope that moment helped us for tomorrow because that was such a big environment to play in against one of the most storied programs in college basketball.