March 23, 2006

GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

GEORGE MASON GUARD GABE NORWOOD

On the hype affecting the team's play:
"No I don't think so. This is the way we've been playing all year and this is a fun group of guys. I think if you ask coach Larranaga, he'll say that this group is different from any other team he has coached."

On staying focused:
"We went really hard the first 15-20 minutes of practice and took care of what needed to take care of and then it's just a matter of preparing and having fun at the same time. At the end of practice we were dunking and throwing up half court shots, so we also know how to relax a little bit."

On Wichita State:
"We definitely know that they are a great team and we gave everything we had just to beat them at the buzzer at their place. So we know they're going to come in here hungry for a win and we have confidence that our coaches will get us prepared and we should be good to go."

GEORGE MASON GUARD TONY SKINN

On basketball in the Washington, DC area:
"It says a lot that we are here. The Washington D.C. area is a great area for basketball and to have a lot of our guys from Maryland or locally, it's a great feeling. It's even sweeter because we are from the area and not a lot of people can say that they went to the Sweet 16."

On Jai Lewis:
"Jai is an unusual athlete. You look at his size and you think that he's slow, but Jai is the total opposite. He is quick with his hands and feet and he can do a lot of things that big guys his size can't do. He shoots the ball well, he can dribble the ball and also he can use his body down low."

More on Jai Lewis:
"Jai is our go to guy, he and Will on the inside. So if they get going, it frees our guards up on the perimeter. We have to stick to the script and keep dumping the ball inside to those guys."

GEORGE MASON FORWARD JAI LEWIS
On Wichita State:
"They are going to come in and play hard. They are going to try and do whatever they can to get us out of our game and rhythm so it should be a great game."

On people asking for tickets:
"It's been crazy and hectic. A lot of people calling, coming up to me and asking for tickets, so I have to tell them I don't have any more. We only get four so right now they're going to immediate family."

On how far this team can go:
As far as we want. As long as we go out and play our game and play hard the first five minutes of each half, we should be fine."