Nov. 15, 2007

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Post-Game Quotes
Georgetown 74, Michigan 52
Thursday, November 15, 2007

Georgetown Head Coach John Thompson III
On the team's defensive intensity early in the game...
"I thought that was key to tell you the truth. Our defense early in the game set the tone. That's something, that as the season progresses, hopefully we can continue to do that. I thought we made it difficult for them to get the looks they wanted to get. I thought, particularly, early, we did a good job of rebounding and making sure they didn't get a chance at second shots."

On whether he was surprised Michigan playing 1-3-1...
"Not at all. That's what they do. That's what he does. I was not surprised by that at all. They have a young team. He's trying to get that group ready for conference play. They are extremely effective with it. We did a decent job today against it today. That defense is extremely effective, has been and will continue to be."

On GU's shooting...
"It definitely got things started. We came in wanting to throw it in a lot. Then the ball started going in and it became contagious. We have some kids that can make shots and we were getting open shots. That's what their defense does, it dictates where you get your shots and what shots you get. Roy (Hibbert) had trouble getting going today, got some good looks and had some touches, and the ball didn't fall in, but our shooters were making shots."

On DaJuan Summers' defensive effort...
"You saw hopefully the beginnings of that. We started him off on Sims and he's a terrific player and I thought DaJuan did a good job. He had a bad night also and that had nothing to do with DaJuan, but DaJuan's energy and attentiveness today was outstanding."

On the team's energy...
"Hopefully we'll see more of this team and hopefully we won't see more of the team we saw Saturday. As I said to the kids at halftime, it's not 'Keep doing what you're doing.' I usually go through and come up with a million things we need to change. But that first half, we got what we wanted and did a good job of stopping them. They had a few three's in transition in that first half and late in the first half, they had a few second shots and those were the things we wanted to take away. But I agree, overall, the kids were focused."

On playing in the flow of the game...
"We have to prepare for league play. We have some guys we want to get experience, some different combinations we want to see how they look together and we're fortunate if you can go through that process early in the year. My whole focus is to get us ready for conference play. We had a lot of different people in there, a lot of different combinations and there are things we want to see, things we want to work on."

On the younger guys having some success...
"They still have a ways to go. If you're talking about freshmen class, they are smart. They're a smart group of kids. They're going to go through the growing pains that freshmen go through. But it's good to get them out there against a quality opponent and give us something to talk about."

On Roy....
"I thought he struggled a little bit today. Roy is a senior now and there's not too many situations that he's going to see that he hasn't seen. I thought he did a very good job of handling the double team. He did a very good job of being poised and figuring out when he could get his shot off or who he could throw it to. I thought he did an outstanding job of handling that situation."

On the bench....
"I still feel as I've said a lot last year that Roy s the focal point. He's going to have good games and a good year for us to have a good year, but when any one person out there is struggling, we have other guys that can step up. When they share the game and play together, as they can, that's what we want to grow into and want to understand and continue to learn. We help each other out, someone's always going to be able to come through."

On Roy staying involved on the bench...
"That's what seniors want to do. Roy wants to win. Roy wants to win and he realizes that as soon as he connects with everyone else's learning process, we'll be a better team. That's what is important to Roy. Whatever his points or rebounds are, he wants to win."

Michigan Head Coach John Beilein
On the game...
"I think it's pretty obvious to anyone here that these were two programs that are in different stages. Georgetown is absolutely terrific. You can sit there and just watch them play and see how beautifully they play this game. Maybe our team sat there and watched them play because they are so efficient in everything they did. It was a great lesson for us to learn how teams can play in a system like theirs, be so efficient, score a lot of points and have a lot of fun."

"We just got so many young guys. I say that we're tape-delayed on offense and defense. You know when you have a radio program and there's a two-second delay? We are. All of a sudden they beat you back-door or they're playing you one way and how do we read it? We're behind. We'll slow down for our players both offensively and defensively, but to play against the big fella - who had eight points just by reaching up and getting the ball. We're still trying to work out getting out saying, `I got my man.' We're right where we should be right now. This program takes a long time to fix and we're playing a top-10 team, if not a top-five."

On similarities to last year's game when he was at West Virginia...
"We came in here and we won 27 games that year. We had just come off a UCLA win, and we were not coming off a Radford and Brown win. It was very similar. We played better in the second half. You have to have a seasoned, veteran team that has seen what Georgetown does many times in order to play against them. We have had success here, but we certainly didn't tonight."

On how GU looks different from watching them on tape...
"I think they might even be more multi-dimensional than ever right now because Jeff (Green) was so good, obviously. You try to play a lot of attention to him and Roy. The whole time I've been coaching, Wallace has always been my guy. I just think he's the guy. He's got so many great parts around him. I think I might have voted for him all-league last year as a junior when nobody was voting for him. I Just think he makes this thing go so well and he just doesn't miss. He just gets in you enough, he's unselfish."

"Summers is playing well, Ewing comes in there and crashes the boards. They've got a good team. They're very well coached and you have to admire what you have right here. You're back sustaining great teams when John, Jr. was back here."

On his team's ability to change defenses....
"We can switch it, but we don't play it very well either way very well. We're just learning. When they came down and were applying defense, I could see our guys saying, `I hope he doesn't beat me backdoor.' We just don't have a lot of confidence right now and it takes time. We're making great strides, but to play against a team like that, it's a bit of a mismatch right now."

On Georgetown's defense...
"I don't think anyone's really recognized how good Georgetown's defense has been since John's been here. They don't follow you at all. They know their shot blockers, it's very difficult to get penetration without having to shoot over the big and he does enough where he changes and switches some screens, they do a great job on the ball screen ... I don't think people understand how good they are defensively."

On whether he was surprised by GU's jumping out to an early lead...
"They're a top-five team and we're shaking each other's hands for the first time. I didn't want that to happen, but it's great because it hits you right in the face where our guys are and what we have to do."

On positives from the game...
"Our back court did a great job today. Are they really efficient? Not yet. We had a bad night from our frontcourt. They'll watch film, they'll listen to me and they'll get better."

Senior Center Roy Hibbert
On what he was saying to Bryon Jansen...
"Vernon (Macklin) was in a certain place and I was reminding of what he had to do. It's his first time out there, so it was nice to help him out.

On the team's shooting...
"When we're making shots, it's a lot easier for everybody. Sapp was hitting shots and getting to the basket, DaJuan was hitting shot, Jon was hitting shots. We can wear you down from inside or we can wear you down from outside. We're versatile like that."

On improvements from game one to game two...
"It was a great improvement. We just have to keep getting better. It was just one game, so we'll have to get ready for the next game."

On the cohesiveness of the team...
"It seems like we've meshed together really quickly as opposed to last year. We dropped a few early last year, so we're trying to get together quickly so we won't have those losses. We're a totally different team than last year and I think we're going to continue to get better."

On Vernon Macklin's play...
"Vernon played extremely well. When he was out on the court, he demanded the ball, he scored when he could, he blocked shots, he rebounded very well and he was running the offense pretty well. He's doing his job."

On Jessie Sapp's play...
"From the start to the finish, he plays extremely hard. He's like the heart of the team right now on the court. He runs the team extremely well, he distributes the ball to everyone and he's been working very hard on his shot."

On whether it's good to have the younger guys playing more now...
"It is (a good thing). We're getting them ready and getting them prepared for the BIG EAST. When that time comes, day in and day out, we're playing against top-25 teams every night."

Senior Guard Jonathan Wallace
On the team's defensive intensity early in the game...
"Compared to last game, we kind of tried to make some corrections on how we started the game out. We didn't come out with enough intensity and focus. Tonight, we paid attention to the scouting report and set the tempo and pace early on to benefit us."

On the feeling that they are an elite team...
"Within ourselves, we have to play with the confidence that we are one of the best teams. At the same time, I don't think we can let that get to the point where it almost brainwashes us to where we're not focused and we take teams lightly. Every night we play, we have a bulls eye on our back and we have to come out with the mentality that we are a good team and that we can make things happen and we have to relax and play."

On Jessie Sapp's play...
"I think me and Jessie are both confident in each other. Teams have different game plans night in and night out. If he's getting the ball early on, our offense is in a way in which I can run the floor and get open looks. But vice versa, there are some nights, where Jessie will slide underneath the basket and find some areas where he can get some open looks."

Junior Guard Jessie Sapp On the start of the game...
"We just worked on our stuff. We went through our motions and got open shots. Coach told us what we had to do and we just wanted to pay attention and focus on that and that got us a key win."

On differences from game one to game two...
"Saturday was the first game. We just wanted to look at our options and see what we could do. We went to practice this weekend and we knew we could play harder and set the tempo at the beginning of the game."

On the start of the game...
"We just wanted to play defense. Those guys can shoot, they're a very good team. We just wanted to get out on those guys early and try not to let them come back."

On differences of this team to last year...
"We basically have the same team back from last year, except for Jeff. Just having the same core and having the freshmen, I think it helps coach out."