Jan. 3, 2008

Head Coach John Thompson III
On Big East play starting up...
"Now we get started. Hopefully we have an understanding and hopefully we can play well. I think you've seen the first couple games of conference play and I say it every year and it's true, everybody can beat everyone. Regardless of what preseason rankings are and regardless of what projections are at this point we have to come prepared. Everything is hyped. The opposition has no tricks. They're going to know everything we are doing, they're going to know what is coming, they're going to know our plays, our personnel and our tendencies. So now it comes down to execution and togetherness, so hopefully were at that point now. With that being , aid we still want to keep improving and getting better."

On the meshing between the older and younger players on the team... "With this group that has been their thing from early on. I think our younger guys have a strong sense of understanding and they learn fast. And it's just them growing and learning and adjusting and adapting and the guys that were here last year, changing adjusting adapting to the new guys we have here. Yes we have seen that and hopefully it will keep growing."

On whether younger players are making the transition easier to college ball these days... "I am not sure, in many ways I do not look at the rest of the world, so I am not really sure. I am sure you can go through and find specific examples and say hey Billy, Bobby or Robby looked great But you can probably go through and find just as many examples where what I call the normal growing pains of freshmen and young guys go through is happening."

On what it would mean for the program to win another Big East title... "If we get to where that happens, we can talk about that. We've got to win up in New Jersey, so it's the same thing. I am not and I don't think they are, thinking about what it would mean. We have to win methodically one game at a time. I always said we will pick our heads up at the end of the year and to all you guys standing here, it's our function and so we'll see where we are at the end of the year and we will see what that means if that happens. "

On Rutgers as a team...
"They have a group that has been through it - and (Anthony) Farmer I have been watching that kid play since he was 6-years-old - they have a group that has played together and so much like everyone in our league if you don't come ready to play you can be hurt."

On the transition game helping the offense...
"I think it is yes and no, but clearly that is a part of it I think we have a group that can make good decisions at a fast pace so we can play at a fast pace. We have the personnel and depth to play at a face pace, but its not just hey we are pushing the ball more we are looking for transition opportunities. I think that as we plotted along here our offensive efficiency has gotten better, our shot selection has gotten better. I think that its not just in transition, but our half court offense, particularly the last 10 days or 2 weeks, or so has gotten better. "

On the start of the last game....
"We came out and made a lot shots and made a lot of easy baskets. It was pretty good. You can go through just as many clips in which we probably focused on as much at least one 8 min stretch that could go the other way also during that game, but that 8 min stretch was very good. Hopefully we can get to where our goal, a week, two weeks, three weeks from now, that's the norm that will be something that jumps out to you."

On Austin's progress...
"I think that as he continues to settle in and to understand how were doing things and he has a high sense of that right now, opportunities will present themselves for him. I think as a group that we have the offensive personnel such that there is no need for guys to take slightly contested shots because if you pass it to the next guy who is open, he is going to make it. I think we're not there yet, but were slowly getting that understanding of that feeling regarding each other. He is part of that equation."

On having one of the best shooting starting lineups in the country...
"That's by design. I think with emphasis and a lot of attention going to Roy, if we put good shooters around him we should have success. Hopefully we will continue to make shots and if we continue to take good shots, then I think we have a very good shooting team. We have a balance, we can have a balance. I think if you've seen up until this point, defenses have made a conscience effort to pack it in there and sit two, three or four guys around Roy, so we have to have a balance. You can sit there and say, 'Let's just keep pounding it in and wearing it in,' but he's got three guys around him. If you have shooters around him, hopefully you can make the opposition to make choices."

On the team's unselfish personality...
"Hopefully it is a desire to win because I think that's how this group is going to win, but people are people and human nature is human nature. The way we play you have to be unselfish, you have to understand that we are in this together and it's a collective group effort so hopefully it's a little bit of both ...Hopefully the desire to win is stronger than any reaction I might have."

On Austin's very few unforced errors as a freshman...
"His decision-making, coupled with his God-given ability is at a high level and his understanding. He's a player that if you tell him something once and he kind of looks at you and he understands what you're telling him and why you're telling him and how to apply it and does not make the same mistake twice. It's uncanny."

Is he as unflappable as he seems to the media....
"We'll see .. I think so, I hope so but we're at the important part of the season now

How is Big East play different from non-conference play...
"Like I said earlier you know what is coming. The opposition knows what's coming, the scouting reports are better, there are no surprises. That's the difference, every possession is more important, every defensive possession, every offensive possession can have an effect on the outcome of the game whether its at the 16 minute mark of the first half or something under five minutes left in the game, every possession is crucial to success."

Are these two freshmen the most prepared you ever had walked in the door...
"We have four freshmen ... ha-ha ... It's up there, it's definitely up there just in terms of the comfort level, not only that I have as a coach, but that their teammates have when they step on the floor and just their understanding and basketball IQ coupled with God-given ability is very high."

What went through your mind as Roy Shot the 3 pt shots?
"Roy got that three-pointer because Jessie Sapp was doing a very good job of trying to set a screen for Roy and Jessie Sapp got Roy's man off of him and in doing so Jessie took his man all the way down beneath Roy's man and so it was so clear and open that it is there for Roy to shoot so when you go back and look at it was as much as what we showed them and showed in tapes because we have had guys come and set a screen for Roy before we set 3 screens but now instead of getting below him to set that screen they kind of just stand right there so in doing that Roy realizes I got 10 ft to shoot so it decepts an attempt to set that screen which made it so clear that it was open ... now to what you really wanted to ask Roy can make that shot he makes them everyday it is something that he has worked on and like I said after the game no he's not going to take 5 6 7 of those a game but if people want to lay off Roy and give him that shot he's going to make a hell of a lot more than he is going to miss."

On whether the first eight minutes of the Fordham game were Jessie Sapp's best...
"It was, it was. That first half of that game Jessie Sapp was terrific. His decision-making was absolutely unbelievable. We need him to stay at that level in terms of being a helper."

Senior Center Roy Hibbert
On what the team needs to do better as BIG EAST play gets closer...
"Half the team is young and we're a veteran team as well. We need to mesh really well when it comes to BIG EAST play. Those teams are really veteran teams and we're a mixture of a little of both so we have to gel really fast."

On the differences between conference and non-conference play...
"Every game has a meaning that goes to a couple of months down the road when it gets to tournament play. Every game is important for us. Every team will know our offense by that time so we have to make sure everything is sharp and crisp when we run through our offense. Defensively, there are a lot of guys that can hurt us. They don't have just one or two players, they have five guys who can play."

On the physical nature of the BIG EAST...
"I like it a little physical. It's fun. The BIG EAST is always physical for big guys. There are a lot of beasts out there."

Senior Guard Jonathan Wallace
On Austin Freeman...
"Austin is a leader in his sense. Not vocally, but moreso by example, just by paying attention to detail, scouting reports and playing within his game. At times, he wants to be more aggressive on defense as far as rebounding because he has a lot of athleticism, which he hasn't exemplified that much. We know he can shoot, we know he can score, but he's a guy that can really get out and defend and rebound when he wants to."

On what the veterans have told the younger players...
"A lot has been said in practice, just telling them to stay focused, even moreso at this time of year. Early on in the season, we focused on the team concept. Now these teams have one, two, three guys who can really take over a game. Just pay attention to guys tendencies so you know what to do when it happens.

On Austin Freeman...
"He plays above his age. He knows what to do and knows who needs the ball at certain times of the game. He's not out there trying to force and make plays by himself. He really has an understanding of the concept of how to play the game and that helps us out."

On Austin Freeman
"He fits really, really well into the system. You have to be unselfish and not force things. He's a heady player, he's very smart. He does what he's asked to do."

On the starting rotation...
"I guess that's an advantage we have. We can put teams on their heels as far as what to give us, but at the same time, that shoe is not always going to be there every night. We have guys that are comfortable in the offense and know to stick with our stuff, when it's not going from the outside, we can go to Roy (Hibbert) and vice versa."

The offense in the last 10 days...
"We faced a lot of different looks early in the season. We had new guys stepping in and they had to see those looks in the games. It's one thing in practice, but to actually do it and go through it in the games, it's a totally different thing. With those guys seeing those different looks, it's allowed them to relax and realize our offense is going to work no matter what teams throw at us, whether they're doubling Roy, playing zone, playing a hard man-to-man press...You just have to find ways to be productive in our offense."

On his play in the transition game...
"Just knowing the personnel on our team, who needs the ball and who doesn't need the ball at certain times, when we're pushing the ball out. Just reading the defense and seeing when we have numbers and being smart. You look at all of the other teams and when they have those organized breaks and they push, we have to be smart in how we go about our transition offense."

"It gives an extra dimension in our offense. Getting teams off balance, because a lot of teams expect us to walk the ball up the floor and it gives them time to walk back and set up their defense, with us being able to get out a little more, it puts pressure on them to make plays and at times over-play, which allows us to get back to our normal offense."

On the team's offense scoring more in the last five games...
"That also has to do with how we're starting games. Guys have been bringing a little more energy to the court from the start of the game. And it also has to do with what we're doing defensively, getting up and pushing up into guys, rebounding and getting out on the break has been able to help us out."

Freshman Guard Austin Freeman
On moving into the starting lineup...
"I was just coming in and trying to work hard. Everything's just fit into place. I wasn't thinking about coming in and starting right away. I was just thinking about work hard."

On how he rarely forces things on the floor...
"I just wanted to contribute to the team. If I have to give up shots to give it to my teammates, that's what I'm going to have to do to help my team win."

On being able to connect with JTIII...
"Whatever he tells me to do, I have to do it if I want to play anyway, but whatever he tells me to do, I'll do. I just want to contribute to the team."

On BIG EAST play...
"They (the upperclassmen) have been talking about it and how it's a tough conference and that we're going to have to come and play hard every game."

On the Georgetown program...
"I wanted to come to the team, it's a family nature. Just playing as a team helped me out to make my decision to come here."

On the starting rotation...
"It is fun. To feed off of the big guy (Hibbert) and then we just work it around each other. Whoever is open, we try to hit them for an open shot."

On being the first DeMatha player to come to Georgetown in 20 years...
"Just to come here is an honor."