March 14, 2007
Texas A&M coaches and players met with members of the press on Wednesday in Lexington as the Aggies prepared for their opening-round NCAA Tournament game against Penn.
The game tips at 2:10 p.m. (CDT) on Thursday and will be televised by CBS.
Audio links are available to the right. Quotes are posted below (courtesy ukathletics.com).
TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH BILLY GILLISPIE
Opening statement... "We are happy to be here. We're not really happy about our opponent because Penn is a good basketball team. Penn is a very, very, very good team - a very difficult opponent for us to play the way we have to play. We're happy to be in and hopefully we'll play well enough tomorrow to win."
On Penn... "First of all, they have great experience because they have been (to the NCAA Tournament) many, many times. Coach (Glenn Miller) has done a great job as a first-year head coach at the school and they're a great basketball team. They have so much experience. I doubt anyone in the tournament has as much experience as they have. They have great experience against great competition and in this particular tournament. They are not ones to beat themselves. They come out to play and they play very, very well no matter who the competition is. They're a really good team and hard to play against."
On coaching tough players... "I think all teams are tough and I think that it's something we're hanging our hat on. I think every coach tries to get their teams to be as mentally and physically tough as possible. There is not a team in this tournament right now that is not mentally and physically tough because if they weren't, they wouldn't be here. As far as that, we will just go on with our normal daily practices to make them as mentally and physically tough as we can to handle the tough situations."
On the experience his team gained from making an appearance in the NCAA Tournament last year... "We'll see if that experience helps. I hope it proves beneficial, but in a way I hope it doesn't because they have been here more times than us, so they have a lot of experience in this situation. Hopefully our experience from last year will help, but we will only see once we start playing. I know last year we were really excited to be in the tournament and I know this year we are extremely excited to be in the tournament. We never looked at it as we want to be this seed or that seed or we want to play here or there, we just wanted to be in the tournament; that's all we talked about all year long. Once you get in the NCAA tournament there are 64 other teams with an equal chance and we are just really, really excited to play."
On Acie Law's growth as a player... "Acie has always had an enormous amount of talent. He is a fantastic player. There are not too many players that are considered to be great players that play great in every game. There has been very few times this year, especially since conference started, that he didn't play great. That's not a knock against any other players. A great player might have five or six out of 16 that are considered great games and he's had 14 or 15 great games and that's just very, very hard to top that time and again, so it's very unique. He's grown as a person and a vocal leader which is what I am most happy about. He's such a vocal leader now and that is not a natural thing for Acie because he is such a quiet, reserved person. But he will do whatever it takes for his team to win. That not only helps us with our team, but that's what is going to help him with his future."
On the growth of the men's basketball program at Texas A & M... "Well, when you have 44,000 students and so many former students that really care about their school, you're going to have a chance. It's all about winning and to win you have to have really good players and it's an advantage to be in a state that has a lot of really good players. For you to be able to get those great players you have to have a major commitment from your school. I was convinced with Bill Byrne that he was going to make a major commitment as the leader of our athletic department to give us an opportunity to win. By making that commitment and if we do our job on our end, we should get the wins."
JUNIOR JOSEPH JONES
On facing a team with a low seed... "We are going to approach this like every game. We don't ever look over an opponent because any team is capable of beating you. Penn is a talented team and they're looking to win just like we are."
On playing with Acie Law... "It's exciting to see him play and be his teammate because he does some amazing things. It's great because we know if we need a big shot, he'll probably make it."
On playing inside against Penn... "One thing we saw when we were watching film yesterday is that they post very hard and get the ball inside. It's going to be a regular game just like in the Big 12. We have to get the ball inside and stay out of foul trouble."
SENIOR ACIE LAW IV
On Penn... "They are a very talented and smart team. I think they're very efficient on offense, and they play good defense. We're really looking forward to the opportunity to play them."
On Texas A&M's loss in the Big 12 championship game... "It really hurt because our goal was to win the tournament. We fell short, but we have to put that behind us and focus on a very good Penn team."
On playing in Rupp Arena... "This is a very legendary spot, and a lot of great players have played big games here. It's one of the biggest stages in the tournament. We've heard a lot about the arena, and all the guys are very excited for this opportunity."
JUNIOR DOMINIQUE KIRK
On playing in the tournament for consecutive years... "Last year we were playing to get into to the tournament. This year we knew we were in, but we can use last year as good experience."
On being the high seed in this portion of the bracket... "We still have to work hard like always. In the field now every team is a good team. You don't get into the tournament without working hard."
On first round opponent Penn... "They are a very good team. They spread the court well. They have players that can really go out and play. We will have to work really hard in the game. We're just taking it one game at a time and focusing on Penn."
On playing in Rupp Arena... "It's a good feeling to play here. This place is known for great basketball."
SOPHOMORE JOSH CARTER
On playing in the tournament for consecutive years... "It's an honor to play in Rupp Arena. I think it helps to have the players know what to expect and what's going on in the tournament. I think that experience will help us this year."
On being the high seed in this portion of the bracket... "I think every tournament is different. You go into games wanting to win. I don't see too much of a difference between this year and last."
On first round opponent Penn... "They're just really good. They're a good team and they won their league. They are on a multigame win steak, so they're playing really good basketball right now."
On conversation had with brother Brandon Carter of Illinois with both teams in the tournament... "We were just excited that [Illinois] got in. We weren't sure they would. It's just fun to watch each other play in the tournament."