March 13, 2014

Missouri – 91 on defense. We got to study them on film tonight Texas A&M – 83 and prepare for them for tomorrow. ERNEST ROSS: I just think it's a great chance for us to go out there and just showcase AN INTERVIEW WITH: what we do and how we play. That's just play hard and give everything that we got and just leave it on COACH FRANK HAITH the floor.

ERNEST ROSS Q. Jabari, I think that's the first time , III you've ever fouled out. What was that feeling like? Was it kind of helpless to watch and what JABARI BROWN did you think of the way your teammates pulled it out there? THE MODERATOR: We'll get started with JABARI BROWN: Yeah. First, it's kind of an opening statement from coach and then take like a helpless feeling. But I got confidence in all questions for the student-athletes. my teammates, and I knew that we were going to COACH HAITH: Thank you. Obviously it be able to pull the win out. was a heck of a win for us. I thought that we So credit to all the young guys who obviously made some mistakes during the game, stepped in and made plays down the stretch. down the stretch there. But I will tell you this, we showed a lot of character and do what we needed Q. Johnathan, you obviously had 15 to do to find a way to win the game. rebounds. Was there any specific challenge THE MODERATOR: Take questions for issued to you before the game to get you so the student-athletes. aggressive on the glass on both ends? JOHNATHAN WILLIAMS, III: No, sir. I Q. Jabari, you saw Texas A&M roughly just came out with a mindset that I wanted to make a week ago. Did you guys maybe have a the tournament as a freshman, and so I just chance to get adjusted to them playing kind of wanted to play really hard for my teammates. I a slower game? know that's E.J., Ernest Ross last year, so I JABARI BROWN: Yeah, I feel like we wanted to help him get to the tournament, too, so I were anticipating that. We wanted to take care of just want to play hard for my teammates. the ball offensively and kind of make them guard for awhile, too, to even things out. Make them Q. This game ended up being tougher defend. than you expected as well as you played? You guys have had some trouble shooting, but as Q. Could all three you guys talk about well as you played, there was a 15-minute playing against Florida now, the number one stretch there where it seemed like you guys seed in the tournament. were playing as good on offense as you have in JABARI BROWN: It's a good opportunity. the last month or two. Just talk about why you They're the number one team. They had a real guys were able to get things kind of going good regular season, but it's post-season now. It's again offensively. a new season and we're looking forward to playing JABARI BROWN: I feel like coach has them. really emphasized and shown us certain things on JOHNATHAN WILLIAMS, III: Florida is a great team. They play hard, they play pretty good

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visit our archives at asapsports.com film, and we have been trying to capitalize that on But I just think that just making plays and the game. just winning a game down the stretch is something. As far as it being a tough game, It's not so much about the minutes, it's just about everybody's fighting for their lives, so we didn't your heart and just playing hard and just finishing think they were going to roll over or anything like the game out. that. They're a really good coached team and a really good team, so we knew they would give us Q. E.J., you scored the first seven their all for 40 minutes. It ended up being 50 points for this team. How were you feeling minutes, I guess. early on? ERNEST ROSS: Good. I was just feeling Q. Earnest, when Jabari and Jordan it, so scoring was something that I guess I did in went down, you kind of seemed to have the the first few minutes. mentality like, Put this on my shoulders, let me THE MODERATOR: All right. We'll go out. Is that accurate? excuse the student-athletes, and you can return to ERNEST ROSS: I guess you could say the locker room. Take questions for coach. that, yeah. Pretty much. I was just trying to win. It wasn't so much that I got to do whatever I got to do Q. Why do you think you guys are so to put the team on my shoulders. I was trying to effective on the boards, especially on the win and just be a senior. I think that just being a offensive boards? senior on this team, I have to lead. COACH HAITH: Well, it's something we I just tried to lead the younger guys, and I have been really harping on with our guys. Last think they did a great job of just embracing the time we played these guys, I think we were plus-16 senior leadership. They made plays down the on the boards. Again we felt like that's something stretch such as Shane Rector, Wes Clark with big we could do. Obviously Johnathan was terrific, but free throws, and I just think they did a great job of all of our guys... embracing it. Torren Jones played nine minutes. He had nine rebounds. I thought that was the Q. Earnest, in looking at Florida again, I difference in the game, our second chance points mean, you guys led them at halftime down and our ability to get second shots for our guys. there. Just what do you take away from that game? Q. Last time that you guys played the ERNEST ROSS: Just playing with great Gators, they forced 12 turnovers on you. What intensity. I think we gave everything we gave in can you guys do to prepare to break out of the first half, just play with great heart. In the those traps that they put against you? second half, we came out a little slower than COACH HAITH: I got to go back and look normal. at that game. I don't know that they trapped us But I think that for us to be able to get a that much. How the game played out. 12 second chance at them again in the SEC turnovers is not a huge number, but it is a number tournament at a neutral site, I think that's a good that we want to be less than 12. chance for us to go out there and showcase what We just got to continue to do what we do. we do. Just play hard and give everything we got Share the ball, have great spacing, and hit the first and leave it on the court. open guy. What you cannot do is try to always try to dribble through it. Q. Was fatigue a factor in this game? Obviously Ernest Ross played 48 minutes and Q. Defensively you were pretty the rest of the starters did play 35-plus effective in the first half against Florida. What minutes. Did fatigue kick in at any point in the can you do to kind of carry that over into a full game and did it have a factor on the game at 40 minutes against them tomorrow? all? COACH HAITH: Again, we were really ERNEST ROSS: No, I just think that we focusing on Texas A&M. I think we did a really work hard in practice each and every day, so just good job, if I call, for the most part, the whole being able to play these type of minutes with game. There was about a three- or four-minute games like this is something that is pretty much instilled in all of us, inside of us.

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visit our archives at asapsports.com stretch there where the game got away from us, COACH HAITH: Yeah, it was great to see. and Frazier made three threes, and we didn't And we spent a lot of time talking about that and score. We didn't continue to score. watching tape, breaking. The guys were telling I think we missed a couple lay-ups in the you about spacing and hitting the first open guy. I front end of a 1 and 1. If we continued to score, thought we were back on track offensively tonight we could have made it interesting. against a very good defensive team. It's one of the But I got to go back and look at it. We best defensive teams in our league, Texas A&M is, have got to have a 40-minute game plan against along with Florida. them. They're the best team in the country. We're the only team in the country that has this Q. What do you think when Jordan and opportunity tomorrow, so we got to look forward to Jabari foul out and you have to play the last it. four minutes without them? COACH HAITH: Well, I don't know if I had Q. Having to play a double overtime some good thoughts. Obviously, those guys have game and then comeback and play again at been our best two scorers all year and we count on noon tomorrow, how do you think that might them. But I felt good about Wes having some burn affect your guys in terms of being able to and being ready. recover? And then Shane, obviously you just got to COACH HAITH: Nobody's going to feel go out there and play and kind of interject sorry for us, so we got to get them back, get some encouragement to those guys. I'm proud of them. fluids in them and get some food in them and just Obviously it's not an easy thing to do. go rock and roll at 1 o'clock tomorrow. But when you play without those guys, and hopefully it's something we can move forward with Q. Will there be any adjustments to the those guys and know we can go out and still have starting lineup, because you started Keanau a chance to win a game. Post today? Do you think that he'll start again tomorrow against Florida? Q. Does the whole bubble aspect of COACH HAITH: We'll see how it goes. this with your team being in the SEC tournament, do you even mention it? Is it a Q. Some thoughts on Ernest Ross distraction or how do you view the chance to today? possibly pick up another statement win in COACH HAITH: He was terrific, terms of where you are in the NCAA particularly early in the game. We talked about tournament? him being ready against their zone. They stymied COACH HAITH: We got a great us in their zone the first time. I thought we were opportunity tomorrow to play the number one team really prepared and our execution was really good. in the country and we're excited about it. Particularly early in the game, we got good shots. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. But he was terrific. He was terrific even COACH HAITH: Thank you. when both those guys fouled out. J-III, Wes Clark, FastScripts by ASAP Sports.... Wes hit some tough moments there. He had the intentional foul, and then he came in late in the game and made some huge free throws. You got to look at that and just be proud of those guys and not hanging their heads and coming back and make plays. Shane Rector, he sits for 45 minutes and goes in the game and has two steals and makes two free throws. Great contribution by everybody and that was a great team win.

Q. How much did you feel like your team got back playing offense the way you like? You got to the line a bunch and were attacking, unselfish a lot, too.

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Missouri – 91 enough tough plays. And that's just been us all Texas A&M – 83 season. Just falling a little short. So we just got to be prepared to come back stronger next season. THE MODERATOR: Okay. Thank you, AN INTERVIEW WITH: we'll excuse you. You can return to the locker room. Take questions for coach. COACH BILLY KENNEDY ALEX CARUSO Q. Same question to you, when you saw Jordan and Jabari go out, what kind of JAMAL JONES thoughts were going through your huddle? BILLY KENNEDY: Well, I knew that THE MODERATOR: We'll get started with Missouri has other good players. The Williams kid an opening statement from coach and then take had a heck of a game. He really killed us on the questions for the student-athletes. glass. That was the big play, the offensive COACH KENNEDY: Hard fought game. on the missed that cost us. Really proud of these two guys right here. They Foul trouble for us was a big dilemma. shot 53 free throws, I'm all for the new rules, but Kourtney Roberson in foul trouble, we had three or you got to be kidding me. That's too many free four guys foul out. You got to give Missouri credit, throws. Whether we did it or not, I just, I didn't see they drove the ball and got to the free throw line it from my side. and we ended up shooting some threes We have got to adjust to it and we didn't sometimes. adjust to it. But 53 free throws is just way too So they got good players. Jabari and many to give up. those guys are good, but those other guys can THE MODERATOR: Take your questions play, too. They were playing, their backups were for the student-athletes. playing against our backups, and their backups were better, their young guys were better. Q. Alex, when you saw Jabari Brown go out with fouls and then Jordan Clarkson a Q. Texas A&M gave up a total of 48 few minutes later. What was going through rebounds. That has to do with Roberson being your guys' huddle? in foul trouble early in the game. Did his ALEX CARUSO: I was personally happy absence have an effect on the way they were because they're two of the better scorer's in our being aggressive in the paint? league. As a team, I think that we mentally thought BILLY KENNEDY: I would like to think so, that we had the game, and that we were going to because he's one of the only upperclassmen that take it in the second over time. Give them credit, we have for us. But we just were too soft. Our they had some guys come in and play that don't post guys were soft and we didn't out and usually play for them and did what they told them didn't make the plays. Again Missouri made some to do. But that's on us to finish out a game when great plays. The Williams kid was too much for us their two best players aren't in. to handle. You got to give them credit. THE MODERATOR: Before we excuse But I really was disappointed. We fouled the players, Jamal, just any specific thoughts you out Dylan Johns, Jordan Green, Antwan Space. might have on the game. They fouled out our whole front line because the JAMAL JONES: We just should have guards get to the lane and they make it hard for closed the game out. We had the guys, we had the energy, we just fell a little short and didn't make

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visit our archives at asapsports.com you. Post guys have to rotate and we put them on disappointed, because our guys played hard, but the line and then we gave them second shots. they got to learn how to win games and I got to do You got to give Missouri a lot of credit, they played a better job of teaching them how to finish a game with great energy the whole game. off and being tougher and win.

Q. You guys saw Missouri almost a Q. In the first half, Ernest Ross kind of week ago now. They kind of struggled against killed you guys. He had 17 first half points and your slow pace. That defense that you brought then didn't score any in the second half or to Missouri, do you think they maybe had some didn't have very many in the second. So did time to maybe adjust to that? you guys make a specific adjustment to him? BILLY KENNEDY: I thought the game was COACH KENNEDY: Not really. They're very similar. The difference was Jamal Jones. I just so dangerous. All three of their guys can mean, he had an incredible game, got out of the score, so sometimes when you have to rotate over hospital yesterday at noon in College Station, flew it leaves a guy open. Ross took advantage of that in last night, and played a heck of a game. in the first half. The second half, it happened to be I thought they wore us down some. Their some other guys. Clarkson and Brown made plays physicality and their maturity was a big reason why for them. I thought they won the game. They were a little bit So we were up four, we should finish the tougher than us. But Missouri is a dangerous team game off. Couldn't get a big stop. Put them on the because they can score. We competed about as free throw line, which you can't do. well as we could and gave ourselves a chance, but They're hard not to foul. But I swear, if I'm Missouri made more plays at the end and made going to foul somebody, I want to see it. We have more free throws, got to the line. got to be a little more assertive and do a better job of finishing the game off on the defensive end. Q. It seems like Missouri can make jump shots where a lot of teams can't. How Q. Can you speak to that last play much of an edge is that for any team? where I think it was Clarkson driving and COACH KENNEDY: Jabari Brown made a somebody maybe got up under him and you couple of really tough shots. He has a midrange were looking for a travel. game. He's a complete guard. I think that was a BILLY KENNEDY: He walked. I don't big difference in the game to have a guy that you know what the call was. I would have to go back can clear out and he can go one dribble and pull and look at it. From my angle I thought it was up and shoot the ball. He's a really good player. walking. It should have been a no call, if anything. That's why Missouri's a tough out. But I mean you got to give them credit. They got three guys who can get you 20 Again, they drove the ball and made the referees any time. Their post guys stepped up and did have to blow the whistle a lot of times. So on my good things for them today. end, I don't like it. You know, so that's just the bottom line. Q. Your guys seemed to give it their all. THE MODERATOR: All right. Thank you. They never gave up, even with a depleted COACH KENNEDY: Yeah. Thank you. roster, the foul trouble, some injuries, Blake FastScripts by ASAP Sports.... McDonald's play at the end of the game. Can you speak to the fact of them just playing and giving it their all? COACH KENNEDY: I'm proud of our guys. For what we have been through this season, we had eight scholarship players playing today and Blake came in, a walk-on, made a heck of a play. We played our defense the right way and got an opportunity. But we're not satisfied. We don't want to be a program that's satisfied with losing in double overtime and playing close and playing hard. We want to win. We are here to win. That's why I'm

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