NCAA MEN’S REGIONAL SEMIFINALS AND FINALS: KANSAS CITY

 

March 30, 2019

 

John Calipari

Ashton Hagans

PJ Washington

Reid Travis

Tyler Herro

Keldon Johnson

Kansas City, Missouri

THE MODERATOR: Head coach John Calipari sits right to my right. PJ Washington, Reid Travis, Tyler Herro, Keldon Johnson, and Ashton Hagans represent the student body athletes. We won’t have an opening comment right now. We’ll go straight to questions because these 20 minutes are really for the student-athletes.

Q. John, I’m curious, you know, lot of these guys were recruited by Auburn and they knew Chuma Okeke and what happened to him yesterday was difficult.
JOHN CALIPARI: Raise your hand. Who is talking?

Q. If you had any message to the guys who maybe knew him or even to the team when something like that happens.
JOHN CALIPARI: We were all like — you shake your head as a player, you know, that’s out there. You know what I’m saying? Every one of us were — makes you physically ill. You know, this is a sport that that happens at times, and you don’t want to see it happen to anybody. And the crazy thing is, you know, not only is their team playing as well as any team in the country right now, they’re beating people by 25. Not only is that the case, he was playing as though he was their best player, which he probably was.

So, I feel bad for him. File bad for his family and his teammates.

Q. Keldon or PJ, first of all, how is the foot feeling today? And does your presence up here indicate that you’ll be starting tomorrow?
PJ WASHINGTON: I don’t know if I’m going to start. I’m definitely feeling good. Got some treatment going and good night’s rest. I’m feeling a lot better.

JOHN CALIPARI: I asked him at halftime, Do you want to start?”

He said, “No, I’m good. Let me come off the bench.”

I said okay. You know, what’s great about it, this group of players that are here, even Mr. Hagans down the other end, you know, they’re gym rats. I mean, you know, PJ and I were talking about it. What made you do it? They love playing. I love competing. I love — you know — and you look at Reid in here in the gym all the time, Tyler and Keldon and they’re gym rats. They love this. They love the game. They love making plays. They’re a pleasure to coach. I told them they added years to my life coaching this team. Well, maybe not Keldon, but the rest of them —

I’m just teasing, Keldon.

Q. Reid, you’re sitting up there on the podium and it literally and figuratively is the biggest stage in college basketball right now.
How does it feel to be just one game away from being able to get home to Minneapolis license and play a Final Four in your home town? That’s really like living the dream for you. Can you kind of express to us your emotions, your thoughts, the blessings you feel for being in that position?

REID TRAVIS: Yeah, like you said, just being one game away from being in the Final Four and back home. I’m really excited for it, but no more than any other game. I’m trying to just take the preparation the same way, just approach it like any other game. I feel like if you look at it too much as far as trying to go home and kind of put all that on it, that’s just too much weight on it. So for me, it’s just trying to approach it the same way, just enjoy it with my teammates, go out and work as hard as I can in the game.

Q. Tyler, I have a question for you. Obviously you guys played a few games without PJ who is one of your top players. Now Auburn is kind of facing the same thing with one of their top players in Okeke. How did you guys rally around that, and do you kind of expect Auburn to do the same thing in the situation they’re in?
TYLER HERRO: Yeah. I think they’ll still be ready. They’re playing, like coach said, as hard as any team in the country. I think they’ll still come out, play their game. I think they’ll be ready to go.

Q. PJ, if there’s one person’s story that is better than Reid’s, it could possibly be yours, to be able to come back for a second year and then overcome the injured foot that you have and now playing for the Final Four.
What are your thoughts about that, and what would you like to say to the people now that you’re up there on the stage?

PJ WASHINGTON: Just a lot of hard work we all put in as a team finally paying off. We got one more game to prove how good we are. So I mean, we’re just kind of trying to come out tomorrow and look out to play tough and how we’ve been playing the rest of the season. If we did that, we’ll be fine. Our goal is to win the whole thing. That’s always in the back of our minds.

Q. Given that the last time you guys played Auburn, it was a huge blowout win for you, how much confidence did that give you going into the game, knowing it’s more of a known entity and you’ve been able to beat this opponent by a sizeable margin before?
JOHN CALIPARI: Let me say something, because I watched that tape. They haven’t watched the tape. I watched it twice, as a matter of fact.

We made more 3s than we’ve made most of the season. PJ made five himself. You ready for this? Ashton had four. Hear what I just said now. And so all of a sudden, you know, we have a lot of 3s we normally didn’t make, which was the difference in the game. And they missed a lot of shots.

When I watched the game, it was close for awhile, and all of a sudden PJ went corner, PJ went top, PJ went wing, and all of a sudden, we’re up 12. It kind the got away because they missed some shots. Reid didn’t play in that game. The rim was protected by both Nick and EJ. They wanted EJ a little bit. Nick went in, they blocked shots, we made those tough, and that’s what happened.

They’ve won 11 games in a row. The game has no bearing on this game, really doesn’t.

Q. Keldon, you guys have beat Auburn twice this season. How difficult is it to beat a team three times in one season and why?
THE MODERATOR: We’re going to have Keldon answer this then Ashton, back to the head coach.

ASHTON HAGANS: We played them twice already. They’ll come out an give us their all. We just got to go out there, play together, and stay as a team.

KELDON JOHNSON: I mean, just to piggyback what he said. Just got to come in focused and ready to play. We can’t be thinking about the last two times we played them. They’re hot right now and they’re playing really good. So just got to come in focused and ready to go.

JOHN CALIPARI: You know, it’s funny, fate has intervened for this team where we thought it was bad. Reid went down — he and I went to church together because we were worried, believe me. It didn’t turn out that way but it gave Nick and EJ a chance to play.

Then they tell me he hurt his foot at the Tennessee game. I said, “When?”

“Last play.”

What? He’s not playing for awhile. What? Now all of a sudden we get to play Keldon at 4. We get to put Jamal Baker and get him minutes. All of a sudden it kind of plays out.

In our conference tournament, we had our chances to beat Tennessee. And if we had beaten Tennessee, we would have played Auburn. I’m not sure anyone has ever beaten a team four times.

When you ask me about three, I’m just happy it wasn’t four. So we’re playing them a third time. It’s going to be a really hard game. They’re playing out of their minds rights now. They’re shooting balls, they’re playing loose and aggressive. We know. Those other two games have no bearing on this game.

THE MODERATOR: We are halfway through the session.

Q. This is for Reid. I asked you this because you’re the old guy up there. When you saw Tyler come in, I know that you both are here first year for both of you. When you say him come in, what did you see in him? Did you think that he would be as impactful as he’s been this season, and if so, what did you see that made you think that?
REID TRAVIS: The biggest thing I saw in him early one was just his confidence. And I think a lot of guys you can see have confidence but don’t necessarily put the work in. But for Tyler, that’s not the case. See him in the gym every night, every morning, putting up reps and shots. So you know that he’s going to shine in these moments. Especially when he gets his opportunity, it’s usually in because you see him every night and morning putting in reps.

So I’d say that’s the biggest thing to see his progression throughout the season and just how consistent he’s been with his work behind closed doors where people don’t necessarily see it. So when he gets on the biggest stage, he’s calm, collect, and always confident to take those shots.

Q. John, considering what Auburn was for — Auburn basketball was for decades and decades and decades, what kind of job has Bruce done and what specifically has he done to get it to this level?
JOHN CALIPARI: Well, he’s gotten a program where people are absolutely excited. And Sonny Smith back in the day had it rolling. He had that guy — what’s his name? — Charles, what’s his last name? That big guy with the big head. What’s his name? Oh, Charles Barkley.

I peed on a statue down there, just so you know. But, you know, when you take over, you have to change the culture, and he’s done that. And, you know, they struggled some in the middle of our league. They lost a bunch of games, and it tells you something. I always say when things are going good, that’s not coaching. When things are — it’s looking bleak and everybody is running, now let me see you coach.

Let me see you do it when you’re up against it, when people are doubting, when they’re — the outside clutter is starting to overwhelm, how do you coach now?

You know, for him to do what he did in that stretch and now they’re 11 in a row, I’m telling you, there’s no team in the country playing better than them right now. We have total respect and really good players who compete and play really hard.

Q. John, what do you remember about Reid’s recruitment when you heard he was going to be a grad transfer, and when is the last time you coached a 30-year-old like Reid?
JOHN CALIPARI: When I was with the Nets, I had a couple players that were older than I was when I was coaching. No, he and I talked politics. So what do you think of Amy? I was her neighbor. She may be a good president. We would — we talk about Supreme Court justice stuff. Tell me what you think.

But Kenny came to me, and I believe it was his brother saying, “Hey, he’s thinking about doing this.”

And I remember when he played AAU basketball. And when Johnny got him to go to Stanford, I said what a great get for Johnny. Johnny and I have been friends for a long time, one of the great guys in our profession, so happy for the year they had.

Then it became okay, can we help him as he helps us? Not here to have a guy, you know, play ten minutes a game or have a guy that we’re just saying in case somebody gets hurt. That’s not what this is about.

What I’m proud of — I’ll tell the story. He was 260-something. I said, “You got to lose 20 pounds. You can’t — we can’t get — you’re going to have to move better, have to go quicker. You’re going to have to” —

So he’s down to 242. He comes in and we’re talking. I said, “Maybe five more pounds. What’s your body fat?”

He said 4 percent.

I went, “4 percent? You would have to give up a kidney, are you kidding me?” (laughter.)

The pleasure for me has been he’s also in the gym as much as these guys. He also takes care of his body, in the training room, stretching, coming over in the mornings and night.

You know, how about yesterday? He got 11 rebounds and they were tough fought. He only took two shots and never said a word. He was happy as heck. Happy as heck. That’s what it means to play here.

Now, my hope is he has 20 tomorrow. But if he gets 20 rebounds, I’ll be just as happy. And you know what, so will he. They trapped him on every chance he had. He just played the game as it came.

Every one of these kids, I tell them all the time how much I respect them and what they have to deal with, the clutter, what’s at stake, how they have to deal with this. Like PJ playing, I told him, “I respect you, man.” I love this coach. I love competing.

So for Reid and how it ended up playing out, it’s not done yet. It’s not done. He’s absolutely helped our team, and I believe he’s helped himself that he’s gotten better. He’s absolutely committed. You know, going forward any team that drafts him will be calling me saying I can’t believe it, cannot believe it. This is the greatest thing.

We’ve had guys in the league like that. They’ll call and say it’s unbelievable. Shai Alexander, like they should be Rookie of the Year. Should be Rookie of the Year. Leading them, starting and Clippers and they’re calling and — Sam Cassell called me yesterday about him. This kid is unbelievable. It will be the same with him.

THE MODERATOR: We have four minutes to go in the session before we dismiss the student-athletes. We have a question in the back.

Q. Reid, obviously you guys have played Auburn a couple of times. You know pretty much everything about them. They know pretty much everything about you. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
REID TRAVIS: You could take it either way. For us, like you said, when you’ve played a team as much as we have with Auburn, it really comes down to fight and how hard we play. That’s been the message all season. You can much as much film and X and O as much as we want, but if the effort is not there, the fight is not there, it all doesn’t matter. It will be the same thing tomorrow. Bring fight and energy, and that should be what will help us win the game.

Q. This is for any of the non-30-year-old young-ins over there. What does having an older player like Reid on the team, what has that done for you guys just to have that leadership, I guess, and what have you learned from him?
THE MODERATOR: Tyler, please.

TYLER HERRO: It’s great to have a veteran like Reid on the team, someone that we can look up to. Obviously he’s been through a lot. So whenever we need the advice or anything like that, we can go to him. But like coach said, he’s in the gym doing all that. Something like that, we can just follow him. So I mean obviously just great to have someone like that.

Q. There was a really nice feature article put out on Tyler in The Bleacher report a couple weeks ago. Tyler, I asked you if you had read it the last week, you said you hadn’t. I’m wondering if anyone has read that article, including you John?
JOHN CALIPARI: What did I tell you about that when you I talked?

TYLER HERRO: Not to read it.

JOHN CALIPARI: Don’t read it. It’s poison. Season is over, read it then, don’t read it now. Did any of you guys read it? Keldon, you read it, didn’t you?

Q. Tyler, you’re out there on the big stage now. What do you want to say to all your haters out there? This has got to be —
JOHN CALIPARI: Why would you say that? Who hates you?

TYLER HERRO: Nobody hates me.

JOHN CALIPARI: There you go. That’s what I’m talking about.

Q. Reid, given that Kentucky is a place that’s kind of known for having one-and-dones, you kind of have your own way of doing that this year when you came as a grad transfer. So what about Kentucky drew you to the program and why did you pick that school as a destination?
REID TRAVIS: You hit it right on the head with that. As far as just being able to prepare a player in one year for what they want to do, getting a collective group of guys never played with each other in one year, you got to accelerate the process to win at a high level and get in the right shape to play beyond college, I felt like it was the great opportunity for me. Obviously, I’m a different kind of one-and-done as far as I already had four years in college and coming here for my fifth year. I felt like it was the best spot for me as far as coaches and the players that were already established here. So it’s a great spot, and I feel like it’s done everything that I needed it to do.

THE MODERATOR: Final question for this session.

Q. For Tyler. I know y’all aren’t supposed to read the clutter, but your phone had to have blown up last night, all the former players tweeting about you. What was it like after you finally got to the phone after hitting the big shot?
TYLER HERRO: I didn’t read anything, really. I don’t know.

THE MODERATOR: Okay. At this point we’re going to excuse the student-athletes to go to their breakout sessions. We’re going to sit here with Coach Calipari for 20 more minutes.

Gentlemen, thank you very much. Best of luck tomorrow. 1:20 tip time with Auburn, CBS, Central Time. Go, please.

Q. Cal, if I remember correctly, there was some confusion when you went to visit Tyler and offered him a scholarship about which recruit you were going to see that week.
JOHN CALIPARI: What?

Q. There was a report you might see Zion on the same day and you went Milwaukee instead. What made you go see Tyler and make that offer?
JOHN CALIPARI: Well, again, you know, when you’re doing what I do and as hard as this is here and as much as you have to do in a short period of time, you don’t have a whole lot of time for B.S. You just don’t.

You have to keep it real. The only kind of guys that really will be into that are the guys that really want to play for us. And for me — and, you know, the word came back that that was the case with Tyler.

So, I flew up, let me meet him, meet his family, watched him a little bit. I had seen him in the summers, but he had committed to Wisconsin so we really never really followed him that way.

The more I was around him, you know, I said this kid reminds me of some of the guys we have. I didn’t know he worked the way he did. His work ethic is unbelievable. Reid said it right, he has the confidence but it’s not fake. I’ve had guys that, you know, you’ve had to explain what it means to be fake confident, like, you know, you’re swagger is fake. You haven’t earned it. You haven’t worked for it. You haven’t done enough things to have that and you’re acting like you have it.

This guy has earned his stripes and, you know, we’ve been blessed. You think about him, Jemarl — guys that have been late, late coming to us that have been vital to what we’re doing, and not every kid wants to play here. They don’t. That’s fine. It’s not the right place for everybody.

But if you really want to get after this and you want to see how good I can be, want to learn to be a great teammate — you know, I always said we probably have more volume shooters in the NBA that played for us than not even close, probably. They weren’t volume shooters here. Anthony Davis is going back and forth texting me yesterday after the game. Here is a kid that wasn’t a volume shooter. Shoots every ball now.

But, you know, you can do that, but you learn to win, to be a great teammate, to do it together, to sacrifice, to serve your teammates, to be that servant leader, and he’s learned it.

We just told him you’re not coming here to be a jump shooter. You’re going to learn to play basketball. You’ll be able to get to the rim. You’re going to create fouls so you can shoot free throws. You’re going to defend. If you don’t guard, I’m not leaving you in the game. If you remember in the Bahamas, he couldn’t keep anybody in front of him. Now all of a sudden, he’s like one of our defenders that you go to.

Q. John, how would you characterize your relationship with Bruce Pearl and has it changed over the years from your time at Memphis and his at Tennessee?
JOHN CALIPARI: Yeah. I mean, you know, I think there’s respect between us. I mean, I really respect what he does and how he coaches his kids and how he builds a culture. You know, I think sometimes you’re at places, it’s hard to have a relationship. The Memphis thing kind of bothered him because we were at Memphis and he was at Tennessee. They were the big state school and we’re in the little corner over there and getting a lot of play, and it probably bothered him some.

Even then, I mean what he did there, you know, have respect for him.

Q. John, transfers this year, why do you think that’s out of control if it is? Number two, do you think kids should be able to transfer without sitting out if the coach got fired or goes to a bigger job?
JOHN CALIPARI: I haven’t dealt with a lot of transfers in our program. We’ve had a couple. The crazy thing is I’ve stayed in touch with them just as much as kids that played in our program or stayed four years.

I would tell you that if a coach is fired or leaves, the kid should have the ability to do what he wants. That’s my opinion. I also think they’re talking about kids not having to sit out, and the one thing that happens is you probably can’t lie to them in the recruiting process. If you lie and they know you lied and you didn’t do what you said you’re going to do, they’re going to transfer.

You tell them you’re going to start and play 30 minutes, everything is going to run through you and you’re telling every player that? Now all of a sudden there’s three of them, they’re not going to be happy because they’re not true and they leave it. May do that.

I don’t know — haven’t spent a whole lot of time on it, but I do know that when they are moving from team to team, they’re going from high school to prep school, going to another prep school, it’s probably not the best environment in that the one thing that’s hard for these kids is when you keep it real, they’ve got to — when I’m evaluating a player, I want to see when he’s not at his best. Let me see him now. Let me see when he’s not at his best what he looks like.

And for a kid really to make it, in my mind, they have to face adversity and deal with it. They have to have been beaten out. What do you do? You run or you say that’s not — it’s not acceptable, I’m going to keep competing and I’m going to beat him out.

Or someone else is working harder. So now you leave because you’re not willing to spend that kind time in the gym and you’re making every excuse. You’re being enabled by people around you.

I think the kids need to face adversity before they leave our campuses so that they have a chance to make it. If they’ve been able to do whatever they want and then they think they’re going into that — NBA stands for “No Boys Allowed.” No boys allowed. That’s a man’s world.

And so I think our kids, you know, there’s adversity at every step, I would hope, and we’re holding them accountable. I’m not — I’m on PJ as much as I’m on Reid and Keldon and trying to hold them accountable.

Q. You’ve said for several weeks now this team has added years to your life. Why has this team been so much fun to coach and can you give several examples?
JOHN CALIPARI: Well, one of the things that this team is, they love being in the gym and they’re great kids. They’ve come from great homes, which means they’re willing to sacrifice. They’re willing to be about each other.

Then the third thing is, they’re skilled basketball players. It’s really fun to coach players that can bounce it, shoot it, have a feel for the game, that have a competitive spirit, that have a will to win. You’re not going to win every game. You’re trying to. You don’t.

At the end of the day, you just want to be able as a coach to say every one of these kids has gotten better and improved their skills. But they have to have a basis of that. And this team did.

Every day whatever we challenged them with, they were fine. Never have gotten too high, never gotten too low. This has been one of those years that — you go through one of these years you think you can coach another 20. Then you go through other years and you say why am I still doing this? This is crazy.

But this is — you know, this is a good group.

Q. Reid talked about finding a place where he had one year for accelerating. How do you accelerate that process every year without cutting corners?
JOHN CALIPARI: There’s no B.S. We don’t have time for B.S. I’m going the tell you the truth, we’re going to keep it real. If you don’t guard, you’re not playing. If you fall behind, you fall behind, I’m playing other people. We’re here playing, trying to win. We hold them accountable statistically. Rebound attempts. Every one of them knows what their rebound attempts are. If your rebound attempts are low and you’re not rebounding, I’m playing somebody else. That’s energy. You’re responsible for that. I’m not responsible for that.

The other thing becomes when they come here, we’re telling them you’re not going to take 25 shots a game because you got a team full of guys that are trying to eat, too. Now, you may take 25 in a game. I think Malik Monk had 47 in a game. I would have let him score 57 if he could have. But that’s in one game. That’s not a season where you’re shooting every ball.

Again, there’s some that don’t want the hear that. Some families that don’t want to hear that. So, this becomes — we’re in this together, we’re all going to eat. This has never hurt anybody. Number one pick, Karl Towns played 21 minutes a game. Devin Booker — I think he’s still mad at me — didn’t start. Had 59 and 50 in back-to-back games in the NBA, didn’t start. Never said one word. All he did is came everyday like Tyler Herro and practiced and put time in the gym. Unbelievable. Anthony Davis took the fifth most shots on our team, was the number one pick. Numbers don’t matter.

And so you know, numbers matter to some kids and families and I want more numbers. Here it’s putting yourself in a position to have success, and I don’t think you can just say numbers. I don’t think it is.

Like I said, we’ve had a lot of people do well, lot of people score well and rebound well and do well, but it’s a group of them.

THE MODERATOR: We have eight minutes to go.

Q. John, you frequently say to Kentucky fans, “You people are crazy.” After last night, they’re probably saying the same thing about you.
JOHN CALIPARI: What did I do last night?

Q. A lot of head coaches end up losing their jobs because of last shot doesn’t go in. And so everything seems so random in these tournament games. How do you sleep at night knowing that the entire collective hopes of Big Blue Nation is kind of resting on your decisions in the huddle and PJ doesn’t block a shot, Tyler doesn’t hit the 3, then you’re going out?
JOHN CALIPARI: First of all, my mother before she passed away used to say, “How do you do this?” She goes crazy watching the games. She did go crazy.

First of all, I’m focused on what I’m doing, and I don’t look at this as life or death, because if you look at this as life or death, you die a lot.

This is what I do, trying to help these kids be the best they can be, put them in the best position to win and be about them. That’s what I try to do. I don’t take this personal. I don’t take it personal with another coach. Anytime that eeks in, I don’t coach as well. Like if the other coach wants to make it personal with me, I’m fine. Then he won’t coach as well.

So, you know, the fans want to win every game, and the Kentucky fans have been great to me. I tell them their they’re crazy, watch tapes and — they’ll watch the game three times. I watch it twice. They’re crazy. But they love it. They’re invested in it. They see these players as their own children and grandchildren. It’s a unique and special place, really is. There’s no place like this school that I’m coaching at.

Q. What do you think about agents having access to elite college players?
JOHN CALIPARI: I thought there’s going to be access to high school players. So I don’t know where that goes yet. We’re trying to all figure it out. But they’re going to be able to talk high school player, they will be able to have a relationship with an agent that as long as there’s nothing signed or nothing official, you know — I mean, that’s part of where this is all going. So, again, as I go through this tournament, I’m not spending a lot of time on that right now, but that’s going to be an issue.

Q. John, I was wondering who you had to tell that your swagger is fake? Who have you had that conversation with?
JOHN CALIPARI: Do you want me to be honest?

Q. Yes.
JOHN CALIPARI: With myself.

Q. What were those conversations like those with kids?
JOHN CALIPARI: Are you spending time? Are you really spending time? I’ve had guys that their skill set, they were really struggling, but I’d come in the office at night, it’s 10:30, 11:00, they’re in the gym shooting. Next day in practice, I bring all the team in and said the reason I’m sticking by my men, I came in last night — I know he was 1 for 10 last game but he was in this gym. I’m with him.

As long as they’re putting in the time and they’re not — I’m good with it. But if you’re not in there and you’re not really trying to master your craft, if you’re not trying to master your craft and you just want to play, just let me play, let me shoot more balls. Instead of shooting 10, you should have let me shoot 20 I could have got going.

What if you went 1 for 20?

That’s okay, our next game I make them.

What?

So mastering your craft in this sport that we play, it’s everything. If you can’t master your craft, which means do you love to grind, do you love being in the gym, does that wake you up everyday, is that your solace? When you’re feeling down, you go in and you get some shots up and you feel great leaving the building?

As a coach, is it the same thing? You’re down a little bit, have a great practice, and makes you feel great. If that’s not your mentality, it’s really hard to make it at this sport.

Q. John, I wonder, kind of interested in the 3 as the shot of choice and wonder what your thoughts are on building an offense around making that maybe the primary or the first option? And then does Auburn resemble anybody or remind you of anybody from your career?
JOHN CALIPARI: They do a lot of stuff that Wofford does. They’re going to shoot 30 3s. They shot 37 last game. There’s all kind of ways of doing this. One of the ways is we’re going to rely on 3-point shooting. The other way of doing this, we’re going to play basketball and if they give us 3s, we’ll take them.

If we’re spaced out there — I think there’s not a college coach right now that doesn’t space to the 3-point line. Whether they shoot 30 3s or 20 3s, one of the best teams in the country. One of the best coached teams in the country was Tennessee. They shot about 18, 19, 3s a game. Literally one of the best teams in the country.

We played them. They were wars. They were veterans. They didn’t turn it over. They created good shots. They moved the ball. They would guard physical, and they only took 18, 19, 3s. There’s all kind of ways of doing this.

Bruce, here is the other, if you have really good shooters why wouldn’t you do it? He has really good shooters. They shoot them, 25 percent are in transition, another 30 percent of them are on pick and rolls, and the rest of them are off drives and extra passes and finding an extra man.

THE MODERATOR: Anything else for the head coach of Kentucky? Last question, go.

Q. In Jacksonville, even with PJ were hurt, you seemed to be in a really good mood.
JOHN CALIPARI: I’m miserable right now.

Q. Same thing here, did you know something we didn’t know? Or is it just that as you said earlier, you really enjoy coaching this team?
JOHN CALIPARI: I think most post seasons — the season is the grind of it. When you’re here, you have a ball with this. Somebody asked me the other day about was it a relief to win. I don’t know where I was. No. If it becomes — winning becomes a relief, you’re in the wrong profession, it’s time to retire. Winning it fun, it’s fun for these kids. You see them come together and the joy it brings because of all the hard work and everything they did together.

No, the NCAA Tournament for me personally is the greatest — you know, you follow us. Everything we do all year is geared —

Q. Towards March?
JOHN CALIPARI: — towards March. Every game we play, every preparation. I want to play teams that play different ways, shoot 3s, don’t shoot 3s. 1-3-1, 2-3 zone, press us, hold the ball, back doors, Princeton. We want to face it all so if we face it here, we’re ready for it. This is why we do what we do is to get into this time of the year and try to keep your team going.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, John. Good luck.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Auburn Quotes
 

Bruce Pearl

Horace Spencer

Anfernee McLemore

Malik Dunbar

Bryce Brown

Jared Harper

Kansas City, Missouri

THE MODERATOR: Head coach Bruce Pearl is going to sit in and he’ll have his 20 minutes. Bryce Brown, Jared Harper, Anfernee McLemore, Malik Dunbar and Horace Spencer represent the student-athletes.

Q. Bruce, can you give us the latest on Chuma Okeke?
BRUCE PEARL: Okay. Chuma has a torn ACL and he’s scheduled to have surgery on Tuesday with Dr. James Andrews.

Q. Bryce, I see you shaking your head. I guess just what’s it like dealing with the emotions of hearing that news, trying to get up for this game and everything you guys are dealing with right now?
BRYCE BROWN: I don’t know. It’s just hard to take in. I mean Chuma, he doesn’t deserve that at all. He worked so hard, spent so much time in the gym and making sure his body is right. It’s our jobs to pick him up, lift him up, encourage him, and all we want to do at this point is go out there and play for him. We’re going to use it at motivation. Hopefully we can do this for our boy.

THE MODERATOR: Let’s get a second answer to that one. Jared, chime in on the injury.

JARED HARPER: It’s tough to lose Chuma. Like I said yesterday, I felt like he’s our most valuable player for our team, all the things that he’s able to do in the court, guard 1 through 5, be able to smooth from perimeter, score inside and just do all those things. I know we’re going to get that production of all those things he did from all of us it’s going to take all of us, not just one single person.

Q. This is for Bryce. Bryce, when you guys lost in Rupp Arena, it was your 9th loss, how close did you guys think your season was to sort of coming apart or not making the tournament and what did Coach Pearl do to sort of steady the ship and get it going in the right direction?
BRYCE BROWN: We knew they played really well. We didn’t let that get to us mentally. We knew after that game what we needed to work on. And I felt like every since then, we worked on those things. And coach challenged us a little bit to work on those things, and I felt like ever since then, we’ve been clicking and rolling. I never had this part of the Elite 8 in doubt, Sweet 16 in doubt, Final Four in doubt. I never had that doubt. Always believed in my team.

Q. This is for Jared, any of the players, really. Have you ever been on a team that has been so red hot right the way you guys are right now?
THE MODERATOR: Jared start and Anfernee please chime in as well.

JARED HARPER: I just think as we start the season, we were winning games. We knew we weren’t playing our best basketball. Then we went through a period where we lost of a couple games and still weren’t playing our best basketball. But as a team and as Coach Pearl did, we had to figure out a way to be playing our best basketball around this time when it’s most important.

So, that’s just a tribute to all my teammates and all the work that we put in and just staying together during the whole time.

ANFERNEE MCLEMORE: I believe that we may have been spoiled early in the season from the previous year’s success. But coming from the Kentucky loss, there was a point in the locker room we felt like we were tired of losing. The atmosphere changed and all the guys became locked in and ready. We was more engaged and more ready to take on the rest of the season.

Q. This question is for everybody. You guys have beaten Kansas, North Carolina, and now you have a chance to beat Kentucky. These are the all time winningest programs in basketball. Were any of you guys recruited by any of those three schools?
THE MODERATOR: Horace, you’re first. Malik second. Jared, you’re third.

HORACE SPENCER: I wasn’t recruited by any of those schools. We’re be ready to play. You play good team defense as a unit and be able to prosper in that area.

MALIK DUNBAR: I wasn’t, either. Here and Ole Miss were my two biggest offers. I’m ready to play whoever they put in front of us. I’m blessed with the opportunity.

JARED HARPER: No, I wasn’t recruited by any of the schools. I think Chuma was recruited by Kansas. I don’t know. I don’t think we really take that too personal. We felt like we’re all good players. We’ve all been good players and have a great coach that believes in us here at Auburn. It was a perfect situation for all of us. We’re just happy to be here.

BRYCE BROWN: I wasn’t recruited at all.

ANFERNEE MCLEMORE: No, I wasn’t recruited by any of those.

Q. It doesn’t mean you guys have no lack of confidence. Bryce, you know, talk about the amount of confidence that you guys have built up over this past 11 game winning streak.
BRYCE BROWN: I just feel like it just goes back to having the chip on our shoulder. Once we took a few loses midway through the season, I felt like we wasn’t — it wasn’t the worse thing to happen for us. I feel like it opened our guys, woke us up a little bit and realize what our main focus needed to be and we got that chip back on our shoulder. We became more of the underdogs, and that’s when I feel like we’re at our best. That’s how it’s going to be from here on out.

Q. Jared, a question for you. Obviously you guys have been on this red hot streak. That’s got to be kind of an emotional high. And then have Chuma’s injury, it’s pretty press shocking for you guys. I know it’s kind of sudden, but how have you handled that emotional rollercoaster and how would you describe the mood of the team right now?
JARED HARPER: I think last night after the game, it was a little bit tougher than it is on us right now. I think this is just another reason for our team to come even closer. Last year we faced a lot of adversity with a lot of stuff going on. So that brought our team closer. And then Anfernee went down with the injury last year, and that brought our team even closer. And for this to happen, it brings our team even closer again. Knowing that we know that we’re — we are all we got, that we’ll always have each others’ backs.

Q. To the players, any of you, what do you take away from the first time you played Kentucky to the second time you played Kentucky until now? Can you take anything away from those two previous games?
THE MODERATOR: We’ll start with Horace and work our way left. Horace, start us.

HORACE SPENCER: They’re a great defensive team, and PJ Washington is a pretty big force of nature, both offensively and offensively. Tyler Herro is a pretty good offensive player as well. I feel like us — we got to play good, collective team defense. Cut inside and do our jobs and just do what we can to stop those two players. They’re the primary sources of offense.

MALIK DUNBAR: Sort of the same. They’re a great defensive and rebounding team. They play fast and got some good guys. We got to stop them, play hard, understand our coverages, just play together.

ANFERNEE MCLEMORE: Got to limit the impact in transition. I know they’re very talented they get out on the break and get a lot of stops defensively and play fast. We got to make sure we limit the amount of easy points they get, make sure we get back on the defensive end, and also play well offensively.

JARED HARPER: Just need to continue to do the things that we’ve been doing offensively and defensively. Being able to get into the lane, hit people for open shots. We had 21 assists last night. That’s a big thing. The coach wants us to look to force 20 turnovers and get 20 assists. That’s a goal for us. Continue to do that, continue to play two halves of defense, we’ll be good.

BRYCE BROWN: They kind of said it all. Doing what we do. Playing to our strengths. Kentucky they got us pretty good at their house, but that’s when I felt like we weren’t playing our best basketball. And just got to continue to do what we’re doing now and competing on defensive side of the ball and sharing the ball on offense.

THE MODERATOR: Stay there.

Q. Bryce, curious, what do you think of the role emotions are going to play in this game? Because looking at Kentucky, they may be coming off a high, they got Washington back and they seemed pretty upbeat about it. You guys obviously went through this hard injury with Chuma. How is that going to maybe play a factor in tomorrow’s game?
BRYCE BROWN: Like I said earlier, it’s going — it’s going to motivate us, knowing that one of our soldiers aren’t able to be out there and battle with us. On their side of the ball, I feel like Washington is kind of fresh and he’s probably just eager to get out there and just ready to compete. So, we both have certain things going to motivate us, but the better team wins, I feel like.

Q. Jared or Bryce, you guys have played Kentucky twice. You know each other well. You’re in the same conference. You pretty much know everything about them. They know everything about you. Is that a good thing or bad thing going into a game like this?
JARED HARPER: I guess you can say it’s a good thing, but also want to include that I feel like we’re playing differently than we were. We’re playing better as a team offensively and defensively, just getting contributions from everybody on our team. That wasn’t always happening before, but when we were able to get those contributions from everybody and do the things that we do, we’re a better team.

BRYCE BROWN: Say your question one more time.

Q. The fact you guys know each other so well.
BRYCE BROWN: I feel like both teams will be more prepared than the previous teams we face. We kind of know what they like to do. They know what we like to do. We know their tendencies and same with them. Going to come down to who is playing the hardest and making shots and who is defending.

THE MODERATOR: Anything else for the student-athletes of Auburn?

Q. Jared, your matchup with Ashton Hagans, what do you remember from the first two games and what do you have to do to keep him under control?
JARED HARPER: First of all, he’s a great player. He’s a great defensive player, does a good job of running their team. I don’t know if it’s just — it’s going to be personally me against Ashton. That’s not what I’m looking to. I don’t think that’s what our team is looking to. I’m thinking more of Auburn against Kentucky. It’s a team game. Going to take a team effort to stop him and stop all the great players that they have.

Q. You guys have hit so many 3-pointers, coach gives you so much freedom to shoot. Is there such a thing as a bad 3-point shot for you guys? (Laughter)
THE MODERATOR: Bryce and Jared, please.

BRUCE PEARL: And Horace.

HORACE SPENCER: I knew you were going to say that.

BRYCE BROWN: Coach gives us a lot of confidence. He wants us to feel free out there. He typically doesn’t mind the type of shots we take unless they’re in the rhythm of the offense, not just jacking up crazy shots. Definitely he likes to us take shots within the offense and feel like that’s kind of it, you know.

JARED HARPER: Yeah, there is such a thing as a bad 3. But BP as a coach doesn’t get on us about bad shots. He’ll get on what you do not making plays defensively. That’s definitely a focus. That’s what he gets on us.

HORACE SPENCER: I got a note from coach. He says, “You open, shoot it. If you’re not open, don’t shoot it.” I’m open, I’m going to shoot it. (Laughter)

Q. This is for everybody. They’re running out of toilet paper in Auburn with all these wins. What’s it like being the players, looking back and seeing the campus celebrate victory after victory in the last two weeks?
THE MODERATOR: Horace, lead us off and we’ll come left.

HORACE SPENCER: It feels good. It’s bigger than basketball for us. Really just doing it for Auburn, because Auburn hasn’t had a really winning historic program in basketball. Just to see how our fans are reacting to us, all love. We’re not there to really physically experience it. It really feels good to see all the happy faces, all the smiles that we’re bringing to Auburn. It feels good that we’re making this history as a family. Auburn is a family. Auburn family is the thing. If you see it or not, you got to be there to believe it. And I’ve been there for four years. I really experienced it and really feel that every win we get it adds on.

HORACE SPENCER: When we got back from SEC, probably my first time really seeing rolling the corner personally. It was really fun.

MALIK DUNBAR: It’s the same thing. It’s just a blessing. I’m thankful for all the fans we have. Everybody want to see us win and all the support, the fans coming over here to watch us play. I’m appreciative and thankful.

ANFERNEE MCLEMORE: It’s great to be supported by the Auburn family. They found — they watched. Coach Pearl has changed the narrative from a losing program to a winning organization. It’s just great to go home and be supported by everybody just waiting outside for us. Just feels good.

JARED HARPER: Getting the support that we’re getting from the Auburn community and just be able to do what we’re able to do, continue to make history, continue to be inspiration for kids and people that are younger than us. It’s a blessing.

BRYCE BROWN: Same thing. Honor to be able to represent Auburn. At the end of the day, our job is to represent Auburn the best we can anytime we’re on the court or off the court. So, you know, just feels good that we have such a huge fan base. The student body, you know, people all over Auburn just always supporting us.

I feel like the love is really real. It’s not fake at all. You see all the people supporting us on social media. You got to thank the football team, women’s basketball, soccer. They’re all supporting us, and we definitely feel the love.

THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, great job. We’re going to dismiss you now to go to breakout sessions. Congratulations in getting this far. Good luck tomorrow. We’re going to stay here with Coach Pearl for awhile longer.

Q. Bruce, how do you feel about the game boiling down to your team’s 3-point shooting perimeter game against Kentucky’s power game?
BRUCE PEARL: We got to be able to make some 3s in order to win. We’ve got to be able to somehow limit Kentucky’s points in the paint and their domination on the offensive glass.

Through much of the season, we’ve been a team that went as Jared and Bryce went. But in the month of March, it’s been a team where even if one or both didn’t have a great half or a great game, we could still win. And that’s — that’s a sign of a team that’s — the sum of its parts are bigger than anything else. We play best when everybody contributes. And so I think for us to be able to have a chance against Kentucky, we’ll have to have other guys other than just Jared and Bryce play well.

Q. Bruce, you have 9, 10 guys who can contribute in post-season. It seems like this league itself, aside from Kentucky and maybe a handful of kids that get ID’d by USA Basketball, lot of kids who are under the radar grow into starring roles. I’m wondering how that happens? Are we just missing the boat with the southern player who might not get the amount of publicity?
BRUCE PEARL: That’s a great question, Dick. You know, summer basketball, call it AAUbasketball, call it whatever you want to call it, gets a bad rap for everything. On Zion Williamson’s team, there was some other players that were pretty good, and they’re sprinkled throughout college basketball.

You know, I saw Jared and Udoka, he was one of the Georgia stars. Udoka was his big guy. Wendell Carter was this other big guy. And there were a handful of other players, and then there was Jared as that point guard.

And so I just think that there’s so much more parity in college basketball, because there are more good teams both in high school and in the summer where these other guys are also training at a higher level than maybe back in the day. Back in the day it was clear who your first team Allstate guys were and all your US A basketball guys, but there’s just now more to choose from.

So that’s why I think — we’re not really missing them. You still got — still the tale of the tape. The guys with the big names and reputations, the big schools — when you see Kentucky take the floor against Auburn tomorrow, you’ll see a difference in the tale of the tape. We’ll be looking up to them at most positions. That’s why those guys play in McDonald’s game and our guys don’t.

Q. Bruce, how would you characterize your relationship with John Calipari, and has it changed much over the years from when he was at Memphis and you were at Tennessee?
BRUCE PEARL: Well, the first time I can remember really having much of a relationship with John, it was when he first got the UMASS job, and he had some guys on his staff that I had coached at Boston College and we had some people that we both knew. And I said it because I grew up in Boston that what he did at UMASS might have been one of the all time greatest jobs in the history of college basketball. They weren’t much before he got there. They were a Final Four team when he was there. And after he left, obviously not been the same.

So, got great respect for Coach Calipari. When he was at Memphis, I was at Tennessee and, you know, Memphis while it was a basketball powerhouse was in the State of Tennessee and sometimes got overshadowed. Believe it or not, I was at the big school and he was at the smaller school and playing in Conference USA versus the SEC, so constantly looking for trying to be able — he was the underdog in that regard.

We had some great battles. I would just say this: I think as far as a relationship is involved, I’ve grown to respect him and appreciate the job that he does. I value the times that I’ve been able to beat him, and I recognize there’s probably not a coach that’s beaten me more than him.

Q. You look at Kentucky, they don’t have a Wall and Cousins or Davis or Karl Anthony Towns. What do you see when you look at this team as opposed to some of the other teams he’s had at Kentucky?
BRUCE PEARL: Well, PJ Washington very easily could have been the National Player of the Year if Kentucky had won one or two more games. I mean, there was a time when he was — Grant Williams a great player for National SEC Player of the Year. If Kentucky had won our league, I would have thought that PJ would have gotten it, should have gotten it.

He’s a dominating player. Great story of a guy that you know would have gotten drafted a year ago, but probably would have gotten in the second round and decided to come back. Wasn’t afraid to work. He’s so much better now, explosive inside, outside game. He was the only player Chuma Okeke faced all year long that maybe got the edge on him, the only player.

So, I still see — I’ll tell you what I see about Kentucky, and I don’t mind saying this: John has been a master of taking incredibly talented kids who maybe had — because they were so talented, think in an individual way, he had a job to blend that team in his locker room, egos, different things like that.

Keldon Johnson cares about winning. So does Ashton Hagans, so does PJ. That whole team has bought into one thing, and that’s winning. He’s got kids that care less about themselves and more about the team. He’s probably enjoyed coaching this team more. And I think this team has been blessed more because of the way they played, how hard they played. They bought in defensively, they play unselfishly, play the game the right way.

He hasn’t had to change. That MO came in in recruiting. I know because I was probably the first guy to offer everyone of those guys that I just told you about and lost of every single one of them to Kentucky.

Q. On this team?
BRUCE PEARL: Keldon Johnson, Ashton Hagans, EJ Montgomery, are all guys I’ve known and recruited at one time or another had committed.

Q. Have you let yourself think just the historic magnitude significance of what beating Kansas, North Carolina, and Kentucky to go to a Final Four, what that would say?
BRUCE PEARL: I’ve certainly put that on the table for our team. And when we got our road to the Final Four, I told them what are we trying to do, guys? We’re trying to make history. That’s what the whole thing about Auburn. You heard that from these kids how important it was to them to have Auburn basketball become credible.

New Mexico State was as good a 12 as there was in the field, and we’re the only one to survive that 5, 12 matchup. To have an opportunity to get Kansas, North Carolina, and maybe Kentucky, what a better way of having an opportunity to make history than to have that road to the Final Four.

So we started talking about that as soon as the field came out. I think you’ve got to as a coach be able to show them a path to success. And so it’s not looking past anybody, this is what it is, this is what we got to get through. What an incredible opportunity to go out there and make history. Of all the matchups we’ve had, Kentucky will be the most difficult matchup. They’re the most physical team in college basketball offensively and defensively. They out rebounded us by 19 last time we played. Travis wasn’t playing. We’re going to subtract Chuma. We lost by 27 when we had Chuma and they didn’t have them. It’s a tough matchup for us.

Obviously these guys see and I see things that we can do to be able to put ourselves in position to win the basketball game. It’s going to take our best effort, without question.

Q. Bruce, your players talked about the freedom you give them to shoot from the outside. Obviously teams shoot more 3s these days than they did 10, 20 years ago. Has your feelings on that style of play evolved over the years during your career?
BRUCE PEARL: No. I think I’ve always been accused of living by it and dying by it. Never quite understood what that meant. My teams have always either led the league in 3-point shooting, makes, and percentage over the years. Look, there’s a lot of contact in the game. What percentage should you shoot from the free throw line? It’s an open shot whether it’s contested or not. There’s no contact. We don’t shoot 3 balls where there’s contact. We’re shooting a shot where we’re looking at the rim, we got the ball in our hands, and if we can do some things schematically to get them open with a late hand, what percentage should a good player be able to shoot that? I don’t know why you wouldn’t work and hunt for those shots.

So I’ve always believed it. Just because the Golden State Warriors figured it out, don’t blame me. I’ve always shot the 3 ball.

So, it’s been a big part of our offense. It helps spread the floor. You know, just open the lane up a little bit. If they got to guard you out there further, Kentucky is able to guard us. Why? Because they’re long and athletic. That hand gets there faster, quicker, longer than most. But I do believe the fact that it’s a non-contact shot doesn’t get nearly enough conversation.

We try to force people defensively to make tough 2s. That’s what — that’s what we try to force. So therefore, why would I create an offense that gives you a bunch of tough 2s? The inside 3-point shot is the best play in basketball. The open 3-point shot behind the line is the second best play in basketball.

Q. Bruce, when they beat you guys in Auburn, you went into a little bit of a tailspin, lost three in a row. Then played in Lexington and they really handed it to you. Logically you should have gone into a bigger tailspin. Instead, you haven’t lost of since. Why did you make that reverse?
BRUCE PEARL: Our guys recognize how well Kentucky played. And our hats were off to them. We went into that game in Lexington thinking we had a chance. I told our guys, listen, I brought teams in here before, no chance to win. It was just a matter of how badly we were going to get beat. Not this team. I think we’ve got a chance to compete. We were dominated, completely outplayed, but Kentucky played really well. We weren’t awful, but they were great.

So I left the game and I wanted our guys not to beat themselves up. That’s a Final Four team guys. That’s what it looks like right there. This is the gap between us and them, 27 points right now. What do we need to do to close the gap? I wasn’t mad at them. We got hit in the mouth and we got beat up. But we didn’t let it define us.

Q. Bruce, when you left here last night, there was some uncertainty of Chuma’s injury, could you take us through what you learned and how you decided to present the team with the news?
BRUCE PEARL: Chuma came in at breakfast this morning after the guys had finished up. I think we all knew it was serious last night. I think the minute Chuma hit the floor and started pounding his fist on the ground, that was no sprain. I think the reaction from all the guys is really unfair because he’s such a great kid and such a hard worker, so humble, but he’s got a big dream. Players like Chuma give teams courage and confidence. We’re going to miss him tomorrow because we’re going to be — we’re going to have tough matchups. We lost every single matchup we had against Kentucky in Lexington, everyone from the bench to the players.

But Chuma always give us a chance to win that matchup. So now he’s going to be out for awhile. He’s got to rehab and that’s what God’s plan was. He’s going to handle it. But we’re all sad and heartbroken for him. There was no celebrating in our locker room last night because of his injury. At the same time, there’s no time to celebrate. We’re looking at a tip in about 20 hours against probably the best team in the country right now.

Q. Bruce, from when you had him as a recruit to the two games you played to now, how have you seen EJ Montgomery grow and what can his potential still be?
BRUCE PEARL: After the game in Lexington, I gave John and his staff great credit that players do develop at Kentucky. I’ve seen EJ grow. He’s gotten bigger, stronger, tougher. Even though he plays sometimes a limited role in limited minutes, I think John has given him confidence to go to his strengths and not be afraid to fail. I think John recognizes the upside that EJ has. So because — he’s gotten so much stronger physically. I think that’s been a big part of his — when you see him a year from now, you’ll see he’s a special passer. Got a great future.

Q. For years it was always Kentucky and everybody else in the SEC. Last few years, you know, you guys and Tennessee regular season champs, LSU, you guys won the SEC Tournament. Is that gap shrinking?
BRUCE PEARL: I don’t know if it’s shrinking. I remember telling Commissioner Slive when I got to Tennessee what I felt made the ACC what it. Wasn’t just North Carolina and Duke. It was Gary Williams at Maryland, Skip at Wake Forest. It was when Paul had it going or Georgia Tech had it going. Bobby had it going at Georgia Tech. It was the depth and breadth of the conference that made the ACC so dominant. When I got to Tennessee, Billy was at Florida, Kentucky was Kentucky, and the rest of us were grasping for who is going to be the next team.

That’s not a great conference. Our conference was tremendous this year, top to bottom. Great coaches, fan bases were engaged, recruiting has improved. It’s continuing to — and why not? Because if you look at the SEC, it’s what we do in everything else. It’s not even close. I’m talking about all sports’ men and women. It’s incredible.

How about last night in Kansas City when the SEC chant came out there. That wasn’t just Auburn fans chanting that. That was Kentucky fans. Maybe they’d rather play us than North Carolina, I can understand that. I want to go on the record with something. I wasn’t recruited by North Carolina, Kansas, or Kentucky, either. I want — none of you guys asked me that question. I want to go on record and say that. I’m a mutt too.

Q. John Calipari said that when you lose one of your best players, it’s going to be very, very difficult for you to advance in the tournament. Obviously he was talking about PJ Washington. But John is a smart guy. You’re in that position now. So did you maybe think about forfeiting the game or how realistically can you prepare in just this short time?
BRUCE PEARL: Listen, we’ve got nine players that are going to play tomorrow, and we’re going to have to make some adjustments to how we play and what we do. But our guys are ready to be able to accept that challenge. We understand the enormity of the challenge, even if our roster was full and complete. So when you lose, as Jared said, our most valuable player and for me the guy that I would play call to matchup, it’s going to be an enormous challenge, but our guys are excited about it.

Listen, they understand how good Kentucky is and they understand what it’s going to take. There’s confidence in our locker room. Horace Spencer, Anfernee McLemor, Danjel Purifoy, Austin Wiley, that’s our front line without Chuma. Those guys are all ready to step up. They’re going to have to step up or we won’t be able to win.

THE MODERATOR: Under five minutes to go.

Q. So I’ve heard a rumor that your team is a little bit superstitious about your pre-game meals and you have a particular steakhouse that you go to before. If you tell me a little bit how that started and how you guys found “Dan Den” in Kansas City?
BRUCE PEARL: When we kind — Hibatchi style Japanese steakhouses. That’s what it is. It’s called Mikata in Auburn. I was there the other day, as a matter of fact, and one of the servers — it’s dinner and a show of course. Of course our guys love the show as much as they love the dinner. It’s double everything. Double rice, double meat, double this, double, double because they want to eat it and they want to take it home, right. I’m not sure that’s an extra benefit or not, but maybe it is.

But we are undefeated eating at a Japanese steakhouse out the night before the game. Tonight we’ll be eating some place in Kansas City.

Q. Both the times you played Kentucky were on the road. You didn’t eat at the steakhouse before that?
BRUCE PEARL: We played Kentucky and we ate someplace else the night before.

Q. Do you remember where it was?
BRUCE PEARL: We played Kentucky we ate in the hotel.

Q. Bruce, you were really complimentary of Kentucky after the January game. I think you said that’s a championship-type team. What specifically did you see then and maybe how have you seen it evolve over the next two months?
BRUCE PEARL: Well, I think Kentucky is confident right now because they learned to play without PJ and they learned to play without Travis and yet they still were able to advance. And I just think they’ve got — we’re playing better now, but so are they. They obviously know it.

I was just impressed with their team. I was telling people buy Kentucky early on in the season. I’ve seen them play. I know how physical they are. They play the game the right way. Look, defensive rebounding wins championships. It’s probably the best defensive and rebounding team in the country. Last night’s game against Houston was as physical and tough a game as you would — strength on strength.

So, you know, for me personally, it was a little easier going up against a Kansas or North Carolina who don’t see me all the time. John has seen me for many, many years. And every now and then, you know, when you are not — we’re talented, but when you may not be quite as talented, you have to have some things up your sleeve. I’ve played a lot of cards. I don’t know how many more cards we have to play, but these guys believe. They know what we need to do to have a chance to win. I’ve got one more thing. I’d prefer to be playing somebody else other than the SEC. But one of the things I am glad is the SEC is going to have a team in the Final Four and I’m really glad about that, because this league has worked really hard to get better and gain some respect, and in the game of college basketball I’m glad Auburn is a small part of that.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Bruce. Best of luck.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports