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 Head Coach Mike Montgomery |
Ben Malka (Boston, MA)
Tough draw eh? Conneticut, Tenn., Cinn. and Ohio State. Would any of theother brackets been any worse in terms of team by team matchups?
Coach Montgomery: I think everybody looks at their bracket and thinks it's the hardest.Certainly those names reach out and grab you. Even if you look at potentialsecond-round opponents with North Carolina and Missouri, you're takingabout some awfully good, strong schools, some of which we've had experiencewith. So I think everybody thinks they've got a tough bracket. I think youjust have to play good basketball teams when you get to the tournament.
Ted Brothers (Tumwater, WA)
What are your thoughts on South Carolina State? Did you know anything ofthem prior to the draw being announced? Congrats on the first-ever No. 1seed and good luck!
Coach Montgomery: No, we didn't know anything about South Carolina State. We certainly arefamiliar with that conference and the people in it. They've been prettystrong in that conference the last three years with five seniors. Sothey're used to winning. They've been to the tournament two out of the lastthree years. They were upset last year. So they're going to come in with apretty solid mindset in terms of their ability in thinking they can win.
Kyle McAlister (Los Altos, CA)
How do you prepare for a team with just five days notice? Better yet, howabout preparation for the second round in which you only have really aday? Best of luck and hope to see you in the Final Four!
Coach Montgomery: Well your fundamentals that you've worked on all year have to get youthrough. Five days' preparation is plenty of time. We have tape, but you'rereally relying on your base defense and your offensive execution to try tocompete, not any wholesale changes for any one team. One-day preparation ishard, particularly if you're playing a team that has real unique things,because you can't take anybody for granted, so you have to prepare foroppoonent by opponent. But everybody's in the same boat so you just have totake it as it goes.
Matt Aires (Stanford, CA)
Do you feel Curtis Borchardt will make it back if we advance as far as theFinal Four?
Coach Montgomery: No. He's still on crutches; there's no way. He's out for the season. He'sgot a long healing process to make sure we don't have problems with that inthe future, down the road.
Ivan Myers (San Francisco, CA)
What do you feel will be the key to winning six straight games and do youfeel winning the NCAA Tournament may be the most difficult feat in all ofsports?
Coach Montgomery: It certainly is very difficult and there has to be a certain amount of luckinvolved -- your draw, how people play, whether you get an ankle sprain,whether you get foul trouble, all those kinds of things. Sometimes you geta bracket and the top seed, or a top seed or two get upset, which makesyour job a little bit easier as you advance through. So there's a certainamount of luck, but boy, you've got to be really tough-minded, you've gotto be playing your best basketball, and your people have to step up andreally perform.
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