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Baylor-Missouri Postgame Quotes
Missouri 73, Baylor 60

March 14, 2009

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MISSOURI 73 (28-6), BAYLOR 60 (20-14)
FORD CENTER - OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA.
BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP, FINAL
MARCH 14, 2009

CHARLIE FISS: We are joined now by
Coach Scott Drew and his two student-athletes
from Baylor, Curtis Jerrells and Kevin Rogers.
Coach, we will call on you first for an
opening comment on today's championship game.


COACH DREW: I liked the other press
conferences better than this one. Missouri, give
them all the credit. They played a deep rotation.


They pressure you. We tried to slow it down.
Their pressure really made it tough to do.


We tried to get the ball inside. Their
pressure made it hard to do. We got some open
looks, and we got guys that are normally going to
take and make open shots. Even though it is day
four and we emphasized getting inside, I think
Missouri deserves a lot of credit from keeping us
from doing that.


They have had a great season, and we
wish them the best of luck in the NCAA
tournament. Very proud of our team how we
performed and played and excited about where we
go in postseason.


Q. About the 10-minute mark of the
second half, you guys had quite a few open
threes that just seemed to be this much short.


What do you think happened on those shots?


Curtis Jerrells: I'm not sure. Like
Coach said, those are the shots we normally make.
We were making them all tournament. It may have
something to do with fatigue. I'm not really sure.
Those guys make you play a little faster than what
you want, what you like to. Sometimes you may
think you got good, open looks and may not be the
right shot.


Like I said, we have been taking and
making those shots all tournament. We continued
to take them and unfortunately we didn't make
them.


Q. You guys, defensively -- I guess
their defense pressure, how tough was it for
you guys? It seemed to be kind of constant.


Kevin Rogers: Any time you play a
team like Missouri that basically presses the entire
game, it kind of wears guys down, especially our
guards and trying to break their press and get into
our offense and run things like that. It is always
tough.


But that's the style that they play. It is very
successful for them.


Q. C.J., you have said all along at the
press conferences this week you came here to
win four games and win the Big 12 tournament.


You came up one short. One might say you
guys got here but you don't look satisfied.


Curtis Jerrells: Not at all. The goal
was to come and win it. Like Coach said, we are in
it to win it. We fell one short, but I couldn't be more
proud of my teammates and the coaching staff and
myself.


I think that we came into this thing, we
finished ninth in the conference. That's where we
want to be, that's where we expected to be. We
think we did ourselves a disservice all season, I'm
just proud of the way we came out and played.


God giving us the opportunity to come out and
play. I'm happy the way we played. We beat,
Nebraska, Kansas and Texas and then we fell
short. Like I said, I'm very proud of their effort.


Q. Touching on what Curtis just said,
Kevin, it stings now but as you go on into the
postseason, what can you take away from this
experience having beaten three pretty good
teams?


Kevin Rogers: We know everybody on
this team has big hearts. For us to do what we did,
it was really special, you know. For this being my
senior year, I could pick no better way to go out.


Playing the teams we played and nobody
expecting us to be here.


But at the same time coming in, we were
picked preseason third place. So we expected this
all along. But, you know, this is really special. I
mean, you know, obviously the end result is not
what we wanted. We can take into the postseason
that we won't back down from anybody.


Q. Scott, in essence the first five
minutes of the second half went a long way
toward determining what happened, did it not?


Y'all just came in a little cold?


COACH DREW: I think Missouri deserves
some credit on that. They made shots today.
Against Oklahoma State they didn't make a lot of
threes and we thought that zone would be a little
more effective.


They hit some shots. Could have
contested them better but, again, give them the
credit for it.


The other thing is I know offensively we
really, again, wanted to get the ball into the paint
and get the ball down low and their pressure really
prevented us from doing that as much as we'd like.


It is a good learning experience for what's further
down the road for us hopefully.


Q. Given Missouri's style, given their
depth and everything, were they maybe the
worst matchup you could have faced playing
that fourth game in four games?


COACH DREW: Yes. You want me to
elaborate or are you good with that?
When you play a team that plays as many
as they rotate, they are always going to be fresh.
And then the second thing is them playing one day
less. And then the other thing with that is their
style, not allowing us -- we really tried to slow it
down more, but, again, when you are getting
hounded, you have -- it is like someone swinging at
you. You have two options, duck and hit and both
of them are actions.


The last couple games we could dictate
the tempo a little better. We don't mind playing
fast and like that, but I don't know if we had -- our
advantage was inside, and I don't know if we had
enough in the tank to do that nonstop.


We wanted to attack. Any time we had
numbers, we wanted to attack and they did a good
job spreading back and not allowing us to get as
many easy ones and we would have liked to have
had.


Q. You guys came here to win it. You
came up one short. Are you guys feeling good
you got here or is it more disappointment that
we had a chance to get the conference
championship?


COACH DREW: Very disappointed
because our goal was to win the tournament, the
goal was to be in the NCAA Tournament. But at
the same time, I know we're fortunate enough to
have postseason hopefully, so we can't be so
down that we can't get up for that opportunity.


So it is one of those situations as a coach,
I mean, we could have had that talk in there and
everyone cry their eyes out. But at the same time,
we still have basketball hopefully to play and we
want to be ready for that opportunity like we were
for this one.


Q. Along those lines, you have always
talked about how some of your best basketball
memories have come in Oklahoma City. When
you look back on this, will it fall in the really
good basketball memory or the "we came so
close" category.


COACH DREW: That's the tough thing in
coaching, we seem to remember the losses more
than the wins. It will be bittersweet.


Q. Scott, at the end of the first half
when Kevin got his second foul, it looked like --
were you trying to get him out? Was there
something as far as the substitution?


COACH DREW: With Kevin being the
veteran player that he is and basically us needing
him and using him out there, we tried to go as long
as we could. And just at the end, he actually
asked for his self to come out because he was
tired and fatigued. We tried to sub and we couldn't
get him out in time.


Again, everything would have been perfect
if we didn't get a back call. Hindsight, obviously we
could have gotten him out two seconds sooner.


Second half, it doesn't bother us. He wasn't in foul
trouble. Again, with some players, that really hurts
you because -- Kevin has played with fouls most of
his career. If we are going to lose, we are going to
lose with our best.


Q. Can you talk about the impact
DeMarre Carroll had for them and just how
tough he is to guard.


COACH DREW: There is a reason he is
first team all-conference, 20-9. He is the Energizer
Bunny out there. I think he could have played
eight games in eight days. Him and Lyons are as
tough a matchup you will find in the country
because they can guard anybody and do it inside
and outside. We are glad they are both
graduating.


Q. You talked about trying to get it
inside. Kevin only gets six shots. Is some of
that on the guards not getting it there? Or is it
denying it inside?


COACH DREW: Definitely we had
opportunities but, again, I think that's where the
first couple games we were able to get it down
there today because of pressure. I think physical
fatigue is always one thing, but I think what we all
forget is mental fatigue.


When you mentally get tired, you don't
operate as well either. And I think both of those
situations led to us being -- not being able to get
the ball inside as much as we wanted to. And so,
again, we'll credit Missouri but obviously we'll learn
from it, too. Wherever we play again, we will try to
get back to what we did for those three games.


Q. What did you guys learn about
yourselves in these four days?


COACH DREW: I think the toughest thing
for me as a coach is we finished second in two
tournaments now. There is nothing better than
celebrating after getting a win in a tournament.


So we all made a deal we are going to
celebrate after the next one. Hopefully that comes
true.


The second thing is I couldn't be more
proud of the guys as far as how they came back.


Again, people don't understand, it was frustrating
on the fans this year during conference and it is
frustrating on all of us. But how they bounced
back and played good basketball, played
together -- again, we are a program that's still
building. It is the first time in the school's history
with 20-win seasons back-to-back, hopefully -- only
second time ever postseasons back-to-back.
Sometimes we all forget that stuff.


Q. Beating Kansas and Texas
back-to-back --


COACH DREW: That's huge for our
program. Snap some streaks and some of you
guys won't be able to ask the same questions
anymore (smiling).


But I mean -- again, as a coach, there is
nothing you want more when you have seniors that
are going out, you want them to enjoy their
experience and you want them to go out on a high
note. Now I know -- again, the ending wasn't what
we wanted, but they are going to be able to look
back on this conference tournament and talk about
some highlights and talk about some great
moments. As a coach, just like a parent, you are
proud of that.


CHARLIE FISS: Thank you, Coach.
  









 




 












	


	
				

				
				

					
			
													
					
				
									
				

					




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