March 17, 2006

Davidson Head Coach Bob McKillop

"Congratulations to Thad Matta and the Ohio State Buckeyes. They made some big shots at some big times in the game, that's why they were Big Ten Champions. I'm extremely proud of the effort that was put forth by our players, I think they represented Davidson College and the Southern Conference very well. I'm particularly proud of the work that the seniors have done in the four years at Davidson. They have really left their mark, their stamp on this program, and they will be sorely missed."

On coaching his son, Matt, in his final game
"I'm very happy to have seven sons, maybe 16 sons. Matt just happens to be the one that spend a little bit more time with me over the years. Coaching is one of the most powerful professions. It's one in which you can influence lives. It's a two-way street though. You have to have receptive students, receptive players who are willing to let go, trust, and be influenced. This was a group of young men who had a significant degree of trust and did anything and everything we asked and without that, Matt was the one who wore it on his heart more than anyone."

On devoting defensive attention to Terence Dials
"I think [Terence] Dials hurt us, primarily on the offensive glass. That's where his crushing baskets came. It came as a result from us recovering from a ball screen double, a ball screen hedge and slide, a double off the post and spreading out to a shooter and sprinting back into a box out situation. That's the defense that we play. We play really comfortable with it. If we were just standing and planting ourselves in the paint and tried to cover him one-on-one, we can't do that. If we're to just match up man for man against their perimeter players, we can't do that. We have to make it a team effort, and I thought that we did an extraordinary job. Lewis hit two jump shots that were really daggers to us because they came off high ball screens, up near the top of the key. They came from about 22 to 24 feet, and we had five different things that we were doing on ball screens, and we had a miscommunication on those two in particular ones, and it somehow gave them confidence, and in giving them confidence it all of a sudden made the crowd a factor. Then I think that the crowd became a key factor for them as they maintained, and as we maybe turned it over once or twice in response to their threes."

On the meaning of the close result to the program
"We came here to win. We think we are a darn good program that can compete with anyone in the country. Whether a 15-seed or not, we came here with the express purpose to win. We played hard enough to win. We missed some easy shots inside, and we had some turnovers that they capitalized upon, but we battled them toe-to-toe. We laced them up, we rolled our sleeves up, and it just affirms that we do have a very good program."

On Ohio State making adjustments at halftime
"Thad Matta does a wonderful job adjusting how he is going to attack the ball screen based on how you defend the ball screen; where he positions the ball screen, who takes the ball screen. He has an arsenal of opportunities. [Ron] Lewis had not been taking many ball screens at that point, and all of a sudden he puts [Ron] Lewis out there, which had a three-man of ours guarding a ball screen, and that had not been something we had much experience with in the first half. Was that by design or just by happenstance? I think it was by design. We are still doing the same things that we did: switching the ball screen, trapping the ball screen, hedging and sliding the ball screen, going over the top of the ball screen, going under the ball screen. We had five different looks at it, one of these times they are going to capitalize on it. In the first half they didn't. In the second half they made the shot. Do you have to go back to the drawing board and say the ball screen defense wasn't any good? They shot 5-for-22 from three, and it wasn't a bevy of threes that beat us. I think it was those two, and [Je'Kel] Foster makes one out of the corner and that was out of transition more than anything else. But, then [Terence] Dials hurt us inside. But give us four or five possessions where we turn the ball over down at the other end, give us return baskets in those situations, and we're right in the game."

Senior Forward Ian Johnson

Has anyone ever told you that you look like Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, with that beard?
Yes. And I take it as a compliment. We had a tough game in conference season, and that happened to be the weekend the Steelers won the Super Bowl and I'm a Steelers fan, so I thought if Roethlisberger can do it, why not give it a shot. I think it definitely helped.

On defending Terrance Dials
Dials is big, strong player. He's tough. Our game plan was to double him. I don't think he was expecting the quick double. I think that flustered him a little bit and allowed us to tighten our defense.

On his Davidson career
"The greatest experience of my life to play with my fellow seniors and with the coaching staff that we have. I'll remember these memories forever."

Senior Guard Brendan Winters

On Ohio State's three-point shooting
"We got confused a couple times on the ball screen and (Lewis) was able to get some open looks and I guess it just happened to be his time. It kind of seems like a lot of teams we play, a guy that we don't think will step up and knock down threes will do it. It's kind of weird. But that was just a miscommunication between some of our guys.

"We were very confident coming into the game. We didn't need a four-point lead to confirm that we were a good team and could play with guys like them. But it did help us a little bit. It's always nice to go into the halftime especially in the NCAA tournament against a team like Ohio State when you're the underdog. So it definitely helped (our confidence), but we had a lot coming in, anyway."

Senior Guard Matt McKillop

On `Chippy Play' with Jamar Butler
"It was a physical game all around and then at the last minute when we were fouling, me and Kenny Grant were trapping him, trying to get a jump ball and they called a foul. My arms were around him, but I didn't do anything, and he pushed me away. The ref kind of separated the two of us. I didn't say anything then, at the end of the game, he blocked my shot and said `that's right *****-***.' Which didn't seem very classy to me."

On his last game as Davidson Wildcat
"There's definitely a sense of disappointment, especially since we had the lead in the second half and we let it slip away. But I'm proud to be a member of this team, proud to be a member of the team that fought back today - it seemed like Ohio State had an answer for every basket we made. We just came from the locker room and we were hugging each other and it's a pretty emotional time, but I'm proud to be a member of the Davidson Wildcats.

On playing last game for father
"I don't know where to begin. The last four years have been an amazing experience. It hasn't set in yet that this is it. But it's something I'll never forget. Being able to come so far and to be this close is a big disappointment for what we could have done for Davidson Basketball. And being able to do that for my dad."