Maryland Practice News Conference Quotes
3/16/2002 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 16, 2002
Maryland Head Coach Gary Williams on Wisconsin:
"They still do a lot of the same good things in terms of screening. They are a very good screening team. They have a lot of good people who can shoot threes. They did that last year when we played them in Milwaukee. Kirk Penney is a little different, he has put on a lot of weight. He reminds me a lot of Duke's Mike Dunleavy in terms of how he has changed his body over a year's time. It has allowed them to use him both inside and outside this year. They really know how to play as a unit which is to their credit because they did lose starters from last year."
Maryland Head Coach Gary Williams on the pressure of a No. 1 seed:
"I'm fortunate to have veterans that have been through this before and they understand how each game is critical. When you play a team from the Big Ten, that is one of the top conferences and they were co-champions so that certainly gets your attention. We know what it takes. Everybody talks about looking past people, but it is really easy not to look past people because of the way the tournament is set up. It is a one-game deal each time, if you don't play well, you go home."
Maryland Head Coach Gary Williams on Juan Dixon:
"He had to work hard to get to college and once he got there, he wasn't satisfied. Juan has always been an overachiever. Even in high school, they had a lot of guys at 150 pounds on his team and he was playing forward in high school. He's got some inside moves where he can get the ball up on the glass and he uses that to his advantage. He really tries to learn situations so that he can try and put that to use for his own benefit. He was a marked man coming into this season. It is a credit to Juan and his teammates that they run good enough offenses so he can get open. It's good to work with a player that has gotten better every year that he's been at school."
Maryland junior forward Tahj Holden on Wisconsin:
"They shoot the ball pretty well. They look to do some things differently from last year, [with a] different coach and different system. They are looking to push the ball up a little more and their guards seem to be a little bit quicker. They like to get the ball inside and kick it out for a three. We are definitely going to have to work on our perimeter defense."
Maryland junior forward Tahj Holden on the team's tournament expectations:
"In the beginning of the year we said that in every tournament we are in, we want to win the championship. We are here in the NCAA Tournament and we are hoping to win the championship. I think that for ourselves, especially the seniors and the coaches as well, that if we don't win the national championship we will all be disappointed because we feel we have the ability and the talent to win the national championship."
Maryland junior forward Tahj Holden on playing good defense:
"I think it starts with our defense. Offensively our points are going to come. We have enough offensive threats starting and coming off the bench that we are going to score our 80-to-85 points a game. It starts with defense, and championships are won with defense. That has been seen throughout history. We just want to come out and play strong defense from the start of the game and that sets the tone. We get some turnovers and fast break points and that puts other teams at a disadvantage the way we can score in our halfcourt offensive set. Defense definitely determines how we look at a game."
Maryland junior guard Drew Nicholas on the fans last night:
"I think the fans last night were great. The intensity they brought to us really got us going. Coming out to the MCI Center and seeing the red in the stands really helped us in terms of getting ready for the game. Hopefully it will be that way tomorrow evening."
