March 22, 2005

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland head men's basketball coach Gary Williams and the Terrapin players met with the media to discuss their NIT second round matchup, which will take place on Wednesday at 8 p.m. against Davidson at Comcast Center.

Maryland Head Coach Gary Williams
On practice this week:
"It's been good. I think we've had a lot of fun. With all these guys back except for Mike Grinnon [and Darien Henry] it's been important for our team. I think everybody that plays in a major conference, when you don't make the NCAA Tournament, you have to get through that mental letdown of not making it. Then once you do, if you are competitors and you enjoy the game, you get to play basketball some more. So this has been a valuable time for us in terms of playing together and working on some things that we can use for the NIT, and also for next year."

On Davidson:
"They're a great 3-point shooting team. They average about 24 [3-point attempts] per game. [Brendan] Winters, their outstanding shooter, has shot 63 percent from the 3-point line in their last four games. They've bean Missouri playing that way. They played Duke very tough ... and they went undefeated during the regular season in the Southern Conference. Every guy they put on the floor is a 3-point threat, in other words, their five starters have all taken more than just a couple threes during the season."

On getting off to a good start:
"We got down by 13 against Oral Roberts, but I think part of that was getting over not making the NCAA. Hopefully that's past us now and we'll come out flying around. You have to play good defense against Davidson, because when they get open, they'll hurt you with the three. They don't just get a lay-up or something. They're really a good shooting team. You can't afford to let them come out and get four or five good looks right away, because they'll make three or four of them."

On the play of Travis Garrison:
"Travis has had great games. I think people forget that he was second team ACC All-Tournament last year. That play is certainly there, and what I'll want to see from Travis as a senior is to be consistent with it. If you can play like that once in a while, you can do it more than that... He has worked hard here for three years."

On the play of Sterling Ledbetter:
"He played with a lot of energy, he played good defense at the point guard position and he had nine rebounds. That's really a feat - John Gilchrist has done that, I think he had 10 one game. But nine rebounds for a point guard is an outstanding effort. You have to move to get nine rebounds as a point guard, you really have to get into the mix. This has been a great learning experience for him. Things like this build your confidence. I told him to keep playing as hard as he can every play."

On watching the NCAA games over the weekend:
"It's been tough, but it was tough for Oklahoma last year. It was tough for Syracuse a couple of years ago, and tough for Connecticut a couple of years ago too. I'll take making the NCAA Tournament 11 out of 12 years."

Maryland Senior Forward Mike Grinnon:
On the week of practice:
"To tell you the truth it's been fun. This whole entire week we've had scrimmages in practice, which you can't really do much during the year because you have so many games. To have a week off and split up the teams and just play, with different combinations, it's been fun."

On the Terps' postseason effort so far:
"I think we really came out and played well against Oral Roberts, and I think we have to build on that and the run that we had. We had the intensity on defense back which is a good feeling."

Maryland Sophomore Center Will Bowers:
On what this postseason run means to the team:
"It's really important for a lot of guys, like Sterling and myself - who didn't play all that much during the year - to get more games under our belts... especially since we start out in Maui [next year]. We know we're a good team when we play defense for 40 minutes and when we play unselfishly. We feel like we can play with anybody."

On his back-to-back games of double-figures:
"Hopefully I can keep rolling with it, and that it's not just a two game thing. I'd like to stay consistent with my efforts."

Maryland Junior Guard Sterling Ledbetter:
On this week's preparation:
"It's been great; it's been fun. The guys have been really energized and focused on what we have to do for this game. We're looking at this as a learning experience. A lot of teams, if they get in the NIT, they are disappointed because they didn't make the NCAA tournament and they don't really care, but, we're trying to learn and work on some things for this year and next year."

On his first career start against Oral Roberts:
"I think I played hard - I always try to go out there and play hard. I think I was a little too excited at first, but once I settled down I think I played pretty well. The coaches told me that I did a good job, and to just be solid and try to calm down and run the offense."