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Jay C. Upchurch
3/12/2006, 09:30 PM
Sooner Spectator will have an exclusive interview with Taj Gray on its homepage around 9 p.m. Until then, here's some of what was said by OU's players and coaches today after the NCAA Selection Show:

Following are quotes from OU’s Kelvin Sampson, Kevin Bookout and Taj Gray regarding the upcoming NCAA Tournament. OU is a No. 6 seed and will play No. 11 seed UW-Milwaukee on Thursday in Jacksonville, Fla., as part of the Minneapolis Regional. The winner will play either No. 3 seed Florida or No. 14 seed South Alabama on Saturday. Times have not been announced yet.


HEAD COACH KELVIN SAMPSON
On making the NCAA Tournament:
"It's an honor to make the NCAA Tournament. I look up there and see a school like Missouri State, who has had an unbelievable year, and didn't make it. Maryland didn't make it, Michigan didn't make it, Cincinnati didn't make it. There are so many great programs out there that didn't make it. So first of all, I want to congratulate our players for making the NCAA Tournament. This is a clean slate and everyone goes in 0-0 and you have a chance to do some damage. I think we're going to be excited to play UW-Milwaukee in Jacksonville, Fla.

"I have been watching a lot of games in the last week or two and I remember watching Niagara last year and going, 'Wow, that team is good.' As the bracket was coming up, every matchup I saw I thought, 'fifty-fifty game.' I just don't know if there is any such thing as an upset anymore. I remember UWM last year when Bruce Pearl was their coach and they beat Alabama, they beat Boston College. They went right through that thing and I think they have most of their players back. Obviously, it is a team that has had a lot of success the last couple of years and they will be a big challenge to us."

On UWM going to the Sweet 16 last year and motivating his team:
"I don't think we need motivation. I think that our team is looking forward to starting over. You've got to have a great year to get to a (NCAA) Tournament, don't ever lose sight of that. And now that we're in I think that every team has a chance to win it. The 1-vs.-16 games, I don't know that those games can go either way, but after that there are a lot of games out there that either team can win. If you look at the way we've played the entire year, we started off the conference year going 0-2 then we came right back and went 11-2. And then we finished the year going 0-2. But none of that matters anymore. It's a clean slate."

On the team after losing to Nebraska in Dallas on Friday:
"We came back first thing Saturday morning, and it is like how we reacted to the 0-2 start of the (conference) season. I don't have any doubt that these kids will be fired up and ready to go on Thursday."

On any surprises in the bracket:
"I thought before the Big 12 Tournament started we were going to be a five or six seed and then when it was over I thought we'd be a five or six seed. One game does not determine your seed in the tournament. This is the 11th year we've been in this tournament. We've played in this tournament a few times, and the reason I say that is because you start to get a feel for where you will be as a seed. But regardless of your seed, you have a chance to win and that's what the tournament is all about. You congratulate every team that made it and teams like Michigan, Cincinnati, Maryland, Missouri State and Florida State who had a chance to get in and didn't. It just shows you that you have to have a good year to get in the Tournament.

"We're looking forward to Thursday. I'm glad we're playing on Thursday. I kind of thought we'd be a six seed but I was hoping we'd be in a region where we could play on Thursday."

On getting a new start and getting the team going in the right direction:
"That will be key. There is no sense in sugar coating it, it's not like we ended the year on a high. Last year, we ended the year with six straight wins and then we went to the Big 12 Tournament, then we beat Niagara and then didn't play very good against Utah. But this time of the year is for the players, they've got to play. We're playing against a team that will have a lot of confidence in playing in the tournament because they went to the Sweet 16 last year and I'm assuming most of those kids are back. There are no easy draws. It kind of got off to a wacky start when you saw Syracuse get a five seed. This time last week they were a bubble team and they didn't know if they were going to get in. Then you look at a team like George Washington who finishes 26-2 and they're an eight seed. So in this tournament you never know. In a year when there are no great dominant teams, I think the seed is just a number."

On Wisconsin-Milwaukee:
"I watched them play Wisconsin early in the year and it came right down to the buzzer and I thought, 'Wow, they've got a great program there.' You can tell the great programs because year in and year out they are consistently good. And UWM is to the point where they are consistently good."


SENIOR FORWARD KEVIN BOOKOUT
"I'm excited. I'm glad we get to play on Thursday instead of Friday. We'll get a workout in tomorrow and then leave on Tuesday.

"I just want to go out with a bang. If we can win a couple of games, then you never know what could take place. Crazier things have happened. I know a No. 6 seed has gone a long way before, so why can't we?"

On the team's NCAA Tournament experience last year:
"It helps because I don't think our guys will be nervous. All the media attention and everything leading up to that first game, it can throw you off if you're not used to it. So having been there should really help us."


OU SENIOR FORWARD TAJ GRAY
"Guys who played in the NCAA Tournament last year, guys like David (Godbold), Terrell (Everett) and Kevin (Bookout), we can reflect on last year. I think it was a disappointment to go out in the second round. This year, I think we're a lot older, a lot more mature and we realize what it's going to take to go far in the Tournament."

On UW-Milwaukee:
"I don't know much about them, but anybody who gets into the NCAA Tournament is definitely a good team."

OU Sports Information

BarryBnds
3/12/2006, 10:18 PM
"I have been watching a lot of games in the last week or two and I remember watching Niagara last year and going, 'Wow, that team is good.'

Isn't that the same team that knocked us out a few years back?

Frozen Sooner
3/12/2006, 10:37 PM
Um, no. We beat Niagara in the first round last year.

Jay C. Upchurch
3/12/2006, 11:50 PM
Taj Gray Interview....

http://soonerspectator.com/featureStory.php

Jay C. Upchurch
3/13/2006, 12:40 PM
Quotes from UW-Milwaukee...

Milwaukee head coach Rob Jeter
On getting an 11 seed
“We are very excited about that - they deserve it. This group of guys has been very special. They have really accepted
every challenge that has been thrown at them and they have had fun doing it. But now we are just looking to have some
more fun representing the Horizon League and playing in the tournament.”

On playing Oklahoma
“They are a good team from an outstanding conference ... very well-coached. They can beat you from the inside and
from the outside. You know they are going to be excited. They are very fast and athletic and they have a post-presence
with some big guys in the middle. It will be a tough match-up for us but we’re just going to go down there and play the
best game that we can play and have fun doing it. We know they are going to be a very well-prepared team.”

On trying to approach this as just another game
“Well, we’re competitors and it’s another contest. They understand that there is work to be done, but at the same time
we understand that it’s exciting to still be playing at this point in the season. I don’t think it’s going to be a problem
getting these guys working hard at practice or to get them to enjoy the moment. It’s not every day that this happens -
there are a lot of other teams who wish they could be in our shoes.”

On the pressures of playing this time of year
“We understand it’s `one-and-done’ and the best way to keep playing is to do all of the little things: to be prepared, to
take care of the basketball. We are going to get back to work and make sure all of those things happen.”

On the preparations this week
“I am just going to keep it simple. I am going to make sure that my guys are prepared, that we know as much as possible
about Oklahoma. I’m going to let all of the people around me do the sweating and the worrying to try and put things
together. I know for a fact that I’ll be on the plane and I’ll make sure that I have 15 guys with me.”

On sneaking up on people as the underdog
“I think people understand the run that this team had last year. I am sure that people have been watching a lot of games
just like I have been. I don’tthink we are going to sneak up on anyone but neither is any other team. I mean, you have the
best 65 teams at this point of the season ... there are no secrets.”


Milwaukee senior Joah Tucker

On getting the 11 seed
“Getting an 11-seed shows we got a lot of respect from the committee. Now we have to get in there and earn the respect
all over again.”

On Oklahoma
“I know they are a pretty good team. What are they, 20-8? If they have the 6-seed that means a lot ... they are a very solid
team.”

On comparisons to last year
“Last year is last year. We have to go about our business and take each game one by one.”

On going to the tournament as a senior
“It’s March Madness, it’s why you play college basketball. It’s exactly why you play and we’re excited to be doing it.”

Milwaukee senior Adrian Tigert

On getting an 11 seed
“It shows some respect for us on what we did last year. It’s nice to see, but it doesn’t mean anything else than what a 12
or 13 or 10 would have. We can’t put too much stock in any of the seedings - I think we proved that last year. We’re
excited and it’s nice to see a little bit of respect, but it really doesn’t ensure anything.”

On if he saw what this program would become when he came in as a freshman five years ago
“That’s tough to say ... I think what we’ve done has been pretty special and I don’t know if anyone could have foreseen
it, but I certainly knew when I was coming here and committing to Coach (Bo) Ryan that he was starting something
special and he certainly did. And then Coach (Bruce) Pearl continued it and Coach (Rob) Jeter has done the same thing.”

On playing well heading into the tournament
“You’re only as good as your last game. And our last game was against Butler in the Horizon League Championship. I
thought we played well, it was a very good team effort. So we’re just going to build off that and not look back in the
past, just look forward to the future.”

On playing a major role in what the program has accomplished in the last few years
“When I look back on it, it will mean quite a bit, but right now we are just living in the here and now and we are excited
about this upcoming weekend.”

On Oklahoma
“I’ve had the chance to watch them on TV a few times. They are a great team ... a lot of big guys, lot of big bodies, a lot
of great athletes.”

Milwaukee senior Mark Pancratz

On Oklahoma
“We don’t know much about Oklahoma right now ... they are obviously a good team that comes from a tough conference.
We’re just very excited right now.”

On getting an 11 seed
“It makes us feel good about the program. We work hard and I am sure it has to do with what we did in the past. But we
keep getting more respect for the Horizon League and hope to build on it. Hopefully we can get like the Missouri Valley
Conference where they are getting 8’s and 9’s (seeds).

On playing the role of underdog
“We definitely will take it one game at a time and see what we can do. I think we have a little bit more of a name based
on what we did last year. But it’s just going to come down to who works harder and who puts the ball in the hole.”

Stanley1
3/13/2006, 01:15 PM
Isn't that the same team that knocked us out a few years back?

:rolleyes:

MojoRisen
3/13/2006, 01:26 PM
I've got to admit we have an easier track to the sweat 16 than Kansas big 12champions and Texas.

We will see if the Sr's can play with/out fear and let it roll.