March 7, 2005
GONZAGA media quotes
Coach Mark Few on Adam Morrison:
Adam is a big time player. The bigger the moment, usually the better he is. The reason we ran off how many straight (12 wins) that we have is that's he defendant, he's rebounding, and he's making extra baskets and he's making everybody around him better at both ends. That's been the biggest key right there. He's always been able to score. Now he's scoring even in different ways. Now he's going to the basket.
Few on the game:
We weathered a pretty serious storm there to start, especially in the manner in which we did. We didn't want to give Kickert any looks and he got a lot of looks. Once we stemmed that, I think our defense really won the game for us.
It's really encouraging. That's the area we needed the most improvement in. That team right there (St. Mary's) has won so many close games all year. I didn't think we had control of it there until about the last minute.
Few on winning the WCC championship:
It's really rewarding for our guys because there were a lot of question marks coming into the season with our youth and inexperience. That's hard, especially when you have a following like we have in Spokane - for some of our guys.
They showed their true colors. They have improved more than any team I've been around and that's why we're so excited for March Madness.
Adam Morrison on playing well in the WCC Tournament:
The last two games of the regular season I started playing a lot better. I started getting my shot back, so going into the tournament I felt a lot better
Morrison on scoring a previous career-high 28 points versus USF on Feb. 19:
It was kind of a wake-up call for me as a player and it was kind of a wakeup call for our team too. For me it was a wake-up call that I can't just come out and rely upon my scoring - I have to help the team in other aspects. I started creating more offense with my defense.
Morrison on scoring a career high 30 points:
It felt good, especially in the championship; being here with (seniors) Ronny (Turiaf) and Brian (Michaelson) and seeing them going out on top. That was fun. I was feeling good.
SAINT MARY'S media quotes
Saint Mary's Head Coach Randy Bennett on Saint Mary's performance:
I don't think we took as good of shots in the second half. You have to play well to beat Gonzaga. You have to make shots.
On making the NCAA Tournament:
We're uneasy, uncertain. You hope you'll make it, but you don't know for sure, unless you win your conference tournament. We're a good team. I feel proud about what we've done. I think they can see that we play at a high level, especially in the first half.
On the talent on the court:
Many of the players on this court will be looked at by the NBA, at least five or six.
On Adam Morrison:
He's fast and you underestimate his speed. He's 6-8, he can shoot, he's gotten better and is a smart player.
On reaching the NCAA Tournament:
I know how hard it is to get into the tournament and to receive an at-large bid. I think we've played our schedule as well as well we could play it. I've grown an appreciated for how good you have to be to get into the tournament.
On the program's turn-around:
We had to get the players to believe night in and night out that they could compete. It was a mental change to get them to believe. Each year has built upon the last. I think this year we had our best talent. I wasn't sure if we could duplicate our season last year. There are guys from last year in the stands. But, we did and won six more games.