LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Members of the Virginia men’s basketball team spoke with media Wednesday in Louisville, Kentucky, about its upcoming matchup with Oregon in the Sweet 16.
Here’s what they had to say about Oregon:
Q. De’Andre, they have four starters at 6’9″. I guess Florida State might be a comp of a team you see. What are the challenges when you face a team with that kind of size, kind of across the board?
DE’ANDRE HUNTER: That means they’ll be good defensively, probably. They’ll probably switch a lot of things. Their length will definitely bother us. We’ll have to box out, but I feel like we’ll be fine.
Q. Ty, how much do you watch other teams maybe on the west coast during the season, and what all do you know about Oregon?
TY JEROME: Yeah, I’ve only seen Oregon once in the Pac-12 Championship. They beat Washington pretty good, and I know they’re hot. I know they’re tall across the board. They have a really good point guard and a lot of guys that can make shots. So I know they’re playing really good defense as of late too. So like Dre said, it will be a good challenge for us. But we feel like we have a really good attack and we’re excited.
Q. Ty, this is a team that likes to also play at a slower pace, tempo-wise. Does that present an advantage to you guys, or is it something you kind of thrive in slowing down teams that maybe aren’t used to being slowed down?
TY JEROME: I think that they probably want to play at a similar pace. But for us, it’s always about trying to get the best shot possible. So if that comes quicker on the shot clock, that’s fine. Or if that comes late, that’s fine too. And then it’s always about just trying to make them take a tough shot. That’s our motto, make them take a tough shot and get a good shot. Whatever pace that comes at, we’re fine with.
Virginia head coach Tony Bennett.
Q. Tony, they have four starters listed at 6’9″. Are there any similarities to Florida State with them, just with their length and size? And just kind of how do you counter that kind of a lineup?
COACH BENNETT: Their size is impressive. Terrific point guard. When we played Duke, when Jones was out, they went — they were big and long like that. And
then Florida State, that length. Their defensive numbers have been terrific in this. They’re hot, obviously. They’ve won ten in a row and their numbers are really good in terms of turning people over, field goal percentage, defense. I think a lot of it has to do with their system defensively, what they’re doing and I think their quickness and length. That’s just something that they can close on
shooters, plug gaps, and they’re interchangeable parts, which makes it challenging. So you’ve obviously got to try to get shots, you’ve got to be good with the ball offensively. You’ve got to take care of it when they pressure you and, of course, be as good as you can defensively against them. That’s why team — you can see it. There’s not many easy looks out there. You have to look for them.
Q. Tony, talking with Jack and also Jay Huff, they compared Oregon’s collection of size and length to Louisville as far as the teams that you’ve seen that are similar, matchup zone. How valid is that and how do you prepare for a team with four 6’9″s?
COACH BENNETT: We talked about Florida State, Duke, Louisville. I don’t know if Louisville is that long. It’s unique. I think their zone is different. You look at it, say, I think they might be man-to-man sometimes. I think they’re zone. It’s very effective. All experiences help, but I don’t think there’s a team that plays their kind of defense in our league. So, again, you study film and you try to come up with a game plan and go after it and know you’re going to see — I think the — I don’t know if anybody is quite that long and that athletic or has someone as athletic as their interior player in Wooten.
Q. Do you ever have a game, one of your games end early, maybe at home, and will you turn on the TV and watch one of the Pac-12 games to check.
COACH BENNETT: Here’s what I understand. When I was at Washington State, and I got the job at Virginia, I think the majority of people are like, who is this, who’s this guy? Again, they knew the name from, obviously, the singer, but that’s about it. Half the time, everybody’s in bed when the Pac — well, it was Pac-10 when I was there — the Pac-12 are playing games. But I have great respect for Oregon and for Coach Altman. Dana’s done a terrific job. What he’s done with his team to kind of change things and win ten games. I obviously watch them. But I don’t watch a ton of other games, any other conference, really, unless it’s just bits and pieces of it. So I understand, like you said — all you got to do is watch them and see what they’ve done in the last number of games to appreciate and respect their caliber of play.