George Washington University Athletics
GW Basketball Media Availability Recap
3/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
GW women's basketball head coach Jonathan Tsipis, junior Caira Washington and senior Jonquel Jones met with the media on Thursday after clinching spot in the NCAA Tournament with their second consecutive A-10 Championship on Sunday. Men's basketball head coach Mike Lonergan and senior Patricio Garino spoke with the media ahead of this week's Atlantic 10 Championships in Brooklyn. Below are highlights from the availability.
Head Coach Jonathan Tsipis
On keeping the team focused during the break before NCAA Tournament play: "I think you have to make sure and get some not only physical rest but mental downtime as well. I think there is a giant amount of motivation that we got to this same point of the season last year with a regular-season championship and a conference tournament championship and then did not play our best in the NCAA Tournament. We've already started talking about that we put the A-10 Tournament to rest and they should be excited and I'm very proud of them, what they were able to accomplish. It was a different journey [than last year] ... We're excited to find out on Monday who we're going to play, but in the meantime, making sure that we're as sharp as we can be and getting a lot of shots up and keeping our competitive level very high."
On the emotion of Selection Monday: "It's such a great feeling to know already after Sunday's game that your name is going to come up there and there's nothing anybody can do about that. But I think on Monday what I'm really excited about with this team is that was something we were supposed to do and we were able to carry that out [despite playing] parts of the season without Hannah [Schaible] and Jonquel; it gives us a great sense of appreciation ... Monday night is really special. We'll have the opportunity to be there as a team with a lot of fans and family and everything like that. I don't think you can ever take that for granted."
On how the break will help JJ: "I think getting healthier and also getting her timing more. I think when you're out of the lineup for 10 games you don't have the same chemistry and timing no matter who you're on the floor with. So being able to see film, and for her to be able to do things on the floor, spend more time in some situations where she can get some extra work in with our guards and get her timing right with their things."
Junior Caira Washington
On winning back-to-back A-10 titles: "We're feeling great, it's a great accomplishment. It was definitely harder the second time around; every team was giving their best and giving us a hard time at times, but we pulled through and got the outcome that we wanted."
On having a break before the NCAA Tournament: "We're practicing and trying to fix the little things and get farther than we did last year. This gives us time to get back to our principles and fix the little things. We don't want to rush into the games, we want to do what we can right now to be better and get to the next step."
On their potential NCAA Tournament opponent: "Honestly, it really doesn't matter to us. We just want to go further than we did last season. Coach reminds us of the score from the Gonzaga game [in the 2015 NCAA Tournament] every day, so that's the main focus - to get better and go further. It's exciting every single time [your name is called on Selection Monday]. To see that our hard work has paid off and we have a chance to show off our program and how great we are."
Senior Jonquel Jones
On how she's feeling physically and mentally: "I feel great, and I think the team is in a great place. A lot of teams don't know whether or not they're going to make the tournament, but with us winning the championship, we know that our name is going to be called and it's just a matter of time. We've just got sit back, relax and wait on it. We're excited about it. We definitely have a chip on our shoulder from last year; we didn't necessarily do as good as we wanted to - you know our tournament appearance was really short, so going back to the tournament and being able to redeem ourselves is definitely a great thing."
On the extra time before the NCAA Tournament: "For me, I'm liking the extra time this year because I'm coming off of an injury. It's more time I have to get prepared, get out the kinks, and sit down with the coaches to look at some of the new plays we've put in since my injury. I'll be able to get back into the flow of things more, and it'll be more time to get myself ready and prepared for the tournament."
On the emotion of Selection Monday: "It's great. You know your name is going to go up there but you're still nervous. You want to know where you're going and you want to know who you're playing and stuff like that. Last year we were one of the last teams to be called, so palms were sweaty and we were just so anxious, and when your name flashes up on the screen it's just a big celebration with your team and family and everyone that you love ... It's up there as one of my best college experiences."
Head Coach Mike Lonergan
On potentially playing George Mason: "They have a walking double-double in Thompson, he's a handful on the inside, and they have some young guards that you know, they're not going to be afraid, they've got nothing to lose in Brooklyn."
On Saint Louis: "Their coach is a very good coach, a disciple of Bobby Knight. We were up 13 with 8-10 minutes left in that game and we missed some free throws that cost us the game, so I think our guys will be very focused if we have another chance at Saint Louis."
On priorities in the conference tournament: "For us it's just one game at a time. That game is really important to us. I think our guys will be motivated. We're trying to keep the guys loose. I told them I just want to enjoy the last few weeks or whatever it will be with these guys."
On Patricio Garino's A-10 All-Conference recognitions: "Patricio put in the work last spring on his jump shot and to see his hard work pay off, hopefully some of the young guys will see that. The time you spend in the offseason in the gym is what really is going to make you a better player. He's having a terrific year offensively; he's always been a good defender."
On Tyler Cavanaugh's A-10 All-Conference recognition: "Tyler Cavanaugh has meant so much to us. I think he's the only guy I've coached to have double figures in every regular season game. It's not easy to do because teams are really starting to focus on him. He's a terrific scorer, he can score outside and in and hopefully his experience with our seniors will pay of in Brooklyn."
Senior Swingman Patricio Garino
"We're feeling great right now, our energy is really high and we're excited. We're putting the (regular) season behind and it's the start of a new season right now. It's our postseason starting on Thursday. We're going to take it game by game and trying to get every game and win everything as it goes; don't overthink and enjoy the moment and definitely bring everything that we have." On this week's focus in practice: "We need to definitely improve our little details that we've been struggling with a little bit in the last couple of games. Definitely improving our defense. I think we've shown signs when we played great defense that we're really, really hard to beat, but at the same time we've shown stages that we're not really focused defensively and focused too much on offense, so now we think we need to balance everything and focus our energies on defense then just let it go on offense because we have so many tools with so many different players. So right now it's just focusing on the little mistakes we've made through all these games and bring all the energy."
On staying in the moment:
"We're focusing on the moment right now, not trying to put any pressure and think about what's going to happen - if we're going to go to the postseason or not. I think our goal right now is to win the first game on Thursday."
On what makes the A-10 tournament so special: "I think the good thing about it is that any team can win. It's not that the first seed is going to win it all, we've had cases when lower seeds have won the whole thing, so that's the one thing I'm excited about, knowing you have a chance, if you play well and you're focused, you have a chance to win it all. Obviously competing against great teams is a great opportunity for teams to make it very far."
