THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Marcus Paige and Brice Johnson. Questions?
Q. Marcus, how do you plan on facing Yogi Ferrell?
MARCUS PAIGE: That's not going to be my initial matchup. I think it will be Joel Berry, but I'll spend some time on him throughout the game. Just try to keep him in front of me. He's really explosive and quick and he can also shoot a pretty nice pull-up jumper. He's the guy that's talented enough to get his over the course of the game. Just gotta contest everything and keep him out of the paint because he's so good at getting shots for other guys as well that, once he gets in the paint, he causes a lot of problems.
Q. Marcus, I believe you said you played against Yogi since ninth grade in high school. What have you seen from him as far as developing as a college player?
MARCUS PAIGE: He's always been a good point guard, good lead guard, great passer. But this year and last year, to some extent, he's become a really, really good scorer. He's shooting the ball extremely well from deep. His pull-up jump shot has always been kind of his go-to thing. He's getting in the paint and can finish. He's expanded his game to become a complete guard. That's why he's having an All-American season.
Q. Brice and Marcus, both Indiana and Carolina have had success with players who left early for NBA draft, but both of these teams have a little bit more older guys. What does that mean? Do you wish more players would stick around?
BRICE JOHNSON: It all depends on who you are. I just felt like I wasn't ready. I don't think I was a one-and-done type of player or player that could have left early. So I stuck around. It benefited me in the long run. So just depends on who you are as a person. If that's what you want to do, that's your decision, but I decided that I needed to get better and college was the best place for me to do it.
MARCUS PAIGE: I think it does depend on the individual. Like you said, both teams have had talented guys that have been able to leave early. And this group, for both teams, has just had people stick around. But there will probably be a wave in a couple of years where the talent gets concentrated with these two schools again and you'll have guys that can make that jump. So it just kind of depends. But it's kind of cool to see really good players stick around and you have experienced, talented teams that end up playing each other in the tournament like we are.
Q. For either player, Indiana/Carolina, that's a historically significant matchup. Has Coach Williams or any of the older Carolina guys told you what those matchups are like?
BRICE JOHNSON: No, I haven't really heard anything about the rivalry or the matchups between the two schools. I can't really say much on it.
MARCUS PAIGE: We haven't really been talked -- we haven't talked much about it as a group or had any specific words about the past matchups, but you know about Michael Jordan playing his final game against Indiana in 1984 and stuff like that. They've beaten us the last couple of times we've matched up in the tournament, I think. So I know stuff like that, but I don't think it pertains a whole lot to tomorrow's game.
Q. Brice, Thomas Bryant, he's only a freshman but obviously had a big game against Kentucky. What have you seen from him on film, or did you watch that game and what challenges does he present?
BRICE JOHNSON: He's a very good scorer. He does run the court very well. He does kind of look a little weird out there sometimes, but he's a really good player. Just being honest. Just watching him on film, it's not the norm, but I mean he's a really good player. You just have to challenge him to his weaknesses and not let him get to his strengths. Like I said, he's a really good player. And he has the potential to probably leave this year if he so chooses to.
Q. Brice, in that same vein, just in general, what did you see from the front court that Indiana displayed against Kentucky and the athleticism, the kind of athletic bodies they had, like Troy Williams and Anunoby, in addition to Thomas Bryant?
BRICE JOHNSON: With those guys in the game, their front line, it's kind of a four-guard, one-big lineup for them. They do have some good size with, like you said, OG Anunoby and with Troy in there playing the four, but at the same time you've got to remember those guys still have the guard-like mentality. And you have to be -- like for myself I have to be able to step out on the court and be able to guard those guys. But on the other end I have to be able to impose my will and be able to do what I need to do in the post.
Q. Have you heard anything about the matchup in '81 for the national championship here in Philadelphia between Indiana and North Carolina?
BRICE JOHNSON: No.
MARCUS PAIGE: I know Indiana won. I don't know what else we need to hear about that. It's pretty obvious to look up in the Smith Center and you see an '82 banner and '93 banner. You don't see an '81 banner. I know it was two of the best coaches of all time coaching against each other, and it kind of that started the rivalry and tournament and whatnot, but that was a long time ago.
Q. Both of you were on the team in 2012 that played at Indiana. Can you talk about what you remember from that game?
BRICE JOHNSON: That was a really good team. That team had a few first-round draft picks on it. They were potentially -- they were supposed to win the championship, weren't they? I mean, like I said, that was a really good team. Had guys like Cody Zeller on the team, Victor Oladipo and those guys are very successful right now in their careers in the NBA. Very good team. For us it was: We were kind of thrown in the fire, after the 2012 season when the guys made it to Elite Eight and they were coming in and you've got to go to Indiana and play in Assembly Hall. Very tough place to play. I thought it was probably one of the worst places for us to play as a freshman. So it was weird.
MARCUS PAIGE: Yeah, there's not a whole lot of positives we can take from that game, obviously. But we've got a different group. And that was the different group we were playing against. Just understanding I guess things that pertain to tomorrow that they also like to run the ball and they can score the ball at the same clip that we can. And they could back then.
So I think that's one thing we talked about is how when we played them up there, they ran the ball back at us. Not a lot of teams like to run with us. So that's something that we'll look forward to tomorrow is having a team that's not afraid to push the tempo, because I think they averaged about the same amount of points a game as we do. In the 80s. That's probably the one takeaway, other than us losing by like 30 that we can have from that game.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.
Q. Marcus, how do you plan on facing Yogi Ferrell?
MARCUS PAIGE: That's not going to be my initial matchup. I think it will be Joel Berry, but I'll spend some time on him throughout the game. Just try to keep him in front of me. He's really explosive and quick and he can also shoot a pretty nice pull-up jumper. He's the guy that's talented enough to get his over the course of the game. Just gotta contest everything and keep him out of the paint because he's so good at getting shots for other guys as well that, once he gets in the paint, he causes a lot of problems.
Q. Marcus, I believe you said you played against Yogi since ninth grade in high school. What have you seen from him as far as developing as a college player?
MARCUS PAIGE: He's always been a good point guard, good lead guard, great passer. But this year and last year, to some extent, he's become a really, really good scorer. He's shooting the ball extremely well from deep. His pull-up jump shot has always been kind of his go-to thing. He's getting in the paint and can finish. He's expanded his game to become a complete guard. That's why he's having an All-American season.
Q. Brice and Marcus, both Indiana and Carolina have had success with players who left early for NBA draft, but both of these teams have a little bit more older guys. What does that mean? Do you wish more players would stick around?
BRICE JOHNSON: It all depends on who you are. I just felt like I wasn't ready. I don't think I was a one-and-done type of player or player that could have left early. So I stuck around. It benefited me in the long run. So just depends on who you are as a person. If that's what you want to do, that's your decision, but I decided that I needed to get better and college was the best place for me to do it.
MARCUS PAIGE: I think it does depend on the individual. Like you said, both teams have had talented guys that have been able to leave early. And this group, for both teams, has just had people stick around. But there will probably be a wave in a couple of years where the talent gets concentrated with these two schools again and you'll have guys that can make that jump. So it just kind of depends. But it's kind of cool to see really good players stick around and you have experienced, talented teams that end up playing each other in the tournament like we are.
Q. For either player, Indiana/Carolina, that's a historically significant matchup. Has Coach Williams or any of the older Carolina guys told you what those matchups are like?
BRICE JOHNSON: No, I haven't really heard anything about the rivalry or the matchups between the two schools. I can't really say much on it.
MARCUS PAIGE: We haven't really been talked -- we haven't talked much about it as a group or had any specific words about the past matchups, but you know about Michael Jordan playing his final game against Indiana in 1984 and stuff like that. They've beaten us the last couple of times we've matched up in the tournament, I think. So I know stuff like that, but I don't think it pertains a whole lot to tomorrow's game.
Q. Brice, Thomas Bryant, he's only a freshman but obviously had a big game against Kentucky. What have you seen from him on film, or did you watch that game and what challenges does he present?
BRICE JOHNSON: He's a very good scorer. He does run the court very well. He does kind of look a little weird out there sometimes, but he's a really good player. Just being honest. Just watching him on film, it's not the norm, but I mean he's a really good player. You just have to challenge him to his weaknesses and not let him get to his strengths. Like I said, he's a really good player. And he has the potential to probably leave this year if he so chooses to.
Q. Brice, in that same vein, just in general, what did you see from the front court that Indiana displayed against Kentucky and the athleticism, the kind of athletic bodies they had, like Troy Williams and Anunoby, in addition to Thomas Bryant?
BRICE JOHNSON: With those guys in the game, their front line, it's kind of a four-guard, one-big lineup for them. They do have some good size with, like you said, OG Anunoby and with Troy in there playing the four, but at the same time you've got to remember those guys still have the guard-like mentality. And you have to be -- like for myself I have to be able to step out on the court and be able to guard those guys. But on the other end I have to be able to impose my will and be able to do what I need to do in the post.
Q. Have you heard anything about the matchup in '81 for the national championship here in Philadelphia between Indiana and North Carolina?
BRICE JOHNSON: No.
MARCUS PAIGE: I know Indiana won. I don't know what else we need to hear about that. It's pretty obvious to look up in the Smith Center and you see an '82 banner and '93 banner. You don't see an '81 banner. I know it was two of the best coaches of all time coaching against each other, and it kind of that started the rivalry and tournament and whatnot, but that was a long time ago.
Q. Both of you were on the team in 2012 that played at Indiana. Can you talk about what you remember from that game?
BRICE JOHNSON: That was a really good team. That team had a few first-round draft picks on it. They were potentially -- they were supposed to win the championship, weren't they? I mean, like I said, that was a really good team. Had guys like Cody Zeller on the team, Victor Oladipo and those guys are very successful right now in their careers in the NBA. Very good team. For us it was: We were kind of thrown in the fire, after the 2012 season when the guys made it to Elite Eight and they were coming in and you've got to go to Indiana and play in Assembly Hall. Very tough place to play. I thought it was probably one of the worst places for us to play as a freshman. So it was weird.
MARCUS PAIGE: Yeah, there's not a whole lot of positives we can take from that game, obviously. But we've got a different group. And that was the different group we were playing against. Just understanding I guess things that pertain to tomorrow that they also like to run the ball and they can score the ball at the same clip that we can. And they could back then.
So I think that's one thing we talked about is how when we played them up there, they ran the ball back at us. Not a lot of teams like to run with us. So that's something that we'll look forward to tomorrow is having a team that's not afraid to push the tempo, because I think they averaged about the same amount of points a game as we do. In the 80s. That's probably the one takeaway, other than us losing by like 30 that we can have from that game.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.
