DENVER -- One day after defeating Wofford in the second round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament, No. 3 seed BYU men's basketball addressed the media and practiced in the Pepsi Center on Thursday in preparation for its matchup with No. 11 seed Gonzaga. The winner will advance to the Sweet 16 in New Orleans.
On being a great shooter:
"I always think it's to stay aggressive. My brother and family have always taught me when it comes to shooting to have short term memory loss. The last shot that you shot doesn't matter anymore, it's all about the next one."
"I think it's just being confident. If you miss one shot, step up and make the next one. I think we all possess that, and our teammates. Coaches have great confidence in everyone that we can make shots. When we step up, they expect to make them. I think everyone on the team expects to make the shot, too."
"I think you have to be ready to shoot when you have your opportunity. If you miss a shot, have a short term memory, like Jimmer said. With our team, with of shooters we have, it's been easy because you get a lot of confidence from other guys and the coaches. We run great sets and get each other good shots."
On rebounding against Gonzaga:
"I think it's one of the biggest factors. They're a very big team. They go to the offensive glass very well. They get a lot of second chance opportunities, which gives them a lot of energy."
"We have to do a really good job on the boards, box them out, go after rebounds as hard as we possibly can. We know that's a big key, if we can get them to miss shots and get them the rebound."
"I think that's key, if we can get them out. They're a great rebounding team. Kyle did a great job yesterday, coming in and grabbing 11 rebounds. We get Charles in there and Logan and we can battle with them. We just have to be really physical and make sure we box out and get our assignments done."
"That will be a huge key to the game tomorrow. That's a stat that really impressed me with them playing a Big East team who is a very good rebounding team. We'll just have to do whatever it takes to come up with rebounds and make sure we don't have that much disparity in our game."
On Gonzaga:
"I just think of a great college basketball program. They've had great teams there, great players that have come through that program and made great runs in the NCAA tournament. It's a very historic program. To have been very dominant out west, especially in the West Coast conference, they're just a great team with a great story, a mid major team that shows they can play with anybody."
"When I think Gonzaga, I think of Adam Morrison and Coach Few. It's a great program. They might come from a smaller conference, but they're a big time team with big time talent and players. It's one of those hotbeds in recruiting. They get a lot of great people out there."
"I think they're a great program. Coach Few does a tremendous job. You always see them playing on TV every year. They always have a good team. I think it will be a great challenge for us. We're looking forward to playing against that type of a program."
Coach Dave Rose
"The way they played last night, because they had such balance, they had great three point shooting, I thought their inside presence defensively was very strong, very intimidating. I think their ability to offense rebound the ball. I mean, you look at the pieces that you need on a team in order to advance, continue to advance in this tournament, and the way they played last night I can see why Coach Lavin made those comments.