University of Connecticut Athletics
Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off
11/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 24, 2009
Jim Isch
Opening remarks:
"Let me add my thanks to everyone for being here today and thank the Selection Committee for the good work they have done putting together a fantastic field for us to enjoy. I also want to thank the NIT staff, who, every year, does such a great job with this tournament. This is one of the most prestigious collegiate basketball tournaments there is. This year we are going to have four great teams. I look forward to watching all four of you and your performance. Thank you for being here and enjoy New York."
C.M. Newton
Opening remarks:
"First I want to congratulate the four universities for earning their way to the NIT Season Tip-Off Championship. I emphasis the word earning because, unlike many of the events involving preseason basketball, this is a true tournament. You four guys have had to win two games to get here. Your teams have done that and you should be very proud. To have Mike (Krzyzewski), Herb (Sendek), Trent (Johnson) and Jim (Calhoun) here is very significant because we have four outstanding coaches, four really outstanding universities and four quality basketball teams again, and I emphasis this, who have earned their way here. We will play this off as a true tournament where we will end up with a first place champion, a runner up, a third place finisher and a fourth place finisher but all of them are winners in our mind in the fact that they have earned this chance to come to New York City for this. Also want to thank Dick's (Sporting Goods) for your corporate sponsorship, Madison Square Garden and all of the folks there making this championship what it is. I also want to thank the Committee. They have been named but this Committee works hard both for the preseason as well as the postseason championships. We are very proud with the work they have done and we appreciate the fact that you guys and gals have taken the time to cover this on a busy timeframe for you. Again, congratulations to the teams and we look forward to a great championship."
LSU Head Coach Trent Johnson
Opening remarks:
"I would like, again, to thank the gentlemen to my left (Selection Committee). Obviously Coach Newton, Jack Powers, Don DeVoe, Les Robinson...and you guys are all coaches. The NCAA has grown into something large and it all began with the NIT. LSU, under my leadership, is very thankful for having the opportunity to be here. It is a special tournament. The gentlemen to my right, starting with Coach Calhoun and Coach K, who have done more for college basketball than anyone can imagine. Then Coach Sendek...we have two greats and then one on his way to be being one of the greatest. It is an honor for me to be standing here. Our basketball team is a work in progress. We return two players who were quality players on a team where we were very successful. Tasmin Mitchell, in my mind, is probably one of the better college basketball players. He is not overly explosive, he is not overly quick but he understands the game. I have never been around, in my short 11 year as a head coach, a player who has as much passion for his school, his teammates and respects the game the way he does. We are going to ride his shoulders for a long, long time this year. We beat a very good Western Kentucky team and we beat a very well coached Indiana State. We will be a much better team as the year progresses. What I feel good about with this basketball team is that there is a sense of accountability socially, academically, and athletically. The good thing about being in this tournament against these three teams is that they are well coached, very talented and your accountability as far as offensively and defensively will be tested. Yes, we are in New York, yes we are in the Garden and your accountability will be tested on each and every possession. We are looking forward to the challenge and thank you for your time."
Connecticut Head Coach Jim Calhoun
Opening remarks:
"I think the NCAA has taken a great step by utilizing the people who have made such a great difference in college basketball. By utilizing ex-coaches who understand the various things that we need is a great step forward and we should do more of it to utilize the incredible brain power, the incredible charisma and the incredible contacts. I really appreciate being here and I congratulate the NCAA for making them part of this. It is really, really special. It is an incredible stroke of genius. Anytime you get to New York, it is the Mecca of College Basketball. Being a Bostonian, you don't understand how much that hurts saying that, but New York City and the Garden is certainly the mecca of college basketball. My team is a mystery to me, but I do believe this team can be and will be get better. Kemba Walker, to me, is still one of the quickest point guards in the country as a sophomore. Jerome Dyson was the glue that we missed at the end of last season. He has been an all-purpose player and Stanley Robinson could be one of the best small forwards in the country. Being through this an awful lot, it is an honor for me, our kids and our basketball program to be here. It is a great tribute to our kids to win those two games and win something this early. You have to set aspirations because in the NCAA tournament, you play on a Thursday and you want to be there on a Saturday. I want to thank everybody at the NIT. You really started off our careers. In 1988, my second year at UCONN, we won the NIT title over Ohio State and we really haven't looked back. I have always been an incredible fan of this mecca of college basketball and of New York City. I want to thank you and we are looking forward to playing two great games and hopefully our kids will play particularly well."
Arizona State Head Coach Herb Sendek
Opening remarks:
"Arizona State is ecstatic to be here in New York. To come to this venue, to play against competition like this, it can only help your basketball team get better. We will look forward to the opportunity to play. Our team is reconfiguring ourselves a little bit with James (Harden) and Jeff (Pendergraph) moving onto the NBA. But it is a group that have approached the early season with a lot of enthusiasm. They are a fun group to coach and I think this tournament will be very valuable for us."
Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski
Opening remarks:
"It is always an honor to come to New York, play in the Garden and play in the NIT. No preseason tournament does it any better. Our perimeter, in (Kyle) Singler, (Jon) Schyer and (Nolan) Smith are all really good players and they like each other and they know how to play. It is the biggest team we have ever had at Duke. I don't know if that is good or bad but we have a lot of developing big guys. If they develop well in November, December and January, then we have a chance to be really good by the end of the year. It is good to be with Jim (Calhoun), Trent (Johnson) and Herb (Sendek)...good people, great coaches, outstanding programs and great kids. I would like to mention, in my brief moments up here, the NIT. To me, the NIT epitomizes what the NCAA and college basketball should be, and that is evolving. If you think of the evolution of the NIT, when I was at Army, the NIT was as big as the NCAA. To play in the NIT, really, was the biggest honor you could have in college basketball. And as our game changed, the NIT changed and what the postseason NIT became and what it has become now. In 1985, the NIT was innovative and it evolved and that's why we have a preseason NIT. What they have done is really give an example to college basketball and that is evolve. There is no greater example of what we should do with our resources of the game than the NIT. I hate to say resources, but you guys (Selection Committee) are resources. When we say resources, we mean something that can be put to good use. In our game, we have a collective group who love this game whether they be former coaches or administrators or both who have knowledge, experience, passion and love. The NIT has figured out how to use it and to me it should be an example of what we should do at the NCAA tournament in picking our teams for the tournament, in how we market our sport and how we keep it going. In other words, how we evolve. I want to thank the NIT for giving us that example and it is an honor for the Duke basketball team for being here."
