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Here are some highlights:

PH: Once again the media got graduation rates wrong - I am tired of seeing an inaccurate number in stories. GT had 5 players come into the program in 1996 and all 5 received degrees, 3 from GT and the other 2 transferred and graduated from other schools.

Will Bynum has made J.Jack a better player since he arrived last January. He is a competitor and is not afraid to fail when it comes to taking important shots. He is a competitor

Both teams are very similar. I am impressed with how well they screen and execute in the halfcourt offense. Our guys will have to be aware of them because they shoot really well.

On defense they are physical and strong. We will have to cut well - hard and strong. Can't get bumped off our routes

On the 8/5 rule: When I took over BC had signed a good class, including Brandon Plavich, a very good PG. He wanted out of his LOI and I could have been a tough guy and said no. But in reflecting on it, we decided that here is an 18 year old kid trying to figure out where he wants to be in life. I was happy where I was and he should be too. We let him out of his LOI, thinking the NCAA would honor our appeal to get another 'ship. We had 10 guys on 'ship that year and we were losing 5 to graduation. We appealed looking for a 6th 'ship. One of the young men who visited us was Omeka Okafor. We thought we had a great shot at him. He visited Rice, GT and Vandy. He was an outstanding student and would have been a great fit at GT. He wanted to sign late and we picked another center, but with a 6th 'ship who knows what would have happened. But we did not have a chance to play that out because of the 8/5. I think there is a better way to give kids a chance to mature in college by helping them through their early years.

The challenge is to get our kids focused on the next play when they make a mistake. All 4 teams had great years and deserve to be here. I have to rely on people I have relied on all my life. George Raveling is one of those guys. I talked with Tubby Smith about where he stayed and how to approach this with the players. It's a balance between letting your kids enjoy their time here and yet keeping them focused on the task at hand.

I am biased towards the ACC so I will be rooting for Duke. The ACC is what prepared this team to get to this point.

BJ instructed me to tell everyone his ankle is fine so you will stop asking about it.

On picking a favorite: I like our team. It was Duke in the beginning, but I like us now. I think we have the depth to handle any situation.

On Ok.St: You focus so much on the defense, you forget this team shoots 51% from the floor. That puts real pressure on us to get our team ready. Joey Graham has really been their X-factor after watching their 4 games.

On calling Raveling before the Kansas game: George said you have to force Simeon to guard someone, so you have to give Luke the ball. We had a couple of scripted plays to start the game, but we changed them after that conversation to get the ball to Luke.
Next JJ, Lewis and Luke answered questions