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| Matt Woodley |
Chat with Men's Basketball Assistant Coach Matt Woodley on Monday, March 17.
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| Moderator: Good evening and welcome Washington State Cougar basketball fans to our second online chat with assistant coach Matt Woodley. The Cougars are in the midst of preparing for their first round opponent in the NCAA Tournament, the Winthrop Eagles, so coach, thank you for taking the time once again to join us this evening. |
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Matt Woodley: Thank you. We are excited about the start of a new season and we are ready for the challenge of the greatest sporting event there is: The NCAA Tournament. |
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| Donald (St. Louis): What most impresses you about Winthrop's team? |
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Matt Woodley: Their senior guards have played in three NCAA Tournaments and were the starting backcourt on last year's team that beat Notre Dame in the first round. They are very disciplined on defense and they take high percentage shots on offense. That is a recipe for success in the NCAA Tournament. |
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| Will (Kirkland): What lessons were learned in last year's NCAA Tournament appearance will aid the team this year? |
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Matt Woodley: Just the fact that we experienced tournament basketball. That will be the most beneficial lesson we learned from last year's tournament. |
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| Tony (Bennett, Colorado): Coach Woodley, how excited are Daven and Caleb at returning to their home state for the NCAA Tournament? |
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Matt Woodley: They are both very excited to return to their home state. It will be the first time that both of them will have the opportunity to play in Colorado. Both Daven and Caleb have played one game at the Pepsi Center for the Colorado High School All-Star game so they have good memories of playing in that arena. |
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| Stan (Pullman): Who is the best all-around player in college basketball? |
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Matt Woodley: Michael Beasley |
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| Bill (Spokane): Coach, how significant is it for the program to reach the tournament two straight seasons? |
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Matt Woodley: I think it is very significant. From the standpoint of where this program was five years ago when Coach Dick Bennett took over. To be able to do that in the toughest conference in college basketball speaks volumes of how far our program has come in that short amount of time. |
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| Erich (Denver): How far can your alma mater Drake go in the NCAA Tournament? |
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Matt Woodley: I think they have the ability to get to the Sweet 16. They have great guards and they shoot the ball very well from the perimeter. I think they will be a tough match-up for Western Kentucky and UCONN. |
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| Jerry (Seattle): In your opinion, what makes the NCAA Tournament such as great sporting event? |
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Matt Woodley: I think what makes it the greatest sporting event is the interest it generates throughout the country. It gives smaller schools the opportunity to match-up against the larger Division I-A schools and the chance to pull the upset is always there. Unlike in football, the national championship is decided on the court and not by the voters. |
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| Moderator: Okay, that's all the time we have. Coach, thank you once again for joining us and good luck in the tournament. |
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Matt Woodley: I enjoyed being here today and I hope to see all of you Coug fans turn the Pepsi Center into a home court advantage for us. |
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| Moderator: Be sure to check out wsucougars.com throughout the NCAA Tournament for the best coverage of the Cougars on the web. Thanks for joining us and Go Cougs! |
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