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 Friday, March 10
Inside the Locker Room: Johnny Hemsley
 
 March 10, 2000

We definitely fought and it was tough game against Notre Dame. Luckily, we pulled it out.

Inside the Locker Room
Throughout Championship Week, ESPN.com and FANSonly.com are presenting an inside look into the Big East Conference tournament from some of the league's top players, including Johnny Hemsley of Miami.

Everybody gave a lot of energy in key situations. We got the stops that we needed and were able to hit some big shots. We put a lot of emphasis on our defense because that opens up a lot of opportunity for us offensively. Our defense is something that we really take a lot of pride in and it really came through for us tonight.

We always look forward to playing Troy [Murphy]. He is a guy that plays really hard. He is from Jersey. I am from Jersey so I know the kind of tenacity that guys from the Jersey/New York area play with. It is definitely good to play against a guy of his quality. The team has held Troy under his average in the last three games. Each of us have put a lot of emphasis on that in practice.

The game was so intense, especially at the time of the foul. I definitely did not intend to hurt him or anything like that. It was a hard foul but it was also a hard game and things like that are going to happen. I am just glad that everyone kept their cool so that nobody got ejected or anything like that.

I hope that the Selection Committee chooses them as one of the 64 but if not, they will -- if Troy sticks around -- have a good nucleus for next year. And I think that they could go all the way. If Notre Dame were to get into the tournament, there is a chance that we could play them for the fourth time this season. It would definitely be a fun game because we have never played a team four times. We look forward to that challenge.

Actually, we look forward to every challenge that we have out there on the court. Once you step in between the lines, it is just who wants it the most.

It definitely feels good to get a win, especially since we had the day off. There are some teams that we thought would still be in the tournament which are not, particularly Syracuse. We knew, coming in, that being the second seed people would be after us.
 



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