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WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEMarch 26, 2019Dexter DennisSamajae Haynes-JonesMarkis McDuffieBloomington, Indiana Wichita State 73, Indiana 63 Q. Markis, feeling of going back home? What was that like right now? MARKIS McDUFFIE: That means a lot, just to, you know, go back to, you know, somewhere where I grew up at, close to it. But I'm not even like excited about just like proud of that. I'm really proud of this basketball team and the way we've been getting better every single day. You know, like towards the end of the season, not a lot of teams want to continue playing, and it's like every single day, like we just get stronger and stronger as a group, and we just go out there and play to our head to the wall. It's just an amazing thing, you know. Q. Did you hear all the cheering? Explain that feeling. MARKIS McDUFFIE: You want me to? All right. Oh, man, it's just so amazing just to consider how we were the start of the year, just the beginning. You know, it was kind of a struggle. You know we just had a bunch of guys, they didn't know like our role and things like that and just how to win at this level. It came to a point where it was like, either we going to go out here, you know, and play hard and play smart and just do it, have a why, why we want to play this game, and ever since then, we just been unbelievable. Q. Talk about the environment, when you steal a win; you had a strong showing. Talk about the environment and what it meant to have the fans travel to watch you guys. SAMAJAE HAYNES-JONES: Just from the start of the game when coach said we've got to come together because it's going to be a big crowd like that and just staying together the whole game like that, that's what we did. Oh, man, I just started thinking about it. But just like knowing what we've been through and they stand behind us through it all, all the fans, all Shocker nation and our staff and just our team. Just to come in here and get a win like this is something so amazing. Q. How motivated are you guys to win this one and to let Markis finish his career in New York? DEXTER DENNIS: We were very motivated. Like I said, we want to keep playing and one of our goals was, you know, get mark home but now we want to finish this thing. We like playing with each other, being with each other and we don't want it to end. Q. (Inaudible). DEXTER DENNIS: I don't know, honestly I wasn't really thinking about it. I was just playing. I think at halftime, somebody said it -- I was kind of shocked honestly. I was just playing the game and letting the game come to me and it worked out for me tonight. Q. Last game in the Garden -- taking the all Big Ten forward -- the one point in the first half where he went iso on you, one-on-one, what was going through your mind when as a senior, all Big Ten guy, what's going through your mind, how do you stop that guy? DEXTER DENNIS: Just be the person I can be and try to get the best out of myself. I mean, the coaching staff believes in me. My teammates believe in me. I just have to do it honestly. That may sound crazy, but that's as simple as it is. Q. How much has this team grown? SAMAJAE HAYNES-JONES: We've grown a lot. Like it all started in practice, you know what I'm saying, working hard in practice and just taking it to the games, and that's what we did, and you know what I'm saying, credit to all the guys for just wanting to just keep going, you know what I'm saying. It's just something special that's going on right now. MARKIS McDUFFIE: It's just been, it's pretty much (laughing) it's just really how Coach, you know, Coach just really put us in the best position and put us in a position where, you know, it was at a point where we had nothing to lose, as long as we go out there and play hard, as hard as we can, and it came to a point where we started doing that, and every single day, these guys, like these guys, like the new guys and the freshmen, they just started buying into the system. They started taking that extra mile and what it takes to win at this level and Coach constantly, you know, tried to do the best he can, you know, just to make sure like these guys realize that; and us two, you know, we just lead by example, but not only lead by example, talk to these guys and encourage them. It was all about positive vibes and positivity. It came to a point where like they just matured, like, natural by playing so many college basketball games and these guys have been playing so many minutes, considering they are in their first year, and they just came along, and now towards the end of the season, it's like the promise just goes -- it's like it gets higher and higher, and it's like we're going upward right now. Q. You had that small group of fans -- MARKIS McDUFFIE: It's so amazing. I've been here for a long time now, and I'm pretty much used to it. I know every single game I go to, I'm going to see at least -- at least five -- at least five Shocker fans at the game -- and not even at least five, at least 20 to 30 pretty much. That just shows the love and support. You know, we praise them every single game, you know, how amazing they are, and they know that. They love us like we're their children and we love them like they are family. Q. What does it say about this team to not only get to the semifinal, but to beat the top three seeds in your renal on? MARKIS McDUFFIE: That shows how good we can be. You know, in the beginning of the year, obviously we just didn't know how good we can be, and it came to a point where it's like, you know, you know, just about the new guys and everybody learning how to play and like they are like, you know, don't wait till next year, don't wait till the year after. Let's do it now. Let's commit right now. And once we did that, you know, we just turned the switch and ever since then, we just been bawling out. Me and Samajae just continued with our leadership and these guys, they have just been getting so much better. Q. The Temple game, I asked you if you felt like your back was against the wall, might have been your last college game. Tonight, did you have that feeling -- you come out on fire the first half. Did you feel your back was against the wall? MARKIS McDUFFIE: Not at all. You know, how well we've been playing, and just like in practice, you know, how good we've been, I'm like, yo, we're like really good, like, you know, like I wish -- I wish earlier in the year, obviously things happen for a reason, but if we knew what we knew now, I promise you we'd be the in tournament. But just to have an experience like, this being in the NIT and winning three road games against high, major programs, and going to New York to play in the Final Four, like that sounds pretty amazing to me and the rest of the team -- you know, considering. And that just shows a lot of promise for the team next year and these guys have -- guys around the world can show us respect that, you know, that we're getting now. Hopefully, I wish we could get more, but we're getting it now and going into next year for these guys. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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