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NCAA MEN'S FIRST ROUND: DAYTONMarch 17, 2015Nick DuncanRob HeyerDerrick MarksLeon RiceDAYTON, OHIO THE MODERATOR: We're joined by student-athletes Derrick Marks, Nick Duncan, and Rob Heyer. Questions? Q. Derrick, what's the last kind of week been like for you. I know coming off the last game, you obviously weren't too pleased with how you did? How have you been the last week and how have you tried to take that? DERRICK MARKS: I've been fine. It isn't all about me. It's about my teammates as well. We kind of forgot about the last game already. We were just looking forward to playing this game. We can't worry about the last game anymore. Q. Nick, this might be one of the few times that you guys might have the taller team in this matchup. Obviously that can be an advantage for you, sometimes when you're playing against taller teams. When you're playing a team that's maybe as big, maybe a little smaller, what have you noticed and how is that different when you're in that situation? NICK DUNCAN: A little different in this game. I think every game we match up with height but obviously it's good going in with a little bit of height for our team. We're just going to stick to our own game plan, just focus on what we can control and go in and play the hardest we can. Q. Derrick, to have your chance senior year to be on this stage and play tomorrow night, you'll be the only game on, all eyes on this game. What's this mean for you as a senior to be in the tournament and get a chance to keep your career going in a game like this in the tournament? DERRICK MARKS: At the start of the season, we all knew that we wanted to be here in March. So I don't think anyone in our locker room is too surprised that we're here. So we're just going to take advantage of the moment. Q. Talking about controlling what you can control, one thing you couldn't was that you're playing here against Dayton and it's their home court. So what was your reaction to that and how do you kind of put that in the, we can't control that box? DERRICK MARKS: We aren't here to worry about who we play and if it's on their home court or not. At the end of the day it's still a game. If it's a road game, we're going to come do what we have to do. So even if it's on their home court, at the end of the day no one cares. If we win, we win. NICK DUNCAN: Yeah, I mean, we play [indiscernible] games during the season. Doesn't change this one but most important we just got to figure out what we got to do to win and figure out what their weaknesses are and just focus on what we gotta do as a team and how to win. ROB HEYER: It's the same thing, doesn't matter where this game is played. Like Derrick said, we all expected to be here. We're excited for another game. Q. Rob, what do you know about Dayton, and what do you see as their strengths? ROB HEYER: Like I already mentioned, they're not the biggest team we faced all year, and that's fine. We're going to play the same way we've played all year and play our style of ball. I know that they're a guard-oriented team that also likes to get the ball down in the post. They run in transition, when they don't have that, they're pounding it inside. So we'll be prepared for it. Q. Derrick, having been here in Dayton before, having played this game, what was your message to the rest of your teammates, having already lost in Dayton once in your career? DERRICK MARKS: Well, I didn't bring up the fact that we lost last time. I mean, nothing changes. It's just we just have one more game. We're still going to do what we have to do. And nothing's going to change because it's the NCAA Tournament. We're going to keep doing what got us here. Q. Derrick, for you, you've obviously had a nice four-year run at Boise State. Tomorrow could be the last time you put on a Boise State uniform. Is there any big motivator controlling that fact, I guess? DERRICK MARKS: Before practice we had a talk that us seniors feel like our back is up against the wall. And we don't want tomorrow to be our last time that we put on a Boise State jersey. So we're going to do everything we can for that not to happen. Q. Nick and Rob, knowing the type of player Derrick is, it's so rare to see him have a game where maybe he's struggling shooting a little bit like down in the Mountain West Tournament. How confident are you guys and how much do you expect him to bounce back in a big way tomorrow night? NICK DUNCAN: The player Derrick is and the way he practices. The effort he puts and it's rare for him to have a game like he did against Wyoming. But I have no doubt he'll bounce back with a great game. Derrick puts a lot of effort in behind the scenes that people don't see and fans and press don't see but we see that. We have all confidence in him to come out tomorrow and have a great game for us? ROB HEYER: Like Nick said, all of our teammates, all of our coaches and hopefully all of Bronco nation trusts Derrick Marks. I know in the locker room, on the floor we do. When Derrick isn't making shots, we know that's pretty atypical. Derrick's going to make shots. So we're not too worried about that. Q. Derrick, Dayton has three guys from Chicago. Do you know any of those guys? Cross paths at any point? DERRICK MARKS: I haven't had the chance to look at the roster. But I know one of them. He went to Simeon, Pierre. He went to Simeon. Q. Is there anything in common in Boise, Idaho as there is in Australia. NICK DUNCAN: Few things, basically the same as Australia. I mean I don't really look at things like that there. I fit in well, so I like it there. Q. Rob, when Nick makes the 3-pointers sometimes, especially when they're at a key situation, the elation in his face, I think he gets the crowd revved up? What does it do for you guys out on the floor? ROB HEYER: It's big for us. The only thing I ask Nick not to do is slap my hard too hard. Because he has a tendency to do that. Other than that, his excitement is like bringing the crowd on the court. We need that excitement. It brings the rest of the team up. Makes the team make bigger plays the next possession or whatever. So I enjoy it. Q. Derrick, just about your career. I remember back at the beginning people said you didn't really even know necessarily how to practice. Now they say you're the guy in the gym at 6:00 a.m. and whatnot. How have you been able to work your way into the role of being the guy and is there any role that you'd want being this the end of your senior year, I guess? DERRICK MARKS: It's not that much to it. If you want to be good you're going to have to put in the work. My freshman year, I didn't have the best practice habits. I really didn't even like practice. But the coaches, they just kept emphasizing that if I wasn't a good practice player, I wasn't going to be anything in the games. And I just took that into account every day and it's paid off in these last four years. Q. Rob, Derrick talked about the seniors talking about they didn't want tomorrow to be the last time they put on the uniform. For you and Nick, for this season how much fun has this season been, the last two months, the run you've been on, and how motivated are you guys to make sure that the ride continues past tomorrow? ROB HEYER: It's exciting. Like this whole year, this has been my only year, Division I eligibility. So each place I've been I've had to say, hey, I'm not going to be here again. So this is just another one of those places. Hopefully this isn't the last time I played basketball tomorrow. We're trying to extend that. But this run has been fun. But we're not ready to look back on the season yet. We're still looking to go 1-0. And then continue on this streak. NICK DUNCAN: I guess from a sophomore's perspective, a little different, but we had a talk yesterday, like Derrick said, a lot of players said, probably our last game of basketball we may ever play. And other people might go in and play pro. But altogether, we don't want the season to be over. We want to look forward. But at the same time we'll take each game as it comes, and tomorrow we'll go and play for these seniors, because it might be their last game for Boise State. Q. Rob, to come from where you did, transferring up to Boise State just for that one year, I know you want to play at the D one level. To also have it be a season to be in the NCAA Tournament, how much have you relished this run? ROB HEYER: It's been crazy, especially. I can't imagine doing anything like this. My intentions after I came to Boise State was to make the team and possibly see the floor. And now to have the role I do and to make it here is something I'll really remember for the rest of my life. But like I said, I'm not ready to look at that. I'm not ready for it to be over at all. Q. Rob, what are some of the -- you've played well at times during the year. What are some consistencies you have to do to play well on the road. And seems like as a glue-guy role, whatever, you've provided some of those game-changing moments in ways? ROB HEYER: I mean, there's a couple of things. One of them is just going to be focus on the floor. With the crowd and this being an away game, essentially, we just have to focus on the floor. There's only so much we can control and what we can control we need to control that. And to do that we need to have our focus on the floor and not really worrying about the crowd or where this game is being played or anything like that. And the other thing, especially for this team, is going to be turnovers. I know this team likes to run and especially at home. So if we take care of the ball, I think that will especially help. Q. Nick and Derrick, what are your thoughts on Dayton, I know you're still learning more about them. But what are your initial impressions of them and how do you think you guys match up against them? NICK DUNCAN: We watched a little film on them, and obviously, their guys like to run and create turnovers off their opponent team, and they like to push it down and try and get buckets that way and also like to feed it in the post. We've got to control that and limit our turnovers and create good shots for us so we can get back in defense quickly. And obviously just stop them inside and just focus on what we can do to stop them. Hopefully we win the game. DERRICK MARKS: Same thing Nick said. Q. What do you think the greatest challenge is in advancing in this tournament? NICK DUNCAN: I think what Rob said, with focusing on the court, off the court, focusing on what we can do to win, instead of what other people think and outside sources. So we've just got to make sure that everyone, all the people on the bench, everyone in the game, making sure we focus on what we can do and play how we did against like New Mexico and San Diego State. We went down there and not many people had faith in us to win those games, but we knew we were going to get it done, and focus on ourselves and that's it. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. Coach, an opening statement. COACH RICE: Well, it's great to be here in Dayton. We're excited to play. I think when you talk to our guys, you see that. And it's a great day. THE MODERATOR: Questions? Q. Two years ago, down here, Derrick was coming off his not greatest game. Maybe similar case this year. What's it been like with him? I know he tries to be even keeled but when he comes off a game that's not his best, do you see a little bit of a difference in him? COACH RICE: Well, you know, Derrick's one of the things if, you know, watching him as he's progressed from his freshman year to now is how much he's matured and how terrific, absolutely terrific he's been through Mountain West play this year. I mean Mountain West Player of the Year. And I mean he was a big part of this Mountain West championship that we got. So that's the thing that I think maybe when he was younger he wouldn't respond as well to the way he does now. So that's what I've seen is that he has great response to any, maybe a bad game or a subpar game. And I think that's with any kid, as they mature they're a little bit better at handling that. Q. What was your reaction to seeing the draw that you would be playing Dayton in Dayton? And how did you frame that when you talked to the team about that? COACH RICE: First I thought it was a typo. So -- no, the great thing about this team that we have is it's been a year of milestones, been a year of firsts. We go to New Mexico where we've never won before. We won there. We went to Utah State where Boise State had never ever won before, they were 0-18 I believe and we were able to pull one off there. We went to UNLV on Tark night, when they had 15,000 fans and lot of emotion, and our guys overcame that and got the win there. And then topped it off with San Diego State, where they had won 29 straight. So it was kind of -- I think that really helped our guys understand that, hey, this is another one of these kind of environments, another one of these great opportunities. And we know we're playing a really, really good team. And so I think it was just nothing beyond that. It was like, great, we're in the NCAA Tournament, we get to go play Dayton, and just happens to be in Dayton. So I don't think we made an issue out of it. I think the media has made a big issue out of it, but college basketball players want to play basketball and we get an opportunity to play basketball here. Q. Coach, back to Derrick. Those two games down in the Mountain West Tournament were the first two since he was named Player of the Year in the conference. All eyes were probably on him. Weren't his two best games. Did you see -- I know one game was foul trouble. Did you see him maybe having too much pressure on himself or trying to do too much? COACH RICE: No. That's a kid that handles pressure really well. He likes it. I think it was just, you know, Wyoming's a tough team to play. And they gear into Derrick pretty well. Air Force, if you look historically, has been his worst games. They play a unique style. So some of it is that. And we'll just move on from those. And he's moved on from those. And he'll be ready to play. Q. Derrick's been here for four out of your five years. How much has he meant to the program and getting to the NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid twice now, both times the first in school history? As he closes out his career, a chance to cap his legacy obviously. COACH RICE: He's meant so much to this program. It's been a great journey, because you say four out of five, but we recruited him for a year. He's been a part of our lives and a big part of this program since we've been at Boise. And just the things he's done have been tremendous. And the great thing about Derrick, he's got really broad shoulders. And he takes a lot of big shots for us. He makes a lot of big shots and he can handle when it doesn't go perfect for him. He's a tough enough kid to be able to handle it. And he'll bounce back from it. So that's the great thing about him. And, heck, he knows this is his last run here at Boise State. He's going to be end up being one -- you look at the history of our program there's probably only a handful of guys, I think, in maybe '93, '94, they went back-to-back years but there weren't that many guys that overlapped. There's only a handful of guys at Boise State that have got to go to two NCAA Tournaments and this group leaving right now is some of them that have done that. So pretty neat legacy that he's built. And I know Derrick. He wants it to continue. Q. One more follow-up on Derrick. You go back to the beginning of his career. It's kind of a joke he didn't really know how to practice. And then this summer he tears his meniscus and all he's doing is practicing. So as a coach what was it like to see that transformation of him? COACH RICE: It was gradual. It wasn't that event that changed him. He practiced better throughout the years. As a freshman he was learning how and learning the college game and the habits that you have to have. And it was a long journey, it wasn't just that one event that completely changed his way. But that maybe changed some of the things he worked on and some of the things that made him become a better player. But he's always had the desire to be a great player. And over the years, it's just been more of a maturity thing. He came to us, he was 17 years old. He was just turning 18. So he was a young kid coming from Chicago to Boise. And I would say it's the most important thing in his career is just the maturation process going from being a freshman to senior. And now he's a senior leader that has matured along the way and his game's gone right with it. Q. Coach, when you look at us most of the time during the season, you've been the better team on the perimeter, quicker, usually a little shorter. Tomorrow you're going to have a team that's pretty similar. How does playing somebody that's similar like to you change things? COACH RICE: You know, I think -- I sat here two years ago and it was a similar situation where we were playing a team that was small, kind of like us, and played a lot of guards and it maybe wasn't a great matchup two years ago. And one of the things we always like is we like the matchups that are mismatches for us. And I think Dayton has really taken advantage of that this year. They're similar in a lot of ways that way, because of their circumstances, they played small ball most of the year. So that creates a whole different set of problems, and you just never know until you really get on the court how it's going to match up. But it does create a whole new set of problems for you. Q. I think my colleagues last year said Nick Duncan, when he gets excited from making 3s all is right with college basketball. But when he makes those shots, and I don't know if any player can show as much emotion as he does but what does it do for you guys, do you notice it? You try to keep even keeled as a coach but how much of an effect -- COACH RICE: That's huge. That's when he's playing his best basketball when he's hitting his chest and playing with emotion and energy. He plays a lot of minutes. And so that's hard to play at that high emotion. But we want his energy up in all of these games. And that's when he's the best player he can be. Q. What's it like to be back in Dayton? Do you have like a favorite spot? Did you find a coffee shop? Did you stop by Tim Horton's last time? What's it like to be in a familiar place again, walk that tall, long hallway? COACH RICE: We're in a different hotel, so it's completely different. We drove by the hotel we stayed in last year so it brought back some memories. The thing with Dayton, we were so impressed last year when we got here with the hospitality and the way Dayton hosts this thing. And I said it the first time we got here, there's a reason why it's here, and it should be here because they do such a good job with it, great arena. People here are awesome. I'm not sure they'll embrace us the way they did last time. We brought in a food taster just in case on all our foods just to make sure everything is okay. But it's been a great place. And it is, it's exciting to get back, and they do such a good job with the NCAA Tournament atmosphere here. Q. Last year, when the season ended you guys had so many guys hurt and banged up, you couldn't even practice. At this point in the season, I know there's guys dealing with nicks and things you don't want to say, but do you feel guys health wise are pretty good? COACH RICE: Yeah, knock on wood, I think we've been -- it's a grind to make it through the season. You get through to the late in the season there's usually, the training room is usually full. I think we're doing pretty good right now. I'm sure their bodies are a little bit banged up and we've been in a lot of physical games and a long grind. But I think overall, our health is pretty good. And we've managed that pretty good this year. We've been able to do that with our practices and the guys. That's the other thing about having juniors and seniors, too, is they take better care of their body. They know how to be professional about it. Q. Coach, I know in the past you've paid good attention to what the selection committee looks for in terms of team and RPI was part of that. But seems this year Dayton had a good RPI, almost got left out. Colorado State had a good one, got left out. Will you pay as much attention in the future or are there other things that might now go into effect when you look at -- COACH RICE: I think you can't just look at one thing. But the RPI, to me, seems to me a bit antiquated in some senses, and it can be manipulated some. And it can be -- I think people understand that. It's not the end-all. And so you do your best but there's a lot of things in that that you can't control. You schedule games a year and a half out sometimes, two years out. And then all of a sudden the team that you thought was going to really help you with your RPI has killed you. And some that are stuck on your schedule for various reasons that you can't get out of. And they kill your RPI. So it's a tough situation and you can't always plan for it, and like I said in some ways it can be manipulated a little bit. Q. Five years ago the NCAA decided to expand the field from 64 to 68 teams. What was your reaction when that happened and your team's obviously been able to benefit from it, two times in those five years? COACH RICE: Well, I think because the Division I has expanded. So the field does need to expand to keep the percentages of teams that get in proportionate to as many -- there's 351 teams now. So you do have to keep growing it. You look at college football, the percentage of teams that go to bowl games is a lot higher than the percentage of teams that go to the NCAA Tournament. So I guess you could make that comparison. Now, I don't think it's getting watered down by any means. I mean, good teams are getting in. You look at VCU that played in this one year made it to the Final Four. And so there's a lot of really good teams right there being left out. And I know we played Colorado State. They are an NCAA Tournament-level team. No question about it. And so teams like that get left out. Teams like that get put in and they can make big runs. So I think it was absolutely the right thing to do to go from 64 to 68. Q. Derrick was saying earlier that the seniors either talked with themselves or the team, I guess, but not wanting tomorrow to be the last time they put on a Boise State uniform. Do you get a sense this is a motivated group going into tomorrow, that that's the case? COACH RICE: Yeah, and on that note, too, I think the media has also hammered us on, oh, you're playing in Dayton against Dayton, is that motivation. And the motivation is we're playing a really good basketball team. The motivation is we're playing in the NCAA Tournament. The motivation is they don't want it to be their last game. You don't need those outside media things to motivate you at this time of year. And if you do you're probably in big trouble right now. But that's the greatest thing about these guys. They want to keep playing. They want to keep playing together. And when you get a situation like that, those are the kinds of teams that play great. Q. You said this is your 13th trip to the NCAA Tournament going back to your time at Gonzaga. What have you learned from the first time you've played in this tournament to your 13th time? COACH RICE: Well, the biggest thing from not just the first time to the 13th time, but the times and the teams that have made the runs, the teams that have the most success are those teams that can just stay in the moment, be together, and play for all the right reasons. And when you get a group that can do that, that's a team that can do damage in the NCAA Tournament. And because there's a lot of distractions. There's a lot of outside influences on teams. There's injuries and all that kind of thing, but when you come together they can all stay in that moment and appreciate what opportunity they have, those are the teams that can do some great things. Q. You talked about the matchup a little bit earlier on, but what concerns you most about the Flyers? COACH RICE: Well, probably they've got so many guys that can get to the rim and they can do so much damage to you in transition. I think they're really, really good in transition, really efficient. That's probably the 1. The 1-A would be even in the half court they can attack you. They have mismatches all over the place. And like I said, it's similar to ours in the fact that they've been playing small ball. We've been doing that a lot for the past three years. So I think that's probably the biggest thing. Q. Earlier today Archie Miller kind of referred to your offense as somewhat unorthodox, pointing out the fact that your front court has made 120 3-pointers. Will you bring in guys like Nick Duncan and James Webb has evolved into, is that the goal, to be unorthodox, I guess? COACH RICE: Yeah, and we knew when we took this job and we went from the WAC to the Mountain West, we knew we weren't going to have better athletes than UNLV and San Diego State and New Mexico, what they were getting. And so we did have to become a little unorthodox. And we tried to do it with skill. And we have a really skilled 4 and 5. So it makes a little bit unorthodox. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. 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