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NCAA MEN'S REGIONAL SEMIFINALS AND FINALS: ANAHEIM

March 23, 2016

Anaheim, California

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Jalen Jones, Alex Caruso, Danuel House.

Q. I'm curious in your own ways how you've tried to soak in what happened the other night but yet let it go and refocus for this and how difficult that's been a challenge?
DANUEL HOUSE: I don't think it's difficult. We watched film over it and we talked about it the next day, and the next day we focused on Oklahoma.

ALEX CARUSO: Yeah, I don't think it was as hard for us to put it past; just knowing we had another game to play, as I think some of the fans did and some of the media maybe. So it was pretty easy for us knowing that we had another game to play and someone else to get ready for.

JALEN JONES: We did a great job of getting past it, and our coaching staff did a great job of making sure we were locked in on Oklahoma. Just watching a lot of film on Oklahoma and getting prepared for them.

Q. Alex, what's it been like watching Tyler progress especially from the first of the season? He said he wasn't in good enough shape to play with you guys when practice started. What's that evolution been like?
ALEX CARUSO: It's been really cool just to see how Tyler's come along, going from where he probably spent ten seconds in the paint every time down on offense, to he's been able to move and kind of understand the game a little better.

Just him coming along and being more aggressive, being more poised, it's something that took me maybe two or three years to kind of get a grasp of to be a mature player, and he's doing it a lot faster. Obviously, we wouldn't be where we would be right now if he isn't playing how he is.

Q. Alex and Danuel, Billy said that you guys made some mistakes that got you into that situation against Northern Iowa and you can't repeat that. What did you see on film and what were some of the errors that you made that you can't make against Oklahoma tomorrow?
DANUEL HOUSE: We weren't executing and we weren't making the right plays. We were turning over the ball and just shooting quick shots. So we've got to execute our offense and make sure that we get the ball moving.

ALEX CARUSO: Yeah, just first half our sense of urgency as a team defensively, offensively, we weren't aggressive enough. We kind of let them dictate everything they wanted to do, how they wanted to play, and they took advantage of it, held us to 22 points and then they scored 30-something. So we played right into their hands.

So coming out knowing Oklahoma's going to come out with a high sense of urgency, we've got to be aggressive and match that.

Q. Jalen, I visited with Coach Kennedy a few minutes ago about a few games this year where he has sat you down early because maybe you had a couple of turnovers or weren't playing the way he wanted you to play. Would you discuss kind of those times? He said last year was a little tougher. This year you've kind of understood and maybe when you sit down and watch and see how things are going, you're a little better when you come back in.
JALEN JONES: I mean, it's the coach's decision on that. Whenever he wants to take me out, he takes me out, and I feel confident about our bench coming in and replacing me. Tonny does a great job coming in and giving us great minutes, Tavario does as well. When I'm on the bench, I'm just seeing what I can do to help when I get back in the game.

It's nothing about coming out the game. Whenever he wants to take me out, he takes me out, and I accept it.

Q. Jalen, for you, although Alex and Danuel, if you have anything to add, I'd love to hear it. When you were going through your recruiting process, how aware were you of Coach Kennedy's diagnosis? Was there any trepidation as you considered Texas A&M?
JALEN JONES: I was aware of his disease when I came and visited the campus a few times. I'd always see him working out and always eating right, so that was never a concern for me. The players, I asked the players about it, and they said they'd never seen the effects from it. So that never had anything to do with me coming here, and I knew he would be ready to go. I felt pretty confident about his health.

Q. Obviously Buddy Hield is one of the best players in the country. What do you have to do to try to slow him down, which both teams they've faced so far haven't been able to do that?
JALEN JONES: We've got to limit his touches, make sure he doesn't get in the sweet spots and start heating up from three pointers. You've always got to be alert. Even when they miss a shot, he's always trying to run out to the three-point line and get a quick one up.

It's just being alert. Making sure you're always stay attached to him. Just staying on him.

ALEX CARUSO: Yeah, just make it as hard as possible. Really good player, obviously. Up for like every award this year. Can heat up. You've just got to do your best job to not let him catch it and hope he misses as much as possible.

DANUEL HOUSE: They said it all.

Q. Alex, as good as Buddy Hield is, how important is it to not to forget about the other guys along the perimeter that shoot over 40%?
ALEX CARUSO: Yeah, that's something I think people are forgetting about a little bit is just how balanced their guard play is with those other two guys, Cousins and Woodard. They're both experienced and both shooting 40% from three if not better. So it's not like you can shut down one guy and the rest of their team's going to fold. They're a really complete team, so I mean, everybody else, whoever's not guarding Buddy has to be just as aware and just as ready to play.

Q. Alex, you've been on campus for a long time and you saw some football mania when you first got there. This is the first run the basketball team has made in quite a while. Would you describe Aggieland this week for us?
ALEX CARUSO: Yeah, got a lot of smiles and congratulations in class on Monday and Tuesday. Just everybody excited for us. They're making T-shirts like "44 seconds" or something like that. Everybody's really excited.

It's nothing we didn't expect as a team, so as far as we're concerned, we're ready to play and ready for all of Aggieland just to come and support us.

Q. Jalen and Alex, when you see your coach fighting through a disease like that, what impact does that have on you and your teammates and just your work ethic seeing him go through that?
JALEN JONES: Just being supportive. I just always check up on him and see how he's doing. He's just always ready to go. He's full of energy all the time. He's calm and laid back and throughout the adversity and the crucial times throughout the game. He's just relaxed and chill about everything. I don't even think the disease really bothers him. He always seems like he's ready to go for everything.

ALEX CARUSO: Yeah, just I mean, he's trying to make us better before he's worried about himself every single day. He's trying to get us better as a team, us better as individual people and players. So just knowing that he has our back is really reassuring and just brings us confidence as a team.

Q. Danuel, you've played four Big 12 teams already this year. Do you see similarities in how Oklahoma plays with some of these other Big 12 teams or is there another team that you play that you can compare to how the Sooners play?
DANUEL HOUSE: That's tough. You can't compare any team, so we really haven't seen any match-up like this. We've got to take every step slowly and pay attention to every little detail because every team is different, especially with the candidate for National Player of the Year. So you've got to take everything carefully, focus in on details and follow the game plan.

Q. Alex, I know you've watched and followed Aggie basketball for a long time. Where were you when A&M lost that last-second game to UCLA in this building in 2008 and what do you remember about that?
ALEX CARUSO: I remember the picture on the front of the paper the next day when he got a foul and everybody being mad about it, but I was somewhere. I was probably playing basketball that day and I probably watched the game and I was probably upset for about a week. But I'm just ready to go out there and play, get some redemption from the Honda Center.

Q. Continuing the T-shirt thread from earlier, when you get back home, will you add that T-shirt to your collection, the "44 Seconds"? Will you make sure you get one?
ALEX CARUSO: Yeah, I'm going to have to. That's not something I think I'm going to ever forget. So I'm going to have to get some type of memorabilia or memento for that.

Q. How much confidence does beating Big 12 teams like you did this season give you going into this game?
JALEN JONES: It obviously gives you a lot of confidence, but I think as a team we're confident against any team that we play against. But being 4-0 against the Big 12 definitely gives us a lot of confidence, and we'll definitely be ready to go.

ALEX CARUSO: Yeah, just we're a confident group. In the Sweet Sixteen you've got to be doing something right. We're ready to go out and play. Know that Oklahoma's fought and battled with teams we've beaten already, but they have something different about them. They've been playing really good all year, pretty consistent. So just got to be ready to go out and play.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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