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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: TULSAMarch 19, 2017Scott DrewKing McClureManu LecomteJohnathan MotleyTulsa, Oklahoma Baylor - 82, USC - 78 COACH DREW: Well, I thought coming into this game both teams, very similar, great players, very resilient. They were one of the last to lose in the country; we were one of the last to lose in the country. Both of us playing so well, being down, and I actually joked with Andy, I said, Do you want to be up at halftime? He said, No, no, we like being down. We knew it was going to come down to the last couple of minutes of the game, who could make the key defensive stops, and I thought we really did a better job executing down the stretch when it mattered most. Q. Manu, you were scoreless until the last five minutes of the game and then you scored 12 points. What was happening? Is looks like you were just kind of determined to take over at that point. MANU LECOMTE: I just had to pick it up. I was struggling a little bit in the first half. So I just had to pick it up. And my teammates and my coach did a great job just -- they kept believing in me. They kept me in the game. They trusted me with the ball in my hands, so I just had to go out there and make plays? Q. Manu, on that four-point play, talk me through that and did he hit you on the arm or what happened on that play? MANU LECOMTE: Yeah, he hit me on the arm when I shot the three. It was a great drive by Ish. I was wide open, top of the key, just a great pass by Ish. Q. Manu, until that three-pointer you were 0-6. Where was the confidence coming from to take that shot in that situation? MANU LECOMTE: Just hard work. I know I'm a great shooter, you know, and today I couldn't hit a shot. But like I said, my teammates kept trying to find me when I was open. They kept believing in me. I just gotta shoot when I'm open. Q. Johnathan, when you fouled out, you kind of stayed on the court for it seemed like a few minutes. You were talking to your teammates. Take me through that moment and what was going on right there emotionally maybe. JOHNATHAN MOTLEY: It was tough because I know my teammates wanted me out there, and I wanted to be out there. And I felt like me out there, we had a good chance to win. And they were just coming up and telling me, man, we got you, we got it, we got it. We're going to finish this game. And they did and I'm thankful for them. Like I said, we have complete trust in each other. I have complete trust in them and they got it done for me. Q. King, just talk about your hot shooting, especially in the first half. What was the key for you? KING McCLURE: I think the key for me was my teammates and my coaches. Before the game they told me to be aggressive and take shots. And Mot had the ball first play and kicked it out to me. He trusted in me and believed in me, and I knocked down the shot. And when your teammates believe in you like that, it gives you all the confidence in the world. And I just credit that to my teammates and my coaches and just believing in me and telling me to be aggressive, keep shooting, don't stop shooting. When you know you have people behind you, you can do a lot of things, and as a result, I was able to go out there and put on a good performance. Q. Johnathan, you kind of were struggling with foul trouble through most of the game. Can you talk a little bit about how King and Terry stepped up and kind of helped the team out when you were struggling? JOHNATHAN MOTLEY: Yeah. I think I had all my fouls in the second half. That was pretty crazy. I was just kind of like playing too uptight, I guess. I was just trying to do everything, move everywhere. And they stepped up just like they did in the first round, you know. Terry is a great player, and we know what he's capable of. And like I said, once King hit that first one, it was clockwork from there. We all told him just keep shooting and knocking them down and that's what he did. And man, we just love each other so much and without the whole team putting in something, we wouldn't be right here. It takes a team to win, and that's what we showed today. Q. Johnathan, you were a redshirt 2014. Baylor made the Sweet 16. What does it mean to you to get back to that level? JOHNATHAN MOTLEY: Man, it means the world. Just because I was a part of that team, but I wasn't out there contributing, you know. So it was just a little different. Just being out here and contributing, you know, and out there just making plays for us to get to this point, man, it just means the world to me. And just thankful for having the teammates behind my back and just giving me the confidence to show what I can do. And just like I said, it takes a team to win. We didn't get here just by me doing what I do. Everybody, everybody put in something. So just thankful for that. Q. Scott, like they said, it takes a team. That small guard lineup that you went with with Ish, how many times would you have used that and can you just talk about what that group did defensively down the stretch? COACH DREW: Have we used that at all this year (laughs)? We were saving it. I think, again, I always say the strength of our team is our depth. And as a coach that's a challenge going into each and every game finding out who's having a hot game and who was not. You look at the last game and it was Al and T.J. coming off the bench. Today King was on fire. And I love his answer because J. Mot saw him wide open, gave him a great assist and trusted him and that got him going. For us, that's what makes us a good team. Going in, if Mot fouls out, Ish had foul trouble first half, it's not like we just have one player or two players. We have a team. And all season long they've put the team first, it's allowed them to sacrifice. And not every team does that because it's hard to one game not play many minutes and then next game be the star. The only thing is I told King he was fresh because he didn't play the last game; right? (Laughs). Q. Scott, eight years, four Sweet 16s. Each team a different motivation, obviously. I'm wondering was there something that you said to them before this game? Is it Xs and Os or like a motivational speech? COACH DREW: No. There is no speeches at work. Otherwise every coach would use them. It's really about the players and how much they want to sacrifice for the team. All year long very simple, great leadership, great chemistry. Great depth, and they deserve all the credit. Q. Scott, you were talking about Mot was struggling some before those last five minutes. Obviously you had a lot of confidence in him, too. Can you just talk about what he did? COACH DREW: Every day in practice we all see Manu and practice. He spends a lot of time as long as he's getting good looks, we feel great because we know more are going to go in than not. What I was happy with was the first half. He had four assists, zero turnovers and played good defense. So you can affect the game on both ends of the court. You can affect the game if you're not making shots. Manu does a great job feeding the post because people have to close out to him, and that allows J. Mot, T.J., Jo and them to get good looks. Q. Coach, I saw before the game you had a congratulatory message for Kansas after their win today. And the other day after you guys played in the first round you had a tweet saying Baylor fans cheering for Kansas. Any reason for that? COACH DREW: No. That's just Big 12 basketball. It's a grind. The last three years we were the No. 1 conference. This year second ranked conference. I know some people say, well, we haven't had as many teams advance in the postseason. If it's not conference time we're cheering for each other. The last time we were in this situation, it was in San Antonio and Iowa State beat North Carolina right before us and we could have two Big 12 teams from there. So we love to see everybody at the Final Four together. Then we won't cheer for each other. Q. Manu, when you transferred in from Miami, you were hoping for this kind of opportunity. But when the team got to No. 1, I remember you didn't make a big deal of it from a personal standpoint. What does making the Sweet 16 mean to you? MANU LECOMTE: Oh, it's a blessing. I've been in college for three years. I've never made it to a tournament. So it's all new to me. None of this would have been possible without Coach Drew believing in me and his coaching staff and the players believing in me. So I'm just thankful. I used to watch that on TV. Never been able to just play one game in the NCAA tournament. So it's a blessing. Q. Johnathan, and maybe for each one of the guys, what about just going to Madison Square Garden? What does that mean? That's kind of the mecca of basketball. What does that mean for each of you guys? JOHNATHAN MOTLEY: Man, it means a lot, you know. Just the history of that place, and to get a chance to go and play there, and especially get a win there, that would mean the world to me. I love the game of basketball, and you know, you dream of moments like this, being able to play in Madison Square Garden. So I'm just thankful for the opportunity and going to take advantage of it. MANU LECOMTE: Like J. Mot says, you dream for a moment like that. It's a huge blessing just to play one game and even better if we get the W. So very thankful for it. KING McCLURE: Yeah, similar to what my teammates said. As a kid you dream about moments like this and for it to be here is a blessing. We don't take it for granted, and like we said in the locker room, we're not done. So we have more work to do, but it's really a blessing to be able to play in the gym that a lot of people don't get the opportunity to play in. Q. Scott, you've had an awful lot of good point guards on your Baylor teams. What was it about Manu that you saw when he was looking to transfer from Miami that made you think that he could be that guy and how did that whole situation play out? COACH DREW: First and foremost, he had a lot of talent. Really could read the ball screen well, could really score it. And we had a lot of point guards who could score it and play off ball screens well that have been successful in our system from Pierre to Tweety to Kenny Cherry to Curtis Jerrells. So he fit that mold. What I've been really impressed with is his humility. He cares about his teammates. He wants them to do well. I know as a coach we always want coach for our guys. But he's coachable. He wants to get better. He wants to learn. His best basketball is ahead of him. But he's had major improvement defensively since he's been here. He's able to impact the game on that end, so he's doing a lot of really good things. And today, in the last five minutes, he did a lot of good things. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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