|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
STATE FARM MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 4, 2018Porter MoserBen RichardsonDonte IngramMarques TownesClayton CusterLucas WilliamsonSt. Louis, Missouri - Arch Madness Loyola-Chicago - 65, Illinois State - 49 THE MODERATOR: Okay. Loyola Ramblers, tournament champions, are here. Everyone but Sister Jean actually. The same format, we will have an opening statement from Coach Porter Moser, who I will repeat we have more people in here now, is the second person in NBC history to win this tournament both as a player and as a coach. The first one was Chris Lowery at SIU. He did it both times there. Porter did it with Creighton as a student-athlete and now as a head coach here at Loyola. We're going to ask him to make a statement. Then questions for just the student-athletes up here. PORTER MOSER: First, just want to thank God for all the gifts He's given our program and our university. He's given us so much. I've said the word "God has a plan" about a million times the last ten years. But I'm blessed to coach this group. This group and the remaining guys in our locker room. It's a special group of how much they invested, and they did it the right way. The character off the floor with this group, the true essence of student-athletes in the classroom. I feel so proud that we did it the right way, but with guys this high character, I'm so happy for them that this will connect them the rest of their lives, and they have put an impact on a university that will last the rest of their lives. Q. For the seniors, to go out on this note, you're going to the NCAA Tournament first time in 33 years. How does it feel? THE MODERATOR: Ben, you're first. BEN RICHARDSON: This is what we've been dreaming about. This is what we've been talking about. We knew we had a lot of potential, a lot of pieces this year. We knew that it was going to take defense. Tonight, I think they said we finished -- that we let up 31% on the field. That was something we talked about early this year going into the preseason was, how are we going to be different from last year? We had a good offense last year, but we needed to be able to get stops and be a top defensive team to win a championship. To go from there and everyone have a buy-in and improve in that aspect, it's crazy. It's so special. We have such a special group of guys. We're so close. I wouldn't want to share this with anybody else. DONTE INGRAM: Just going off what Ben said. Obviously, it's an unreal feeling. All year the team has been bought in, all of us. Coach has been preaching, since I stepped foot on campus in that locker room, the top three teams in defense in the conference are always the top three teams in the conference. That was our focus, defense. That's what wins championships. And we've tried to do a great job with that all year. That's how we got a lot of wins. Q. For Ben and Donte, just teams usually take on the personality of their coach. What's the most important thing you've learned from Porter Moser in your careers? THE MODERATOR: Donte, you're first this time. DONTE INGRAM: It's hard to really pick out one thing that I took -- I've taken so much from Coach. He's helped me with preparing for my shot. When I had the big jump from my sophomore to junior year, percentages, I was just so thin, so much. There's 100 things. We've got a wall of culture in there on the wall that I had never seen in my life. When I walked in from high school, I had never seen nothing like that. I can't really pick out one thing that I've taken from him. His leadership every day, he brings it. His energy, the same way everyone sees him like that on the court, he's like that in practice every single day. Like I said, I've taken a lot from him, and I can't pick out one thing. BEN RICHARDSON: The thing that I definitely would take away, what I saw, what my mom saw when he was recruiting me was the energy and the passion that he has, he always says, like he's going to bring his best every practice, every day, and that's what he does. He challenges us to get -- because he knows we want to be the best we can be, and for that to happen, he's got to challenge us, and that's what he does. He brings it every day, and that's why we've gotten so much better because we have an off-day in practice, he doesn't let it slide. It's not about who's right. He always says that. It's about getting it right. If we're having a down day, like he's going to challenge us and make us fix it, make us get it right. That's stuff you don't take away, his energy and bringing it every day. That's why we are here, like where we are. Q. Clayton, Marques, both of you transferred from different programs to come over to Loyola. When you both decided to leave your previous schools, did you ever think you'd be in a situation as good as you're in right now? THE MODERATOR: Marques, you're first, please. MARQUES TOWNES: Yeah, I mean, I went to the NCAA Tournament with my other school, but ever since they started recruiting me, when I came to this school, everything was just so family oriented. Even when I was on my official visit and I was downstairs with everybody -- I still remember this to this day, I don't know if Coach remembers, but I was with the guys in the living room, and he was like, wow, I didn't even notice you. I felt like you was part of the team. That really hit me home. I just felt like this would be a special group. I knew that guys wanted to get to the NCAA Tournament last year, but it didn't happen. They fell short. I told Coach I was going to do everything I can to try to get these guys back there. I'm just so proud of these guys. We worked so hard in the summertime. We pushed everything together, and I just love these guys so much (Applause). CLAYTON CUSTER: Yeah, it's obviously a scary thing to transfer, it's a super scary situation, it's a low point because there's so much unknown. I feel like I couldn't have came to a place that would have welcomed me more than they did here. Like Marques said, I mean, they welcomed us in with open arms, the whole coaching staff is there for us. I mean, even more so -- like even off-the-court stuff with school, I feel like I can text them about anything in my life or anything. And the same thing he said, that Ben said, I just remember just seeing Coach's passion and like you can just see it in his eyes how much he cares about this, and it's amazing to see that every single day. There's not one day that he doesn't show up. And I just believe in him. I believe in everything he was doing. Obviously, Ben had a big part in it too just because I grew up with him and that was a comfort level there. But just -- I 100 percent believed we could get to this point when I decided to come here. I'm just so happy that it's gotten to this point. Q. This is for Lucas and Ben: Lucas, Porter's talked about how you've been Ben's protégé all season. So what's that like? And then, Ben, what's it like having him step up like he did today? THE MODERATOR: Lucas, start us off, please. LUCAS WILLIAMSON: Pretty much, since the beginning of the season, Coach was just telling me like, learn from Ben. I've just soaked up my role and really just learned everything that I could from Ben, like a sponge. You can't really go wrong the way he plays with passion, especially on the defensive end, winning Defensive Player of the Year and all that. I couldn't have asked for a better role model this year. BEN RICHARDSON: My son's making me so proud over there (laughter). No, you know what, last spring we had one spot left open, and I wasn't there that weekend. We had an open gym, and they said they brought this kid in, and one of our assistants, London, he was telling me, "Yeah, he reminds me a lot of you but he's more athletic." (Laughing) I was like, okay. And every time, ever since this guy stepped on campus, you know, I've seen so much in him. He's a dog, and he has that same intensity that I like to play with. I just relate with that so much. And I see so much in his situation -- I see so much -- it's so alike how I was freshman year, you know. We had some injuries, and I had to step into a role, and he kind of fell into the same situation. So I just tried to provide him with any kind of motivation, any kind of little tips here and there just to help him ease into it and be successful. I don't even think he needs it, but I was just happy to give him any kind of pointers I could, and he's going to be -- he's going to be a force in this league, I can tell you that much. Q. I'll go with you again, Ben. In kind of a bigger picture, what do you think this means for the program and just fandom of Loyola in the city? BEN RICHARDSON: Yeah, we always knew there's such great tradition at Loyola, and Coach would always bring in the '63 team, and we would always interact with them because they're such an inspiration to us. Because he always wants us to be around successful people, and he talks about successful people all the time, studies them, and tries to help us learn from them. So we knew there's a lot of tradition, and we knew that we could restore that if we won games and played the right way. You know, it's really special. We're in Chicago. It's a hub of there's so much going on, and if we win games, we get some attention, and we get some love, then we know the sky's the limit. And then, you know, the community at Loyola is awesome. It's given me so much. I'm just so happy to give back to them because I've met so many unbelievable people, and I know I'll have a lot of relationships that will last the rest of my life that I really cherish from Loyola. So it feels good to give back to it. And we have so many people that are proud of us, and it's really special. Q. This is for the guys from Chicago: You all watched Northwestern kind of get all of the city's attention last year in the tournament. Do you guys think that you're going to get the same thing from the city this year? THE MODERATOR: Who's from Chicago? Donte, right? DONTE INGRAM: Well, obviously, I've said this all year to different guys in the media, we have the utmost respect for Northwestern, DePaul, all these Chicago schools. They had their success last year, and we were all happy for them. We rooted for them. I've got friends on the team that I talk to a lot, and we all support each other. So it's not like, "Oh, we're getting the glory now. It's our time." We don't look at it like that. We support each other. Obviously, now we're having the success, and it means a lot for the city of Chicago. We just want to keep that going. I'm just proud that this last four years I've been a part of something that came up, and I've been here with Ben and Coach for four years. You dream of times like this. It's been a goal of ours for a long time, and to make it come true just feels unreal. LUCAS WILLIAMSON: Oh, you know, Chicago being where I'm from, it feels good to represent the city on that level of the stage. I watched Northwestern in the Tournament last year, and I was just -- there was so much buzz, even at my school, just talking about Northwestern. I hope that that's what it is like us, but all respect to Northwestern. I'm just happy that we're able to represent Loyola and Chicago in the Tournament this year. Q. Lucas, keeping on the Chicago theme, as when you were even a younger kid than you are now, but was Loyola basketball something that even registered for you when you were a younger basketball player? How do you see how it's changed now with what the program has done? LUCAS WILLIAMSON: Actually, it wasn't, to be honest with you. When I was younger, I wasn't really -- I wasn't really tuned in to college basketball really. I really just -- I would just watch the Tournament, and that would really be it. Now that I'm coming of age in high school watching the Tournament and stuff like that, it's even a scary thought to even think of it right now that we're going to actually be on that stage, and we're actually going to be one of the teams that's playing and competing for the championship. It even gives me chills right now even just thinking about it. Q. Donte, what was the appeal for you on coming to Loyola at a time when the program hadn't done anything like this? DONTE INGRAM: I mean, just buying in to what Coach had been talking to me about. I like the system. First, you've got to see yourself fitting in the system. Seeing yourself as part of the vision and the future. I felt bought into that. I felt like I fit in great. Obviously, other Chicago guys like Milton Doyle, who was a part of me coming as well, who I see myself playing with. Like I said, I see myself fit, and I believed. Like Ben said, I believed we could turn things around and be a part of something special, and that's what we've done. Q. I think I caught a little bit of the end of this on the court, where you were kind of saying you wanted to get back in the game. Were people trying to tell you just stay out, get in the locker room, get treatment? What happened there? BEN RICHARDSON: Yeah, I've had some on and off injuries, banged up over the years. Coach always, he's more cognizant as I've gotten older, like in practice and stuff. "You don't need to go in. You don't need to be a hero. No one needs to be a hero out here." Because he's looking out for me because he's got to protect me sometimes because sometimes I'll just go in. Cory, our athletic trainer, was like, "Well, you're good to go in, so take it easy." I was like, "I'm going in." I was tugging at Coach Mullen's jacket, again, at one and half minutes, "Get me in, get me in." I just went -- I was like all right. So I went to the scoring table, and on my way he stopped me, and he was like, "You sure?" I was like, "Yes, I'm going in." I think they all knew I wanted to be in there really bad because, after everything we've been through, like me and Donte, all these guys, we've gone through everything. I would have done anything to be back on the court to finish that out. So yeah. THE MODERATOR: We'll dismiss the student-athletes. Gentlemen, congratulations. Good luck in the NCAA Tournament. Q. I know stopping the three-point production was a big key for you guys coming into the game, and they shot 4 of 20 from three. How were you guys able to be effective in that? PORTER MOSER: It's what you emphasize. We knew they shot it well the first two games. They were in double digits on three-point makes the first two times we played them, and we know the level of shooters they have. We really were -- we were wanting to close out way better than we did. We always talk about, what can we do better than we did the first time? That's what I love about these guys. They've bought in so much, not like, "Oh, we've beaten Illinois State before." No, we have a ton of respect for them. What do we have to do better? We can't stay the same. Guarding the three-point line was one of them. They get their threes a number of ways. They get them on transition. They get them on inside-out passes with how good Yarbrough can pass, and they get them on ball screens with how good Keyshawn can like skip it out of that. We were really trying to close out and really key in on those areas of where they get those threes. Q. Just like I asked the players, in the big picture, what do you hope this does and means for the program and just, I guess, the notoriety or just fandom for you guys? PORTER MOSER: You know, I think it means a ton. I remember getting the job, and I was telling friends and family, like I'm a catholic kid from Chicago. How cool would it be for Loyola to go to the NCAA Tournament? And some of them were looking at me like I was nuts. Just it means a lot. To see the amount of students that made the trip, to see -- you want that in a college. I kept on talking to the students when I go to all these speaking things with the students. I'm like, you want this as a part of your experience, and I just hope that it starts the trajectory of traditions and cultures where there's so much spirit. There was so much Loyola spirit here this weekend in St. Louis, more than I've ever seen. And that is just hopefully the beginning, and I think, when you have a watershed team like that, a watershed moment, being this weekend and this season, you hope it goes in a direction of -- that it changes, and these guys, I believe, have made an impact on this university that will last, hopefully forever, but I hope people look at Chicagoans with that kind of enthusiasm, or Loyola of Chicago with that kind of enthusiasm and passion. Q. Coach, I have a feeling you knew I was going to ask this: What would Coach Majerus be saying right now with you winning the conference tournament in St. Louis? PORTER MOSER: He would want to know if I was coming home tonight so we could go to The Hill and eat dinner. He obviously had such a huge impact on my life. He reinforced how to do things the right way. He was -- you know, he was so much about doing it right way with good kids. As you can see in the last 15 minutes, just listening to how these kids speak to each other, how well spoken they are, how they care about each other. They're just a high-character group. That means a lot to me to do this the right way, and that's what he'd say to me. He goes, you know, these kids play smart and tough. He'd love that. But very, very blessed. I've thought about him a lot while I'm here. Q. Coach, this is your 14th season as a Division I head coach in college basketball. Can you basically like sum up what the journey has been like for you to get to this moment to earn your first NCAA Tournament bid. PORTER MOSER: I've taken over three programs, and at the time I took them over, they were down, and that rebuild is tough. It's tough to rebuild it and change. When I took this one on, then all of a sudden we went to the Missouri Valley, although in my mind I knew it was going to -- we were going to take a step back, but I also knew how great a league this is and how it resonates with recruits, how it's going to resonate with our fan base, and it has. So I guess the satisfaction, one, I'm blessed that the fan base and the university at Loyola stayed steadfast in their vision. They were 100 percent about doing it with great student-athletes. They didn't want to bend on that and type of kids, and that was right up my alley. So I'm blessed because not -- it's a fact. It's just a lot of times patience isn't the biggest quality with fan bases and with everything, and when you're trying to turn a program around -- it's not like I inherited a couple programs that were first place. So I guess any time you invest so much and you don't have easy sailing -- and I haven't -- it makes it so rewarding to sit with a group like this and to be in a league like this and to win it. I was asked out there a couple different times, what did you like better as a player or a coach? And I said 100 percent a player, and that's why I'm so happy for these guys because they connected. I mean, it was like five or six of my Creighton teammates drove from all areas to be out here. You're connected. It connects you the rest of your life. So I'm happy for these guys. For me, I mean, I'm so excited for where we're going, where the program's going, but if you really ask me why I'm excited, it's because the group in the locker room and just the moments we're sharing right now. It's been special. Q. Porter, teams usually take the personality of their coach. Does that mean, when you were at Creighton, you were a guy that was tough and could play multiple positions? PORTER MOSER: No, I couldn't play with the hand check rules they have now implemented. As Doug is laughing. My coach, Tony Barone, for those in the valley that know him, high energy, passionate. He was my first mentor. I played for him for four years, and he got me in the coaching profession, and I worked six years with him. I saw how he brought it every day at practice, every day, and that's how I was as a player. I've taken really good things from different people along the way. I've been lucky. I've had really good mentors. It was great to hear him talk a little bit about that because you just don't really get in those conversations, like, "Hey, Clay, what did you learn from me?" It was fun to hear those guys talk about energy and passion because in life you've got to have it. You can't go into something and turn it if you don't. Q. What do you think today's wins will do for scarf sales in Loyola? PORTER MOSER: I'll tell you, that's really taken on. At least you know where the Loyola fans are, right? You can see the maroon and gold. Q. Coach, you mentioned watershed moments. How do you think this team stacks up with the other moments in history, like '63 and '85 teams? PORTER MOSER: Obviously, the '63 team, there's no -- you can't -- I mean, that is the ultimate change, when you talk about integration. So that, I think, stands alone as so much. But as I hug Jerry Harkness on the stage, I said this to him my first year here, we were blessed first or second year to get to go to the White House, and I told all those guys how much the past is part of our future, how high character those guys are. Anybody that spends time with Jerry Harkness, he's a high-character guy. And the '85 team, they've been around. Alfrederick Hughes called me two weeks ago to say how excited he is that people are talking Ramblers again. Those are huge moments. Our team is going to be in the conversation because it's been so long. I think every one of them were watershed moments. You start talking about a Sweet 16 team and what they did, but I mean, the '63 team, that goes way beyond basketball. You talk about integration. You're talking about what that game of change meant. So I don't think there's very many things in our profession that stand alone like that '63 team. Q. With Donte, what did you see in him in high school? What's his progression been like through the years here? PORTER MOSER: I saw him as that mismatch guy. I like mismatch guys. He's 6'6". He can play the four. He can play the three. He's brought it up. He's played some point when Clayton was out. I like guys that can shoot it, space it. He can switch one through four ball screens, but I love that mismatch guy, that he's a tough matchup. His progression is just every year he's gotten better. I think there's two years in his career he could have gotten most improved. He's just a high-character kid that works really hard, has a lot of pride. But I think that I like in our system getting mismatch guys, especially that can shoot it. I mean, he's a 6'6" kid, a lefty that can shoot it. And he's a winner. I love that he was a winner. I remember saying here's a kid from the Simeon program, a Chicago kid. You know this because you followed us. Literally, before Milton Doyle, it was 13 years or so without a Chicago public league player. We were Loyola of Chicago when I got the job, and there was one Illinois kid on our roster. That's just nuts. Donte is a winner. It's about winning for him. So I saw a lot of things in him. Q. In the rebuilding process, to get to where you are right now, can you look at a moment that changed things, that put you in this direction? Whether a recruit or a game or something that this is where it begins. PORTER MOSER: I think Milton Doyle had a high reputation. He was a high-level kid. When Milton -- like I said, we haven't had a Chicago kid for so long. When Milton said, I'm going to Loyola, everybody was like okay, and then he was Freshman of the Year in the Valley. Milton had a huge foundation, like Donte mentioned, "Milton Doyle is there." When you start to get someone from Chicago like that. You know, I remember asking our guys, when Donte and Ben's freshman year, and they said, we were invited to go to the CBI tournament, and I sat them down, and I said, "If we do this, what do you want out of it?" And they said, "Well, we're going to win it. We want to win it." And I remember being in St. Louis, if you saw the trajectory that happened with Coach Majerus we got in that CBI championship, and we also lost to Shaka Smart in the finals. But I always remember that and saw that taste of it, what it did with the guys in St. Louis. They got a taste of it, and we won it, and I knew they wanted more. And that's what was the benefit of playing in postseason. They wanted more. They got a taste of it. You know, I think that's -- so there's a moment, you know, you start those guys -- and you saw the trajectory of like -- I think it's like 85 games in four years. So these guys are getting close to averaging 21, 22 victories in four years for a program that had like three wins in 30 years -- or three winning seasons. Q. Porter, eight days ago when you guys played Illinois State in Chicago, it came down to the last minute of the game. What allowed you guys to really get separation tonight and not let it get there? PORTER MOSER: We got off to a hot start. You know, I think -- you know, we made some shots, and our guys were -- you could just see -- sometimes in a setting like this, to get some things going early, your momentum can build. Luckily for us, it was building defensively. I just think, you know, in a setting like this when the stakes are high, if you're able to make a couple shots early, I mean, you just saw the whole confidence level for our group change, and that's what I think kind of snowballed with us, their confidence when we knocked down a couple shots early. Q. It's the final question, which makes me very self-conscious (laughter). When you got the job at Loyola, when you were interviewing for it, did you have to say there was a four-year plan, five-year plan to turn it around? PORTER MOSER: The plan was all about just doing the right way. I said it a lot, you can build a team quickly. To build a program that will stand, there's got to be a foundation with the kind of character kids, the academics. There's no bending in either one of those two in our recruiting blueprint. So there really wasn't a timeline on it, it was just steadfast on how we were going to do it. This is how we were going to do it. So that was -- you know, honest to God, my wife, my kids, my friends, my family, I've said it so many times, "How cool would it be being a catholic kid from Chicago to take Loyola to the NCAA Tournament?" I'm just so blessed that God had this plan for me because it's really cool. Thank you, guys. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|