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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: BOISE

March 14, 2018

Boise, Idaho

THE MODERATOR: Welcome Davidson student-athletes.

Q. Someone asked Coach Calipari to size up what a threat Davidson is. And his quote was to the effect of: They're going to take 35 threes, and they make 20 of them I'll tell my kids, Well, it's been a terrific season. To what extent is the three an equalizer in this situation?
PEYTON ALDRIDGE: Well, they definitely spread the floor at all five positions, with everybody being able to knock down the three. And we definitely try to get inside out to get some easy ones to fall early. If we can knock down some 3s, we're tough to beat.

Q. What was the feeling like of the team and what's it like now going into a conference tournament knowing that you had to win in order to get into the tournament, and going into the tournament and winning it?
PEYTON ALDRIDGE: Yeah, going into the tournament we wanted to take it a game at a time and have as much fun as we could out there. We didn't want to put any pressure on us, we wanted to take it day-by-day and enjoy the time that we had left with each other and continue to fight for each other.

Q. You guys have to have been dreaming of this moment, big stage, bright lights. How do you balance just the joy of knowing that you've made it and just glad to be here with the focus that's required to survive and advance?
RUSTY REIGEL: I would say throughout the season Coach has prepared us so well for this moment. We played in a tournament in Hawaii. And then we had the experience of playing in this recent tournament that we won in DC. And it's about taking it day-by-day, game by game, and preparing the same way we have for all the other games we have this season.

Coach preaches joy in the moment and being happy with playing and loving what we do. And I think every one of us is happy that we're with this team, with each other, with the coaches, and it's a family we want to win with.

KELLAN GRADY: This is definitely a dream come true for all of us. There was a lot of excitement especially after winning the conference tournament, which I think was expected. But you have to know that we still have more basketball to play.

And despite all the excitement and the thrill of making the NCAA tournament, we still have a very good chance of winning tomorrow and we have a game to play. We're going to play with joy and confidence, but also with focus.

PEYTON ALDRIDGE: Rusty and I have fortunately had the opportunity to make the tournament as freshmen. We've been here before. And we believe that's a learning experience for us, and we have an organization and team that has the experience of being here.

Like they said, it's a great opportunity and we're happy to be here, but we're not content with just being here; we want to go and win some games.

Q. This year marks 10 years since Davidson's run to the Elite 8. How much does that loom over the program and how much does that team inspire you guys?
PEYTON ALDRIDGE: That run ten years ago was incredible. That was a great team. Obviously Steph Curry, a great player. And a lot of us look up to that and we see that in the back of our mind.

But we don't really think of it as being ten years ago to this year, and now we're back in the NCAA tournament. But it definitely is a team that showed great care for each other. And they didn't want to let each other down, and that's something we try to back on with this team.

KELLAN GRADY: It's crazy that was ten years ago, but it's definitely motivation for all of us and we believe we're capable of making a run, as well. And it's cool to see that Davidson has been successful in the tournament before. And we believe that under Coach McKillop we'll be able to do the same this year.

RUSTY REIGEL: That team absolutely left its mark on Davidson and the program as a whole. And guys like Kellan that chose to be here because of that run.

Growing up I was a Davidson fan, I was at three of those four games. And looking back it was awesome that we have an opportunity to do something similar. And I'd love to be a part of something like that.

Q. Today across the country there were a lot of high school kids that walked out of class in protest to gun violence. As college students have you thought about the issue of gun violence, and if so, what are your thoughts?
PEYTON ALDRIDGE: I've never really thought about it too much this year. But seeing everybody step across the country, it's great to see the unity of everybody joining together peacefully. Different schools doing different things. And it's great to see the younger community being together as a whole.

KELLAN GRADY: Yeah, we definitely think about it a lot, especially with all the tragedies that have happened over the last six months or a year. A lot of people are not happy with the gun laws and how easy it is for some people to get a gun. To see people be proactive and voice their opinion and step forward in something they believe in is something cool to see.

RUSTY REIGEL: I agree with everything they said.

Q. Since you've had the long history with Davidson, I'm asking the underdog teams: Do you count on the neutral fans to join you in an event like this? What would be your pitch to the people of Boise?
RUSTY REIGEL: My pitch would be that we're a team that's entertaining, it's fun to watch. You see the guys play, the smiles on their faces. It's awesome watching us go out there. To pull off an upset like that would be a cool thing to happen. Let's hope Peyton can hit six of six 3s. Cheer us on and we'll show you a good time.

Q. Rusty made a comment that '08 team played a part in you coming to Davidson. Was that your first exposure to the team?
KELLAN GRADY: Yeah, I was 11, my dad had just given me a magazine article. It was a picture of Steph Curry shooting, and that's when I got exposed to Steph and the 2008 team. And he and I and the rest of my family would watch every game. And in the halftime I'd mimic his shots in the backyard. And ever since I've followed Davidson and especially Steph. Back in 2008 was when I was first exposed.

Q. In Kentucky you had this big name school with a bunch of players on their way to the NBA. How important is it for you guys to show that you can play with them?
RUSTY REIGEL: I think it's extremely important. I think we all feel that we absolutely can play with a team like that. We feel like we've been playing against teams similar to that caliber throughout the year in UVA and with Carolina. Players that are very talented.

We're going to come out tomorrow and prove ourselves, not that we haven't done that throughout this year.

KELLAN GRADY: I agree with Rusty.

Q. So for all of you, is Steph your favorite Davidson player? Isn't there someone that you love more that is underappreciated?
KELLAN GRADY: My favorite is Steph Curry. There's been a tremendous amount of players through Davidson. Steph has always been my favorite.

PEYTON ALDRIDGE: I have to say Steph as well. But one of my other players is Tyler Kalinoski. I was fortunate enough to play with him my freshman year. The way he played the game, everything he did was right, the way he did things.

Q. As you guys were studying film for Kentucky, was there anything that surprised you about Kentucky when you were studying them?
PEYTON ALDRIDGE: Well, we knew they were a very athletic, very long team and that they really crashed the offensive glass and got out in transition and ran. They are able to spread you out, as well, with different lineups they can spread the floor and knock down open 3s. It will be a challenge to guard inside and out if they're knocking down 3s from the outside.

KELLAN GRADY: I was a little bit surprised. They do a lot of baseline down-screen action. Thinking of Calipari and Kentucky, I thought dribble handoffs and ball screens and downhill motion. They run a lot of stuff for Kevin Knox and some of the perimeter guys coming off the baseline. So I was a little bit surprised by that, watching film on them.

RUSTY REIGEL: I agree.

THE MODERATOR: We'll wait for Coach McKillop in just a couple of minutes.

Q. Going into the conference tournament you guys probably had a feeling that you needed to win if you wanted to get into March Madness. What's the feeling of the team after going out and winning the conference tournament?
BOB McKILLOP: Mission accomplished. We've had that experience at Davidson for many years. As members of the Southern Conference it was one big league. We would go into that weekend in March, no matter what our record was during the course of the year, knowing that we had to win three games or you were going home.

Q. When most people think Davidson basketball, obviously they think the 2008 run. Has it hit you that it's been ten years and how much influence did that team play on the program today?
BOB McKILLOP: It's hard to believe it is ten years, because it's such a vivid, treasured memory. It resonates with us every day, that spirit of that team, of that experience hovers around our campus.

So for me and for many people that have been part of the program for so long it will never, ever disappear or be such a distant memory.

Q. John Calipari described your team as almost like (inaudible). Do you believe anything he says about your team?
BOB McKILLOP: John's first recruit at the University of Massachusetts was a young man who played for me, and I was a high school coach at the time. So it's interesting. The boy's name was Kennard Robinson. And John went on to ensure that that young man graduated with a master's degree from the University of Massachusetts and played professional basketball in the Philippines. I trusted one of my quote, unquote, sons with John 30 years ago, 35 years ago, and he honored that trust. So I trust everything John says.

Q. This tournament gives you a chance to expose new people to your program and your school. And obviously you guys have done this for a while now. What do you hope people learn about Davidson, see about your program as you come to new places like this?
BOB McKILLOP: In 1994 we played in the Albertson's Classic here in Boise. So I have fond memories of that. Who could not have the greatest admiration for what Chris Peterson did here with the football program, and Leon Rice, happens to be a good friend, and Justinian Jessup was a kid we recruited aggressively.

Familiarity with Boise is very, very strong. We're thrilled to be in this marvelous city. We understand why people want to flock to come and live here. And of course being on a national stage like we are, and having it in this venue, which is going to attract a great crowd, is indicative of the athletic spirit that lives here in Boise.

Q. As you were preparing for Kentucky and watching film and probably the first thing that pops out is their length and athleticism. How do you slow down a team like that?
BOB McKILLOP: What impressed me most is how much they've improved throughout the season. We've watched tape early and we've watched tape midseason. We watched tape late. We watched tape conference tournament. And they just seem to be getting better and better. And that's a statement of the outstanding job that John has done. John has brought a group of young men in there and molded them into a team.

That's not easy. Everyone thinks it's, if I had those kind of players I'd have a great team. It's not easy. And that's why he has done such a marvelous job as a coach and that's why he's a hall of famer, because he's taken young men and put them together as a team, even though they were the stars. And I think he has a host of high school all-Americans, and yet now he has to mold that talent into a team.

So hats off to John for accomplishing that, not just this year, but that's been a tradition that John has had wherever he has been.

Q. How much do you guys get Steph Curry around the program? If I'm not mistaken, I believe Golden State has a night off tomorrow night, do you expect him to make the trip up here?
BOB McKILLOP: Steph Curry is around our program 24 hours a day. The imprint that he put on our program is probably the greatest imprint that any alum could put on a program or a school.

Davidson College, no matter where you go in the United States or across the world, the recognizable name is Steph Curry. And what's wonderful about that is that Steph Curry has taken ownership of that. Steph Curry has never, ever separated himself from the spirit of Davidson College that was part of his upbringing. And you could look at article after article about his reference to that.

And in fact, on the court Sunday, as we had just won the tournament, we're sitting there on the benches waiting for the awards tables to be set up, Steph Curry called, FaceTimed, FaceTimed with our bench, and it was game day for the Golden State warriors. A shout-out to Steph, because it's Steph's 30th birthday, so happy birthday, Steph.

Q. You've watched how you've built your program from moving conferences and with the Steph Curry and to situations like this where you could play against a team like Kentucky, and you're not an unknown. People know about the program. You've watched all that happen. What sort of pride does that give you in seeing that during your career?
BOB McKILLOP: When you're at a program as long as I've been at a program, 28, 29 years, and you become part of that. You become part of that culture. And not only do you become part of it, because the connection for many of our players is through the program that I was the head coach in, they become part of it. So your family grows and grows and grows, and that family has become like an army.

And to me that is the greatest source of pride that people that were there in 1990, 1992, 1996, they're feeling as much a part of this. And that's the sense of Davidson College, there's an intimacy there whether you're a basketball player or not, an intimacy that connects everybody.

You drive down the interstate, you go into a shopping mall, you walk across a piazza in Europe, and you see the Davidson shirt or sticker on their car, and you try to pull up fast in that car or try to talk to that person to speak, because there's somehow a connection. That's the extraordinary aspect of Davidson College.

Q. (INAUDIBLE.)
BOB McKILLOP: I don't know. No, I don't think. He'd have to ask me for tickets. (Laughter.)

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: BOISE

March 14, 2018

Bob McKillop

Rusty Reigel

Kellan Grady

Peyton Aldridge