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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: BOISEMarch 16, 2018Chris HoltmannC.J. JacksonJae'Sean TateBoise, Idaho THE MODERATOR: Welcome to Ohio State. Q. Now that you've had time to digest the win a little bit, what are your thoughts and emotions about being able to hold off a late comeback attempt by South Dakota State? C.J. JACKSON: It's always good. We were going against a good team. The way they shoot the ball they were never out of the game. Just to come away with the win and get that first game out of the way is a good feeling. JAE'SEAN TATE: We know we played with a team that are so efficient offensively. No matter how far they get down, a couple of shots can come back and be right in the game. I think the guys did really well down the stretch of just overcoming those comebacks. Q. What has the addition of Andrew Dakich meant to the team? Since he did come from Michigan, how much trouble did you have to give him for that? JAE'SEAN TATE: Like you said, first it was like, Who is this guy coming from Michigan as a walk-on? They don't really like those guys up there. Dak is one of those guys that came in and has the personality that you've got to love. And he was a great addition to our program, just because he's been on winning teams in his time at Michigan. So he brings a lot of advice to us other guys who have only been here one or two times. Just to pick his brain and see what the winning teams did, that's a great contribution. As far as what he does on the court, he keeps our huddles close, and does a lot of little things. Like last night he had some key steals and key rebounds that really won us the game. C.J. JACKSON: In the beginning it was a little rough, just kind of he came from up there. So we don't really like those guys, as he said. But as the season went on he's really grown on us, personality on and off the court. We kind of do things more as the season went on. And how he handled last night we needed him. He came on with big plays down the stretch and those were game-winning plays that kind of decided the game. Q. You played Gonzaga in the PK-80 in November. What do you remember from that game? How have you grown since then? C.J. JACKSON: We're a completely different team. We're a lot better now. And as they are, they're a lot better team. We have to play a full 40 minutes, and just be ready for, like yesterday's game had its ups and downs, and tomorrow's game is going to have the same. We have to be ready to play the full 40. JAE'SEAN TATE: We were kind of trying to find ourselves the first time we played them. Now that we have our culture and we know what winning looks like and what -- things we need to do to win. I think this is going to be completely different matchup than it was earlier in the season. Q. We heard you guys are staying in the same hotel as Gonzaga. Have you had any interesting interactions with those guys? JAE'SEAN TATE: No, I think we ran into a couple of fans, but we haven't really seen them. I didn't even know that until you told me, honestly. Q. What do you think specifically changed from November to now? What kicked into place? C.J. JACKSON: Just our roles defined are a little bit better. Chemistry is a lot better. In the beginning of the season that was like our 6th game together with all of the new faces, the new coaching staff. So we didn't really understand each other very well. And now it's a whole new season basically, and just understanding what we need to do, who we need to be together out there is much better. JAE'SEAN TATE: I mean, just like C.J. said, we had a whole -- Gonzaga, I think personally that was our first test of the season. So just seeing us early on, we're just a completely different team now. We've been through so much adversity, ups and downs throughout the season. We're looking forward to facing a great opponent. Q. I'm just curious about your thoughts on Coach Holtmann. What was he like when he first came on board and how has your perception of him changed? We won't tell him what you say. C.J. JACKSON: It's like we met him for the first time, I knew nothing about him personally. We knew he came from Butler, a good program, had a great year last year, making it to the Sweet 16. That was about it. In the beginning we had our doubts and questions just because that's when you come into a new situation and it happened so fast. Now today it's the perfect fit. We're kind of taking after him as a team. He's a tough guy. He works hard, hard-nosed worker. As a team we're taking after him and that's huge for us. JAE'SEAN TATE: Like C.J. said, at first, definitely you don't want to see your old coaching staff go, and it happened so suddenly. I think Coach Holtmann did a great job of taking us older guys under his wing. And he let us know when you see college coaches get a head coach change, they use the first year to recruit and start over next year. But he definitely made it -- obviously he wanted to hit the ground running. And at the beginning of the year we would go over to his house, it seemed like we went over to his house like every weekend, just to get that chemistry and get that closeness. It's paid off a lot. He's one of those coaches who wants the best for all of his players and he's going to go to bat for us. He's going to fight for us every step of the way. I couldn't ask for a better head coach for my senior year. Q. How tough is it to balance playing Kaleb Wesson who is one of your better offensive players, but also playing small ball for defensive purposes? Is that difficult sometimes? CHRIS HOLTMANN: As a coach you have to make those judgments on what's best for your team. What gives your team the best chance to win. And that's what we've done. He's played consistent minutes for us, certainly as a freshman throughout the year. The other day was just a unique, very, very, very unique matchup with a 5 that is as good as Mike Daum is. Q. Coach Few brought up how you reached out to him when you were considering taking the Ohio State job, and asking for advice. Can you say what some of the advice he gave you was? CHRIS HOLTMANN: Yeah, I won't get into great detail on what Mark said. But, listen, I've got tremendous respect for Mark and this Gonzaga program. That's what they are, they are an elite program. And when you can go to a championship game and come back the next year and have the kind of year that they've had, the consistency that they've had, it says you have reached elite level status. And I think that's where they're at right now. That was one reason for reaching out to Mark. Another reason was just he's obviously been a guy that a lot of people have reached out to, other programs. And I wanted his feedback. And he probably gave me, as you'd expect, as level-headed of advice. He didn't say to go or he didn't say to stay. He just kind of gave me what his thought process was when situations came up. And that was helpful. Q. Could you talk about bringing in Andrew Dakich and what it was like to bring in a guy from Michigan and how glad you are now that you did take that chance? CHRIS HOLTMANN: Yeah, certainly really happy. The fact that he came from the team up north didn't really factor in a whole lot because we were really desperate for guards. And we were in a situation really in July when there was really slim pickings. It was a no-brainer in our mind. I think when we took him I think our coaching staff felt like, Okay, we got better as a program. Now, I don't think we anticipated him having quite the impact that he's had kind of with the -- we thought the intangible stuff he would really help with. But he's been a little bit better in some areas than maybe I anticipated, which has been a real credit to Andrew, particularly on the defensive end. But, yeah, it was a no-brainer for us because we were sitting with -- in terms of our back court we had, at one time, two guys on our back court; really, C.J. and Kam. And I was thinking, Okay, we're going to have to probably play Jae'Sean some at the point, but how will that -- so we were just in scramble mode. And he was a gift for sure. Q. Players win games. Best players have to be the best players this time of year. As it comes to Keita, how much do you have to remind him either in games or before games that, You are the guy, be the guy, and how does that work itself out? CHRIS HOLTMANN: I probably had to remind him of that less and less as the season has progressed, because I think his confidence has grown to the point he's embraced that role. It's been, Okay, you're saying it to me, you were pushing us early. I think he saw that we were going to utilize him as a focal point of what we do. I've had to say it to him less now. Now he's embraced that role. And his assertiveness on the offensive end is not something I've really had to address, as you can tell. He's pretty aggressive most times when he's out there, which is great to see. Q. Back to Andrew and him being a coach's son. How does that affect a player when they have a father like he has? CHRIS HOLTMANN: Yeah, in coaching coach's kids, sometimes it's a blessing and sometimes it's a curse. With Andrew it's been much more a blessing. It's been much more a blessing. Sometimes coach's kids, they kind of think they've got it all figured out and they've kind of got the answers because of where they grew up. I think Andrew has been one of our most coachable, teachable guys. He'll share his suggestions, for sure, unsolicited. But it's what we love about him, too. But he's been a dream to coach. He has been an absolute dream to coach. And his family has been perfect. They've been incredible player parents, probably because they get it, because Dan was a coach. Dan understands there has to be a separation in that relationship. Dan really understands that. It's been a dream scenario for us. Q. How have you seen Gonzaga grow since you faced them in November? CHRIS HOLTMANN: I think they just have gotten better and better. They are really balanced, as we would expect. Listen, game one was not much of a game. They absolutely took us to the woodshed. It was a mismatch in every way. And I'm hopeful that we can do a better job of getting our guys ready for that. But I don't know that they've made dramatic changes, they've just gotten better and better, as you would expect one of Mark's team to be. I think they're an elite team right now. Q. I thought I read somewhere you talked with Mark earlier this week. Was that about South Dakota State or the tournament? CHRIS HOLTMANN: Yeah, I called him late, late one night we were in the office just doing some work. And I was going to ask him about South Dakota State because, you know, they obviously played them last year. And he was enjoying a beverage and a view of the mountains. So I said, Man, what a life that is right there. (Laughter.) I was quite envious at the time. And it was about 9:30 or 10:00 our time. And I just tried to figure out honestly how to guard South Dakota State and if he had any suggestions. South Dakota State is very different than when Gonzaga played them last year, but I just wanted his thoughts, because I really respected his opinion. We had a good conversation. And you could tell, he was pretty chatty. And I was like, I've got to go, I've got to get back to work, all right? You can finish whatever you're doing, but... Q. With Kentucky playing in the same pod you probably have a few additional supporters. Do you have any shout-outs to the people of Nicholasville or Jessamine County? CHRIS HOLTMANN: That's my hometown, Lexington and Nicholasville. I have a great affinity for that town, that city, that area, Down there in Big Blue Nation. We would love to steal a few fans, because we know it's going to be a road environment. So absolutely I would love to solicit some extra help from Big Blue Nation because it's going to be a pretty raucous crowd, for sure, with the Zags. We played them in Portland and we felt like it was a road environment. Yesterday was kind of a road environment for us, I think for a variety of reasons. And we expect it to be another tremendous road environment. And our guys have been good on the road, for the most part. But the last couple of years, I think last two years we've been in the same area as Kentucky. Wish them great success. Q. Growth in your team from November to now, what have you seen is the most difference? CHRIS HOLTMANN: I don't know that I did a great job early on. I was trying to just -- you get a new team, you're trying to figure out some things with your group. And I don't know that I always did a great job figuring out our personnel and how they fit. It was just such a new group. I think once we got into a little bit of a rhythm and maybe we as a coaching staff understood some more of our guys' strengths, that really helped us. And I think it also took time for them to understand kind of what our expectations were. We thought it would take some time, it always does with a new coach. And fortunately we hit our stride at the right time with this group. And as I said, they've been extremely coachable. Q. What were the challenges of trying to build trust with a new team taking over so late? CHRIS HOLTMANN: You know, as in any relationship, I think I just tried, we as a coaching staff, just tried to be honest and up-front and as real as possible with them. They play for a very good coach in Thad Matta, and we were going to do things different than they did. But I just wanted to be really real with them and honest with them from the get-go. And we knew that there was going to be some time that was going to need to take place where they could fully trust us, both to put them in the right positions and just trust what we were saying. Fortunately that happened and probably happened even a little quicker than we all anticipated. It helps when you have great kids. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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