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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: DALLASMarch 17, 2018Porter MoserAundre JacksonBen RichardsonClayton CusterDallas, Texas Loyola - 63, Tennessee - 62 PORTER MOSER: I first want to say all glory and thankfulness goes to God. He's been so good to this group, me, this University, and the glory goes to him, first and foremost. Second, just it's amazing when you have a group of people who believe. I mean, just this group is resilient. They believe. We've come back from deficits. We've lost leads and found ways to win games. You know, they just kept believing, and then -- this group has been ultra resilient, and I'm blessed to coach them, and I just thank Clay, thank you, it was a great shot. I'll leave it at that. Q. Clayton, can you just describe what you saw on that shot and what you were thinking as the ball bounces up off the rim? Probably seemed like it took a while to get back to the rim. CLAYTON CUSTER: I mean, Coach put me in a position to make a play at the end, and I'm very appreciative of that. I mean, the only thing I can say is glory to God for that one. I mean, the ball bounced up on the rim, and I got a good bounce like that. But the only thing I could think about after the game is that that's all the hard work that I put -- like that you put in to get in a situation like this, and all those hours, those waking up early in the morning and working out. For all that hard work to come up to that lucky bounce is worth it, and I think all the hard work, the basketball gods helped that one go in, and I'm just super blessed to be in this situation right now. Q. Aundre and Ben, what does this win mean for your team, advancing to the Sweet 16, for your team and your school as a whole? AUNDRE JACKSON: It just means our season is not over. We reach no finish line. We just took another step in getting where we want to get, so we're going to go back and get ready for the next game. BEN RICHARDSON: I would say the same thing. It's great to get some exposure for our school and our fans. And on the national stage, we know there's so many loyal fans that have come up to us, that have been fans since '63, the National Championship team, and they're so proud of us, and it just means the world to us to bring that pride back to this program. You know, it's just a tribute to all these guys, all the guys in the locker room, Coach, and all the administrators that have supported us. Like Dre said, this is just another step, and we're planning to advance, and we want to win every game we're in. Q. Clayton, what was discussed during that time-out with ten seconds left? What was the plan or the play? CLAYTON CUSTER: I mean, it was just we ran like a safety to get it into me, and then Krutwig, I was going to kind of dribble over to the left kind of, and then Krutwig was going to come up and act like he was going to set a screen and then drop it and kind of just let me go like with my right hand, went towards my right hand, kind of felt that -- kind of got him going fast so he wasn't going to be able to contest my shot when I shot it, and just elevated and shot it, and I got a good bounce. PORTER MOSER: We've still got another game. You can go left. Q. Ben, what's it like watching your best friend since the third grade hit that shot to go to the Sweet 16? BEN RICHARDSON: You know, like he was talking about earlier, I've seen him make one, two dribble, one-two pull-up probably a million times. And I have so much faith in that shot just because I've seen him make it -- like when we're just working out and stuff, he makes it like a 98 percent clip. So before games, I'm always just like, get to that one-two pull-up, get to that one-two pull-up. We try to tell him because it is such a high-percentage shot for him. He knocks it down so much. It is fitting that he hits a big shot going one-two pull-up like we've been doing in the gym for our whole lives working on that shot. I'm so happy for him in this moment. It's something I'll never forget. Q. You guys have talked about the idea of every game could be a different guy, and it seems like it's coming true. Like these last two games, it's been a different hero at the end. What does that say about your team just the other night it's Donte hitting the big shot, and tonight it's you? CLAYTON CUSTER: I think that that just speaks to the culture in our program. We don't care about -- some nights some people get more shots than other nights. There's some nights where Dre might only shoot four or five shots, and I might shoot 12. And there's some nights where Dre will find himself open more than I find myself open, so he shoots the ball 12 times and I shoot the ball five times, and we don't care how many shots we are going to get on any given night. The ball is going to find you if you're open, and we trust -- we have so many weapons that we trust that people are going to make plays. I mean, yesterday -- a couple days ago Donte hit the shot and today I hit the shot, but anybody on our team could make a big shot down the stretch. I think it just speaks to the culture that we have in our program. Q. Aundre, what does it mean to you to have this moment back here in DFW with friends and family, get to share it with them? AUNDRE JACKSON: It's just an amazing feeling. I spotted out all my friends and family out in the crowd. And once I had a good game and then once we won the game, I went up to them, and it was just crazy. It was an unbelievable feeling. Q. No offense, but when you guys take the court, you're not the most imposing-looking team. Does that sort of play to your advantage in some ways? Do you exploit that in some ways? Does that work to your advantage in some ways? BEN RICHARDSON: We're not scary looking? CLAYTON CUSTER: We don't scare you? I think we're pretty scary. BEN RICHARDSON: I mean, you know, it's no secret we're not the biggest team, but Coach teaches and he's been preaching since I got here just principles and culture and things that you can reference on every little part of a possession. I mean, before the game, Coach was always saying, he was preaching before the game, it's not the size of the dog in the fight. It's the size of the fight in the dog. I know that's cliché, but that's something we've really embraced, and we've embraced every part of our culture well this year, and that's why we've gotten to where we are because you don't need to be the biggest guy when you're guarding the SEC Player of the Year down there. You just have to fight harder, and you've got to have help from the rest of your team. It takes five guys out there, and we've been connected very well this year, and I think that's why we've been able to compete and rebound and get stops because it's been five guys connected and linked together. And then we just executed and kind of bought into the culture that Coach has been preaching all year, wall of culture. We've bought into all that stuff. Q. Coach, when are you going to shed this image of the underdog, and do you think Vegas is going to make you the favorite the next four days? PORTER MOSER: You know what, can't talk about Vegas up here, but I say it every press conference, listen to these guys. How unbelievable. You heard Donte the other day say anybody can make it. You saw how genuinely happy Ben was for Clay making that shot. I mean, it's amazing what you can do when you get a group of people believing and that are really tight. I said that since day one. I've said it for years now. The guys -- we have a close-knit culture, and the guys in the locker room pull for each other. They share the ball. It's just amazing. They really -- we all, we really believe. Q. A lot of times after a big win like you had on Thursday, teams have a letdown and they come out flat the next game. What did you do to keep that from happening today? PORTER MOSER: Well, we came out struggling on defense. I think they had 15 points in the first five minutes. And we called a time-out, and then they had ten points the last 15 minutes of the half. I think one of the things we talk about, we've been doing it now for about a month or two, is that we knew we were having to win and win the conference and then get to the conference tournament, and it's been this mentality of you win, enjoy the moment. I've been asked a million times, are you letting the guys enjoy it. I'm like, heck yeah, I'm letting them enjoy it because it's a mature, close group. And I want them to enjoy it. Then the next day, we all say put it in the bank, next one up. You heard one of them reference it right there. These guys after we beat Miami, it was great. We had a great meal just our team at the hotel. It was just really a special team meal, and then they had some rest, and the coaches went to work. And we talked a little bit before they went to bed. The next day, it was completely locked in, the film sessions, the walk-through in the ball rooms. We came here and shot. They had put it behind you, and it's a credit to everyone in the locker room. They enjoyed it, and then they moved on. And we're going to enjoy this. I guarantee you we're enjoying this. I hope the people in Chicago -- I can't imagine St. Patty's Day in Chicago because Chicago has embraced this team so much, and to embrace this in Chicago on St. Patty's Day, wow, my younger self would have loved to have been there. (Laughter). Q. Admiral Schofield scored 11 points in the first five minutes and then three the rest of the game. What was the plan to slow him down? PORTER MOSER: Well, I think he said I'm an Illinois guy, I'm going to give it to them right out of the gate. Wow, he was hot. We had to regroup. I called a time-out. And it just shows the culture of these guys. Trust is a big thing, and I always say that. I remember working for Coach Majerus, Coach Barone. You can get on kids if they know they love you. That's a big thing in today's society. If they know you care and that you love them, you can get on them. I got on them as hard as I've gotten on them in a month at that first time-out when they scored 15 points. And they just, I got it. I mean, they knew. We turned it, the way they responded in the next 15 minutes. But Schofield is -- he is a terrific player. He's a terrific competitor. He is a terrific competitor. He's hard to guard because he can shoot the three. He can rise above you. And he can get you on the block. He is a very hard match-up. Q. Porter, offensively it seemed as if the ball movement was working, ball fakes were effective. Was that an extra point of emphasis tonight against a more athletic team, or is that the way things always go when things are clicking? PORTER MOSER: Well, they're so athletic, and I know they run people off the line. They're trying to get you to make the extra pass, extra pass, and they cover so much ground. We kind of talked about it. That's what we've been doing all year is making the extra pass and not just settling when they -- because they really cover some ground with their length and athleticism, and they run you off the line. They run you off that line. And we talked about not settling, shot faking, going downhill, change it, change it, and that fits into what we have been doing all year. I thought we really were moving the ball once we got settled in after that first five minutes. Q. You've mentioned that time-out a couple of times. Right after that, you insert Aundre into the lineup and he gets two great baskets and an assist fueling a 6-0 run himself. PORTER MOSER: Aundre is one of the most selfless young men. Here he is, he was sixth man of the year. Last year, he was averaging over 30-some minutes a game. And we have a different look. We've got a freshman who's terrific, Cam Krutwig, and they've been back and forth, different games, different nights. But it gives us a different look. You come in with Krutwig, who is this true, big center, and then you come in and we're small, but Dre is a mismatch guy. He's quick. He's a different look. And that's been something -- he's really efficient. Again tonight, he had 16 points on seven shots. I said it up here the other night or one of the press conferences people asked me about Aundre, and I said, I love guys that are efficient. That translates from junior college to here, 16 points on seven shots. I hugged him so hard on the floor. I said, man, hometown, going to the Sweet 16, family and friends here. God is good. And he just said, absolutely, and just hugged me. I was really happy for him because we've trying to get him back in Texas scheduling games, and for him to get a game back in Texas, two like this and to do this, special for him. Q. What kind of shape was the program in when you took over, and how did you manage to get it here? PORTER MOSER: It was tough. It was tough. I mean, you know, it's been a grass-roots rebuild. Everything from a couple hundred people at games to during games you could walk through -- I remember my family members said they would walk through the student union, and there were more people in the student union than in the arena. It was at the bottom of the Horizon League, which is a good league, and then we moved to the Missouri Valley, and it just -- it's been a grass-roots rebuild. And I'm blessed, so blessed that Loyola University, the administrators, the fan bases, they were steadfast on how I was saying I was going to do it with good kids, good people. We weren't going to bend on the academic reputation. All our kids graduate. We've got high-character kids, and it was a credit to them. And in this day and age -- because I know fan bases all over want it so fast, they want it so fast. And it's hard. It's hard to have a rebuild because you've got to get your kids in there that you recruit. And you're not going to hit on the first recruiting class. Everyone was like, well, the second year they'd better win. Well, the first recruiting class is freshman. So it takes time to get those kids where your recruiting class comes in, and the older kids are like, this is how our culture is. And I'm blessed that the University was -- had the same vision, and this is the vision. I said it so many different places I spoke. I go, can you imagine getting to the NCAA Tournament, advancing, can you imagine our University, Chicago, and I'm from the Chicago area, and I just kept on pounding that vision. And I've had a great coaching staff. My coaching staff is an extension of everything we're doing, and it isn't just one person. It isn't just me. It is an absolute wide stretch of people at Loyola that has had that vision to do it the right way with a good foundation of great kids, great student-athletes. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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