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NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FINAL FOURMarch 26, 2018Bill SelfSan Antonio, Texas Q. Hi, Bill. Just talk about that game against Duke yesterday; how fun was it to coach that game? BILL SELF: I told our players, I hope you guys have as much fun playing today as what I do coaching, because I knew it would be a fun game. It was two heavyweights going at it, two blue bloods, and they played well and we played well. The runs were all mini-runs. I think we hit seven once and they had five or six once. But it was just players making plays, and I know our guys laughed playing in the game, and I loved coaching there. Q. San Antonio was where you won the Final Four back in '08. Can you remember what you did back in '08, kind of remember what you did, comparing what you did now in '18? BILL SELF: As far as routine or what do you mean? Q. Just kind of compare like the experiences that you've had, between that '08 team and -- BILL SELF: Well, the '08 team was a better team from start to finish. We started out probably top three. I don't know if we ever really dipped outside of the top five that year. We were really consistent, good. That was a year for the first time ever, if I'm not mistaken, that all four No. 1 seeds made it to the Final Four. And so even though we were a No. 1 seed, we were the fourth overall. We drew -- we didn't draw, but we were matched up with Carolina, and I think Carolina was the No. 1 overall. You know, it was great getting there because we beat a tough Davidson team in the Elite 8, and then the pressure was kind of off, and then we played unbelievable in San Antonio. I mean, we were great against Carolina. We won that magical game on Monday night against Memphis. I hope this team will experience a lot of the same things that that team went through. But to this date, it's been a totally different run. It's been a team that's gotten hot at the right time. It's been a little bit inconsistent. Certainly has had its fair share of doubters, including myself, at certain times during the year, but there's no question that they've rallied and are really playing their best ball right now. Q. I wanted to talk to you about Malik, obviously last year having to sit out. What kind of things did you have him working on as a guy that was living in practice, and for a guy who's got his kind of pedigree. I think a lot of people assume it's a plug-and-play deal where he's going to step in and play like he's played of late. How difficult is that as a transition for a transfer sitting out and kind of getting his feet back underneath him? BILL SELF: You know what, I don't know that that's that difficult of a deal. You know, he was one of the most highly recruited guards in the country coming out of high school, and we missed out on him, and he went to Mississippi State, obviously. He was nicked up that year and probably didn't have the freshman year that everyone thought he would, and he went through the Combine, and certainly at the Combine the feedback was that he needed to certainly improve in some areas. I thought last year he did a great job of doing things that the NBA people said he needed to improve on, without question. But you know, when you're coaching a redshirt, I don't think that -- when they're on the scout team and they take a bad shot or don't guard one day as well as they should, it's usually not the same emphasis if you're eligible and playing ample minutes. He probably -- although he looked great last year to us, he probably got by with some stuff. And then, of course, this year, I felt like -- he's always been a good offensive player, but I was on his butt pretty hard for not doing some other things, and that probably limited his offense, as well. But in the last three weeks or a month, it's just incredible how he has performed in all areas. Everybody talked about his 32 yesterday, but the job he did on Grayson Allen yesterday was tremendous. Q. Those things you mentioned he wasn't doing was basically defense and helping you guys rebound? BILL SELF: Well, he's always been a good defensive rebounder for us this year, but I didn't feel like he did anything to take any pressure off of Devonte'. He didn't drive the ball to ever get him a shot off the catch. Devonte' had to do everything off the bounce. You know, I just felt like he was forcing Devonte' to do too much. And we made that very clear to him. But here of late, I mean, Devonte' has got a sidekick or you could even say Malik has got a sidekick in Devonte' because he's been our best player without question the last month. Q. Porter Moser talked about crossing paths with you when he was at Texas A&M and you were at Oral Roberts. Do you have any memories or did you notice anything in him as an assistant way back when? BILL SELF: Probably not anything directly, but if I'm not mistaken -- he was with Tony Barone at A&M, if I'm not mistaken, and of course -- and he played at Creighton. I've known Porter probably going back for 25 years at least and have followed his progress. He's had some great experiences himself, not only as a head coach, but I really felt like that the opportunity to work with Coach Majerus, I think, also added so much to his philosophy and developing as a coach in the game. And right now, you know, I know everybody in the country is, but we're all in awe about how hard his kids play, how tough they play, and how well they play together. It's a remarkable story and certainly deserves all the attention it's getting. He deserves so much of that credit. Q. You've long had some really strong defensive teams. This is not one of your strongest. What's been your biggest struggle on defense, and how do you take on the challenge of facing what Ken Pom calls the best offensive team in the country? BILL SELF: Well, I think Ken is right. I think the metrics prove that. You know, they've got six guys averaging double figures. We're a good three-point shooting team, really good, and we're averaging 10 points a game and they're averaging 11 and a half. All six of their primary scorers can all make threes, and their seventh man can also make them. They can stretch you from all spots. With us, I think the key to having a great season is winning when you don't play well, and the only way you can do that is if you make other teams play bad. And I don't think that we have been good at that for the most part, but I do think our defense has improved quite a bit since early February, and we know we're going to have to be great on that. We know we're going to have to be great on both ends, but certainly we're going to have to really defend and rebound. Q. San Antonio was the scene of great triumph and I'm guessing great disappointed when you ran into VCU back in 2011, and you mentioned in 2008 when you got past Davidson, you felt like the pressure was off. Do you find that the lower-seeded team can be looser, can have less to lose and there's more pressure on the higher seeds in this tournament? BILL SELF: I do think that's the case with all tournament games. And when you say the higher seeds, I think you're probably talking about the top four or five seeds, because you know, really the majority of the games, at least in people's thoughts, are coin-flip type games. You know, unless you're playing, at least in people's opinion, playing 11 and you're a 1. That's obviously a game in which you'll be favored to win. But with that VCU team, I know you remember it well, but that team at that moment was every bit as good as a 1 or 2 seed was. And so even though they were playing to that level, I think sometimes when you're expected to win and people do not really understand that there's not that much difference, it does put pressure on your guys to perform, and sometimes that can work to your disadvantage, as well, and to the advantage of the lower seed. Q. I don't want to bring up bad memories, but in that VCU game, they suddenly got hot and buried a number of threes. You guys came back and then they hit another three. Is that just the sort of -- what happens when a team is -- I mean, VCU had nothing to lose in that game, and Loyola has very little to lose in this weekend. Is that just the way it plays out? BILL SELF: Yeah, I guess it is. I think all four teams in the Final Four are going to feel like there's -- I don't know if they'll feel like there's nothing to lose, but everybody will feel like there's such a ton to gain. So I anticipate all four teams playing with a free mind. I really think the upsets that occurred in the tournament, obviously usually occur earlier in the tournament, and of course we had ample examples of that this year. Q. Coach, I'm sure you have some pretty fond memories of winning here in '08. Is there one specific one that comes to mind immediately? Is it Mario's three, cutting down the nets? What do you remember about that experience? BILL SELF: Well, I would say Mario's three is the thing that rings home to me when I think about the championship game. Of course that's the first thing that comes to mind. But you know, when you really put it into perspective, hey, down nine with under two left and winning that game, or the first three possessions we had in overtime, which that was as good as we had executed all year long, and making those plays. There's a lot of fond memories, without question, and certainly walking off the court with my son with the net around his back, that's something that, you know, sticks out to me. Those sorts of things. But just winning it. All coaches agree, I think, that the wins never feel as good as the losses feel bad, but winning that one game certainly feels probably better than all the losses added up feels bad. It's a pretty special feeling. Q. I know that it must be special to be back here for your next chance to win a National Championship; coincidentally in San Antonio. What do you like about this venue here as a Final Four venue, and how special is it? BILL SELF: Well, I think it's the best. And there's a lot of good ones, don't get me wrong. But there's no place, I don't think, that could be the building that's so close to downtown, walking distance, and then you have the River Walk, and certainly -- where all fans can enjoy. I don't think players and coaches are going to enjoy it that much, like the fans will. But just the proximity to all the events and everything, I think, makes it more special for fans, and certainly it has a different feel. We've had some Final Fours where it's a 30-minute bus ride from where all the hotels are, and it's hard to really enjoy it as much as you would in the confines of a two-square-mile area, which is where this will all fall. Q. Does it make you special for you to be back here again, the site of your first championship? BILL SELF: Yeah, I would be happy wherever it is if our team is going there, without question, but the fact of the matter that it's been exactly 10 years, and my son works in San Antonio with the Spurs, there's going to be a lot of nice things about this. And then, of course, it will bring up some great memories of '08 by being in the building and certainly being down there with our team. Q. We saw a lot of emotion out of you yesterday as you might expect, but just curious if you could let us inside that a little bit and where did the emotion stem from for you. And then, secondly, you said in the locker room afterwards that you told your guys that they had no idea how many people this meant a lot to. I'm just curious if you could sort of -- in your mind's eye, who were those people at that moment? BILL SELF: Well, what I was referring to is we -- and you know this -- but our basketball history and tradition here is comparable to the greatest histories of any sport on any campus in America. You know, we've experienced a lot of success that we haven't experienced, Final Fours, things like that, to the level that I think our fans -- which it means so much to. When you talk about being at a place where -- the (inaudible) of the game was your first coach, and Adolph Rupp and Dean Smith played here, and so many things have spawned off from here and generationally how much this means to the people in our community and the respect they have for the game, that's what I was talking about, of all the people that it means so much to that our players would never know about because of all the history and tradition that exists here. Q. It did seem like an unusual level of emotion for yourself. Was there anything to it beyond that thought about the fans? Was there something else kicking in about how far this team came? BILL SELF: Oh, no, no, it was emotional for me because of all the teams that we've had. This may not be the one that I would expect to do this, and for me to obviously be on these guys pretty hard for things that I thought were shortcomings and were some basically personality traits, and to see the reason we won was because they 100 percent flipped those, that gives a coach a lot of pride. And the fact that we've been in the game two years in a row and came up empty, and then for Devonte' and Svi, I think those things all added together. And even more so, I think anybody would be emotional coaching in that game if it was just a regular-season game, the quality of play, your opponent, the stakes being high. That was something that -- if that was for a conference championship, I think I would have had the same emotion, just because I felt like that my team out there performed so well against what is arguably thought of to be as talented a roster as we have in the country. Q. I don't recall seeing you choked up to the point of looking like you were in tears really, even when you won the title or anything like that. Am I right about that? Is that as much as you've maybe shown publicly? BILL SELF: Yeah, it was just a lot of water in my eye. They dumped a lot of water on me. I'm not that soft. I'm not going to get emotional over a game. But no, it meant a lot to me not because of me, it meant a lot to me for the guys, especially Devonte'. To know how much he sacrificed and know the role he's played with our University and with our program, I wanted so bad for him to get there, and that probably triggered it as much as anything else. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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