	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: DES MOINES

March 20, 2019

Des Moines, Iowa

THE MODERATOR: I would like to welcome the Bradley Braves, our student-athletes, sophomore forward Elijah Childs and senior guard Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye. Questions for our Bradley Braves?

Q. For either of you, you guys sit at 0-5 in conference play. What are the biggest things that change for your team to turn things around?
ELIJAH CHILDS: I think one thing is staying with the game plan, staying together as a team, encouraging each other day-by-day, staying in the gym, keep working hard. As Coach says, stay with the game plan and keep level headed, and we knew we would come out of this slump. It's just a matter of time and that's what we did and we got the job done.

DWAYNE LAUTIER-OGUNLEYE: Kinda what Elijah said. We had a meeting, spoke about the season as a whole and if we still wanted to pursue and keep going and finish off strong and everybody was committed to our work ethic and we were committed to a change and win the first game and keep our momentum rolling to where we are now.

Q. When was that meeting, Dwayne, and who led it? Was there a certain point that made you think, okay, we've got to get this turned around? Second thing, in addition to just the attitude you took, did you guys start playing at a faster pace or make defense changes around that time?
DWAYNE LAUTIER-OGUNLEYE: After we went 0-3, we sat down and spoke. But there was a big meeting after the fifth loss. The seniors came together as well as the rest of the players and the coaching staff and we sat down and said this hasn't started the way we wanted to, but we have time to change. I don't think we made major adjustments. We concentrated on the little things. We're a team that defends, rebounds, and breaks well on off. We tried to remain true to ourselves and maintain our identity, and once we got things clicking it started rolling and the confidence grew and once the confidence grew everybody started playing their roles even better than they were before and that's what really helped.

Q. Can you please tell me what stands out to you each individually when you watch the Spartans on tape scouting them?
ELIJAH CHILDS: Just the way they run the offense. They play at their pace. They don't beat themselves. We've got to come in and execute our game plan and play at our pace and do what we do. Just another thing, offensive rebounding and rebounding on both ends, everybody gotta box out and rebound, and if we can play a half court game I think we will be in great shape.

DWAYNE LAUTIER-OGUNLEYE: Yeah, their bigs run really well the floor, which is something we were impressed with. They're physical. They rebound, but they play a lot like us which is kinda cool. We ought to match-up really well. They do a lot of things well. They compete. They defend and they rebound. It should be a good game because it's two teams similar to each other playing against each other.

Q. Dwayne, if you could tell the story of how you made it from London to Bradley, how that happens? Elijah, there are players from seven different countries including the United States. If you could describe what it's like and maybe what you learned about different cultures or things that maybe surprised you or how it's helped you grow or expand your viewpoint?
ELIJAH CHILDS: I think it's been pretty fun playing with international guys not from the U.S. I've learned a lot about them and I learned their style of play and our style of play and going over there, I took an overseas trip. I think I learned a lot and learned how things operate and how things go over there. It's been fun playing with these guys, and I love 'em like my brother. We can make a run in the tournament.

DWAYNE LAUTIER-OGUNLEYE: My story is kinda funny. I played for a team in Bristol and they had a couple of Americans on the team. From word of mouth, one of my teammates spoke to people in America because he knew I wanted to play college basketball. I don't know how it managed to happen, but word of mouth ended up getting my name to Coach Drew Adams when he was leaving New Mexico and just got hired by the Coach Wardle at Bradley. He messaged me on Facebook, said he liked the film and he wanted me to come on a visit with my mother. I came on my visit, maybe a week after we actually spoke. I loved my visit and I committed before leaving Bradley. The coach said they wanted to change the program from the ground up and said I would be a part of it from the start and I was sold on that and to be able to take the program from where it was my freshman year until now is incredible.

Q. Dwayne, this week in practice Kenny Goins talked about you guys do do things scrappy like they do. Is there a sense of excitement this is going to be a physical, bang-it-out battle, is that kind of like what basketball should be. Do you enjoy that aspect?
DWAYNE LAUTIER-OGUNLEYE: We thrive on it. We are a group of competitors. We do it every day in practice and this is exciting. This is what March basketball is all about. I grew up in London wanting to be a part of this and now to be able to play a game like this is just exciting. We are all pumped and ready to go.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, gentlemen.

We are joined by the Bradley Braves head coach. They won the Mississippi Valley Conference Championship. They will be making their ninth appearance and first since 2006. They will play Michigan State. Welcome Head Coach, Brian Wardle.

BRIAN WARDLE: Thank you. We always enjoy coming to Des Moines and have had tremendous hospitality and we're excited to play in the NCAA Tournament, excited to be back after 13 years and excited for the program. Couldn't be prouder of our group. We've had a great group of practice. I think the focus is at a high level. We know we're up against a great challenges against a great time, a great coach. I know our guys are excited in getting out and showcasing what Bradley is about, but more importantly what Missouri Valley is about.

Q. Brian, Michigan State and you are both gritty teams, grind-it-out teams, you do the little things. As a coach, is it fun to compete with people who mirror you and play that same kinda game?
BRIAN WARDLE: Absolutely. I would say we mirror Michigan State in a way. I have a lot of respect for Coach Izzo. I had Mike as my coach at Marquette. Tom Crean who came from the Tom Izzo tree, and a lot of what we do is man-to-man, rebounding is an emphasis for us. We like to get up and down when the opportunities are there and push it and then we will try to execute in the half court. It's a great challenge. The competitor in me is excited about the opportunity and I know our guys are, too.

Q. Coach, you had an extra week to prepare over Michigan State. Do you see that as an advantage or a detriment?
BRIAN WARDLE: It's hard to tell. I called a lot of coaches especially from our league that have had success in the tournament with our time gap between our tournament and the NCAA. Asked them what were some of the things you did? What did you try to do? I thought our game plan as a staff was pretty accurate on what most teams did. We tried to do as many things as game speed as possible. We scrimmaged a little bit, but we also got the rest. Will we be rusty? I hope not. We had a great practice this morning. It was intense. It was up and down, and I think it's been important that we scrimmage a little bit to try to stay as sharp as possible. But this time of year I know players want to play. They don't want to sit around very long at all. Once you get to January that's their mentality. Keeping them engaged and sharp, I think we've done a pretty good job of that. But tomorrow will tell.

Q. Coach, I know that the situation with Dave Reynolds was resolved over the weekend. But I kinda think we need to ask on one level, why did you think that you had that perception of what the local coverage there was like? What do you think you ultimately learned from that entire situation as you try to move forward with how you work with everybody as the years go on?
BRIAN WARDLE: Well, I had a great talk with Dave face-to-face on Sunday, and I apologized to him for not handling the situation very well.

We had a great talk, and we're excited to meet after the season and work some things out and continue to build our relationship. I learned a lot. I think what's important is that when you talk to your team, we've built this program on, you know, high character young men, accountability, responsibility, discipline, unselfishness, being honest communicators, and we've grown the program every year and improved it every year.

I think in the classroom, in the community, and on the floor, one of the things you teach your kids a lot is what's hard for them is when you make a mistake you've gotta admit it. You gotta own it and then you've got to teach a lot of young men now if apology is necessary then you've got to apologize and own it and then you've got to learn from it and grow and move on. That lesson, I tell my kids all the time, I've done it before and I did it on Sunday again. I think hopefully we've all learned that you own things, you move on, you learn and you grow and you keep moving forward and you try not to repeat mistakes.

Q. Coach, obviously none of your players have played in the NCAA Tournament, but this is a first for you. Who do you look to in preparing for something like this?
BRIAN WARDLE: Well, you reach out to your mentors and you talk to, like I said, I talked to other coaches about the preparation side of things. A lot of them said just really enjoy it. Especially for your student-athletes, for your young men, enjoy the moment. We fear none, respect all. We're coming into compete now and we're coming into play. But I want these guys to enjoy the moment out here, enjoy the media, enjoy the hotel, enjoy the Bradley fans that will be here and take in those memories, because life is about memories. You forget the games. You forget your stats. I tell 'em all the time when you get to my age you forget all that stuff. But you remember the bonding, the hotel, your teammates, all the fun stories in practice, on the bus, and I said try to soak all that in as much as you can because that's what it's all about.

Q. Brian, when you watch Michigan State on film can you give us your initial thoughts? I know we talked about them playing like you, but your initial thoughts and breakdown?
BRIAN WARDLE: When you call other coaches and you know what Michigan State stands for, you know what their identity is, that's why they're a great program. They have that strong identity. They're very good in transition. You gotta get back and you gotta rebound with them, right? You have to rebound with them. Then everyone talks about the toughness, the physicality, all of that I hear. But when I watch on film and I studied them Sunday night and the last two days, they're a very smart team. They do not beat themselves.

I love how they're all stars in their role. You look at their team, no one goes outside their lane. They stay in their lane. They do their job and they do it very, very well. They don't try to take crazy shots from three if they're not a three shooter. They do their job in their roles and that's why they're consistent, I think, even through some injuries. That's why they're a really good program.

Q. You know, there's a real international flavor to your roster this year. Besides learning how to become a team on the floor, what has the whole cultural learning been for this particular group of players and how has that kind of impressed itself upon you, I guess this year, too?
BRIAN WARDLE: It's been great for all of us. We had a chance to go to the London and Netherlands this summer and Delo and Luuk's home. Having guys from different diversities, different cultures. We do presentations in the summertime every year where everyone talks about their home city and family and all the traditions they have with their family just to get educated on a whole different side, really way of thinking in a way and a way of living and I think I say great for our guys to experience it. For example this morning, we were having breakfast. Luuk is the last one to finish his meal. The whole team laughs because Luuk is a slow eater. When Luuk came to me, he goes, why is everyone in a rush here? I like to take my time. We take our time over in the Netherlands, so things like that for our guys to experience and talk about is a lot of fun for our group.

Q. I was just talking to your point guard and obviously we were talking about Michigan State's point guard and that match-up. How do you assess your teams are both led by point guards. What do you think Darrell can do well against a guy like Cassius?
BRIAN WARDLE: I think Darrell has done a great job all year and done an unbelievable job of not only having the pressure of having the ball in his hands a lot, just getting double teamed, getting bigger, always getting the best defender on him during the game. For Darrell, though, we gotta get out in transition. He is a weapon on the floor. You can't measure a person's heart. I think he has a huge heart and a huge work ethic. He has all the intangibles you want in a point guard. He can change a game in a minute or two. There are not many guys that can do that, but Darrell is that for us. He is a constant threat on the floor. He can rally off three or four three-pointers, and he's done that for us all year. If we can set good screens for him, get him going, then the rest takes care of himself. For Darrell, it's all, gas no brakes. I say that all year. When he has the gas pedal down the whole game and never lets off, he's going to be productive.

Q. Coach, Lugman stepped up in that game against UNI. Who is going to step up like he did?
BRIAN WARDLE: We are at our best playing as a team. We have unselfish kids. Whoever is hot at the time that's who they will be talking about in the huddle. Let's get him the ball, let's get him the ball. Everyone was saying, let's get L the ball. Lugman hasn't been a threat all year, but that's who was hot. Whoever is matching up against us and is doing well, that's who we will attack.

Q. Coach, you have a close draw to Peoria. How well do you think they will travel here and how will that benefit for you?
BRIAN WARDLE: I think you will see a lot of red tomorrow. We are hoping. You just never know in the selection process where you fall, but a lot of our fans were hoping it would be here. It's a four, four and a half hour drive for us and it's not too far and we got a lot of fans in Chicago. It's a 5-hour trip from there. I think you will see a lot of Braves fans, and we call 'em the Red Sea. But you will see a lot of Red Sea fans in the arena tomorrow.

Q. Obviously, the fact that you guys were down so much in the championship game in what's essentially a tournament game. How do you think that translates, if tomorrow you do get down against a team like Michigan State there is no fear in this team. What are those processes like?
BRIAN WARDLE: I think it's a resiliency we have had throughout the year. It's a connected, committed group to each other. We've matured a lot as a group. It's become a player-lead team, I always say that. Leadership and getting from a coach-led team to a player-led team, there is no doubt we did that. But we do not want to be down 18 to Michigan State tomorrow. Let me make that clear, and we do not want to have 15 points at halftime like we did because they're too explosive of a team as we all know. Down two, three, four possessions our group is going to battle. We have shown that all year. We have heart. We have toughness, and even if the shots aren't falling we've got to stay committed to the defense and the rebounding. If we can do that, we can play with anybody.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, wish you the best of luck tomorrow. Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297