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

March 22, 2019

Matt McMahon

Hartford, Connecticut

Q. The story about Ja's high school recruitment has an oft told. I want to ask it slightly differently. Going from freshman to sophomore year, over this last summer, did he take a leap or was it more he's just due to the design of your team able to showcase it more. And if I did take a leap, when did that happen and how?
MATT McMAHON: Well, I think he did take a leap, but I think he did not receive enough credit for the terrific freshman year that he did have. I think we talked yesterday. His numbers of almost 13 points, 7 rebounds, 6 1/2 assists a game have only been accomplished by eight other players in the last 25 years of college basketball.

So I thought there were plenty of signs for what was in store last year as a freshman, but it's a great credit to him and the work he put in in the offseason. You see the growth in his game. But what I'm really most proud of, I think, he's really grown and developed as a leader and has done an outstanding job of being a great voice and leader of our team.

Q. Coach, I asked your players, Ja obviously had a great performance yesterday, but the team as a whole did as well: 23 assists on 30 field goals. What do you need to do to keep that up against Florida State tomorrow night?
MATT McMAHON: I think when you talk about Florida state, there's a lot of the things that jump out. The first to me is they're one of the elite defensive teams in all of college basketball. Tremendous physicality, great size at every position. Make it very difficult on you to score around the basket. They turn teams over. We will certainly have to execute extremely well to be able to score against such a dominant defense.

Q. You guys played Thursday/Saturday since January, and you talked a lot about that rhythm this year, about the execution and the way that the week has played out. Is that something that you feel like maybe is a boon for your team going into Saturday knowing you have the Thursday/Saturday day bounceback?
MATT McMAHON: I don't think so. We've been able to stay in this routine going on 11 weeks now and kept things pretty similar. Last week we scrimmaged on Saturday during the long layoff to try to keep our guys in the same routine. But our guys know we have to turn the page now and start to turn focus in on finding ways to beat Florida State tomorrow.

Q. Matt, I'm wondering if you can just kind of reflect on your coaching trajectory a little bit, and what it meant to get this opportunity at Murray State, a place you knew the culture and the program and the basketball excellence, and how you go about sustaining that.
MATT McMAHON: I'm always forever grateful to Allen Ward, our former Director of Athletics, and Dr. Davies, our former President who believed in me and gave me the opportunity. And as we built the program, we had to basically start over with our roster and the culture in the locker room. And it was not easy and they were right there, extremely supportive and really helped me along the way to get to this point.

And then I think for us, what was really critical was this signing class, when we were able to add Ja Morant Tevin Brown, Shaq Buchanan, and then that spring, Anthony Smith. You're talking about four just relentless competitors, very unselfish players who are all about winning. And I think their two-year record really reflects that. 54-10 now; 42 of those wins by double figures. They really made it a dominant two-year run for our program.

Q. Can you reflect on -- you were in Ruston for like two weeks, then you get the call. What that period of time was like?
MATT McMAHON: Well, it was an interesting story. I'll try to go through as quick as I can. My college coach, Buzz Peterson, was named the head coach at the University of Tennessee. This was back 2001. I went with him to be a graduate assistant. My roommate was Eric Konkol who is now the head coach of Louisiana Tech, so we got to be very good friends over the years. He's a rising star in the business. And we always talked about if one of us got an opportunity to be a head coach, the other one joining as an assistant.

So I got the opportunity to do that, went to Ruston. I was there two weeks and luckily for me, my family, we never moved. We never packed up a single box. We didn't buy a car. We didn't buy a house. And then out of of the blue, Coach Prohm got the job at Iowa State, and I was fortunate to get the opportunity to come back and interview for the job at Murray.

Q. Some of the players were talking about how high energy you are and how you're kind of bouncing off the walls even at 8:00 a.m. Are you a coffee person? Is this like natural energy? Where does this come from?
MATT McMAHON: No. There's a drink that we do enjoy. I mean, it's all legal. But I'm not a coffee person. But, no, I love what I do. I mean, we're coaching college basketball. We get to make an impact on young people's lives, hopefully help them be in a position when they leave Murray State to have great success, not only as basketball players, but as men, as fathers, husbands. And those things very important to me, so I say it all of the time. I wear shorts and T-shirts to work every day. I really have it made, so just very passionate and fortunate to get to do what we do.

Q. You go back in that locker room right now, everyone seems relaxed. How do you have guys going from being loose and relaxed to knowing when it's time to focus? And it seems like that's something these guys have been good at all year.
MATT McMAHON: I think it's really important and these guys have been able to strike that balance. I think that's one of our biggest strengths is the chemistry of our team. I think we have guys who get along really well. They are all in, bought in to what we're trying to do. They love playing together. They love winning together. And I talk to them about it all of the time. It should be fun. I think sometimes that gets lost in the business side of college athletics. I want them to have the absolute time of their lives playing. They've put in the work. We give them basically Christmas Day off, and they work the other 364 days out of the year. You only get so many game days. They need to go out and enjoy it and just play and have the time of their lives.

Q. You talked a little bit about it a few minutes ago, but how do you beat Florida State and how do you guys execute your game plan tomorrow to perhaps come away with a win?
MATT McMAHON: Well, there's a long list of things that will have to get marked off if we want to have an opportunity to win tomorrow. I touched on their elite defense, so our ability to execute at the offensive end will be critical. Obviously, you see they have great size at every position. They're relentless to the offensive glass. Can we compete with them on the boards, I think will be important. How we're able to guard them will be critical.

I mean, this time of year, you're not going to play any bad teams, so we'll have to play very, very well to have an opportunity to win tomorrow.

Q. Coach, talk a little bit about Ja Morant being the latest of the Murray State point guards to have success, but the string of guards that have come through recently and why that culture has cultivated the players that have found success after college.
MATT McMAHON: I think during my eight years, we've been very fortunate to recruit some great point guards. It starts there. And I really believe in our player development program, helping guys get better on and off the court. But it started for me, getting to be an assistant and Coach Isaiah Canaan, Cameron Payne, two terrific players, both NBA draft picks, who have over a combined ten years in the NBA of experience.

And the Jonathan Stark who was such an elite player for us our two years is having great success in the G-League as part of the Timberwolves organization. I think it says a lot about him. He averaged 22 points and almost 6 assists a game as a junior at the point guard position. And after Ja's first day on campus, going into his senior year, he came in and said to Coach Nichols, Ja's going to starting for us on day one. So we went to the two point guard attack that year and it worked out really well for us with the championship and the NCAA Tournament.

And now Ja is the latest, and I think we have a couple more great ones on the way. For me, when I talk to our coaching staff, it's about recruiting, scouting, and then the player development program. How much time are you going to invest in our players, in the gym, off the court, building those relationships. I think those are what helped players build that trust and keep getting better while they're at Murray State.

Q. Coach, obviously Ja and the rest of the team had a great trajectory the last two, three years. But yourself as a head coach, you're starting to have that trajectory as well. How do you keep yourself grounded in the moment here in Hartford and perhaps keep it going as head coach in Murray State?
MATT McMAHON: I don't worry about trajectories and all of that stuff. I'm just trying to help build the Murray State program as strong as we can. Make sure we're investing a lot of time and energy and care in our players, help them get better. I always try to keep things in perspective. For me growing up, I always wanted to play in the NCAA Tournament. It was always a dream of mine. You know, skipped school as a kid so I could stay home and watch the tournament all day, wanted to play in it one day, was fortunate to get that opportunity.

And then when you see what a great experience it was as a player, I want our guys to get to experience those same things. That's what it's all about for me is making sure our players have a great experience while they're at Murray State. I think if we do things the way we want them done, the culture is built the way we want it, the foundation is in place, the winning and all of that will take care of itself.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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