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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: DES MOINESMarch 23, 2019Richard PitinoJarvis OmersaAmir CoffeyDes Moines, Iowa Michigan State 70, Minnesota 50 THE MODERATOR: At this time we are joined on the dais by the Minnesota Golden Gophers. We will take an opening statement from Coach Richard Pitino. RICHARD PITINO: Congratulations to Michigan State. They're a really, really good team. To go on to the Sweet 16, obviously Coach Izzo with what he's accomplished, it's a testament to that program, how consistent they are. They have some really good players and obviously very well-coached. Obviously we felt like we could give it a go with Murph early, when we shot around he looked pretty good and I think he may be got off it a little bit and tried to give it a go during that warm-up and he didn't look good at all. So being done Matz and Eric and Murph was not ideal. We talked about we are going to have to play unconventional, play four guards, turn them over and play fast and we cut it to 9 and Cassius took over and we ran out of gas. It stings, but I'm really, really proud of what our guys did this year. It's the second time we've won a tournament game in 29 years. A lot of these guys in the locker room, Jordan Murphy and Dupree McBrayer, went to two NCAA Tournaments in three years and proud of these guys. Excited about these guys moving forward. Q. Richard, obviously with the Nate Mason injury and Akeem Springs, and then you get here and no Jordan Murphy, Curry or Matz, do you feel snake bit? RICHARD PITINO: A little bit, yeah, but you try to create your own luck. We've had some injuries at the wrong times, but we're not going to complain about it. I do believe that things will even out at some point. But, yeah, I think two years ago we had the same thing happen with Akeem and Nate getting hurt and to go into this the second leading scorer in school history, the second leading rebounder in Big Ten and leading rebounder here a little bit. So hopefully it evens out. Q. You went up to Jordan Murphy with 2 minutes left in the first half. Was that to give him a check and he was going to be able to come and talk about the curtain call at the end? RICHARD PITINO: I talked out and watched him warm up. He didn't look good before the game. It's hard because you keep asking him, during the day, how do you feel and he says I feel so much better than yesterday, because he's such a tough kid. But they got off to a 11-2 start, not to blame Murph, but he couldn't laterally move. But it got us a little bit and he's such a tough kid and he's like I'll just stand. This is not ideal, Murph. It's almost fitting with him that he hasn't missed a game his whole career, started every game but 11, still didn't miss because he played today. But it almost felt like a heavyweight fighter continuing to fight through it even though he's bruised and beat up. That was him until the end. I wanted to get him that moment, you know. That was special for everybody. Very thankful to the fans who showed up. They were awesome. We didn't have a lot left in the tank, but I am appreciative of the love that they showed Jordan and those guys. Q. For both of you, talk about the emotions, what Jordan Murphy went through, and what were you thinking after the game? AMIR COFFEY: Really just feeling for him. The way he's fought over these years and everything he gave to the program, not being able to play in a game like this, in the tournament from an injury is pretty tough. So, you know, just feeling for him. It's just tough. JARVIS OMERSA: Murphy has been to hell and back and then back again and came back. He's fought through it all and in the long run he will get what he deserves. He's just a tough kid. Q. Amir, you emptied the clip in these last few games, left it all out there. What do you think this year as a whole did for your development as a player? AMIR COFFEY: Just kept working throughout the year, trying to get better at everything. I mean, really just developing everything, shooting, dribbling, and then just otherwise just mindset things, how I carried myself in the games and just figuring out ways to affect the game and to do what I could for my team. Q. Amir, talk about the run that you were able to go on to cut it to 9 and what happened after that with Cassius? AMIR COFFEY: Yeah, I think we had a smaller lineup in for our five. We tried to push the tempo a little bit and get them scrambling and it was working. We cut it to 8 or 9, and we had the momentum, crowd got into it and Cassius hit some big shots. That really killed us. We had it going a little bit and Cassius just came through for Michigan State and hit some clutch shots for him that stopped the run. Q. Coach, it looked like you were talking to Tom over there. Can you talk about that? RICHARD PITINO: He was asking about Jordan, tough blow, a guy that I respect versus LSU. I think he has a team that can make some noise and continue to advance. Q. How would you sum up this year and where you feel like the program is and where it's going? AMIR COFFEY: I mean, I think we did a lot of things that people didn't believe we could do. Like Coach was saying, for the last 10 games we weren't favored to win one of them so just staying resilient and blocking out all the outside noise and playing our game. What were we preseason for Big Ten? RICHARD PITINO: Toward the bottom. AMIR COFFEY: We were in the bottom. Nobody believed in us but our coaches and our players. So I think we really changed people's minds and we just kept fighting all year. We won a lot of big games, won two games at the Big Ten tournament, came to the NCAA Tournament and got to round 32. So I think we definitely took a step forward this season. Q. Coach, does it feel any different year-to-year when you have to say goodbye to a senior class? Is this group unique in anyway way? RICHARD PITINO: With Matz and Brock they weren't here as long, but they gave a lot to the program. Jarvis Johnson was one of the my early recruits. Didn't play that much, but he was one of the first to believe in me. And these guys, to continue to believe, bounce back, have a great season next year and then go into their junior year with high, high expectations and all those things that happened and then come back and bounce back again, go to the tournament, win a game, you know. With what Dupree, even the injury he dealt with his junior year, losing his mother. Jordan Murphy being 6'6" and being the second leading rebounder in Big Ten history. It shows the heart of those guys. It's difficult. That was emotional and you hate to see it send like that. Rarely does it end well in sports, but I'm proud of those guys. When you are young and building a program and you see guys go through a program, you know, four years they get better. They get stronger. They get smarter, you know. You're proud of them. They are really good representatives of this program. Q. Coach, you talked about at the end of the Big Ten tournament and even tonight running out of gas. Obviously injuries play into that, but is building greater depth one of the next steps for this program? RICHARD PITINO: You lose three guys in the front court you only get so many scholarships. You want to have depth, but, you know, you kind of all hit in the wrong spots. So, yeah, you're going to continue to recruit, figure out what the needs are, continue to build off it. Really excited about Tre who we've got signed is going to be a terrific player, Marcus and Payton, two guys sitting out, really good. We have really good young talent. So, yeah, we're going to continue to build that depth, but, you know, hit at a hard time. Q. Coach, what did that moment mean for you when Jordan walked out on to the court and embraced you? RICHARD PITINO: That was hard. That was hard. That was emotional. The hardest thing was that he couldn't play in the game trying to go to the Sweet 16. He has done so much. Never once has he ever embarrassed the program, never once has he ever not been about the team, been a great representative for himself, his family, and obviously for our basketball program. He's a special kid. I'm going to miss him. He's somebody that I consider family. I appreciate everything that he's given me because he's laid it all out there, every ounce of sweat. He's put it on the line for this program. Q. Coach, as you look to the future, what do you feel like those needs are? RICHARD PITINO: Well, obviously Jordan Murphy, losing him, that's hard to replace. As hard as tonight was, hopefully it helps build Jarvis' confidence. He hasn't played a lot, but I do think he can take that performance. I think he did a lot of great things. He played great defense. He played hard, rebounded the ball well, obviously continued to build off that. Daniel and Gabe, Daniel is going to be a really, really good player. He's put only a little bit of weight and he'll get there. But all these young guys like I feel like this program, you know, we've taken hits with injuries and I hate using excuses, but we have. We can't let it derail us. We gotta bounce back and get back in this thing again next year and I think these guys have the character to do it. We'll continue to see what we can add in the spring. When you win like we did, when you have guys who got better, you have local kids who have had a great experience there is a lot to sell. I know these guys in the locker room, regardless of our facilities and all the cool things we can sell these guys in the locker room can sell a really good experience and that's the most important thing. THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much. RICHARD PITINO: Thank you, guys. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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