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MOUNTAIN WEST MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 4, 2020Niko MedvedIsaiah StevensNico CarvachoLas Vegas, Nevada Wyoming - 80, Colorado State - 74 THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Colorado State. COACH MEDVED: First of all, I think we should give a lot of credit to Wyoming. You watch all these games and know them, and I think that first of all you've got to give them a lot of credit. They've had a tough season but you watch it and they've just continued is to play hard as the season's gone on. Obviously we were fortunate to win in Laramie. They had won at Air Force. They had Fresno and Nevada on the ropes and just hadn't found a way to finish games. So I thought they did a lot of good things. I thought they made a lot of shots. They moved the ball well. And I thought they played very, very well. And we dug ourselves too big of a hole couldn't dig out of it. We cut it to two a couple times, couldn't get over the hump. Too many key turnovers in situations where we had a chance. So disappointing. Obviously there's a ton of emotion right now with these guys, and I know they're gutted with this loss. But we'll find a way to get through it. THE MODERATOR: Questions? Q. Kind of early both halves they were able to get loose, hit 3-pointers. Was there anything they were doing offensively to change things or did you feel the defense wasn't connected the way it should be? NICO CARVACHO: I think the defensive wasn't connected like it should have been, like we've been practicing. That's on us. We need to be better. I think we could have definitely played better, especially on the defensive end, and not let them get hot in the beginning and let them -- you know, miscommunications and let them get hot. And that kind of screwed us up at the end. Q. Coming into this game you guys talked about not wanting to overlook Wyoming or anything like that. Did you feel like they caught you by surprise at all, especially the way they were able to hit those 3s early in the game and really get the momentum rolling? ISAIAH STEVENS: I didn't feel like we overlooked them. I feel, like Coach and Nico said, they just came out and played really well. We dug ourselves a hole. And it was kind of hard to get ourselves out of it. Like we said, we were able to go on runs, but it's college basketball and teams will try to find a way to win. And we weren't able to get over the hump. COACH MEDVED: Can I make a comment, too? I know that's the mantra. That is the last thing that happened today is this group overlooking Wyoming. I promise you that is not what happened. I thought these guys practiced great. They prepared. We have a ton of respect in the world for Wyoming. And we knew it was going to be a tough game. We expected that. I don't think that was the case at all. I think our execution defensively on some of their emotions, we lost guys. And they made us pay. They did. Hendricks got hot early. Kwane Marble is a really good player, a guy who has not shot the ball well from the perimeter. He made some huge shots tonight when they really needed it. That wasn't the case here today. They just played better than us. Q. Did you guys just -- was it more, you feel like, a lack of defensive consistency throughout the game is really what came back to haunt you at the end? ISAIAH STEVENS: I would definitely say so. In order to win games you've got to be able to string together possessions and just be consistent throughout the whole game and throughout the whole 40 minutes. And we didn't get that done here tonight. Q. (Indiscernible) you erased a 19-point deficit in Laramie. Three times tonight you got it down to two. Each time they hit a 3. Did it get frustrating at any point to get so close and not make that hump? NICO CARVACHO: You know, one of those things, you've got to continue to keep on playing. They're going to make their runs; we'll make our runs. We just weren't able to execute the way we wanted to when we had those runs. And like Coach said they made some great shots. They played their hats off and credit to them. Q. Niko, seemed like early on when Wyoming was making its run you guys were out of sorts offensively, forcing some jump shots. Was there anything missing offensively tonight, especially early? COACH MEDVED: I think so. I think it took us a little while to get into rhythm. They really pack it in. But I thought the issue was, in the first half, it was our defense and the second half it was our offense. I thought we really turned the ball over in a lot of really key situations here, when, again, we tightened the game up. And I thought the turnovers and maybe some poor decisions on shot selection that way I thought really hurt us. But early on I thought the issue was defense. And in the second half I thought our offense was more the issue. Q. Nico, how surreal is it knowing that was your last game as a Ram? Looked like it took you a while to leave the court. And Isaiah, how surreal is it, you won't have him next year? NICO CARVACHO: It's one of those things. We don't know if we're going to be in the postseason. I hope we are. I hope I get to continue to play with this team and go to battle with these guys. I love this team and love these guys. Yeah, it took a little while to walk off. Five years of being here and playing in this time, the conference tournament, you've got to take it in a little bit. Definitely hasn't hit me yet, but I think it's going to. ISAIAH STEVENS: I would definitely say that hopefully our season isn't over yet. Hopefully we put together another nice resume to play in the postseason. But for me I feel it was definitely a learning experience for the future going forward, and just learning from guys like Nico and Kris and Hyron, who have been around it a long time, and just picking up on little things is definitely going to help us prepare for the future. Q. Isaiah, your first conference tournament. Did you feel any different? Did that have anything to do with maybe slower start or -- ISAIAH STEVENS: I wouldn't say so. Basketball is basketball regardless what stage you play on, where you play. We just didn't come out and get the job done. And that's really all there is to it. Q. You've been on a lot of types of different teams. This was a group that consistently they fought back whenever they got down. You guys won 20 games after being picked ninth. What are you most proud of with this season and this group of guys, when you look back at it? NICO CARVACHO: Like you say, totally different type of teams and this one is special from Isaiah to Roddy to A.T. to Kendle to DT and John, and they came in every single day and practiced. And they let me, Kris and Hyron lead the way we wanted to and needed to. And they responded the right way. And we never got in any arguments. Team together, we love each other. Just the chemistry off the court is just crazy. We get in the locker room and talk for hours and just continue to just have fun. And I just love this group. Q. When you look back at this group, especially with the way they fought, and you won 20 games after being picked ninth, what stands out most to you? COACH MEDVED: I think that's a great question. And I think it's difficult right now to reflect when the emotions are what they are, right? You don't have time to take a step back. But I know no matter what, when you take a deep breath and you know it has been a good -- I love this team. I love this group of guys. I've loved what they've done. They're connected like crazy. And you've got to take the good with the bad. And you know it's been a great season. And today was a tough day. There's no question about that. But that doesn't change anything about these guys and who they are as people and how they performed this year. The career that this guy had next to me is just -- it's unbelievable. And I know him even right now that's the last thing he wants to talk about right now after today. But what a great group of guys. And it's been a great season. Maybe we'll have a chance to continue playing. I don't know. But it's hard to even reflect on that right now at this moment. Q. Nico, obviously not the result you guys wanted but you being a senior, knowing the career you had and the impact you had at Colorado State, what do you tell Isaiah knowing he's a freshman and what he's accomplished, moving forward the rest of his career? NICO CARVACHO: The most important thing is to stay humble. Success comes, but that even-keeled mindset of it can go away any second. There are going to be lots of ups and downs no matter what and stay with it. Him and all the freshmen and sophomores, that's the most important I want them to take away. Especially for me, I've been through ups and downs, and confidence. Stay confident and be humble and just be a good person. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. Questions for Coach. Q. Coach, there's a new transfer rule that there's a chance could go through in April and be implemented for next season to allow a free transfer without sitting out a year. You have a team like Fresno State as well that has a lot of freshmen and sophomores that will probably be pretty attractive to some Power conference programs. What's your feeling on that rule and are you concerned if it does go through your team could get gutted? COACH MEDVED: There's a lot of parts to that question. One, I do think it's inevitable, something will happen. Am I concerned about it? No. I mean, I think that what you do is you recruit guys who -- have a great fit for your program. You have great relationships. They have roles. And that's what you do. And I have all the faith in the world that these guys want to be a part of it. Transfers are part of the deal. And I think that it's a changing time with the NCAA right now. I think it's something that we'll all get through and it will evolve the right way. But it's inevitable. I'm not worried about it. It's something that I embrace, and it's something that's going to happen. And it's our job as coaches and people to evolve with the changes that way. And I believe that we will. I think we've got a great place. I think we've got a great culture in our program. I think guys love playing for us. They love going to school at Colorado State. And our job is to find guys who really want to be there. And I think we've got a great group of guys who do. Q. It seemed like every single time you guys got close Wyoming was able to hit those big shots to pull away. Did you see any kind of frustration set in on your guys' -- COACH MEDVED: I don't know. We've been through that. Again, fellows, if you watch the film of Wyoming all year they've been in those situations a bunch. They just haven't found a way to make those big shots. And today they did. So you've got to give them credit. And I think the game was frustrating in general. I think it was frustrating. A lot of things we talked about going in, and I thought we practiced well. We let Hendricks get loose right away and made shots. And Taylor makes the first one. So we dug ourselves a hole right away. Again, credit to them for making shots. But, boy, we made some runs. We cut it to two and I kept thinking, boy, if we could take the lead here and get over the hump the game's going to change. But it never did. They always held us off and made a play when they needed to and we didn't. And just too many crucial turnovers I thought in key situations. And a lot of fouls I thought in situations like late in the clock where we had them and they're about to take a tough shot and we fouled at the end of the shot clock and just not a lot of heady plays that way. Q. We've talked about it a little bit, we talked about it a week or so ago, but postseason opportunities is that something that the guys would want to do if it's on the table. Do you think it will be on the table? COACH MEDVED: I mean, possibly. And I mean this -- I haven't really thought about it. I haven't talked about it yet what we're going to do. I think there probably could be some possibilities. But what those are and what those look like and what the circumstances are behind those, we don't know. Obviously part of that will be kind of waiting through the week here as we get through conference tournament week and then Selection Sunday and see how the chips fall. But that's something, this is something that they want to do, and if we have an opportunity I'm sure it's something that we'll look at. Gosh, it's so hard to think about right now. You're just so gutted from what happened today. But, Kevin, sounds to me like these guys, I know they love playing together and practicing. If they have an opportunity maybe it's one that we'll take. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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