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MOUNTAIN WEST MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 5, 2020TJ OtzelbergerBryce HamiltonMarvin ColemanLas Vegas, Nevada Boise State - 67, UNLV - 61 TJ OTZELBERGER: Hats off to Boise State. A lot of respect for Coach Rice, their program. Their guys came in and were very ready for that game, and so the credit goes to them. As far as our group, couldn't be more proud and honored to be the coach of these young men. The work they put in every day and the fight that they had even down to the finish there makes me really feel fortunate to be their coach. Q. Not having Eli out there today, how much more difficult did that make it as far as trying to run your offense? BRYCE HAMILTON: It was real difficult. You know, Eli is a huge spark for us. We missed him today. We just couldn't get it done. Q. Obviously you guys struggled from the field. You struggled at the free-throw line, as well. What would you attribute that to, more Boise State, their tenacity on defense or you guys just weren't making shots tonight? MARVIN COLEMAN: I think we didn't have too much focus like we usually do towards the beginning of games. I don't think we were connected like we usually are, and then down the stretch when we started looking in we got more connected, but I think we were a little rattled at the beginning, just the excitement, or I don't know what it was, but I think that's what it was. Q. Obviously not the end that you wanted, but overall, the season, how would you view it? MARVIN COLEMAN: You know, we had a lot of ups and downs, and the ultimate goal is you want to be playing your best basketball at the end of the season, and I feel like we did that. You know, bigger than basketball, I feel like we came together as a group. It's a new staff, new players, a lot of guys from last year and this year, and I feel like it was an up-and-down year, but it was a great year for us. We grew as young men. It's not the ending we wanted, but I'm happy with what we did this year. Q. You guys are much better than your record shows and obviously you finished the year on a great note, and of course you lost tonight, but how much did that win against San Diego State catapult your confidence? BRYCE HAMILTON: You know, that was a great win for us. We showed everybody that we could compete with the best. I still know to this day that we can compete with the best. You know, we didn't get the ending we wanted today, but I feel like our team was just good. Q. Bryce, being a sophomore and seeing how the Boise State game plan was kind of to take you out of the game offensively, what do you think you learned tonight that will help you in your junior and senior year? BRYCE HAMILTON: Just being patient with myself. Just try and read the defense more, just try to play off two feet and just create for others. Q. Coach, you guys played small most of the game. Williams from Boise State had some key offensive rebounds late. When you're playing small what kind of adjustments can you guys make to keep the opposing team off the offensive glass? TJ OTZELBERGER: There was two ways that we were defending them. One was a situation where we were switching all of our screening activity and then put a smaller guy on Williams. In that scenario, our guards, we've trusted them all year long to block out, to be tough, to be physical and aggressive, and we know that they can do that job. Sometimes the ball bounces one way or another. Williams is also a high-motor tremendous offensive rebounder, so credit goes to him, and sometimes things don't go the way you hope. Q. Marvin, you mentioned playing the best basketball at the end of the year. May not feel like it now, but is there a confidence or an excitement going into the off-season into next year, what this team can be going forward? MARVIN COLEMAN: Obviously I'm confident in next year, but this is a bitter taste in our mouths, so whatever happened this year is going to go out the window and we're just going to work. We're going to work hard during the off-season. We're going to stay in the gym. We're going to stay together, and we're going to hope for a better year next year. Q. Bryce, obviously during tournament time you guys play all of your games in this building, but everything else changes when it comes to the Mountain West Tournament. Do you feel like you guys have a home-court advantage when you're here playing in games? BRYCE HAMILTON: Yeah, most definitely. We didn't see any change at all. We had a good crowd come out today, and you know, nothing really much changed for us. We just tried to go out there and just play our basketball. Q. Coach, in the one-game season scenario that the tournament presents, what do you think this team needs to do better to advance in years to come? TJ OTZELBERGER: Our guys were really together at the end of the year. We were playing not only our best basketball but playing as well as pretty much anybody in the Mountain West come towards the end of the season. We caught an unfortunate break with one of our key members of our team who wasn't able to play for us today. It's certainly not an excuse because all year long we've had injuries and adversity, and we've bounced back from whatever situation presented itself. At the same time, we'll continue to work and get better as seasons move on and put ourselves in position to win and have a tremendous amount of confidence when we do that that we'll be successful. Q. Coach, your thoughts on postseason play; would you accept an invite to any postseason tournament? I know this is right after a loss, but can you comment a little bit about that? TJ OTZELBERGER: We have a high standard for this program. We set out to play against the best in the country, and we know that as we continue to improve, we can compete against those folks. As far as postseason, right now it hasn't really been something we've talked about. Just more still in this moment for our guys trying to be there for them and who I can be as a coach to help them through this tough moment. Q. Can you just talk a little bit about what it meant to lose for this game and this tournament and the magnitude, Eli not being there today? TJ OTZELBERGER: Boise State played tremendous. They did a great job. Do I wish we had Eli? Of course I do. What impact it had on the game, hard to say. Credit goes to them with the win. What I will say is how proud I am of Eli and what he's done for our team and our program. Many times what young men do, their reward or the hard work that they put in isn't showing until later. I'm confident as this program continues to be on the rise that the impact Eli made and the confidence he brought to our group, the character he showed, the determination and the heart will help our young guys be better players, help our program be in a better place, and help us be more successful. So I'm really grateful to him and fortunate to have been his coach. Too bad he wasn't able to be out there today, and I can't change that. Q. This being your first year with UNLV and the Mountain West, what did you learn about the conference and about your team and what are you most excited about moving forward to next season? TJ OTZELBERGER: Mountain West, the league, it's a class-act organization, from people at the conference office to the other coaches, administrators and players throughout the conference. A lot of respect for the hard work that everyone puts in each and every day. As far as our team and where we're at moving forward, I'm excited to get started on next season. I know our guys may not quite be ready for this and in some ways maybe I'm not, but I want to start practice tomorrow. I love the young men we have in our program. I'm excited about the future of this program, and as much as I respect this conference and everybody and the hard work they've put in, I also know the work that we put in and our guys put in, and we believe in what we're going to do moving forward, so we're really excited about our future. Q. Obviously there will be quite a number of changes to the roster, but what carries over from this season to next season that will really benefit the team? TJ OTZELBERGER: Our competitive spirit, our togetherness, the understanding that if a group of young men come together and give everything they've on a daily basis and take the work every day head on and give everything you have, that you can change the outcome. You can change the way a team sees themselves, and you can change a season. The guys that were fortunate in our program to be part of this in the first year were able to see us have some adversity, come back stronger, have some adversity, come back stronger. As the leader of this program, I want to win every game. Highly competitive, and winning is really important. I also want to develop young men for their life. What life is is getting knocked down and coming back stronger. Our guys learned that lesson over and over this season, and I know they'll carry that forward to be successful, in basketball, on the court, off the court, classroom, community. We work on their those every day, and I know our guys will do that. Q. With the big recruiting class coming in, moving forward long-term for this program, what sort of skill set or abilities are you looking to improve or to bring into the program? What do you need to get better at? TJ OTZELBERGER: We're looking for winners. We're looking for work capacity. We're looking for character, guys that want to come every day and lay it on the line. For me outside of my family, this is my second family, and this is everything to me. And this opportunity I cherish with all my heart. So I have to have guys in this program that are going to reflect that same degree of passion that we have. Beyond that, there's some guys that shoot better, some guys are taller, some guys run faster. All that stuff is important. The intangible qualities and the character are really what's the most important to us. We'll continue to identify that in student-athletes and bring the best young men we can in here to be successful in the classroom and on the court. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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