NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - MARYLAND VS ALABAMA

March 22, 2021

Jaden Shackleford

Bankers Life Fieldhouse

Alabama Crimson Tide

Postgame Media Conference

Alabama - 96, Maryland - 77

THE MODERATOR: Welcome to the NCAA March Madness postgame press conference featuring the victorious Alabama Crimson Tide. We have sophomore guard Jaden Shackelford with us.

Q. What was the difference in the 3-point shooting from the first game of the tournament until tonight? Why the improvement?

JADEN SHACKELFORD: I feel like we didn't come out the first game with as much defensive intensity as we needed to. And you know, this game I feel like we kind of changed that. That was a big emphasis coming in today. We run off stops. Our 3 ball usually falls more. I feel like that was a big reason why our 3 ball fell more this game.

Q. Growing up playing basketball in Southern California did you follow UCLA? Is this a big game for you personally?

JADEN SHACKELFORD: Yes, most definitely. I always followed UCLA. Always one of my favorite teams to watch. It's going to be cool playing against a Pac-12 team, a team out West, so that will be fun.

Q. The 3-point shot tonight, with Petty specifically, I know he had been struggling a little bit, what was it like to see him? I know you made a couple in a row there and the bench went nuts for him. What was that like?

JADEN SHACKELFORD: It was amazing, good to see the work pay off. J.P. is in the gym all the time. It was good to see him knock down shots, it was big for us. It was big on our run. It was great to see the shot fall for him. Super proud of him and super happy.

Q. There was a stretch in the game when J.P. hit back-to-back 3s and you hit back-to-back 3s to really pull away. What was the electricity like on that court in that moment because you guys as a whole just seemed so fired up and had so much confidence that anything you put up was going to go in?

JADEN SHACKELFORD: It was surreal to be honest. We dreamt to be on this stage early in the year, so to see the work on display, really our bench is great. Our fans are great. Much love to them for all the support they bring to us. Just all that fed into that electricity on the court for us. It was big. Probably helped us make those shots. So big shots but it's a lot going into it.

Q. Talk about the offensive rhythm that you guys got into quickly. What did you think the key there was? And talk about Jahvon Quinerly's performance. He ran the team well and getting the double-double.

JADEN SHACKELFORD: I mean out of the gate, Coach emphasizes getting out and running. We had to play off our stops. Once we got the stops and we kind of broke the game through it was big. JQ was big for us, distributing and also scoring. He ran the team well today and the offense was flowing. I feel like when we get stops our offense is hard to guard.

Q. Tell me about the locker room. What was it like there in the locker room post game?

JADEN SHACKELFORD: It was super exciting. Everybody was super excited and hyped. It's a big milestone in our program. First Sweet 16 since 2004, so it was big for us. We like to soak up our accomplishments. So we'll soak it up for the day and prepare for UCLA throughout the week. But it was a nice, excited locker room after that game. I'm proud of my guys for pulling through and getting here.

Q. My question is really simple here. How does it feel to finally have Josh Primo back on the court with you guys?

JADEN SHACKELFORD: It was amazing. Super proud of how he attacked the rehab, really wanted to get back on the court for the team. He came out gave us strong minutes. Came out and hit shots, crashed the offensive glass. He was a big contribution to today's win. So it felt good to have him back there out there with us. He deserves to be out here on the big stage. Couldn't be more happy for him.

Q. Obviously beginning the season you all expected some kind of improvement. But again, the Sweet 16, could you all have imagined something like that even when you all were winning a lot?

JADEN SHACKELFORD: You know it's always something we imagined and something we thought we were capable of. So, I mean, we always talked about it, to be here is special. And the feeling is kind of indescribable at this point because the team has worked so hard to get here. Like I said earlier, we're going to soak up this moment and how much it took us to get here. But it's definitely something to be proud of for this program and the organization.

Q. You guys have generally, you're a good 3-point shooting team, but what keys you in as a team to know that it may be a night like it was tonight? Is there anything in particular that sets up a night when you're hitting at such a high rate as you did this evening?

JADEN SHACKELFORD: I mean, usually on nights that we shoot well from 3 we're able to get past our defender and get paint touches. Once we get paint touches, you know, it opens up a lot of opportunities from 3. So I felt like we did a good job getting into the interior and making spray-outs and kick-outs to open teammates. Once we get paint touches it's easier 3-point opportunities for the whole team.

Q. I wanted to ask you, before the game, when you were warming up, are you feeling it? Do you know that that night is going to be good for you? And what has happened to Alex Reese? Where is that confidence level coming from with Alex?

JADEN SHACKELFORD: Right. You know what, in warm-ups, not even just myself but we all try to come in and stay focused and locked in. It's a time where we've got to prepare ourselves, make sure our shots are dropping. There's days you feel like your shot is dropping and, you know, I felt like that every night. Our guys are coming in confident that their shot is going to fall. So tonight just happened to be a great night for us for shooting the ball.

And for Reese it's amazing to see how much he's doing for us right now. He came in with a positive mindset, coming in knocking down shots for us. He's playing huge minutes for us and it's a big reason why we won these past two games.

Q. Jahvon had his first career double-double. How big was that for him? And how big was just the whole bench today?

JADEN SHACKELFORD: Huge for JQ. He's a super unselfish guy. We all know he can score the ball but he's a great facilitator, great distributor. He found the open guys today he also found his own rhythm. It was huge for us. We had, what, 19 assists as a team. So he had 11 of those. That was huge for us today. And it was just big.

Q. There's a period of time early in the season when Herb Jones had foul trouble and had some games and you guys just kind of carried on. Now it just doesn't seem like a big deal. You aren't fazed when he gets in foul trouble. There's a confidence on both sides of the court.

JADEN SHACKELFORD: Absolutely, Herb struggled with foul trouble early in the season and today as well. But we got guys coming off the bench, next man up mentality. When a guy is down one game, he's got to be ready to come in and contribute to our team on both ends of the floor. I feel our guys are coming in confident, ready to take up that role and Herb's role when he's out of the game. I feel we've done a great job with that every time Herb's come into foul trouble.

Q. Talk a little bit about the energy that Juwan Gary brings. What do you get from him when he was in the starting lineup today? What does he bring to the team in different areas?

JADEN SHACKELFORD: You know, he comes in gives his all each and every play, each and every possession. He's going up for every rebound that's in front of him. He's great on the offensive glass. Gives us a lot of second-chance opportunities. He runs the floor hard. He defends. He finishes at the rim.

He's bringing a lot to the table for our team right now. So, you know, he's a great guy to have out there. He's all about the right stuff. And it's great to see him playing well right now.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.