NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: REGIONAL SEMIFINAL: CREIGHTON VS GONZAGA

March 28, 2021

Mark Few

Hinkle Fieldhouse

Gonzaga Bulldogs

Sweet 16 Postgame Media Conference

Gonzaga - 83, Creighton - 65

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by head coach Mark Few. We'll begin with an opening statement from Coach Few and then go to questions.

MARK FEW: It's a great win for us. Once again, I really thought it was our defense that made the difference tonight. They're a scary offensive unit, especially when you're preparing for them. I thought we did a really, really nice job, especially on the three line. We knew they wanted to or probably needed to make ten threes, and I thought we really chased Ballock all around the floor and gave up a couple early to Zegarowski, who's really, really, really good.

By and large, guarded that line really, really good. And then shored up the glass much better in the second half, which got us out running, and that's when we're at our best.

Q. Coach, tonight you guys had a phenomenal percentage in the paint, and one of the key reasons why was because of your guys' passing. What did you think of your team's passing performance out there tonight? There were some real beauties.

MARK FEW: It's been like that all year. You know that. You watched us. It's probably our best attribute. It's the reason why we have such good balance, and it's the reason why we scored so well in the paint, even though we really only have one true kind of -- Drew's not a traditional back-to-the-basket guy.

But I saw early that Andrew was just making some really, really solid decisions in the ball screens and making his reads good and really delivering the ball. When he's in that zone, he's the best I've ever coached, as far as making decisions on ball screens. So we wanted to put him in as many as we could, and he did a great job executing him, and the guy did a great job catching and finishing.

We had some good cuts going. I thought sharing it fairly well. We were just a little bit loose with it there for a while.

Q. Mark, they looked like they were kind of willing to give up three balls to certain guards who made them pay a little bit. But then I thought too, as well, Kispert, only one shot, they were really zeroed in on him. How did the guys handle that, how they defended you and get to where you needed to get to?

MARK FEW: I mean, our numbers ended up great. I haven't seen our OER. It's not anything we haven't seen before. They were playing soft and going under some guys. Those guys have dealt with that all year. I mean, I think, probably when you guard us, you've got to pick your poison a little bit. Joel was shooting 40 percent from three. The first three went in, I think, and even the ones that didn't go in looked pretty good to me.

At this point in the season, it's not like there's things that you really haven't seen. I think our guys get different schemes that people choose, and then they adjust accordingly. I thought we started moving the pieces pretty good and taking one, two, three extra passes to get to the next action, and we were finding a lot of success on that second action.

Q. So much attention goes on your offense, obviously, but your defense, you're top ten KenPom efficiency. What is it you trust the most, and do they get enough credit for the performances they've put in this year?

MARK FEW: I don't think they do. I think we've had excellent, off-the-chart performances, and some terrific halves. I thought we had a good -- once we settled in at the end of the first half tonight and then the start of the second half, I thought we did a really nice job.

A couple things they do really well is they really, really absorb and take the scouting reports to hand. They do a great job with their attention to detail for the most part. They've grown in that area. I think Jalen has really grown. Hey, we've got big wings and big guards, big, strong, aggressive guards like Jalen and Andrew, are the same, so we can switch a lot. Drew can move his feet. Anton can move his feet. So it's always nice to have that option to be able to switch to go with all your other coverages.

Q. Coach, congratulations. We've marveled at your team's consistency this year, and you mentioned earlier this year, when the team on the other side is dangerous, your team senses it, and they step up. Is it nice, and does it help you sleep at all better knowing your team will show up when the other team's ready to give it to you?

MARK FEW: It's nice, but it does not help me sleep any better, no. It was a restless night of sleep thinking about all the ways that Coach McDermott devises these guys and schemes and what they're capable of doing. Like I said, we knew Zegarowski was good, but he's one of those players that, when you see him live, you're like, whoa, okay.

Hey, look, at this point, guys, they've shown their competitive spirit. Literally everybody's been after us since July 1, right? Getting everybody's best shot. So they're used to that. They always show, and they're always going to give great effort. And they're always going to figure out, eventually, find what's the best way for us to attack on offense, what's the best way for us to get it done on defense?

It's been an absolute joy to coach, but, yeah, there will be no more good nights of sleep here in the bubble from here on out. It's going to be -- these are all going to be really, really hard games.

Q. Hey, Mark.

MARK FEW: I no see or hear from you.

Q. It's been a while. Congratulations. I wanted to ask you, sort of following up on what you were saying, you've been at this point in the tournament before. Is there anything different about the Elite Eight game, because the next step is the one that everybody dreams about?

MARK FEW: No, I would just say, Mike, it just comes so quickly. We had an enormous amount of time off between this game -- especially when you're not traveling. Usually you travel back, hang out for a couple days at home, then travel back out here. There's all the adjustment to that. But we're just sitting here. So we had tons of time off.

It's basically going to come down -- we won't know who we'll play until after midnight tonight, and then lots of film and lots of prep work by the staff. This is where having a great staff, like the staff I have, I just think is the best in the country, and they've been with me so long, and they're just so good. And all the staffs here just work their tail off. That's why they become so valuable, trying to figure out -- because it's literally a really, really quick turnaround. We probably won't do more than anything but a walk-through tomorrow just to kind of rest our guys.

Then you get up, and the next day's game day. I think that's the biggest thing I've found over the years in these Elite Eights. It's how quickly they come. So we need to be rested and ready to roll.

Q. When you found out that Andrew was going to be able to play for you this year, how much better did you think this team could get? Obviously, you knew you were going to be very good, but how much better did he make you just with that simple decision?

MARK FEW: Hey, I told the staff, I said, listen, if -- I think we need to try to see if we can get a waiver, and I asked Joel, I asked Corey, and then I'm sure you heard this story. I don't know if I told you, but then I sat Jalen down and said, hey, what do you think about this? Are you all right with that? He just got the biggest grin on his face. I'll remember it the rest of my life. He was like, Coach, are you kidding me? That would be awesome.

I've found over the years the real players, they don't fear anybody. They welcome all great players around them. And I told the staff after I met with Jalen, you know, this takes us from top 15, top 20 to top 5 and National Championship contender. It really has. He's a terrific ball screen player, but I'm telling you, he's really, really done a fantastic job for us defensively. I think it's a little bit gone unnoticed maybe.

Just the savvy that he plays with, the pace he -- you know, he plays at our pace and enjoys playing at that pace. He's just a big time passer, and he's become a really good shooter for us also.

Q. Mark, just wanted to ask you about watching your team kind of evolve in terms of the chemistry and passing standpoint. You guys always pass it and share the ball well. But what with this particular team, as you're watching preseason and everything, how did you see it come together?

MARK FEW: You know, Pat, just we started watching how they were just naturally moving it. So then I started just kind of devising little warm-up and drills where we were really moving it and cutting and getting next actions and all that. They really, really bought into that.

Then I think very quickly we found right out of the gate, especially playing Kansas, you know, that they not only liked to pass -- all of them, including Drew -- but they're really, really good at it. That sounds simple and corny or whatever. It's not just delivering the ball, but the context with -- they're making the decision with. They all have a really good feel for the game. Some of them came with that. Obviously, Jalen and Andrew have this incredible vision. Anton Watson has that.

Corey's, it was learned. It was stuff he couldn't do, quite frankly, his freshman or sophomore year. He became very adept now. We're comfortable putting him in there. Joel's gotten a lot better at it. Drew's great. That was one thing that sold me on Drew when we were recruiting him. He would take the ball off the glass and lead the break and make a good decision.

It's just been a great mix of guys with really, really good feel to make the right basketball play.

Q. Like you mentioned earlier, you said Marcus Zegarowski had a really solid, really good performance against you guys today. How do you think going against him will help you prepare for your matchup against either Oregon or USC?

MARK FEW: I don't know. I don't know if they have anybody that's similar in game to him. Obviously, he's a great player. I think our guys enjoyed competing against him. They enjoyed competing against Creighton, against Ballock, and certainly Bishop, I think, was a handful for Drew in there.

They're fired up for the next challenge. We'll wait and see what it is. The teams are going to be vastly different that we play, whether it's Oregon or 'SC, but we know we're going to have to play great to move on.

Q. Obviously, you guys are making it to the Elite Eight so consistently now. I mean, just in the recent past five, six seasons. Just how far do you feel like this kind of solidifies how far this program has come and how special that is to you?

MARK FEW: I hope people realize just how hard it is. It's literally the hardest thing we do in our sport is advancing in this tournament. Heck, just look at what happened this year. It's just a great case in point here.

So it's really, really hard. You've got to be really good, and you've got to be good on that particular night. Obviously, it takes a talented team and a good team, but it also takes a little luck and then just total, incredible focus by your guys to be your best on that particular afternoon or evening.

But it's really hard, and I know we've done it quite a few years in a row now, but I can tell you, it's hard. It's hard to get to this tournament, and it's hard to win games in it. It's something that I'll never, ever, ever take for granted.

I just am so proud of our guys, all our guys over the years, and just been blessed to be a part of these groups that do know how to get it done and win games in this thing.

Q. Mark, congratulations. I know you guys have spoken along the way here that the undefeated thing is not in your minds, but when teams are on runs like you guys are and you get to the next higher and higher step, the pressure obviously ratchets up a bit. I just wonder what is it about the makeup of your group that they -- allows them to play so freely and seemingly very unaffected by all of that, the big picture, if you will.

MARK FEW: Again, I'm just telling you, we're not hung up on the undefeated thing at all. We've got to go undefeated from here on out. We've got to go 3-0 if we want to win the championship, which is -- that's been our goal all along. But nobody's talking about the overall undefeated thing at all.

You're right. I think pressure's on all these teams as you get farther and farther along with this, and the pressure comes from a lot of places. I think the biggest place it comes from is you don't want it to end. Our team just absolutely -- I mean, I bet, if you asked them, they wish they could play 25 more games together. So you just don't want it to end.

But there's a looseness about them because you've got Drew Timme on your team, for one, and Joel Ayayi has just an infectious enthusiasm about him. Heck, Jalen's 19 years old. This is his first time through. He doesn't know any different. So he's having a great time. I think we're younger than people gave us credit all year, and I think this team deserves a lot of credit for that.

Andrew's new to us. Anton's a sophomore. Drew's a sophomore. Corey's the only real grizzled veteran of the whole group.

Q. You just talked about Drew and how he's pretty much the only real veteran right there. How much can you say about him and how he's led this team on and off the court, helping the young guys and helping them keep their heads straight?

MARK FEW: He does a nice job in his own way kind of mentoring. He's done a really good job with Ben Gregg. Ben should be in high school right now. He's really taken Ben under his wing. It's tough. Ben's jumping in on a team with a bunch of guys that are really close and know each other, and he should be in high school. He's just done a wonderful job helping Ben get acclimated, instilling him with some confidence.

Then all the while, like I said, with our own particular group, I think he keeps it loose enough, but everybody knows that Drew's a fierce competitor too, and he shows that when he's on the floor, but he's got a great disposition. He knows how to have fun.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you so much, Coach. We appreciate your time. Good luck on Tuesday. This will be Gonzaga's fifth Elite Eight appearance, and four of those appearances have occurred in the last six tournaments, 2015, '17, '19, and '21.