NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: REGIONAL FINAL: ARKANSAS VS BAYLOR

March 29, 2021

Jalen Tate

Lucas Oil Stadium - Unity Court (South)

Arkansas Razorbacks

Elite 8 Postgame Media Conference

Baylor - 81, Arkansas - 72

Q. Jalen, how do you hope -- I know the loss is still fresh, but how do you hope this team is remembered and what mark do you think you and this team made in terms of kind of revitalizing the program and putting it back on a national stage?

JALEN TATE: This team will never be forgotten, man. This group has done a lot for this program and the culture of this program. I think year two with this coaching staff, man, it puts you on a jump start in the right direction. It puts those expectations in a bit of a standard. It sets the standard for every single year -- the work that we put in and the work that the players coming in will have to put in, and just the expectations of the returner every year -- you'll want to get back to this point and back to these experiences.

So to be able to do what we did, especially in a year like COVID where you're faced with a lot of challenges and just a different way of life, honestly, us being in the bubble, included, honestly you can't say enough about this team. Obviously we want the outcome of the night to go different. But I think this team will just, when we get back and give it some time to heal a little bit, you'll remember everything we did.

Q. You have been a comeback team all year, especially in this tournament. And you look like you might do it again when you cut that 18-point deficit to four. What do you think, was Baylor just too good to get all the way over the hump against them? They sort of pulled away late there. What do you think happened there?

JALEN TATE: That's a really good team across the way, man. And we've been doing that all year. I'm not sure why it happens, but it's really hard to come back, especially from down 18. I didn't even know we were down that much at one point in the game.

But it just shows the resiliency of this group. We almost did it. We weren't able to tonight. We did a lot on our 12-game win streak, especially these three past games in the tournament. We just had great fight and we were able to dig in and get back.

Q. You kind of mentioned just laying the foundation with this group. Could you just talk about doing that with the three freshmen, playing as much as they did and being able to serve as a mentor for them?

JALEN TATE: Our freshmen are great. They made this experience everything it was for me, honestly. Every single one of the guys, with the freshmen especially, because they came to me for advice on the court and off the court. They listened tremendously, man. And it's just amazing to see them flourish the way they did -- guys like Devo Davis and Jaylin Williams who had no playing time in the beginning of the year and may have gotten down on themselves.

But me and -- myself and Justin Smith were telling them know your time will come, honestly. It's a long season, especially the things we were able to accomplish during conference. You look down the stretch, without those guys we're nowhere near where we're now. Just to watch them, Moses Moody included, once-in-a-lifetime player to play with, honestly, and just really a tremendous talent. I'm excited to see what all three of them can do after this.

Q. Along those lines, wondered about Devo, where did you see him grow most on the court and where do you think he could take his game next year?

JALEN TATE: To the NBA. Devo Davis is tremendous energizer bunny. There's not a thing he can't do on the court, honestly. I'd love to see him really take on that leadership role going forward because he can do it.

I think maybe some catch-and-shoot opportunities. But we all see the work he puts in, and although it doesn't show up on the stat sheets as far as percentages, I know he's capable to do anything on the basketball court.

I can't put my finger on one thing he can't do, honestly, and I think he'll go as far as this game will take him.

Q. I'm just curious, how much has Coach meant to you at your time here at Arkansas?

JALEN TATE: Coach meant everything, honestly. I took a blind leap of faith, honestly, not taking any visits and really just -- he stood by me. Didn't make any empty promises. He pushed me even when I didn't want to be pushed. Coach is really, like, you just see how emotional he is about the game every single day.

And sometimes in the season it gets annoying or you might get a little backlash, but looking back I never have anybody like him, honestly. I've never had anybody like him. He's a once-in-a-lifetime coach, really. And just his passion for the game, his passion for success really matched mine. And I think that's why we were able to do what we did this year.

Q. What was the importance of Mitchell's presence for them in the second half and how difficult was it to contain -- what was it like trying to cover him?

JALEN TATE: That, Davion Mitchell is one of the fastest guys I've ever guarded, especially this year. He's a tough cover. You could tell they're a completely different team on both sides of the ball. He's a facilitator for them as well as just their anchor defensively.

So he causes a lot of problems on both sides of the ball. He's an excellent dribble driver. He can also knock down shots. And he's as good as anybody we played this year.

Q. When Baylor jumped out 13-2, is there anything you could put your finger on your guys' end that led to that?

JALEN TATE: Not exactly. I think they came out hot. They're a confident group. They're an older group. So with games like that, especially against a younger group like us, and in terms of the fact that we just started three freshmen, I think they may have -- honestly I can't put my finger on it. I wouldn't say there was any one thing that would jump out. We're a team that usually gets down in the first half. And tonight wasn't any different.

Q. Moses is primed to go on to the NBA. You and Justin have a shot to play pro ball. Devo is back. Jaylin, the other Jaylin is back, Notae is back. What do you think about the future for this team? You know Eric, he's added good recruits already. I'm sure he'll add some more good ones.

JALEN TATE: The core of this team that will return will have this experience to fall back on and to push them forward. And the work ethic that they saw them have, I think they'll continue to increase that. And I believe that with this coaching staff and with the support of the community and the fans, they'll definitely do everything they can to get back to this. They're high-character guys and super competitors. So I believe they'll push one another and the people that are brought in to have the same success.

Q. Similar to what I asked Devo earlier, how did you see Jaylin Williams throughout the year?

JALEN TATE: He came into his own on both sides of the ball really. Just an excellent screen setter to come in. You could tell he had the loudest voice, but sometimes J-Will would say things just to say them. By the end of the year, he was making calls that were like, okay, detrimental to us getting us wins or detrimental to us getting stops.

He became a tenacious rebounder, just excellent, one of the best in the country, honestly, that I had seen. And he became an anchor, honestly, on both sides of the ball. He was making calls on both sides, telling me what we should run and giving me suggestions. And even with our coverages helping out a lot. And so I think he just came into his own as far as the maturity level and, you know, his understanding of the game overall.

Q. JD was obviously in the scoring group tonight but he didn't get to play enough minutes. How tough is that? He scores 14 in 15. If he could have played 32 or whatever like he usually does when he's hot, who knows what might have happened?

JALEN TATE: Honestly, I think some calls didn't go his way. Unfortunately, you know, sometimes it's how it goes. I think the game -- I'm not going to say we definitely would have definitely won the game, but I think we would have had a better shot at the end of the game with him on the court. He's excellent combo guard, scorer facilitator.

It's unfortunate this had to be his last game of the year and he couldn't -- the refs kind of took it out of his hands a little bit with some of the 50/50 calls that didn't bounce his way. I think JD will continue to do great things both in basketball and in life, honestly, but life after Arkansas.

So I think it was a pleasure to play with him this year and I can't wait to see what he's able to do after this.