MOUNTAIN WEST MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 10, 2022

Leon Rice

Emmanuel Akot

Abu Kigab

Thomas & Mack Center

Boise State Broncos

Postgame Press Conference

Boise State - 71, Nevada - 69

THE MODERATOR: We will begin with an opening statement from our coach. Then we will entertain questions for our student athletes. After that, we will dismiss the student athletes, and then we will finish with direct questions for our head coach.

So Coach Rice, if you would please issue your opening statement.

LEON RICE: Well, a great battle, as we knew it would be. I mean, we have a ton of respect for Nevada. We know they got great players, great coaches. And, you know, they had -- when you win this first game, we knew they were going to come in with some momentum, and man, did they come in offensively clicking.

And then we settled in and got crucial stops and able to get control, you know, get a little bit of control there at the end of the first half and led at halftime. But they're -- we know they're a really, really hard team to put away.

And, you know, every possession, it's hard to get a stop. And with them, extremely hard. And, you know, we got a little stagnant because the lead wasn't comfortable, but it was just the outside that keep attacking mode. And I think that got us, maybe, a little bit more on our heels than we should have been.

But in the end, these guys find ways to win, no matter what happens, no matter what the circumstances were. And the flagrant one, I told these guys in the huddle, it doesn't matter, if it -- you know, I don't care about the free-throws, I don't care in about the -- if they give them two free-throws and the ball, it's about us getting a stop.

And sure enough, we were able to get a stop. And then we had a hard close on that last one. And it was pretty darn close. So we just found a way and, again, really proud of our guys, the way we just keep battling. And we needed to get through that because we were working through some stuff with guys that were a little bit sick. And they haven't practiced for a long, long time. So I think we needed to work through a little stuff. And I think that will help them for tomorrow's game.

THE MODERATOR: Okay. With us, our students athletes, are No. 14, Emmanuel Akot; and No. 24, Abu Kigab. Questions for our student athletes?

Q. Guys, just a back-and-forth game like that, just what's the feeling like, the emotions of that game, and just having the fate of the tournament when you're watching that shot from Blackshear going towards the basket?

ABU KIGAB: You know, it was -- Nevada came with everything they got. They gave us their best shot. They're a really talented team, got to give them a lot of credit. And our guys just finished. It's been our motto since the summer. And we knew coming into the season that we needed to do that at a high level, and the guys have been doing that at a high level and we're going to continue to do so.

EMMANUEL AKOT: Yeah, just coming into this tournament, we knew we just have to be ourselves, we don't need to be anything larger than what we've been. And I think today we showed that. Seeing that last shot miss, that was kind of scary. But thankfully we were able to come out with a W.

Q. You guys, it seemed like, you know, Nevada was in a real good offensive rhythm early on. And then you got stops, went on a 14-zero run. What change -- did you guys just have to slow the pace or what was the key in that?

ABU KIGAB: I think they just have two really good scorers, Cambridge and Sherfield, they got a little bit going. And then we just stayed to our coverage, stayed disciplined. We knew they were going to go on a run. They're a really good team, really good players. But, you know, our effort and our determination came out in the end.

EMMANUEL AKOT: Like he said, man, they're a really talented team. They gave us their best. And, you know, that's what it's all about, competing at a high level. And, you know, that's what we're here for. It's a lot of fun.

Q. Eman, how good did tonight's performance feel? Obviously, you missed a little bit of time with an injury. You seem to be back and confident. If you could comment on your performance. And Abu, what did you think of Eman's efforts tonight?

EMMANUEL AKOT: You know, I came out with the mentality to be aggressive. Having dudes like Shaver and Abu here, driving the lanes, it creates a lot of open shots for me. You can see that with Abu's six assists. I've got to give credit to my teammates, finding me and I delivered.

ABU KIGAB: That's just who Eman is. That's just who Eman is. Sometimes people forget. But he's a really good player. He can score at all three levels. He's an elite passer and he leads our team. We got to give credit where credit's due.

Q. You don't always see players smiling on the court between the two teams, but I saw some smiles between you guys and Nevada today. Have you guys become friends, and was it a little bit more fun to play against a team that you seem to be friendly with?

ABU KIGAB: Yeah, we knew those guys. But I think it was during the free-throw, I told Sherfield that I bet he was going to miss them. (Laughter.) And thank God he did. Yeah, we had a good relationship with those guys. When they came to Boise, you know, we hung out with them a little bit. They're good people, really good people. And a really good team, as well.

LEON RICE: These two guys know everybody, it's remarkable, in the basketball world, everyone. It's amazing.

Co: Check speaker.

ABU KIGAB: We try, we try.

Q. Coach was talking about just trying to get past this game, move through some stuff. But just to get into the semifinals, you don't care what the score was, you move on, you're advancing in the tournament. Just, how does it feel to take a deep breath and be alive?

ABU KIGAB: Feels good, but we're not satisfied. We're not satisfied. We got to continue to improve and get better. It's going to be a tough semifinals against either UNLV or Wyoming. And we got to be ready and be who we are. You know, defense, rebounding and make those simple plays and everything will take care of itself.

Q. When, you know, Nevada started that game 12 of 16 from the field, before we left Boise, you guys said it would come down to your ability to play defense. And you got -- I think they missed the next six or seven shots in a row. I mean, it seems weird to talk about defense and considering what we just saw, but how big was that stretch to kind of allow you guys to get your momentum back and what you do on defense?

EMMANUEL AKOT: I think that was huge. Playing them last year, they beat us three times. Those games, Sherfield and Cambridge, kind of would dominate the game. So we knew we had to shut off their water a little bit. I think we did a good job, staying disciplined, staying to the scouting report and that's why we came out with that little run.

ABU KIGAB: And they're a very talented team. It's a long 40-minute game. We just have to stick with it. They might go on one or two or three runs, but it's how you respond. It's always how you respond.

Q. Coach hinted that someone might not have been feeling too great before this. I don't know if he'll let you guys discuss the valiant effort that someone made tonight to be on the court tonight and score 15 points.

ABU KIGAB: That's big-shot Shave for you. That's what he does, man. He's sick, whatever's wrong, he's going to go out there and compete every single night. He's the most competitive guys I know and he leaves it out there on the floor every single night, and we love him for that.

THE MODERATOR: Any final questions for our student athletes? Thank you, gentlemen. We appreciate it. And now we'll move on to entertain questions for our coach.

LEON RICE: Did you say entertaining questions?

THE MODERATOR: Huh?

LEON RICE: Only ask entertaining questions, please. Yeah, Jay, you're first.

Q. What --

LEON RICE: Who? Where?

Q. To be down eight, you talked about coming into this game and just the emotions of, you know, them playing free and easy and just maybe the No. 1 seed being a little uptight, to be down eight and they're into it and feeling good, just to be able to flip the switch there with that run and take the lead again, how big was that?

LEON RICE: That was huge. Because there's a lot of -- when you play in Nevada, there's a lot of sleepless nights about those guards. It starts with those guards. But, you know, I don't want to exclude those other guys, because they got great players up and down their roster. Their bigs are terrific. And then to have to play them and have to beat them, you know, two times in two weeks, I mean, that's tough duty. And for the way the guys responded was amazing.

Because, you know, like I said, coming off that game from yesterday, they got their, you know, first game the jitters or whatever, conference -- or tournament jitters out. And you get some real momentum. And you saw it, they were making everything to start out.

And, you know, sometimes they're there -- and they're the kind of team that you can guard them perfect and they can make shots. I mean, I think last year you saw that. When you went back and watched the tapes of how we played them, especially here in the conference tournament, we were guarding them great. They were just -- those two guards, they can get it going on anybody with the best of them. And I'm not just talking about the league, the best in the country. They're so explosive. So credit to our guys.

But they're a hard team to put away, too. Because, you know, every possession Sherfield can make something good happen, and it starts with him. So we kept passing him around a little bit of who could guard him and did it by committee. But in the end, we got just enough stops to get it done.

Q. Leon, what did you think of Emmanuel's performance tonight?

LEON RICE: Terrific. And I know these guys pretty darn well. And, you know, I always try to not read too much into what I think I see, because I've been -- you know, but with these guys, I can see in their body language and how they're feeling just because I know them so well. It's almost an unspoken thing. And I saw a bounce in his step that I hadn't seen because of the knee. You know, I felt great about that.

And I don't think his conditioning is back to 100 percent, but his toughness is, and that's what got him through tonight. And I tried to give those the guys a little rest like him and Shave, but, you know, you -- without those guys in the game, it's going to be tough.

And so they just toughed their way through it. And, you know, credit to Mladen because we win the boards. And he doesn't get the credit he deserves for having to battle all those big guys. And try to keep -- Washington is one of the best offensive rebounders in the league, and Mladen just battles and battles him, you know, to keep him off the boards.

So, you know, as it always is with these guys, it's such a team thing and, you know, I'm just happy that they get to keep playing in this tournament, because they deserve it and they fought all year for it. And, you know, now we're going to have a really, really tough one against a really good team tomorrow regardless of which way it goes in this next game.

Q. Prior to leaving Boise, you said you got a team right now that wants to be together and wants to continue to grow even at this point in this season. So first off, what does it mean to have another day here to spend together as a team; and secondly, what was going through your mind when that shot was in the air at the buzzer?

LEON RICE: Well, you know, when you have a team like this, they almost -- it almost feels more destiny. You know, we deserve to win, we're going to. And that's why -- and I think that helps these guys, you know, the equanimity in the face of all that we face. We have a calmness in our huddles that's like, so what now, we'll just figure it out. And that's what we were saying during the F1.

Abu didn't mean to catch him in the face, but you probably have to take an F1, because you can't take a swing at the ball and smack a guy in the face. And so it was an appropriate call. I said, it doesn't matter. We'll go on. We'll get a stop because you guys always do.

And they kind of regrouped, some resetters. And when a team's coming back on you, that can be hard, and put you in a tough spot. Because it can take your aggressiveness out because you don't want to go too fast and have more possessions, but you got to try to stay aggressive.

And I thought there were a few possessions where we were a little bit more on our heels than we should have been.

Q. That last possession, Abu missed kind of a shot he's hit a billion times, and then they run down the court and have that open three. Can you take me through that sequence of what that was like for you on the sideline?

LEON RICE: Yeah, that was -- you know, you got it in Abu's hands, he felt pretty good about it. He gets it to the middle of the paint, which you feel pretty good about. And they did a good job of contesting. You know, they're big and athletic and they've got some shot blockers. So it's never easy when you get in there.

But, yeah, that's a way they go and there's not much you can do as a coach except for watch, and trust these guys. And they know, you know, they -- I think -- I'll have to see the film. It seemed like we ran at them pretty hard. And maybe that contributed, I don't know. I'm just grateful we get to keep playing. That's for sure.

Q. This team made history again today, as it's done so quite a few times in this season with its 25th win. Why would you say that this team is equipped to get a semifinal win for the first time in history?

LEON RICE: Well, you know, it goes back to the three things I said that I'm so grateful about. These guys, No. 1, it's how unselfish they are. And they just enjoy being together, they prepare better than any team I've ever had. Coaches are -- you're always wondering, are the guys locked in? These guys are always locked in. It's amazing.

But, you know, we do spend a ton of time together and we -- I've never had a team that enjoys as much, both on and off the court. They just love being around each other and they have really grown together, all of them.

And so, No. 1, it's unselfish. No. 2, they're the toughest competitors. No matter what's thrown at them, they just have a toughness about them that they just keep coming.

Because, you know -- I mean, I'm not going to show all the cards, but this time of year, you're always a lot more banged up than you appear to be. And, you know, when the season ends, you'll get that story, I think, because they're courageous. They really are. And they just show up and find a way.

And then, you know, the -- the other neat thing that's been really, really special that we worked on a lot -- because you have to work on it -- is their ability to stay in the moment. They're not looking ahead to the next game, they're not looking behind us to the -- cutting down the nets, any of that, this or that. They just stay in the moment, right here, right now. And that's probably why they enjoy each other so much because we do a good job of that.

They'll be in this moment today about getting their bodies right for tomorrow and watching the game. And, you know, it's pretty special when you have a group that's able to do that. And, you know, there's nothing out ahead of us, except for right now. Right here, right now.

So those three things are what we hang our hat on and it's been that way all year long. And so, it gives you that -- when you are able to stay together in these moments, it gives you a lot more enjoyment than if you're, you know, living out in the future of, hey, we got this and that. No, we're enjoying the space that we're in. And, you know, I'm grateful I have a group that understands and can do that, because you have to work at that.

THE MODERATOR: We have time for one final question.

Q. Can you tell us what Shaver ran there on the court?

LEON RICE: Yeah, I'm always -- I live in truth. I'd like to say it, but there's always gray area when it's health and all that stuff. But it was non-COVID. But he hasn't practiced for a week. I mean, he -- and he's had it for a while. And like I said, when I talk about toughness and courageous, he's finding a way to be there with his teammates. Now, I think we're at the end of it.

He needed -- but still, when you haven't practiced, your timing gets off and, you know, your shot can -- so for him to go out and play as good as he did with what -- you know, it's amazing. And the guys all respect that. He may be a quiet guy, but he's a great leader in the way that he carries himself and the way he is, and the way he is with his teammates. And it was really neat because when he -- he hasn't been with us. Because you also don't want to infect anyone else. There was a couple guys that had it too, but they got over it.

When he came back, he came into the meeting room and we were all in there waiting for him, they gave him a standing O. It was really awesome.

THE MODERATOR: Okay. Well, we thank you.