BIG TEN CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

March 10, 2022

Danny Manning

Eric Ayala

Fatts Russell

Gainbridge Fieldhouse

Maryland Terrapins

Postgame Press Conference

Michigan State - 76, Maryland - 72

MODERATOR: We are joined by the University of Maryland. We'll start with an opening statement from interim head coach Danny Manning.

COACH DANNY MANNING: First thing, I would just like to say I'm really proud of the effort that our young men displayed throughout the course of this year. A unique and challenging year to say the least and these guys brought it every day, competed and they left it all on the floor. So as a staff, we're all appreciative of those efforts and today we ran into a very tough team in Michigan State that made more plays than us down the stretch.

Q. Eric or Fatts or both, what's the mindset when you go into desperation mode there with the press and then you start to realize it's working, and then on the flip side, what did it feel like when you realized it was over?

ERIC AYALA: I mean, we was just playing with a sense of urgency at the end. Our pressure gave us a chance to get back in the game and we just tried to make plays out of it, executing out of the steal. It definitely helped us a lot at the end.

FATTS RUSSELL: We had three seniors that played today. It's probably our last college basketball game, so what you see out there was like Eric said, desperation. We just didn't want it to be our last game with each other.

Q. This is for both guys. Considering the way the first two meetings went with these guys where they had big leads and you were able to come back both times, were you able to draw on that? How much did you guys talk about that? How much did that help you guys today to be able to come back and almost get it done?

FATTS RUSSELL: We want to start off with a fast start. They got off on the second half to a good run, they were up 20 points, but we never stopped fighting. We got out and we told each other that we were going to give it all that we got for these last couple minutes and we almost pulled it off.

ERIC AYALA: Just going out there and competing at a high level, it's the Big Ten, we've been battling all year and I just want to thank the guys, everybody just coming out here and giving it our all. We fought a lot of adversity this year and I definitely think it was Manning as well, too, because it wasn't as easy on him. He came in a situation where he wasn't expecting to be a head coach this late in the season and he did a hell of a job of keeping us together and fighting. And I thank him a lot for just sticking with us because it would have been easy for him to just give up and just say he didn't want to do it. And he fought with us, so thank you, Coach.

Q. As you guys are turning them over, particularly in those last three minutes I think you turned them over about seven times, what are those huddles like? What are you telling each other and at what point did you realize that you could come back and maybe win this game?

ERIC AYALA: I mean, I told the guys at halftime like if he was watching the conference games, you would know that all the games end with five points in the last two minutes, within fives. Watching games all day yesterday and the day before I knew it was going to be in the game at the end at some point, so it was just a matter of time before we got going and figuring out.

FATTS RUSSELL: This team fights. We've been through a lot. Nobody ever quit, nobody ever put their head down. We have a team full of fighters in the locker room there and I'm just proud of everything.

Like Eric said, I want to thank you, Coach. That was a tough situation that you just walked in to. But he's just been that person that we needed. So thank you, Coach. Thank you for the rest of the Maryland community for accepting us and staying with us.

Q. Eric, especially after the shooting start the last time you played Michigan State, how important was it for you to hit that first shot to set the tone early?

ERIC AYALA: I mean, it just came, it was an opening shot in a neutral court. You've got to find a rhythm and just figure out where it's at. I was just trying to help my team and it was an open shot that I made. That's all it really was.

Q. My question is for both of you but a little bit different perspectives. Eric, you've been with the program for the longest time on the team, what do you kind of take away from your time at Maryland and what you do you hope sticks with you from this time? And Fatts, with you having this one season, what do you hope to pull away from that and what does this season mean to you?

ERIC AYALA: Just, I mean, there was a lot of stuff off the court that I learned. I feel like my time here at Maryland, I developed into a man and the things that I've learned from guys, our managers, our coach, the support staff that we have and everybody that's come into the program, I've learned so much and I'm proud to say I'm going to be a future alum for the University of Maryland. and I couldn't thank enough for everybody that just, you know, supported me or just gave me anything that helped me in my future.

FATTS RUSSELL: Yeah, I love Maryland. I've only been here for this year, but the relationships that I gained, the people that I met, Coach Manning and the rest of the coaching staff and my teammates, I don't know how to put it into words. They mean a lot to me in that short period of time. I'm always going to come back to Maryland, check out the guys and just see how the program's doing. It's a part of me now, I'm proud to be a Tarp.

Q. Coach, I just wanted to ask about Donta Scott coming back after looking like tweaking his ankle. What do you have to say about his resolve being able to compete after suffering that injury?

COACH DANNY MANNING: When Donta went down, those things happen, and the first thing was make sure that you're structurally okay. And after the trainer determined that, Matt determined that, our medical staff, it was just how much tolerance are you going to have to be able to play on it. He showed great resolve coming back out and bringing energy, making shots, playing extremely hard, and everyone knew his ankle was bothering him. That just kind of fueled the rest of the guys to a certain extent also. That just brought us a little bit more energy, a little bit more juice and guys were able to feed off of that. So having him come back into the ballgame after turning his ankle like that was a big momentum swing for the whole team.

Q. Seemed like they were shooting the ball really well in the first half. What do you think was causing you guys to struggle defensively and what adjustments did you try to make to improve in the second half?

COACH DANNY MANNING: Not seems like, Emily. They did shoot the ball well in the first half. They shot 57 percent in the first half. The second half we just tried to stay a little bit closer to shooters, do a better job of staying in front of the basketball and not having to help as much. I thought in the first half they made some tough shots, too. Sometimes it's as a player and as a coach, sometimes you've just got to tip your hat to them. Good defense. And that happened I want to say like three to five possessions in that first half where we got them to take a tough shot and they knocked it down. And at that point you've just got to tip your hat to them and try to make it a little bit harder for them to catch it next time.

Q. Coach, that second half had everything. You guys went down by a lot and then you cut it all the way at the end. How were you guys able to stay so even keel down the stretch?

COACH DANNY MANNING: Well, that's been the personality of our group. We have a bunch of guys that compete in battle. We talk about playing from tip to horn and that's something that we definitely did today. That's just been the mindset. In the huddles we're chipping away, we're challenging them to win three, four, five-minute blocks of game to get back in the game because we're not going to get back in the game in one or two possessions. It's over a period of time. Our guys bought into that and went out there, and for us, it's energy-generating behaviors, a deflection, a steal and a really good defense, tough rebounds. We were able to string some of those things together to give ourselves a chance to make it interesting.

Q. You talked about Michigan State making some tough shots. We saw Eric and Fatts do the exact same. Can you talk about their performances when their backs are literally against the wall to lose or go home?

COACH DANNY MANNING: That's the beautiful part of this time of year, right? That's why everybody tunes into March Madness, to see the magic, to see teams go on runs. Those two guys certainly for us have been two guys that have been cornerstones for our team this year. Both of those guys received honorable mention all-conference horns because of their athletic prowess and what they've brought to our team night in and night out. We're losing a bunch of seniors. We're in the locker room, we made sure to let them know we appreciate them, we thanked them and we love them for what they brought to the table this year. But we're certainly going to miss those two guys. Those two guys aren't two players that you easily replace.

Q. (Indiscernible) the drive and press pass, Danny, I know it's just a couple of minutes after the game ended, but you've done a lot of winning in your career. What has to happen with this program? What's the next step?

COACH DANNY MANNING: Well, whenever the season ends, the guys get a little time off and then you come back and you get back after it. You get back in the weight room, you get back in the gym, you try to become better in all aspects of the game, whether that's shooting, getting stronger, quicker, more athletic, whatever that is. You get back in the gym and you start working. But you do need some time to take a step back, take a deep breath, recharge your batteries and then get after it again. Being in this situation that these guys are in as a player, that's probably the best remedy, for you to be honest with you, take a step back, take a deep breath and then get back in the gym to what you love doing. All these guys, they love playing the game and that's probably the best medicine for you to help you get over this situation in terms of losing and your season coming to an end, because it is a shock. All year long your schedule is based upon basketball, your class schedule, your tutoring schedule, your practice schedule. Then all of a sudden games start coming about. So right now these guys get a chance to be a little bit more of a true student, knock out their academic work. But I'm pretty sure they'll be in the gym a short time after getting back home.

MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach.