MOUNTAIN WEST MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 10, 2022

Jeff Linder

Brendan Wenzel

Hunter Maldonado

Thomas & Mack Center

Wyoming Cowboys

Postgame Press Conference

Wyoming - 59, UNLV - 56

THE MODERATOR: We will begin with an opening statement from the coach. We'll follow that up with your questions for the student-athletes. The student-athletes will then be dismissed, and then the coach will answer your questions from there on. So let us begin.

I have Jeff Linder, the head coach of the Wyoming cowboys. And he brought students Brendan Wenzel and Hunter Maldonado.

Coach, your opening statement, please.

JEFF LINDER: Thank you. I mean, we wouldn't expect anything different. That's the way the season's gone for us. I mean, we've been in more close games than probably any team in the country. And that's how this conference has been from top to bottom.

It's -- I was in the league back in 2013 when we got five teams to the NCAA Tournament. And I'm not sure from -- you know, I'm not sure the league was better then than what it is now. It's a really, really tough league. And Coach Kruger has done a tremendous job with his group in year one, with so many new faces, and they continued to get better and better as the year went on.

And we knew that we had a tough challenge in front of us after playing them last week. I thought our guys did a really good job. The last time we played them it was our third game in five days. We hadn't played them before. So it wasn't like you had played them back in January and you had a pretty good idea of what was going on.

We pretty much just flew down here, made sure we got rest, walked through some things at shoot around. And I thought we made some, you know, defensive mistakes that we normally don't make. A lot of that probably had to do with the fatigue of the schedule that we had down the stretch, and then just not being able to prepare like we normally prepare. And that's how we separate ourselves, with our preparation, our discipline and our effort.

And I thought our guys tonight, you know, as much as sometimes people want to talk about us offensively, me offensively, we know at the end of the day it's our defense that gives us a chance to win a championship. And I thought our guys did a really good job of understanding the game plan, knowing that Hamilton is as tough of a guard that there is.

And for us to not have one of our better offensive showings, which UNLV had a large part in that, but for our guys to really dig down and do what we did defensively, you know -- and also rebounding-wise was a huge part. And that's why we won the game.

THE MODERATOR: Okay. Questions for our student-athletes?

Q. I'm just wondering if you guys could go through the play where DuSell ended up making the three and how confident you were seeing him take a shot with that much pressure on him?

HUNTER MALDONADO: I ended up getting down towards the baseline, like I normally do, in the dribble down. And they were all kind of looking at me, helping off. I know Bryce was, I think, all the way to the middle of the paint. And so I knew they were kind of keying on me. And I ended up swinging it, I think, to Wenzel, who ended up getting the assist to X. I mean, X hits these kind of shots every single day. I mean, this is what he practiced. So when X got the ball and he hit shot it, I knew everyone on the team was confident that was going in.

BRENDAN WENZEL: Yeah, I mean, it's all about trust and unselfishness. And whenever Maldonado skipped it to me, I saw the defender coming at me, and I saw X to my left, and I just trusted him to make it and he did.

Q. Brendan, obviously, you guys smothered Hamilton in the first half and he responded, as a scorer does. What was the key defensively tonight to win, you know, in the 50s like this, and especially dealing with him?

BRENDAN WENZEL: I mean, it was just about staying in front of him. He's a really good player. He has all these moves. But, I mean, it's all about grit, how bad you want to get the stop. And I've been trying to work on my defense ever since I got to Wyoming. And so I think tonight was a really good show of how hard I've been working defensively.

Q. Hunter, you know, for you, we've talked about it before, you've been through the ups and downs at Wyoming. For you, what did this one feel like getting a win at UNLV to likely clinch y'all's trip to the tournament?

HUNTER MALDONADO: It's sweet, to be honest. And I think at the end of the day, like Wendell said, it was grit. This whole game was grit. Coming down, a lot of adversity. Me and Graham getting in foul trouble, X getting in foul trouble in the first half, having guys step up and when their name was called, they were ready. So it was sweet to see everyone step up. And it just shows how hard we've been working all summer, all season, every single one of us.

Q. Brendan, can you talk about what these last few weeks have been for you? You're not in the starting lineup anymore. You've been one of those hardworking guys that Coach has talked about since day one, just working your way up and getting better and better.

What did it mean to you to go out today and lead this team to the biggest one of the year?

BRENDAN WENZEL: I mean, it's great. I understand my role on this team. Starting or not starting, I'm going to go out on the court and do what I'm supposed to do to help us win.

Q. Hunter, your next opponent, Boise State, how would you characterize your first two go-arounds with them, and what do you think about matching up with the Broncos for a chance to play for a title?

HUNTER MALDONADO: I think it's going to be fun. Obviously, they're a great team. Ended up winning the conference season title. Like I said, they're a great team. They get after it defensively. They sit down and try to hold teams to 50, 60 points.

For us, we're, obviously, going to have to replicate this defensive performance and go out there and -- I think, like I said before, it's going to be a fun game and we'll give it our all. So...

Q. I know it's just a step. But Wyoming had lost 19 in a row to UNLV in this building. I realize you guys were toddlers when that streak started. What does it mean to beat this in this building and did it kind of feel like almost like a home game the way the fans kind of melted?

HUNTER MALDONADO: Oh, yeah. No, definitely. Shout out to all the fans that did come. They're a huge part. Obviously, down the stretch, the noise and making it feel like a home game. With us being the higher seat, having our home jerseys on, like I told the guys before the game, we protect home court. And with everyone coming out here, it's a home game for us. We got to go out there and win.

BRENDAN WENZEL: Yeah, down the stretch, the fans traveling all this way, it gives us the energy that we really need to really pull through. I mean, it's love, man. Seriously. I didn't think we were going to get that many fans at the game. But it felt like a home-court advantage.

JEFF LINDER: And I was on the other side of that back in 2015 when I was at Boise State. So in the semifinal game against Wyoming, when we -- when I was at Boise and we lost to Josh Adams and Larry Nance and those guys. That was the thing that I always remembered, and it was the thing that these guys weren't able to experience with COVID, but that's the beauty with the University of Wyoming, to have the support and for people to come.

And, yeah, it's probably nice to get out of the minus 10 weather this morning that my daughter had to bike to class to, but it also builds toughness and that's what we talk about, is being cowboy tough.

But to go out there on UNLV's home floor and to have a home-court advantage with your crowd, just shows you why Wyoming is a special place. And looking forward to tomorrow to have -- I'm sure there's people probably jumping in their car right and making their way down 80 towards 15 and making their way down here. So hopefully we'll have a lot more brown and gold in the stands tomorrow, and we'll drown the blue and orange.

THE MODERATOR: Do we have any final questions for our student-athletes? Gentlemen, we thank you.

At this time, we'll take questions for the coach.

(No microphone.)

Q. What's it been like to see you in these past few weeks, whether it was the late free-throws on Saturday or tonight to big three? What's it been like to just see him come along and just kind of get over that hump and get back to himself old self?

JEFF LINDER: Well, it was -- he got really challenged by me after we played UNLV down here. And I got after him pretty good after the game, letting him know that we needed more. And for him, he's such a smart kid. And sometimes the smart kids can sometimes overanalyze things and process things too much. And you kind of just let go.

And I told him to kind of -- which he's been looking in the mirror, and I didn't think he'd take it literally where he looks in the mirror and he decides to shave his hair off, because I loved his hair.

But for him to come out like he did when -- you know, I told these guys when we were about to play after we lost to UNLV here and we were going to play at Fresno State, I told him, hey, this is what you're playing for. And if you're scared of the pressure, then you know what, we're not ready to play in the NCAA tournament.

And for him to come out like he did against Fresno, and then for him, you know, who had -- you know, he had some -- he was fighting foul trouble. But for him to just -- where he's missed a couple shots like that in the past, and for him to step up, he puts in the time and effort.

Wenzel in the same boat. As you guys know, and I've talked about at length, ever since Wenzel's gotten here, I've challenged him. I knew having recruited him out of high school, you know, what type of player he is, I mean, with his size, his skill, his feel for the game.

For those guys to step up when those are the guys that, you know, I'm relentless on, because I know that we need them in these situations. Where the case of Graham and Maldo, where they're not -- didn't score their normal points, we needed other guys to step up. And I thought that's what we did tonight. Those role guys stepped up and helped us get the win.

Q. Jeff, you know, Brendan led the team today in points, but he was also making winning plays. He was taking charges, pulling down offensive boards there in the first half. Can you speak about the way he's responded since he hasn't been in the starting lineup? And also when they start one for 13 from the field today, I mean, you've got to be thinking, we've got to build a bigger lead than this, right?

JEFF LINDER: Well, we built a pretty big lead, then we lost it. And our guys know it's the reason why we're whatever our record is now. I mean, 25 and 7, is that you got to have guys that sacrifice.

And for us who people didn't think we were going to be much this year, we picked eighth, picked ninth, those guys in that locker room, and there's a lot of character.

And for us, you know in order to compete for championships and be in this position, everyone's got to sacrifice. And X loses his starting spot there when he gets hurt. Wenzel played well, but then as things went along, we just felt like we needed a change. And Wenzel didn't -- he didn't bat an eye, he didn't put his head down. He knows that we're not going to accept that. That's part of it. They know what the standard is.

But when you have a group of guys like we do when -- as I've said to you guys in the local media, every coach tells you how great the kids they have, but in reality, that's probably not the case. But I can just assure you this, that we have unbelievable kids. And that's why we've overachieved this season because of the character of our kids.

Q. Jeff, what has it been like to go through a season where you have just basically been on the edge the whole time, every game and, as you said, you come in here NCAA Tournament situation uncertain, what's that been like?

JEFF LINDER: Well, I mean, I think first the schedule prepared us for this. Even though the thing is, is you don't realize with our top seven guys, I mean, four of those guys are COVID freshmen, the other one, Noah Reynolds is a true freshman. So we have five pretty much freshmen in our top seven.

And those guys last year, even though with COVID, you don't really -- COVID was COVID, and it was a grind in its own way. But you didn't have the grind of the season where you had to play 31 games, you had to travel on a Thursday, and then, you know, get on the plane and go play on Saturday.

And then in our case, where you had to play down the stretch, we had to play five games in eight days. Play three games in five days. And I told our guys that we could sit there and feel sorry for ourselves or we can -- nobody cares. So figure out a way to figure it out.

And with such a young team, and I knew when we got ranked and we played at New Mexico, I could feel that our guys were tired. You know, they were tired just from not having felt what it's like to play in the middle of February, at the end of February.

And now you become the hunted. And that's a big change from where we were at. When I took this job over two years ago, no one thought we'd be in a position right now where we were the hunted. We're now -- San Diego's State's coming to play you in your home court, and if they win this game, that's a quad one win.

And so for my young team to really have to go through that for the first time, it took them back a little bit. And it took us a little bit to recalibrate. And I think having this couple of days before the conference tournament to really get our legs back and just to get refreshed, but I do think that the grind that we had endured with the schedule down the stretch, I think it's -- hopefully it will pay off here as we make our way into the tournament.

Q. Coach, it seemed like every time Hamilton touched the ball in the first half, you just took him out of it, double-teaming him. And then in the second half, it seemed like you were playing him a little bit more straight up. Can you talk about that decision, and just guarding him throughout the game?

JEFF LINDER: Yeah, well, in the first half, they were setting ball screens. When he was in the ball screen, we were able to blitz it and, for the most part, get the ball out of his hands.

And then in the second half, they just went one-four low, isolation. It puts you in a little bit of a bind when they bring that shooter up to kind of either create the switch or confuse the switch. And so in the second half, they just went completely away from the ball screen coverage, which was a smart move on their part.

But it's something that we had prepared for, which we couldn't prepare for as much the first time we played them, because we just didn't have the practice time to do it.

But our guys knew that, especially in that last situation, you know, we knew we wanted to get the ball out of his hands. We wanted to make sure that someone else beat us.

And our guys did a really good job of executing that final possession, not the last-second shot, but that final possession where we're not going to let him get a shot. And thankfully, they did a good job and they missed it.

Q. Jeff, talk about your versatility offensively. Obviously, Graham didn't have a big-time offensive game today. But down the stretch especially, your guards stepped up big and, like, you got a number of guys who can step up and hit shots. Obviously, Xavier is the one who that hit the one to cap the game off.

JEFF LINDER: Yeah, I mean, we're different. We're one of the -- probably the most unique team in the country offensively. I mean, if you look at, you know, the stats -- you know, the advanced stats from a team that throws the ball into the post, I mean, the second closest team, Purdue is 300 possessions behind us in terms of the number of times the ball's either gotten to post, and in the case of Maldo and dribble downs and passing out of it.

So, you know, we know that there's some things that we do lack, but we know with those two guys, with Graham and Maldo, that they're going to draw a lot of attention. And the case of Graham, he led the country pretty much all season long in terms of fouls drawn for 40 minutes, almost at eight a game. He's having to fight through some things right now. It got physical tonight.

But when you have those two guys, where if you want to guard them one-on-one, both those guys are capable of going and getting 30.

But then, as you saw tonight, with Maldo's ability to get that ball below the free-throw line, to where now the other team is kind of looking in, and he's such a good passer. I mean, he can make those passes.

It's a lot like why guys are major league pitchers or why guys are NFL quarterbacks is because they can throw a 98-miles-per-hour fastball, or an NFL quarterback who has -- Josh Allen has enough velocity to put it through a window and anticipate those windows.

And that's where with Maldo and his ability to throw those cross-court passes, it just puts you in a big bind.

Q. Twelve offensive rebounds today, won the rebounding battle by 16 total. What impressed you most in that respect, and how big is that going to be to carry that over against Boise tomorrow?

JEFF LINDER: Yeah, we challenged our guys, I felt like. And a lot of it had to do with our fatigue our third game in five days. But they beat us to the 50-50 balls when we played here and they out rebounded us here.

And we knew that was a big part of the game in terms of beating the team, to beat them to the ball, and I thought we did it from the start. You could just tell we were moving at a different pace from the time we played here last time.

And so, credit to our guys. We challenged them. But we also know, too, now, with Boise, you know, same system that I came up with, you know, with Leon when I was at -- there's a reason why they're a really good rebounding team, there's a reason why we're a really good rebounding team. It's the same system. So just comes down to who can do it better.

THE MODERATOR: Well, thank you.