MOUNTAIN WEST MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 10, 2022

Kevin Kruger

Bryce Hamilton

Royce Hamm Jr.

Thomas & Mack Center

UNLV Rebels

Postgame Press Conference

Wyoming - 59, UNLV - 56

THE MODERATOR: We will begin with an opening statement from the coach, that will be followed by your questions for the student-athletes. After that, they will be dismissed, and we'll finish up with you asking questions of the coach. So with that in mind, Coach Kruger, would you please give us your opening statement.

KEVIN KRUGER: Yeah, just as I've said pretty much every game, I could not be more proud of these guys. You know, we came out a little stagnant. But just never stopped fighting. There was never a hint that we weren't going to fight, weren't going to compete. There was a sense of still security and confidence on the sideline.

Because this group over the last four or five weeks has grown about as much as I think we could have. And the fight and the competitiveness and the togetherness that I've seen in the last month is what puts us in -- put us in an opportunity to beat a team that's going to be playing in the NCAA tournament, and bet a couple of teams over the past month that's going to be in the NCAA tournament.

And couldn't be more proud of them. But, you know, just got in a little bit of a hole, but ended up erasing that by doing what we've been doing this last month. And that's just guarding like crazy, rebounding, making plays for each other, putting Bryce in advantage situations and kind of trusting him and letting him make plays.

And, you know, on the other end, of course, what Royce does is impact defensively, rebounding, you know, being a threat at the rim. You know, I think that a large part of that push that we made was just the guys in the huddle, you know, the eye contact, the willingness, the readiness to go out there and compete and go win a game.

THE MODERATOR: Okay. Questions for Bryce Hamilton or Royce Hamm?

Q. Bryce, what was the difference for you from the first half to the second half? It looked like they were denying you the basketball. And when you did get the ball, you were double-teamed and you weren't able to get a shot off in the first half? What was the difference?

BRYCE HAMILTON: In the first half, we were using a lot more ball screen. So we noticed after the ball screen they would trap us. We made an adjustment in the second half, kind of just doing the ghost screen where we don't actually screen. And that was just able to make me use that advantage to make plays.

Q. Royce, what really was working for you guys on defense in that second half?

ROYCE HAMM JR.: I think guys just really locked in. I think defense is one thing as a team that we focus on day in and day out. And I think Coach really emphasized the intent on defense of putting your chest, drawing the line in the sand in the post, guarding and catching the dribble with your chest. So I think guys just really locked in defensively in the second half and closed the margin.

Q. Royce, more specifically: I mean, in two games you guys really shut down Graham Ike and made other guys try to beat you. What's the key to dealing with him?

ROYCE HAMM JR.: Personally, I think he's a good player. But I think if you make him finish over you instead of, like -- or go around you instead of, like, not finish through you, basically, I think it's a better situation for us.

I think Ike is a good player when you get the ball down low in the post. But if you make his catches a little bit farther out and you make him have to work for his position, then I think it gets tougher on him.

Q. Bryce coming out of that time-out down one, they put the ball in your hands, Wyoming sent a couple defenders at you. What did you see on that play, eventually, having to give the ball up on that last possession?

BRYCE HAMILTON: Yeah, I mean, we knew the play was a draw for me to be able to get a ghost screen and be able to make a play. But they started to trap me. So, you know, they forced me to be able to make a pass and that's where we from there just had to play ball.

Q. Just in general, your emotions, you've been here for four years. That's a tough way to end the season. What are you thinking right now? What's going through your mind as you walk off the court with your teammates?

BRYCE HAMILTON: I mean, it hurts. We play so hard. You know, we fought all year, especially this game. We were down 13 in the first half, we didn't start off great. But we fought to the end, come back to be able to get the lead.

You know, I'm just so proud of this team. I mean, we fought hard, you know, we stuck together. We never separated. And, you know, I couldn't ask for a better team. And, you know, I'm proud of how we ended. It didn't end how we wanted it to go, but I'm proud of the effort from the guys.

Q. Royce, similar question, only one year here. But how are you feeling after the season ends?

ROYCE HAMM JR.: Man, for you to say it's only one year, I feel like I played all five years. It's just crazy. I can feel the intent from the fans, from the coaches, the love from my teammates.

I think we all kind of sold out and trusted Coach Kruger and the coaching out in June when we first all got here. We didn't know really what to expect.

But I think we can truly say that we built a brotherhood, we built character, and we built a way to just get back to UNLV winning basketball.

I know that we weren't able to get it done tonight, but I think in the future that this team is going to have great success.

Q. Bryce, your career has been a venture with coaching changes and your ebb and flow. But this year, it really seemed as if there was restored faith between the community and the team. And as you reflect, does it feel like things are finishing better this season?

BRYCE HAMILTON: Yeah, most definitely. I mean, I trusted Coach Kruger, you know, when he recruited me to come back here. The guys that he recruited and everything, and, you know, we all bought in right away. Everyone came here to win, to be able to make an NCAA tournament and stuff.

So from day one, you know, we wanted to bring back that UNLV energy. And, you know, I felt like we did a great job of that all year.

THE MODERATOR: Anymore questions for our student-athletes? Okay. Thank you guys. Now we'll take questions for the head coach.

Q. Kevin, I was wondering just your thought process on those ghost screens Bryce was talking about using Justin Webster there. What kind of advantage do you think that gave you guys in the second half?

KEVIN KRUGER: Yeah, that was just an adjustment as Bryce mentioned. We had some things that we wanted to look at with ball screens in the first half to see if Wyoming was going to guard it the same way they did in Vegas a couple weeks ago.

We just couldn't get quite the rotation and the look that we were hoping for. Because they did a really good job of just hands, being active, taking away kind of some passing angles.

So in that second half, instead of using the big, just having Justin go up -- kind of like he said, set a little bit of a ghost screen and then actually set a couple to try to keep them on their toes as best they could.

Because they got a handful of guys that they rotated on Bryce and they do a really good job. Went to Maldonado, DuSell, of course. They do a really good job of sliding their feet, beating them in spots.

But I think that kind of allowed them to get downhill a few times and get his confidence going. And it kind of changed our flow offensively.

Q. And then on the second-to-last possession when you guys ran that, were you expecting them to change and sort of blitz Bryce out of that? And was there any consideration on your part to have somebody that's shot more threes than Keshon in the game in the corner there?

KEVIN KRUGER: Well, we were ready for a lot of things. We talked about it. Like I said, it's not that simple. You know, you got guys trapping you to get exactly on the dot that you want.

Q. For the ball to end up in Keshon's hands on that play, I thought he played well today. The shot didn't go in. That's a tough spot for him. What do you say to him after the game, if he's taking it hard, I assume? What do you say to him as he sort of comes out of his freshman year and look forward to the future with him?

KEVIN KRUGER: The same thing we say to all of them, Keep your head up. I'm proud of you. To battle back, fight. How many times did he dive on the floor? I mean, how many times did he get a huge stop? He's guarding a player as good as Maldonado.

He's in there rebounding with guys like Ike and Royce and those guys. You know, the ball ended up in his hands and he didn't hesitate, and we'll take that.

Keshon's confident. I know he'll be in the gym and continue to work on it. But, you know, first and foremost, we just wanted him to know how proud we are of him and everybody for even being in this situation where, you know, we had a good defensive stop. Xavier DuSell hits a big shot. And then we had a chance to win it. You know, how much more can you ask for against a team like Wyoming?

Q. Coach, do you feel like the season is over or do you feel like you guys should be a legitimate consideration for a tournament like the NIT? And would you entertain that?

KEVIN KRUGER: Oh, absolutely. And I would really hope that, you know, who's deciding on the NIT would take into account how much better this team has gotten better and come together over the last month or so -- or couple months.

I think this is a much different team we saw the first few weeks of the season. And I would really hope so. We would absolutely love to. I think this team, you know, kind of deserves that sort of, you know, recognition.

I know there's a whole bunch of teams that deserve to be in there. So not saying we should be in there over anybody. But for 10 guys to come together, stay together, deal with what they've dealt with this year, COVID pause, injuries, et cetera, as a new group, and fight a team like Wyoming down to the wire, and have the run they kind of had to finish the year, I would love for the NIT committee to take notice of that and invite us. And we would absolutely be very proud of them for earning a postseason birth.

Q. Coach, for whatever reason and it spans now four or five coaching staffs, the team has been not able to get to Friday of the tournament on its home floor. How do you get past that? I mean, how difficult is that?

KEVIN KRUGER: Well, losing is difficult. Anytime you lose, it's difficult. We just get better. We just keep working and stay after it. But, again, if we can have the fight and the starting point from where we finished right now, and that group that's coming back to kind of use that and use that feeling, you know, I think we can carry that over into the summer workouts and on into the fall and into next season.

But I think like we talked about last week, they earned a bye. This is a four-bid league. We finished fifth. It's tough. It's tough. Every game has been -- you know, the game before us with Boise, a lot of plays late. Last night, San Jose-Fresno. I mean, this is not an easy tournament to advance in. It's an unbelievably strong and good conference. But we've just got to get better.

And I think this group, though, it has definitely set the bar pretty high. Because their effort, their energy was the same as it was June 1st. And for that, I couldn't be more appreciative or proud of them.

Q. Kevin, obviously, Bryce was able to get off in the second half. But offensively, talk about the struggles from the guard position, particularly, obviously, with Jordan, Michael, and Keshon, just one basket the entire game. Was it more Wyoming defensively, or was it just one of those nights where the rest of those guys, it wasn't their night to make shots?

KEVIN KRUGER: No, I think this is a great opportunity for that group, of course, all of them coming back to kind of recognize that we've got to give Wyoming credit. You know, they had us a little on our heels. And it's a great opportunity for, especially, a guy like Keshon, you know, to -- how the ball's got to move. How we've got to just reverse. We don't need to dribble, stand, or hold it, hope somebody else does something.

And I think they'll recognize that, I think when we go back and watch the film. We got to understand that, you know, there's sometimes where you're -- the defense and the other team does -- makes really good plays and does really good things.

And I thought there in the first half, they just go did a really good job of keeping us lifted. We just weren't able to get the spacing that we were looking for. It makes the passing harder, harder to reverse it, harder to set good screens. And I think you got to give Wyoming the discredit that they deserve for kind of putting us in that situation.

But you also got to give our guys credit and pat them on the back for recognizing and adjusting. And then in the second half, making more plays for each other, having better spacing and kind of figuring out and adapting and adjusting throughout the game.

THE MODERATOR: We have time for two more questions.

Q. Kevin, not conceding in any way, obviously, that the season is over. I understand that. But you hear Royce talk about -- insinuating that the future is bright and being a part of that means something to him. And you always speak about being proud of them. Can you speak on your level of taking pride in the fact that you're getting this program going in a different direction, and these guys feel so much pride and loyalty amongst each other, which we can all see on the court? Can you expand upon that a little bit?

KEVIN KRUGER: Yeah, I might get a little emotional. Give me a second here.

But to your point, you know, being a former player, I could not be more proud to say that I wore the same jersey that these guys wore this year. Because we talked from day one about having a sense of pride and a sense of ownership, and making -- and putting a team out there that this city, and the community, and the alums, and the athletic department would be proud of.

And we told them if we can do that, we'll be all right. And I think, without a doubt, they've done that. I think that, you know, talking to other former players and fans and just, of course, the people in the community, they're proud right now of this group. And I couldn't have asked for a better group to, you know, start in year one as a coach. As Royce said, they took a risk, so I'll be forever grateful to them for that.

They all had a lot of options, but they chose to come out here and try it at UNLV. And I think to Royce's point, that -- you know, he played with a lot of pride. And I think, you know, you're going to hear a lot of people, they're patting him on the back, appreciating the effort and the year that he gave to UNLV.

And, of course, Bryce, I mean, what can you say, he chose to come back. He had as many options as anybody in the country, and he chose to finish it out where he started. And, again, just to be forever grateful for him. And just appreciative that they were willing to kind of give me a chance.

THE MODERATOR: Okay. One last question.

Q. You mentioned the returning group a little bit. It's going to look different without Bryce Hamilton next year, obviously. Is there anything that you think that you have coming back that you can build around or that you're excited about in terms of, like, on-the-court stuff?

KEVIN KRUGER: Well, without a doubt, I think if you -- as we've talked about before, Mike, David Muoka's progress from the start of the year until now.

I mean, how couldn't we be excited about that? How he went out there and -- you know, a day like today where he gets -- he learned so much through the reps and the minutes he got against a guy like Graham Ike.

You know, the growth in Web and how he didn't play a whole lot at the beginning. He actually didn't play in the San Diego State game at home, at all. And then came in the next day, same smile, and got better and ends up being a huge part and piece going forward finishing the year.

And then, of course, Jordan coming back, one of the top five games assistive turnovers in the country. When you got guys like that that just care and work. And I think, of course, they're all going to get better.

I mean, Vic -- nobody really got a chance to see Vic for two months and we didn't know what we were talking about in terms of his elite athleticism and how many guys he can guard.

And you throw a guy like Vic out there who has the option to have two more years with his COVID year, I think we can be a group that just has a lot of fun, that gets -- has a lot -- enjoys working and we can do a lot of different things with that group as the core going forward.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

KEVIN KRUGER: Thanks