PAC-12 CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 10, 2022

Kyle Smith

Tyrell Roberts

Andrej Jakimovski

Washington State Cougars

Postgame Press Conference

UCLA - 75, Washington State - 65

MODERATOR: We have Washington State with us. We have Coach Smith, Tyrell and Andrej Yakimovski on the end. Coach, you can give an opening statement, and then we'll open it for Q&A.

KYLE SMITH: That was -- I thought UCLA played really well. I thought we came out with a good energy, got ourselves a lead early in the first quarter of the game. We stalled out a little bit, and they kind of separated. And I think we could have made that more competitive.

We just couldn't keep them off the glass. They were just really -- it's been an issue just on the stretch. We played so many games the last three weeks, I don't know if we need the recovery time or practice time or both probably. But part of our mantra is defend, rebound, take care of the ball, and we were not able to rebound.

So hat tip to them. They played really well, I thought.

Q. Coach Smith, obviously not the way you want to end the season, but it was a successful season in terms of how far Washington State has come. How do you feel overall about the season and the future for the Cougars?

KYLE SMITH: We're always looking to grow and improve, and these guys did. Even by all our metrics, our net ranking, our fifth place finish in the league, I just think there's -- we did a lot of good things, and we left a little bit on the table too.

I think there's opportunities that we had there, and it's a learning process. I think even tonight we wanted the league -- we didn't get to play -- two years ago we beat Colorado, we didn't get to play the next round.

So it would have been nice if some of those guys had an opportunity to know what that's like after you win one and play a team that has a bye that's tough, and it exposes a little bit why you want to finish the top four. I think it's a nice advantage to have -- to be fresh going into that game.

Q. Coach, what can you take away from the experience that UCLA plays with when you say that tonight maybe experience won out?

KYLE SMITH: Obviously, they -- you want to get your program used to playing late into March, and we're in the beginning of March, and they're used to it, obviously, and they -- they had a rough conference tournament last year, but they rebounded and got in the tournament and caught -- our whole league did, and they were an 11 seed, and I'm sure that helps them, just being -- expecting to win, returning so many guys.

And that's what -- I'm hopeful we'll return the core of this group. I think we will. They like each other. I hope they like me. I think they do too. But I'd just say we haven't had enough guys return with a lot of minutes so you can

make that really comfort of playing together. We had a lot new this year that we had to kind of blend in. And we got there. Just like I said, hopefully keep getting better.

Q. That stretch when you guys -- I think Tyrell had a couple of threes in a row and you went up two, and they had five turnovers in five minutes, and I know that they just had one against USC, No. 4 in the country in limiting turnovers. Why are they so difficult to turn over? And I know you guys hang your hats on that quite a bit, and maybe in that stretch, how did you kind of get them out of their stuff a little bit?

KYLE SMITH: When we're defending well, we've got hands. We've got active hands. We've got good quickness and we've got good length. So I don't know if it was a conscious choice, but they put pretty much four guards out there all the time. All those guys can really handle the ball. So it's hard to turn them over.

There's some stuff in the paint where we bothered them a little bit and they kicked it around. But they were just too tough on the glass.

Q. Coach, you guys only shot 28 percent from three. What was it defensively that they were doing that bothered you guys a little bit that couldn't get those threes to fall?

KYLE SMITH: You know, they're long and strong, and they can switch a lot of stuff. So it's hard to get penetration on them. I thought these two guys here did a good job of that, but they even -- they can go that second and third pass.

But I thought we played the right way and made extra passes, and they had long arms coming at you. And it's tough on back-to-back nights. And to be honest, we're going to have to make 40 percent to win that game and rebound even. We can't do those things. But we just had a couple stretches where we took a couple bad ones. But I think it was more we couldn't get stops and got pressed a little bit.

Q. Coach, just what was going through your mind during that eight and a half minute run where you guys didn't hit a field goal, and just how did that happen in your eyes?

KYLE SMITH: We've had stretches there, but throughout the season. We couldn't get a stop. Even though our offensive weren't scoring, but it kind of compounded. And just the one play that was big, I think it was 23-21 they were up, and we had a great defensive possession.

The rebound squirted out of our hands, and Bernard hit an end-of-the-clock three. And in the course of a game, those things are gonna happen, but how we have to play against them, that was a little bit of a deflating moment maybe, and we couldn't quite get there.

And they were really tough defensively, even when Tyger was out of the game, they were maybe a little better defensively, not as -- he kind of orchestrates on offense, but it's like Clark coming in there and switching and stuff. So we struggled there.

Q. For both the players, could you compare and contrast the last time when you guys played UCLA down there and then this one? I guess what did you feel like you went into this one doing different, and what kind of worked well and maybe what was similar about them?

TYRELL ROBERTS: I think the biggest difference is we came out to compete this game. Coach talked about it with us in the locker room last time. We just got out-competed from tip to finish. So we came out this game, I thought, with a lot more energy. What run did they go on in the first --

KYLE SMITH: They threw a haymaker at the beginning. It was like 7-0, and we just --

TYRELL ROBERTS: We didn't let that happen this game. But they're an experienced team. So they're gonna hit back, and we just weren't able weather that storm.

MODERATOR: Any other questions?

Q. For both of the players, what do you guys take from this experience? And you guys both have a chance to come back this year. So if you come back to the Pac-12 Tournament next year, how does this experience and winning a game and playing two days here help you out next time around?

TYRELL ROBERTS: Like Coach said, we're a new group. A lot of us are newcomers, and we had a lot of moving parts this season. So for me personally, this is my first season again and almost two years.

So I think just getting one under my belt just helped me get back into the rhythm of things will help. And I think knowing our personnel and knowing our guys, hopefully have our core come back -- obviously we lose people like Mike, Matt -- I think that will help us going forward.

ANDREJ JAKIMOVSKI: I mean, we just gotta learn from this experience. Obviously we have all of season left. And like Coach said, we're a young team, and it's -- we were way better than last year, and just like one step forward for us.

And hopefully we're going to come back next year and make one more step forward. So definitely a good experience for us and just keep moving forward.

Q. How securely do you think your team is an NIT team and what do you think it would mean to this program to be going to a postseason tournament considering it's been quite some time? I know you guys were going to go a few years ago, but then --

KYLE SMITH: I think it means -- I think we're in good shape. I think the Pac-12, Power Five conference, I think we're the fifth best conference to finish fifth place, one game out four, third Nets, and should be in a good spot there.

But -- I'm very hopeful. We're gonna practice and assume we're in and be ready to go and hopefully not get let down.

Q. (Off microphone)?

KYLE SMITH: It means a lot. It's only happened five times. We got our practice gym and I noticed -- I think there's like five NCAA tournaments. There's only five NITs too so it's -- and it's harder to get in there obviously with 356 Division I teams and the automatic -- or the teams that win their league that don't win their conference tournament get automatic bids. So that squeezes the field down a little bit.

And that's a tough tournament. Coached them before as an assistant. We beat -- when I was at Saint Mary's, we beat -- Klay Thompson and Aron Baynes were on the team, so there's two NBA players. We beat Steph Curry that year too. Heck of a tournament.

Might have to check their seeding. Their selection might not have been the best. Those guys seem pretty good.

MODERATOR: Any other questions? Okay. Thank you very much, guys.

KYLE SMITH: Thank you.