NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - MICHIGAN VS COLORADO ST.

March 16, 2022

Niko Medved

Isaiah Stevens

David Roddy

Gainbridge Fieldhouse

Colorado St Rams

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: We are object joined by the student-athletes representing the Rams of Colorado State, Isaiah Stevens as well as David Roddy.

Q. David, you've been called a lot of things in your career, described a lot of ways. Hunter Dickinson described you earlier today as girthy, is that new for you? How do you feel about that?

DAVID RODDY: That is new. Man, let me take a second. No, I don't really care what people call me. That's their choice. That's an interesting one. I think that's a football reference, so I will take that as it is.

Q. When you started combing over game tape of Michigan, what did you notice immediately, and what did you find as you went further down in your studies?

ISAIAH STEVENS: The first thing that stands out is their size at almost any position, outside of their point guard and shooting guard spots. Got great length on the perimeter. Obviously the big guy in the middle. So great size. They're extremely athletic. They attack the offensive glass with the best of them. So that was a few things that really stood out right away.

Q. Isaiah, despite you guys being the better seed, Michigan is currently favored right now. Knowing there are some doubters out there, does that add any fuel to the fire for you guys?

ISAIAH STEVENS: I think it does a little bit, but at the same time you've got to go out there and compete and play the game. And we don't get caught up in the percentages or anything. The ball still has to bounce the same. We're excited to go out there and compete and try to put our best foot forward and win the game.

Q. You guys have been undersized this whole season and yet you've had success. What's the secret to that success? Because you're undersized heavily in this match-up.

DAVID RODDY: I think it's just the way we play basketball. We're very unselfish and can move the ball really well from side, top, to side. So for us, that's just the way we play offense, really.

We kind of accidentally fell into a small ball lineup my sophomore year, and now it's becoming a staple of our program. As long as we keep doing what we're doing and knocking down shots, that's when we play our best.

Q. For you guys this week, how have you been -- what's been the game plan of balancing, embracing, enjoying the stage and the moment but also getting to work?

ISAIAH STEVENS: I definitely don't think it's been that much of a balance from a player perspective. So many of us are eager to go out there and compete and stay locked into the game plan.

Coach reminds us every once in a while to take a step back and embrace it because moments like this don't often come around. So enjoy it and be joyful in the moment.

Q. David, you've grown up in Big Ten country. What kind of Big Ten looks did you get back in the recruiting days?

DAVID RODDY: Talked to a few coaches, had scholarship offers from Minnesota and Northwestern and Nebraska.

Q. Before your time, but the Fab Five, Juwan Howard, what kind of familiarity do you have with that era of ball?

DAVID RODDY: I remember it pretty distinctly, watched 30 For 30 and everything. They revolutionized the game of college basketball. So they were superstars and definitely fun to watch.

Q. Isaiah, a lot will be made of the point that this is your first trip here. They've got a lot of experience from last year. What about the personality of this team do you think helps you overcome that?

ISAIAH STEVENS: I think our attention to detail and our preparation and also just our competitiveness, man. Like you said, we don't have any experience in this tournament, but at the same time I'm confident in our abilities and our ability to adapt to any kind of environment we are in. So I'm excited to go out there and compete.

Q. As far as Michigan's center, No. 1, Hunter Dickinson, is there a player that you have faced this year that is either his size or style of play that might help you tomorrow?

DAVID RODDY: Yeah, Creighton, with Kalkbrenner, similar size. Hunter Dickinson has a little bit more girth, I would say. And Matthias Tass from Saint Mary's, I think he's very similar as well.

Great footwork. I've seen Hunter ever since AAU. I'm pretty familiar with his game. He can really pass. He's starting to shoot it really well. He just leads the team in many different areas.

So, man, he's a great talent, and I think he'll be in the NBA one day.

Q. David, you've been striving to make March Madness since you arrived. With that in mind, what's the energy been like since Selection Sunday?

DAVID RODDY: It's been great. I think we celebrated for one or two days, and now we're ready to play. I think that's the thing we are most excited about. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but as competitors, we are ready to go out there and play our hearts out.

Q. I know you guys have a really close personal relationship dating back to when you guys were freshmen. What does a moment like this mean?

ISAIAH STEVENS: Man, I think it means everything. It's been a slow, ongoing process from the day we first met. We talked about moments like this in our dorm room our freshman year, and we said that we were willing to put in however many hours it takes and the work that's necessary to reach this point.

Being able to help Colorado State make it back to this level after some years is something I'm definitely blessed to be a part of.

And shout-out to this guy. He is a phenomenal player, phenomenal person. He's one of the biggest hearts out there and he sacrificed a lot to help us get here, so shout-out to him.

DAVID RODDY: Appreciate it. I think it started when the Final Four was in Minneapolis. I took a picture and sent it to all the freshmen coming in: Hey, this is the reason we're going to CSU all together. So start visualizing it now and manifesting it.

It took years of hard work. So being here is a huge testament to Isaiah and his leadership and the rest of the team for buying into a far-out dream, committing to a team that was 12-20, and then transforming this program, and this has been an amazing journey.

Q. Congratulations to you two. David, it's good to see you. David, can you talk about being in Indy, the Big Ten Tournament was there, and two teams that recruited you. And Indy has the Combine as well. So talk about your decision to play at Colorado State instead of a Big Ten basketball school and your decision not to play football.

DAVID RODDY: Good to see you, Marcus. CSU was a great fit for me. I'm in Big Ten country, so, man, there are so many great institutions in the Midwest, and I considered them deeply. But CSU was the best fit for me. Coach Medved and Coach Thorson, who were two Minnesota guys, as well as Aaron Katsuma, Emma Montie as well, there's so many great people from the Midwest area that I felt comfortable at Colorado State.

And, again, as you can see, it's paying off.

Football-wise, again, like I always say, I love football, I miss it, but basketball was my calling right now. Man, you know, it's been an amazing journey, and I have so much respect for all these programs in the Big Ten.

Q. I know you guys played some so-called Power Five schools during the season, but now, Michigan, just a huge brand. Does that matter at all as far as the fuel to perform well?

ISAIAH STEVENS: I guess you could say it definitely adds a little bit to it, but at the same time, man, you gotta go play the game. Once the ball tips, it's just five-on-five, and you've got to go out there and try and put your best foot forward and try to come out with a win.

Can't get caught up in the brand, anything like that, because then all that stuff starts taking a different toll psychologically and things like that. We just want to go out there and play our hearts out and just try and come out with a win.

DAVID RODDY: I would agree with everything he said. They're a great talent, and we're a great talent as well so, man, it's going to be a great opportunity to show the nation who we are as a program and who we are as people as well.

Q. David, you mentioned Minneapolis Final Four you showed your teammates that. Talk about the support you had back home and how many of your family members -- I know you have a big contingent of brothers that hopefully they all can come to see you?

DAVID RODDY: I think three of the five will be here. So, man, it's going to be an amazing experience sharing it with them. Minneapolis has just been near and dear to my heart. So much support is coming from there, from high school coaches, AAU coaches, old teammates, just supporting me who are also playing at a high level from there.

Man, just enjoying this moment and just representing Minneapolis the best way possible is one of my goals as well. Hopefully I've been doing that, and hopefully I can continue to put Minnesota on the map.

THE MODERATOR: Guys, thank you for your time. Best of luck tomorrow.

We are joined by Coach Medved from Colorado State.

Q. What is it about your team's personality that you like that's going to enable them to come into this fresh and not be overwhelmed by the moment?

COACH MEDVED: I think it's just who they are. They're an older group. I think they've been through a lot together. They're incredibly competitive.

So I think they love to play and love to compete, but at the same time I think they do a great job of enjoying each other and enjoying the moment. I think for younger guys they've got a tremendous amount of maturity about them that way. I think that's what kind of sets this group apart.

Q. You have also been good about enjoying the moment of college basketball. What have you been telling the guys this week?

COACH MEDVED: You get that asked a lot: You just got here; are you worried about them just being happy to be here?

Not at all with this group. And I think it's a mistake to say you can't do both. I want these guys to take moments to say hey, to look around, to enjoy it, to appreciate the fact that they're here.

This is a huge moment in these young people's lives. This is what they dreamed of growing up as a kid watching college basketball, and I think to rob them of that is a huge mistake.

At the same time, you can still do that and understand and dive into what you have to do to compete and beat a great Michigan team. These guys love to compete. That's what they love to do at their core, they love to play and they love to prepare. And I think this team can really do that, and I think they have done that.

Q. We talked about after the San Diego State game how the lack of scoring balance was uncharacteristic for you guys. How important will it be for everyone to do their part tomorrow?

COACH MEDVED: I think clearly when we are at our best, we've got kind of everybody involved, other guys scoring and making shots. I think that's been more of the norm, you know, for us this year.

That's kind of why we are where we are. Clearly tomorrow we are going to need guys to step up and make plays. And I think what's been great about this team is it's been different guys on different nights. Who knows what that's going to look like tomorrow.

Listen, you're in this tournament right now, you better bring your A game. You're never going to play perfect, but you better play at a high level and have a lot of guys functioning at a high level. And we know that, and that's what we're going to have to do tomorrow.

Q. Niko, I know you are not going to tell me the exact game plan, but it is interesting with you guys playing small and Michigan having a 7'1" center. Can you speak to what you have seen on film as far as how that might play out on the court?

COACH MEDVED: Yeah, Hunter Dickinson is a great player. He's got great hands. He's a great passer. He knows how to carve out space. He's a very, very difficult match-up.

But they also throw the ball inside to the other guys. DeVante' is a great player for them. He's athletic. He seems like he's continuing to come on as the season goes on and on.

But then the issue with Michigan is you do that, you other guys, Caleb Houstan and Eli Brooks, these guys can make shots. They're terrific offensively. They run great stuff.

Coach Howard does a terrific job with them. I think they've gotten better as the season has gone on that way.

We have never been afraid to play small at times. And I think it's the collective group of the team, what do you do as five guys out there that gives you the opportunity to play your best?

I think we have had depth this year. We have been able to play different line-ups. And playing small sometimes has been successful for us. We're not about to go out there tomorrow and try to be something different than what's got us to this point.

Of course, you try to scout, you try to pick up what can we do to try to help ourselves take away the advantages that Michigan might have; but at the same time, we want to try to take advantage of some of the things that we do well.

Q. David was saying you guys accidentally fell into that small ball lineup last year. Can you explain for people that don't follow your team super closely?

COACH MEDVED: Funny he said that. I don't know if it was accident, but David is the most versatile player that I have ever coached. He's a guy that can legitimately play all five positions. He rebounds, passes. People have watched him, he does it all.

His IQ, his ability to pick up things in a short period of time, and the way we play offense, he is a perfect fit sometimes to play that small ball lineup.

So as we did that last year at times, we started to figured out it was one of the most efficient lineups that we had. And it's been great for us in situations.

So I don't know that we fell into it, but when we started to do it in games, we realized it's been pretty good for us.

Last year when we ended up beating San Diego State, we came back and won, and we played that lineup a lot and it was effective for us. We don't do it all the time, but absolutely it's been a great lineup for us, and David is just one of the rare players who can manage playing all the positions.

Q. Niko, you have the Midwest roots, the Big Ten ties, I guess. What comes to mind for you when you think of Michigan basketball over the years?

COACH MEDVED: I was at Minnesota as a manager when the Fab Five was there. We had Voshon Leonard on our team. Juwan would remember this, we're close to the same age, but I remember Voshon grew up with Jalen and Chris in Detroit, and we played them that year, and we ended up beating them at Minnesota that year.

I have a lot of fond memories of that. And Michigan has a tremendous brand and a tremendous program. I grew up watching Michigan.

I can't say I grew up liking Michigan. I can't say that. It's nothing personal, but I can't say I grew up a Michigan fan at all. We grew up in Big Ten country. Michigan was somebody we didn't like very much. But I have a real understanding of their history.

I grew up going to the Barn as a kid watching Michigan and Rumeal Robinson, Glen Rice, I could go on and on.

They have tremendous tradition, and I have watched a lot of Michigan basketball throughout the years, not as a fan.

Q. Did you guys have any problems getting here? Yesterday was a travel day for me, too, so I wasn't completely locked in.

COACH MEDVED: We got here. Listen, I mean -- you know, anybody who has been through college basketball the last two years, all you did is deal with things being thrown at you.

So this is nothing. Whether it's reschedules, travel, COVID issues, game being cancelled 15 minutes before tip. That's all we've done.

We have a saying with our guys, be a cockroach, we call it. And just cockroaches can thrive in any kind of environment, right? 20 below zero, 100 degrees, you try to kill them, and they just thrive in any kind of environment, and that's what you have to do.

So whatever is thrown at you, you can't get caught up in that. You've just got to go and thrive.

So did we get here exactly when we wanted to and how we wanted to? No, but I'm sure we are not alone in that. And I'm sure it will have no impact whatsoever on the game tomorrow.

Q. Congratulations, Coach. When you recruited David, obviously you envisioned that he would help lead you to the tournament one day. How great is it to experience this with a fellow Minnesota native?

COACH MEDVED: It's awesome. Everybody here at Colorado State and people who have known David, he's obviously an incredible player, you watch him play. He's even a better human being. He is an incredible person, an incredible leader, and you love to see great things happen to great people. The fact that he believed in us and the vision that we were selling for him and the program and to do that, and to see it all come to fruition that way is really, really special. And it's a testament to who he is and who he is as a person and the work he's put in. It's incredibly gratifying, and it couldn't happen to a better young man than David.

Q. I wonder if you could talk about David's development, Coach, from his freshman year until now. We've seen him as a standout high school player, but to see him turn into an All-American at Colorado State has been incredible.

COACH MEDVED: I think there's a lot of things that go into that, first him, the willingness to work, the incredible IQ he has and talent. I don't think people realize how athletic he is for his size, the great feet and his hands, but I think the thing that happened for David is for the first time in his life once he came to college he got to focus on basketball.

It's been well documented he was a three-sport athlete but he came to college and put his focus on individual skill development, and it's just -- every year he's gotten better and better and better.

Obviously the foot work, the shooting, the passing, the finishing, all those things. He's put in a tremendous amount of work, staff has done an unbelievable job with him. But I think as he's really focused on just basketball, I think that's what people are seeing right now. He's got an incredible amount of talent, and I don't even think he's close to hitting his ceiling yet.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, best of luck, congratulations and good luck tomorrow.