NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - MARQUETTE VS NORTH CAROLINA

March 16, 2022

Shaka Smart

Dickies Arena

Marquette Golden Eagles

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: Shaka Smart, head coach of Marquette joining us now. And, Coach, you can begin with an opening and then we'll take questions from the room. And then following that, we'll take questions from ZOOM, if there are any.

SHAKA SMART: Great to be here in Dickies Arena. Our guys are super excited. Our staff, our whole program is really excited about playing in the NCAA tournament against North Carolina. It's really gone fast the last year.

And I'm really grateful of the four guys that were just up here, plus the rest of our players for the commitment that they've shown, the growth, and relationships with each other.

And they've learned -- we've gone through a lot of twists and turns, like a lot of teams do. But we're here today and very excited about the opportunity to play.

This is a special time of year, and I'm thankful that, you know, our players get to experience competing and fighting to advance in the NCAA tournament.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you. We'll begin in the front row.

Q. Rebounding is the main talking point for this game for this matchup. What have the conversations been like between you and Oso and Kur about Bacot and how to counteract him?

SHAKA SMART: Yeah. Rebounding is a team thing; so it's not just with Oso and Kur. It's our whole team. And, you know, it's one thing that North Carolina's always done well.

You know, ever since I was a kid watching North Carolina, I remember them pummeling people on the glass. And I was an assistant coach on Clemson, and first time going against North Carolina, I learned they're one of the few teams that their guys are actually taller than they're listed in the program. I think that's an old Dean Smith thing.

But yeah, I think it's a team thing. It's about fight, it's about you know, about not giving up.

But at the same time, there's a distinction between the other team gets an offensive rebound and they score and when the other team gets an offensive rebound and they don't score. So we've got to keep playing.

They're going to get some. We just got to make sure as a group that we continue fighting, flying around, playing with multiple efforts. There's a physicality that's involved.

We don't necessarily have the biggest, widest, strongest team. But if our guys fight and play with tremendous energy, we'll be fine.

THE MODERATOR: Back in the front row to the right.

Q. Just what are the emotions coming back to Texas to play in the NCAA tournament after your time at UT?

SHAKA SMART: Just happy to be here. Excited to be in Fort Worth. I mean, it -- at the beginning of every season, I always look at the NCAA tournament sites. And in this case this year, our home court is one of them; so there was only seven that we could go to. So I knew it was going to be one of the sites. And, you know, we're excited to be here.

I've coached one game previously in Dickies Arena. It's a wonderful place. You know, great fans, basketball fans in this area of the country. So I'm just happy to be here with our guys and excited about the opportunity we get to play.

You know, in my opinion of probably the most historic basketball program in college basketball. And there's not a group of guys I'd rather be here with.

THE MODERATOR: Back-left.

Q. Shaka, you've had pretty good success against North Carolina. Is there any one thing that you would look at that's kind of been the key to those wins?

SHAKA SMART: I mean, all those games were different. I think that one of the biggest keys, you know, in all those games was just resilience and continuing to fight and battle when things go your way and when things don't go your way.

I believe all those were really close games. But, you know, North Carolina, over the years, has always been good in transition. So we've got to do a good job of trying to limit their opportunities there.

They've always been a great offensive rebounding team. We've got to do our best to fight like crazy there. And they've always been really, really well coached and have had great players.

So, at the end of the day, I mean, these games, you get in the NCAA tournament, these games are dictated by the guys that are out there making the most plays and the guys that are playing with the most confidence.

And so, you know, I just want to help our guys the best I can do that, be themselves, enjoy the heck out of the opportunity, and go after it.

THE MODERATOR: Back right, Steve.

Q. Shaka, can you talk about a little bit about the difference and the feel of you as a coach? Last year, going into the NCAA tournament, there was questions about your future and what was going to happen. The difference now, though, in being here and starting something fresh at Marquette and just where you feel like things are going, how good do things feels now?

SHAKA SMART: Yeah. You know, to be honest with you, I think in sports, there's an assumption on the part of the people that are not playing and coaching that what's being said or being written about is also what's on the minds of the players and the coaches.

And, again, you know, we preach to these guys all the time about being in the moment. We preached that previously with other teams. I don't think there's any other place to be other than where you are.

And so, it doesn't feel any different from the standpoint of, you know, what you or someone else might say or write. I understand everyone has a job to do. I respect it.

But for me, we're just trying to be one point better than any other team. And if we can do that, then we get to advance. The thing about the NCAA tournament, it's win or go home.

So I'm really grateful to be at Marquette. I'm grateful for all of the people that make our program what it is. Most importantly, our players, but not only our players.

And I was also grateful to be at Texas. It was, you know, a phenomenal group of guys that I got to work with. But that's in the past now. And I'm here today with you, and we're going to play North Carolina tomorrow.

Q. Shaka, for Darryl and Kur, and potentially Greg, as well, have you noticed, like, a more hyper focus with them knowing that every game could be their last one as a college player?

SHAKA SMART: I think so. I mean, you -- I've learned over the years not to make too much of, you know, the way a guy is on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday going into the NCAA tournament because that doesn't necessarily guarantee he's going to be the exact same when the ball goes up in the air.

But Darryl, particularly, has been very, very vocal the last few days. We did our -- we always do a personnel edit and scouting report that we go over the day before the game. We did that before coming here today. And Darryl did 90 percent of the talking as opposed to any of our coaches.

So, yeah, I mean, those guys are focused. But, again, the key is when that ball goes up in the air to be locked in and to not allow any type of distractions or triggers to take you out of that state of mind.

Q. Kind of following on that, it'll be a week since you guys played Creighton. Do you see some of those signs of kind of getting back to that Marquette basketball you want in those few practices you've had since the selection show? And then what do you want to get out of today, just kind of being out there and, obviously, having a game tomorrow?

SHAKA SMART: Our guys have practiced great all year. The thing about college basketball is these guys are human beings.

And, you know, I learned when I was at VCU, there's going to be twists and turns, and there's going to be up and downs in their energy, even in their level of focus.

But this time of year, you don't really have time to have a down. Because if you do that, you're probably not going to win. You have got to be up if you want to advance.

Certainly a lot to learn for us from that Creighton game. You know, we certainly had a lot of very, you know, pointed conversations as a basketball program, but we're here now.

And what we want to get out of today is -- you know, for our guys it'll be all of our guys' first opportunity to play in this arena, to shoot in this arena. So we'll get up and down a little bit, we'll have some intensity out there.

We're an energy-based program. So we're going to practice that and take disadvantage of the 40 minutes we get on the game floor.

THE MODERATOR: Back left.

Q. Shaka, when you took over, you had kind of a lot of moving parts with the roster to put it together. When did you kind of know what you had with Justin Lewis, and what were the buttons you kind of pushed to get him to take that next step?

SHAKA SMART: Yeah, it was an interesting situation. When I got there on campus, there was no one there. I think Greg was the only guy on campus. And then all the other players -- potentially returning players were all home, you know, doing school virtually.

And so, I had to go, you know, get on the plane to go visit them and sit down with them and get to know them.

Justin was the first guy, I believe, that I went to go see. And right away, I was just impressed with his personality. And it's interesting. I was just watching him up here answering your guys' questions, and he was a little shy, a little reserved.

I wish you could get to know the real Justin, like when he's fully comfortable because he has a real personality. He's almost, like, a larger-than-life figure.

And, you know, when we got on the court with him, CL, he had sustained an ankle injury earlier in the season. So he wasn't quite 100 percent. But you could just see certain areas where he had amazing potential.

You know, he had shot a low percentage from three, but we felt like, man, he can really get better there, you know, if he -- because he's got a good, clean stroke. If we can help him with readiness and we can help him with a few things.

It felt like he needed to get in the best shape of his life. He's really dedicated himself to working on his body and working on his game.

So, really, early on, we felt like he could take a big jump. But he deserves all the credit in the world for being the most improved player in our league.

THE MODERATOR: We have time for two or three more questions. Go to the second row.

Q. Shaka, we know Tyler's assist numbers are really important to the team's success. But is there a plan when you're scouting North Carolina and putting together a game plan of trying to get him going a little bit more offensively to get those early points when the offense sometimes in games takes a while to get clicking?

SHAKA SMART: No. I mean, honestly, that's not really how our offense works. We don't really dictate who's going to get the early points, maybe Justin a little bit through some of our play calls.

But when we call an action where Tyler's involved, it's up to him to make the read. Most of the time this year, that read has been a pass. But if the right thing to do is to shoot, then we're counting on him to do that.

I'm excited to see him in this game. It should be an uptempo, kind of fast-paced game. He's really good that way because his mind is always one step ahead.

You know, Tyler's had a phenomenal year for us, all things considered. You know, he didn't play point guard last year at George Mason. He transferred his first year at this level. It's his first time playing in an NCAA tournament tomorrow.

He's just getting started. I mean, his best basketball is ahead of him. But I think at the same time, he's got a heck of an opportunity to play well tomorrow.

THE MODERATOR: Okay. We have time for one more. Go back to the back-left.

Q. One last from me, Shaka. You recruited both Caleb and RJ, if I'm not mistaken.

SHAKA SMART: Yeah.

Q. What improvements have you seen, you know, after facing them last year in the Maui tournament to what you've seen on film?

SHAKA SMART: Well, one of my favorite things to do is follow guys' careers after we recruit them. And, you know, there's that initial sting of not getting him.

But then after that, it's fun to watch and see how they develop, how they grow as players, as people. Are they able to go, you know, accomplish their goals?

Because one of the things in the recruiting process you talk about is what a guy's goals are. And, obviously, guys like those two have huge, huge goals.

I think those guys have gained a ton of maturity, CL, in terms of affecting the game and affecting winning.

They've always been terrific players, always been very, very talented. They've always been guys that can really get going offensively, handle the ball, create for others.

But I just think -- I see their maturity. They've taken leaps and bounds with that relative to where they were in high school and where they were last year. And I think, you know, Hubert Davis and his staff, and then those two individual players deserve a lot of credit for that development.

Those guys are really dangerous. You can see that, you know, they have the green light to attack and score and create. So it's on us, as a team, to do our best to counteract that.

We're certainly not going to hold them scoreless, but our job's to make things, you know, as difficult as we can and play with the type of activity that we have when we're at our best.

THE MODERATOR: Coach. Thank you for your time. Good luck tomorrow.