NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - MEMPHIS VS BOISE ST.

March 16, 2022

Leon Rice

Emmanuel Akot

Abu Kigab

Moda Center

Boise St. Broncos

Media Conference

Q. You've already set a ton of records this year, but that final thing is winning that first tournament game in program history. What would that mean?

EMMANUEL AKOT: It means everything. We have confidence in ourselves. We made history but there's still more we want to accomplish. We're going in and taking it moment by moment, and we're excited for tomorrow.

ABU KIGAB: Like he said, we're going to take it day by day, moment by moment. We're going to fall back on our habits and everything is going to take care of itself.

Q. Abu, I know you watch a ton of tape. How much have you been able to cram in on Memphis, and what are your initial thoughts?

ABU KIGAB: We've been watching them for a little while now. A couple days. They're a really talented team. They're a really talented team, very athletic. Play a different style of basketball.

You've got to come to play against Memphis. Like I said, they're a really talented team, very long, and they can beat anybody in the country, so you've really got to come ready to play.

Q. Emman and Abu, you guys both transferred from big schools, Arizona and Oregon. Those schools are usually more prone to face a team that looks as physically gifted as Memphis does. Do you think that helped you early on in your career, that you can pass some of that knowledge to some of your teammates who maybe haven't faced a team as big as you're going to see tomorrow?

EMMANUEL AKOT: Definitely. I think we have a really experienced group and there's not much that a lot of us haven't seen in college basketball. I think just understanding that we can beat any team in the country, but they're a very good team, too, so we just have to come ready to play.

When I was a freshman and Arizona we played Buffalo and we got destroyed. That taught me when you come to the NCAA Tournament all these teams are good, so you've got to bring your best effort.

Q. The cliche around this time is experience wins in March. For both of you guys, what's the difference in playing for one year together and now a couple years? How much have you grown and what do you see as the biggest advantages of that?

ABU KIGAB: We know each other's game very well. We know what we do well, we know what we're not good at, and we stick to our strengths. That's pretty much it, to be honest.

The game is very simple if you let it be. We just try to go out there, make the simple, right plays, and through the course of a 40-minute game you have something special out there.

EMMANUEL AKOT: Like Abu said, we understand each other's strengths, we have a really good chemistry, and all our games are really different. I think just having that understanding of how to play with each other is really going to help us this tournament.

Q. Abu, you started your career at Oregon for two years and transferred. What's the difference in the two programs that you've noticed, and how has the change been good for you?

ABU KIGAB: Boise State has just been unbelievable for me. I love the family atmosphere that I experienced right away. Coach Rice did a tremendous job of really helping me fit in.

It's just been an unbelievable experience for me at Boise State. I'm very grateful and thankful for everyone that helped me throughout the journey, and it's just been an amazing experience.

I could sit here all day and talk about it, but I've really got to give a shout-out to my Boise guys. They really helped me out.

Q. Abu, why is Emmanuel such a good leader and how will that help you on the court tomorrow? And Emmanuel, if you can answer that same question.

ABU KIGAB: Emmanuel is unbelievable. He's our point guard. He's extremely vocal. He's our rock. He holds us together. Even in those games that he wasn't playing this year, you can hear him on the sideline, and just his voice and presence makes a huge difference.

He has so many great qualities, and the stuff he does on the court is just -- the numbers don't say enough about what he does; know what I mean? The passes he makes, those skip passes off the pick-and-rolls, those dimes he throws out of the post, his ability to create his own shot from three, two, and at the rim.

So he does so much for us and he's going to continue to do that, and I can't wait to play with him tomorrow. It's going to be great.

EMMANUEL AKOT: Appreciate you.

And for Abu, he embodies what Boise is. He's a great teammate, great leader. He's always so vocal. He has a really great understanding of the game, and he lets us know things we can do better on the court.

He holds us accountable, and on top of that, he's an ultra competitor and a really, really, really good player, and I think sometimes it goes understated.

He was a second team player in the Mountain West, and I think we all know he was a first-teamer. He's just a really good player and a really good teammate and embodies what Boise State is about.

Q. You were with the team last year. Abu, I know you didn't play in the game against Memphis. Both teams are in the NCAA this year; you guys were both in the NIT. Where do you think you're better than last year, and from looking at film where do you think they're better?

ABU KIGAB: It starts with our defense and rebounding. It's been a big emphasis all year, and I think we're doing a pretty good job of continuing to bring that every single day. Memphis is a really talented team. I feel like they got better since last year, adding new guys to their squad and just having a whole 'nother year together.

They're a really tough matchup, really tough matchup. But that's what it's all about. I love to compete. My teammates love to compete. I want our first game to be a one tough. I'm glad it is. It's a blessing in disguise, I'm glad it is, and I can't wait to play.

EMMANUEL AKOT: Yeah, our team, I think defense and rebounding we took a huge leap, and I think just having our roles more carved out, really understanding the game plan, and then for Memphis, they have a lottery pick in Jalen Duren, who's a lot to handle on the glass, so adding him is huge. Then they have a lot of big athletic wings who got a lot better, so it's going to be definitely a battle.

Q. Abu, what stands out to you about (indiscernible)?

ABU KIGAB: He can actually pass very well. If you're doing the pick-and-roll he gets on that short roll, he's very capable of throwing lobs to his guys down below or hitting guys in the corner when they help, or going in there and dunking or hitting a little floater.

He's a very talented player, and he's also an extremely good defender, one of the best shot blockers in the country. He's a really good player. You've got to be locked in on him, and I love the challenge, and my guys are going to embrace the challenge.

That's what basketball is about.

Q. Abu, talking with Penny Hardaway, he says he really respects your game and you're a force to be reckoned with. What does it mean to have a guy who has his place in basketball history say he respects your game?

ABU KIGAB: It feels good, but obviously I can't get too caught up in it. We still have a game to play tomorrow. Penny is a hell of a player, Hall of Famer, and just to hear that feels good.

But like I said, you can't get caught up in all that. We've still got to go tomorrow and play.

Q. Why is this moment not going to be too big for this team? Why is a veteran team like this ready for a moment like this?

EMMANUEL AKOT: I think the only difference between this tournament and the other games we play, there's millions of people interested instead of just a couple thousands or hundreds.

It's just a process, still a basketball game at the end of the day, so we're just going to look at it like that and come out to compete.

ABU KIGAB: We're going to approach it with the same mentality we approach every game, whether it's 10,000 people in the stand or 100 in the stand, it doesn't matter.

Q. I know you've been to the tournament before, but you're only the second person from Winnipeg to make it to the NCAA Tournament --

THE MODERATOR: We're not able to hear the question here, so we'll get the technical difficulties worked out.

Q. Andrew Nembhard mentioned he's played with you, against you growing up. Can you talk about the possibility of running into him on Saturday if it happens and just growth in Canadian basketball overall the last decade or so?

EMMANUEL AKOT: Yeah, I played with Andrew on Team Canada. We're really good friends, so when we beat Memphis that second round matchup against Gonzaga if they won, that's definitely going to be something we'll talk about forever.

The growth of basketball in Canada has been huge. We've got the No. 1 player coming out with Shaedon Sharpe. It's just growing. It's just beautiful to see. When we were growing up in Canada it wasn't nearly as good as it is now, so it's just spectacular to see the growth in Canadian basketball.

Q. How does having a loaded schedule help you guys keep that same mentality throughout the season?

EMMANUEL AKOT: I think it's just nice. The NCAA Tournament, it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing. It's a spectacular moment. It's just big on the schedule having an open practice and interviews, just enjoying the process of being in the NCAA Tournament, and our team is going to enjoy it and take it moment by moment.

Q. Abu, when you watch Memphis, when they lose, when they don't play well, what typically happens? Is it the same problems, or what would those problems be when they lose?

ABU KIGAB: They give up a lot of open threes. The way they play, they want you to go to the rim and try to put something up. They have amazing shot blockers, so they're coming in and smacking that off the glass.

When they get beat they usually give up open threes, and if anyone gives up open threes, that's going to beat you.

Q. What is the value of seeing that first three pointer going through? And where do you feel you're at in terms of full strength?

EMMANUEL AKOT: Oh, definitely. I worked on my game a lot, and it doesn't matter if the first three misses, the second three misses, I'm shooting every shot like it's going to go in.

I think just the work has given me confidence in my three-point shot.

My health, yeah, definitely, endurance is getting a lot better. Last game I sprained my ankle so that's a little rough to work with, but tomorrow I'll have that going, and it's also my birthday tomorrow, so nothing to stop me from playing.

Q. You guys both started other places but you chose to come to Boise State for a reason. Did you see this as being possible, this team getting to the tournament? What does it mean to bring this moment as seniors to this program?

ABU KIGAB: This is what we've been working for the whole year, to get to these moments. We're going to embrace these moments and take them one day at a time. It's just all a part of the process.

It's all a part of the process. When you stop worrying about outcomes that you can't control and just focus on the things you can control, you can do a lot of special things.

EMMANUEL AKOT: Yeah, you have to believe at first to accomplish it, and I think every single person that's part of our program believes that we're going to be a NCAA Tournament team, Mountain West champions, and we're just going to bring that to the tournament.

LEON RICE: We're excited to be here at the NCAA Tournament and here in Portland. It's great to be in the northwest. Hopefully we have a great turnout of Boise State fans. Our guys couldn't be more excited to play and get after it tomorrow.

Q. There's a few families in the NCAA Tournament, obviously you and Max, but then there's also Will Graves is playing at GU while his dad coaches at Oregon --

LEON RICE: Joe Few is at -- yeah, don't forget Joe Few.

Q. Yeah. There's a lot of them. It's unique to have a parent who really understands what a kid is going through in college sports and vice versa. Can you speak to how special and unique it is that you get to coach your son and that you get to see his friends and their parents also succeed?

LEON RICE: Yeah, it is. It's really, really special. The funny thing for me is we're going about it and we're all doing our jobs, and he's doing his job, Max, and I'm doing my job.

Sometimes I look out there, and I'm like, oh, yeah, max is on the team, my son. But when I went through the decision-making process, he and I did together, I reached out to tons of coaches that had had the opportunity to coach their son, not just basketball coaches, football coaches, Dan Hawkins. I reached out to Alford, McDermott, guys like that.

They would all start with how difficult it can be and the stuff you have to go through and the challenges that you face, but they all ended it with you've got to do it. It's the greatest experience.

They're right. There's been challenges. There's been hard parts for both him and me, but in the end it's been so rewarding.

Then what Max brings to this team has been amazingly valuable. He does whatever the game needs or whatever the team needs.

Akot was out so Max went in and started and scored 17 in one game and 13 in another. Then Emman comes back and Max says, all right, I'm a ball mover, I'm a shooter, you need rebounds tonight, I'll go get nine of them.

So his role on this team has been so important. To see those other guys, we have -- the spokesman did a great -- I apologize for not knowing who wrote that story, the name off the top of my head, but it was a terrific story about them all growing up together and what they got to experience and being along for the ride from being a little kid to now they're playing in these games and being a part of it from the other side.

You know, a bunch of them want to go into coaching, and I thought the best line in that article was that I said, Well, of course they want to go into coaching. There was nothing else those guys can do, and I think I even called them a word that I probably didn't...

But they've just been around it their whole lives. That's all they know. They know the coaching staff, they know the playing stuff, and it shows up in the way most of those coaches' kids play is they're a little bit wise beyond their years on the court.

Q. You've obviously made a lot of history this year, the wins record, the championships, everything else, but how badly does this program want to win its first tournament game in history?

LEON RICE: Our job is the same. We've never -- how badly we wanted to win the conference championship, how badly we want to win in the tournament. It's all the same as far as that's the magic of what these guys and the way these guys have approached it.

They've wanted to win every game the same way, and they competed that same way. Our mission is the same, our job is the same. It's business as usual with these guys and the way they've approached their business all year long has been just tremendous how they compete and how they fight every night.

In that aspect you don't want them -- we don't expect a Bob Beamon effort, we don't want a Bob Beamon effort. We need to do our jobs.

Now, we've got to play really, really good and they know that, but that's no different than to win the Mountain West Championship game or any of those.

Our job is the same, and for us we approach it as business as usual.

Q. Obviously Abu came over from Oregon. What was it about his game that you wanted at Boise State, and has he met or exceeded the expectations you had for him?

LEON RICE: Well, that's almost a rhetorical question with how good he's been. The interesting thing about ABU was the very, very first thing you hear about Abu when you reach back into his past and talk to people that have been around him and that have coached him -- and he was on that Canadian team, it was the first Canadian team to ever beat a team from the U.S. in international competitions, and he was a huge part -- they had NBA guys on that team, and he was probably -- the thing that I was told was he was the competitor that brought that whole thing together, and that's what you found.

He's a winner. He's a high-character kid that cares about his teammates and cares about the right stuff. He's certainly lived up to that. He's our most vocal leader.

We've got a lot of leaders in a lot of different ways, but he's the one that brings the energy to the room and the excitement to these guys, and the confidence that they have.

Q. We saw how good Emman was in the Mountain West tournament. How big of an advantage is it when you have a 6'8" point guard? And with the NBA going that way, are we done trying to stereotype guys' position based on their height?

LEON RICE: Yeah, I think that has evolved a lot, especially in the last five years. We were doing that out of necessity, you know, when you look back to Nick Duncan and James Webb, is that nobody could decipher which one was the 5, which one was the 4, and Derrick Marks, was he a 1, 2, 3, 5? Who knew.

So we kind of went to that a while ago and just tried to get them to play to their strengths. That's what we've done with this team, is just because Shaver is the smallest doesn't mean his strengths might be different -- sometimes it's the 2, sometimes it's the 1.

We just try to let these guys and have our system play to what they do really, really well.

One of the things I saw with Emman is he does gain some advantages with his size throughout the year. Some of those late shot clock shots, I don't know if you had a smaller guard that they even get those off that he's been able to make for us, some of those challenges in the championship game.

He challenges that last shot and he's 6'8". That makes a difference than a six-footer challenging that shot. There is an advantage to having those guys that are long and athletic, and I think that's where his versatility helps us so much.

Q. Jalen Duren doesn't look like a freshman physically. Are there ways that he plays, though, at this point that aren't freshman-like, either?

LEON RICE: I don't think they're freshmen at this time of the year. That's what we've always said, when a guy is getting a lot of minutes and getting a lot of experience, they're no longer freshmen when it comes to March, and even February they've had -- the freshman year is kind of gone.

They know the system. You look at the way he's playing. His last month has been amazing. He certainly doesn't physically look like a freshman, but now his game doesn't resemble anything close to any freshman at this time of year.

Q. When you look at their competitive drive, do you mirror any similarities between the two?

LEON RICE: Yeah, and the other one I'd throw into that is from my days at Gonzaga, Jeremy Pargo. I always tell the stories about Jeremy. You could be having the roughest, toughest days, you could have lost a game, been down in the dumps, no matter who you are whether you're a player or a coach, and you'd show up to the gym, like oh, good, I get to hang out with Jeremy today.

Abu is the same way. He's just got a great positive attitude, and it's just infectious to the rest of the team. I love being around guys like that. I think he and I pour into each other that way in a lot of ways, and I think we affect each other that way in a lot of ways.

He'll be a special one that I'll talk about -- talking about Jeremy, that was 15 years ago. Jeremy is old now, but -- I'll be talking about Abu that way for the next 15, 20 years.

Q. As you continue to build this program, what would the first win in NCAA history mean to this program? How could you capitalize on that and continue to build this program?

LEON RICE: Like I said, yeah, it's one of those things that in a month or in two weeks or in three weeks you talk about, oh, that was great, and it's another thing you can put up on your walls and all that stuff.

But right now that's not at all our focus.

It's awesome, and this is the greatest -- you've heard me say it a lot, this is the greatest sporting event in the world, and we get to be part of it.

Yeah, a win means everything, but that's really not -- our focus is our mission and our jobs, and that's our focus.

Now, in a month or in weeks or whatever we'll look back on it and go, Those are neat accomplishments, and we always love those milestones. I've said it since I got to Boise, milestones are -- we don't dwell on them, but they're great because that means you're accomplishing things.

And that's what this group has been able to do, no doubt.

Q. I'm sure you spoke to this many times this season, but what has Emmanuel Akot meant to this team, and how has he helped you have a record-breaking season?

LEON RICE: Well, he's another one that he has great confidence, and he's been a great team guy. And then his versatility has meant so much to this team. He can guard 1 through 5. Last year he played -- probably was one of the only players in the country that actually played 1 through 5.

His versatility gives us such a freedom to use all the other guys in different ways that let them play to their strengths.

But yeah, I think that's maybe the biggest thing is his versatility has meant so much to us.

Q. You guys played each other in the NIT last year. Are both teams better, and how are both teams different?

LEON RICE: It sure looks like it. I think the team we played last year was really good, no doubt about it.

What was the second part of that question?

Q. How are they different?

LEON RICE: Oh, different. Well, the styles are contrasting a lot. They're going to press you a ton and they're going to trap you more than what we do. I think we have some common ground the way we rebound the ball.

I think both teams are pretty strong, pretty athletic, pretty aggressive. Those are the similarities.

The offensive styles are a little different, but mostly the defense and how their defense creates so many highlight plays and so many transition points. That's probably the biggest difference in the two.

Q. I'm watching Memphis practice; 81 years old, Larry Brown out there grinding with the post players; Penny obviously, too. What stands out when you watch these guys about how they are coached?

LEON RICE: Well, we've got 81-year-old Mike Burns and Tim Duryea, so I think that's a push. We got two of them to add up to one, right?

I mean, they do a great job with what they have and it fits their talent, and they play to those guys. I think our team and our coaching staff has done a magnificent job of figuring out what our strengths are, because to me, really that's great coaching is those teams that can figure out what they have to do with the guys they have.

Because there's no trades in the middle of the season, there's no things like that. You've got to figure out what you have and try to put them in the best position that gives them the best chance to win.

They went through what I call a valley of death, just like we did. Ours was right at the start and then we went on the huge winning streaks. They went through their own valley of death and came out the other side, and you saw what they've been doing the last month, month and a half or however long it's been.

Q. What did you see in Tyson Degenhart when you were going through the recruiting process, and has anything he's done this season surprised you?

LEON RICE: First of all, I saw the greatest hair-do for a guy like him when he was a senior with the braids, and I always liked them and was disappointed when he cut them off.

He said that was his high school version.

But my son played with Tyson, and Coach Few, Joe Few played with the. This is turning into a Joe Few press conference. He'll be so happy to hear that.

But we saw, first of all, high character, and he's such a winner. We saw that from the time he was in like eighth or ninth grade. So that was the No. 1 thing because guys like him that have the body and have the work ethic, that character, that work ethic, all that, that team-guy stuff, that all translates and those guys become great, and that was the thing that I mostly wanted in this program.

He's a special, special kid, and he makes others better. He's got a great empathy for his teammates, and that's why we were able to put him in the starting lineup with a bunch of seniors. They had so much respect for him, and they knew that he cared about winning and he cared about making his teammates better, and he was going to work as hard or harder than anybody, so there was a respect there, and that's why it was so successful to make the change and put him in the starting lineup.

Q. You've talked a lot this season about staying in the moment with your team. What is the regimented schedule that you have now -- how is the regimented schedule helping with their nerves?

LEON RICE: It's not so much the schedule, it's the mindset of how we approach it. We still want to enjoy everything. We want to be here now and play with the joy that we've played with all year and the togetherness, the humility of -- it wasn't an individual. It wasn't our performance or let our egos sneak into some of this.

It was the humility to know, it was the body of work that we were doing together on a daily basis that made us successful.

That was a big part of our staying in the moment, the humility to just, Hey, here's the task at hand today. Here's what we've got to accomplish today. Doesn't mean we don't enjoy it. Doesn't mean we don't love being around each other and finding the fun and the enjoyment in our daily activities.

But we are here now, and that's what these guys -- but we have to -- you have to address that. You have to practice it. You have to get your minds right to do that.