NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - GEORGIA ST.VS GONZAGA

March 16, 2022

Mark Few

Rasir Bolton

Julian Strawther

Moda Center

Gonzaga Bulldogs

Media Conference

Q. I would love for both of you to detail for us - and they have to be different - your favorite highlight from Chet this season.

JULIAN STRAWTHER: My favorite Chet highlight was probably in Vegas against UCLA, coast to coast, behind the back, into the dunk in transition.

It was during a big run for us, and it kind of just got everybody going. I felt like that was the moment that a lot of people, fans alike, kind of said, Whoa, this kid is special, and I felt like we all had that same exact reaction.

RASIR BOLTON: For mine I'm going to do with something you guys haven't seen. It was one day in practice he had came down in transition and he had tried a 360 lay-up. Seeing him every day, knowing what he's capable of, just seeing a seven-footer come down and try and do something that was athletic and agile was very impressive for me, so that was probably my favorite moment.

Q. What's the difference in the mentality of this team this year compared to last year coming into this tournament?

RASIR BOLTON: As far as the team? I mean, I would just say it's a different team. Being at Gonzaga it's a different culture here, winning culture. Something they've been doing.

Not to say Iowa State doesn't have that, but I just think it's a different team. The cards fell where they fell this year and played out well for us.

Q. For both of you, you've only played two games in the last three weeks. How excited are you just to get here and get going for something you've probably waited for for 365 days?

JULIAN STRAWTHER: I feel like we've all been real hungry to play. These are the games you dream of to play, March Madness, the biggest games in college basketball. We're all ready. We've been going against each other in practice and ready to go play somebody else and a different opponent.

RASIR BOLTON: For me, this is my first time in the tournament, so I'm definitely excited to get out there and play for sure.

Q. You know that you were going to be in March Madness for a while now. What's it like now that it's finally here?

JULIAN STRAWTHER: I feel like it's definitely getting more real as we get closer and closer to game time and we're here in the arena now.

It's so exciting. It's such a big moment for all of us. And our whole season has been going towards this goal of coming here and winning a National Championship, so to finally be here and have an opportunity to get that started is really cool.

Q. For both of you, obviously when we talked to you last you didn't know anything about Georgia State. What do you know about them now?

RASIR BOLTON: They're aggressive. Very handsy team. Pick up full court. Like to play in the gaps. They play through their guards. Like to get some threes up. Their two bigs are tough guys and are going to rebound, defend, all that.

They're a tough team and definitely going to come to play, so we've got to be ready tomorrow.

JULIAN STRAWTHER: Yeah, he covered it. He got it.

Q. Julian, Tommy Lloyd obviously played a role in recruiting you. I wonder this year with him and Arizona, do you follow their success? He's obviously having a great season. Is it weird still that he's not in Spokane?

JULIAN STRAWTHER: It's weird, but I'm wishing him the best and all the success he's having over there at Arizona. It's really cool to see him smiling, having a good time, and the other guys, TJ Benson, Ken Nakagawa, they were also on staff. Those are my guys, too.

I'm just really happy for them all, and I always wish them all the best.

Q. When you said that Chet did that 360, did he make the 360 lay-up or just attempted it in practice?

RASIR BOLTON: I'm going to say he made it.

Q. Okay. When he first showed up, when he started playing open gyms, did you know much about him or were you also blown away by what he could do?

RASIR BOLTON: I knew him of course from the highlight clips and the YouTube videos and stuff like that, but seeing a talent like that in person is definitely different. Just to see the little things he does, how easily he blocks shots and starts to break or how he outlet passes, rebounds. Really little things, so seeing him in person was definitely a different experience.

JULIAN STRAWTHER: Yeah, I had a couple experiences with him prior to coming to Gonzaga, but just being able to play with him on the same team as him, there's so many things that he does that impact the game that not too many -- I'm actually going to say no one in the country can do, the things he does to impact and help our team.

To have that, I feel like it's the biggest boost you can have. I mean, he's very disruptive. You can't really go in the paint and put up shots that you normally put up. It's pretty annoying to just have somebody come over and beat you off the glass when you thought you had an open lay-up. It's really disruptive.

Q. Obviously you came here for this specific reason; I guess are you walking around today saying, This is it? You only have six games left hopefully. What's this journey been like for you at Gonzaga and now the reward of playing here?

RASIR BOLTON: It's been fun. This is the reason I came here to make a tournament win and try and win a National Championship. I'm excited to be here. I don't think I have a "this is it" feeling. I think it's kind of more time to play, live out my dream, so I'm ready for it.

Q. What's it like playing for the No. 1 team in Pacific daylight time? You're used to playing your whole career on the East Coast. Are people staying up to watch you?

RASIR BOLTON: It's definitely been an adjustment for my family for sure. But yeah, they've been staying up later to catch some games or they'll text me early in the day and tell me they might not catch the one tonight but they'll check the stats in the morning and text me.

It's definitely an adjustment, but I appreciate all their love and support for me for sure.

Maybe like a couple games being a kid, staying up late and flipping through channels and their game might be on, so I'd stay up and watch it then. I knew about them, of course, because they were winning, but I never really stayed up late and tuned into Gonzaga.

MARK FEW: Well, it's awesome to be back to another NCAA Tournament, and especially one that we'll have fans at. It'll be great to walk out on the floor and see the real -- and feel the real March Madness environment.

I think all of us are so excited and feel so blessed to be able to get back to that.

From our team and our program standpoint, it's great to be able to come to Portland. We've obviously had some great memories here. We've got a lot of -- myself being an Oregonian and players from Oregon and just some real wonderful connections down here.

But then you flip the script and you start watching tape, and real apprehensiveness with Georgia State squad. Kind of scratching my head and shocked that they're a 16 seed. I don't really see that. So we know we're in for -- just like you are all the time in the NCAA Tournament. It's going to be a really, really tough hard-fought game and we're going to have to play very good to move on.

Q. I asked your players this: What is your favorite Chet highlight from the season? It can be something that happened in practice that we haven't seen.

MARK FEW: I mean, Chet does a lot of eye-popping things, and then he does some real head-scratching things. I guess it depends on what kind of mood I'm in.

Best thing about Chet, I'm telling you, is he's so coachable and he's such a hard worker. Probably my greatest highlight is to walk out there the morning after a game and he's already got a full sweat going that morning, working on something.

Whether it's his basketball skills or in the weight room with Travis or even watching film on the next opponent, he's incredibly driven and he's got a plan. Maybe something like that.

It's kind of boring, but from a coach's standpoint, that's always great to see.

Q. You touched on it in your opening statement, some connections to Portland with Matt, Ben and your assistant coach, Brian. How special is it for those three to be here playing a March Madness game in Portland, and what have they brought to the program, especially Coach Michaelson?

MARK FEW: Hey, I think it's special to them, special to me. Heck, I grew up two hours from here and it was always the biggest thing in the world to be able to come up to Portland maybe one or two days a year, whether it was for a state tournament or something, and you were just in awe of the whole coliseum.

I think it's great for them to get back home around their families. It certainly makes for easy travel for our fans.

In regards to B-Mike, I think he is the true Zag because he's so understated and so humble, and he's just had enormous impact on our program, as much as anybody has over the years. He's an unbelievable relationship developer and ferocious recruiter.

I think that's just -- I don't think people understand that, just how many of the great players we've had have been probably at least influenced the most by B-Mike in the recruiting process.

He's got a real analytical feel that has helped me over the years, because I was not the greatest analytics guy at the start of this whole movement and am still probably in the lower percentile.

He's great at game planning, great at scouting, and excellent at player development.

Q. Along the same lines that you mentioned at the top of this, being an Oregonian, being from here, and also having quite a few players that are from the Pacific Northwest on the roster, can you describe being able to, one, be in front of fans, but two, knowing that there's a lot of family that's here, how much more significant is that?

MARK FEW: Well, I think that's one of the best things, one of the best moves over the years. I don't know what this is, is this our 23rd or 25th or something straight year in the tournament?

Which is just such an awesome accomplishment by all our guys and something I'm probably most proud of, of everything we've been able to do, because it is just so hard to get to this tournament that I think is the greatest sporting event in the world.

The coolest thing, greatest move I think the NCAA did was having -- if you're in that first four seeding group somewhere you get to stay closer to home. It just makes it so much easier for friends, for families, for our fans, and it really, really rewards teams for just battling and slugging it out over the course of four and a half months and giving them something other than just a number on a line.

Certainly we knew early on this year when we looked at it way back in September that Portland was one of the host cities, and I think that was a goal for all of us to get here.

Q. You said you were scratching your head at Georgia State being a 16 seed. Why?

MARK FEW: Because I've seen them on tape and watched them, and they're just -- they also come from a conference that ordinarily doesn't -- it's not a 16 seed conference. They're very experienced. I think they were picked to win their league at the start of the year and just had some COVID issues.

And then if you really want to look at the analytics, and some analytics are almost 90 points higher than some of the other teams that were seeded 16, and us being the No. 1 overall, again, I'm not sure -- I think the committee did a great job breaking down all the top 4 seeds across the regions and even probably -- that's probably the most important aspect when you're in the committee room, that and then the last four in and first four out.

I think they did as good a job as they could do on that.

But yeah, that's a head scratcher. This is not a 16 seed. We've played plenty of 16 seeds over the years.

Q. You mentioned with B-Mike that he's had a huge influence on your program. Obviously there are a couple other coaches around here who have, too, including Leon Rice, who you probably passed in the hallway, and Tommy at Arizona. How much are you able to talk to them during the season? Do you check in on their scores? Do you ever watch them just as a friend and a supporter?

MARK FEW: Yeah, absolutely. We talk pretty much every day, or close to it. I have another guy that he was with our program, Ray Giacoletti who was at the University of St. Louis, and then I actively watch their games as a fan and a friend whenever we can.

And the family is very much engaged in that when I come home sometimes. They're all fired up because either Arizona or Boise State is on or Long Beach State or Colorado or all the friends that are very, very close to us.

Again, in Leon's case, they're like family, and Tommy is the same. Our families literally grew up together and our kids were raised together.

It's pretty special. This is a crazy profession, and in most cases you're not allowed that -- just that opportunity. We've been so blessed to all be at Gonzaga, and the way we run our program is we let our kids run around on the side or just run wildly around the arena while we're practicing, which is fine by me.

I think it's just been fun to see the kids grow up together like that.

Q. In what ways is this team different from the 22 or whatever preceded it, its personality, style of play? Anything that jumps out at you?

MARK FEW: I mean, look, every team is different. Probably the least reported or least talked about aspect of this team is just how much we lost from last year.

We have three guys that are in the NBA off last year's team, and two of them were -- had been with us a long, long time in Corey and Joel, and were great players but they were also kind of the heart and soul of our program.

And then to lose such a flying comet of a player and person in Jalen, that was a lot.

We had a lot of new faces, and I think that the great thing about this year's team is how easily they assimilated together and how they gave up different aspects of their game for the good of the team.

From Chet to Rasir to even guys that hadn't really done much a year ago, Julian Strawther stepped in, Anton Watson stepped in to have just a great run this year. To me I think that's the biggest story there.

Q. In regards to Matthew Lang, what's it like for you when you get to put a guy on scholarship that had been a walk-on for you? And also, what has he done throughout his career to be able to get to that point for you?

MARK FEW: It's been great. Matt is another true Zag who just gives you everything he's got in practice. He's a very, very good player. He can easily play at other programs throughout the country. He's really, really developed over his time with us to where he's a handful in practice. He was torching us pretty good yesterday.

He comes from a great program, Jesuit High. We've had a lot of Jesuit guys over the years that have had huge effects on our program, from Brian Michaelson to Kyle Wiltjer to now Matt.

He comes from a great family, and it's awesome to be able to reward a kid. It's complicated in this day and age because the transfer portal is such an important aspect of filling your roster, so you're always kind of waiting around to see what's going to happen there.

Unfortunately we had one that we weren't able to use, so we gladly, and we're excited to give it to Matt.

Q. You guys have raised the bar so high that there's only really one thing left to achieve as far as this tournament goes. What's that balance like for this being the greatest tournament in the world? And there's people that -- you guys are the No. 1 overall seed for the second year in a row and it doesn't seem like it's a big deal. What's that balance like, to understand that but to remind people that the other 30 games matter, too?

MARK FEW: Yeah, hey, I just think just to not buy into that narrative. I certainly don't, and I do everything I can to make sure our players don't. Obviously the people around us within the athletic department and those of us that are close, none of us buy into that because we're out there battling and we understand all the people that didn't make it.

Look around the Pacific Northwest or even out west, who was fortunate enough to make the tournament, let alone get a high seed.

We feel blessed to be able to do that. To be the No. 1 seed is something we do cherish because it just shows you're the best out of everybody for four and a half months. You really, really earned this.

This thing we start tomorrow is just a three-week crapshoot and you've got to be really good, but you've got to be lucky, too.

Those are two different entities. We're at the point now where you're right, whether we haven't won it or whether we have won a championship, we want to win this thing as bad as anybody, but we're also, I feel, smart enough and balanced enough to really cherish the accomplishment that we had not only this year but in years past.

Q. Another Portland kid, Ben Gregg, can you talk about his development as a freshman?

MARK FEW: Yeah, hey, Ben has been interesting because he came out early with all the COVID situations and everything down here. He was able -- he's smart enough and organized enough to come early, and he had a real adjustment last year. He jumps on a team that was rolling, No. 1 team in the country and old, and here's a high school kid coming in halfway through.

He really did a nice job dealing with all that, and I know it was hard. He was homesick; as all of us would be.

But he's behind some really, really, really good players, but he's got a bright future at GU. He's done a great job. He's battled through some kind of tough injuries. Had a pretty severe ankle sprain, so that's been kind of limiting him this last month or so.

Again, at Gonzaga if you just stick with the plan and hang in there, usually good things happen. There's just so many guys throughout the years on our roster that can attest to that. I'd definitely put Ben in that category.

Q. Getting to play at your home state, what does the Creswell community mean to you, and do you have a favorite Creswell memory?

MARK FEW: Well, I grew up watching KEZI. It's good to know you guys are still in business. I don't feel quite as old.

Anyway, look, it's just awesome to be able to grow up in a small town. Creswell is obviously -- we still get back there whenever we can. My mom and dad are still there, as well as my brother. My sisters are spread out in Oregon, also.

No, I had great memories there and wouldn't have changed anything. Obviously growing up the son of a minister was awesome, and especially in a small town. Just got some dear, dear friends that are still friends.

I could never pick just one memory from there because I had so many good ones.