NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - TEXAS SOUTHERN VS KANSAS

March 16, 2022

Johnny Jones

Dickies Arena

Texas Southern Tigers

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome Texas Southern head coach, Johnny Jones, fresh off I a victory over Texas A&M Corpus Christi. After the opening statement, we'll take questions in the room. And if there are any, we'll also take questions through ZOOM. So if you are watching there, please raise your hand virtually if you have a question for Coach Jones. Coach, we'll start with your opening statement.

JOHNNY JONES: We're really excited to be here in Fort Worth. Had a hard fought battle last night in Dayton against a very good Texas A&M Corpus Christi basketball team. And we're fortunate that our guys played well there in the second half to put us in position to have a chance to come battle a great tradition in Kansas basketball, Coach Bill Self and his program, in this one. We, obviously, certainly look forward to.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Jones on the left.

Q. Coach Self told us the other day -- he almost jumped at the chance to tell us that he knows you, you guys go back a little ways. I just wonder if you could kind of share your relationship, how you guys first got to know each other and how far back you go?

JOHNNY JONES: I've just known him for a long time, really, just through the coaching profession. And I've always admired the job that he's done over the year. And just a very special individual.

My wife, actually, loves him more than -- probably more than me and probably only met him a couple times just because the type of person he is.

He was a head coach at Tulsa. I was doing the interim head coach one year at the University of Memphis. And I think Memphis was reaching out to him during our season. And he told them at the time that he wasn't interested in talking to them because they already had a coach in place right now and didn't feel comfortable talking about it during the season.

So they went back after him. And I think they rubbed him the wrong way and he told them he wasn't interested now and he won't be interested in the future if that's the way they conducted business. And after my wife heard that, she became his biggest fan. So...

But he's always been great. We always watched his teams and programs. And it's crazy, I'm not sure if he shared this with you, we actually talked in December because of the cancellation of some basketball games.

We lost a game against Cincinnati. They had lost a game, as well. And I think he called me up -- it may have been on a Thursday night and I waited until the next morning, I think, to call him, and they had rescheduled the game. And that's what he was calling about, to schedule. So I'm glad he found another opponent in December. I was happy for him.

But we are really good friends and have certainly admired him for a long time.

Q. Have you coached against him, then?

JOHNNY JONES: Yes. I've gone in -- when I was at the University of North Texas, I took their program in there and we played them at their place in one of the, I guess, the guaranteed games. And I think that's the only time we've had a chance to -- been a matchup against each other there.

THE MODERATOR: Front row.

Q. What's the last 24 hours been like for you going from Dayton, you know, back here after the victory?

JOHNNY JONES: Yeah, I tell you, it's kind of been a whirlwind for us. Because starting off, we were -- you asked about the 24 hours. But we were in our conference tournament on a Saturday and we took off and got back home sometime on Sunday morning, able to watch the Selection Show. And I found out who our opponent was going to be.

Then I got kind of the wheels rolling in what we needed to do in getting into Dayton. And after we get into Dayton, obviously, a short turnaround playing a basketball game there.

We were fortunate that they had an airline for us waiting after the game. And it was a little bit different. Because if you win, you obviously go to the airport and you take off and you go to your next location.

If you lose, you get to go back to the hotel and sleep and you fly out the next day. And we were fortunate that we were able to get to the airport and everything was on schedule.

And I think we landed here -- because of the time change, we got here about 12:30 last night. I think to the hotel maybe about 12:30, something to 1:00. The kids were able to find something to eat, put them into bed, and get them up this morning and start working on Kansas.

Q. So given that you had the extra round, the extra wrinkle there, when did you really start to dig into KU tape and being prepared for them?

JOHNNY JONES: Last night on the plane. We already had games. And so, last night, on the plane, we were able to, coaches, pull up the schedules and had games already downloaded and started watching a little bit.

And just went from, you know, a great high in winning a basketball game, and then having to turn around, and kind of get your night a little screwed up when you started watching Kansas knowing that that's your next opponent in trying to prepare for them.

So it's a lot of work. You got to cram. But we're used to it. That's what it's about. We play a lot of back-to-back almost games in our preseason because of the guaranteed schedules that we play early on. Then our conference schedule is usually on that Saturday/Monday.

So we're used to pretty quick turnarounds and prepping and getting ready for teams. And our guys have done a good job of adjusting to that.

Q. So what has stood out to you on them so far watching them on film? What pops up to you?

JOHNNY JONES: Just one of Bill Self's team, which is motioning and the way they can get up the floor, the spacing that they utilize, guys playing off of each other.

They have excellent shooters. And he's one of the best in the business in putting guys in the spots where they're going to excel. Shooters get to their spots. His drivers get to the lanes because of the angles and screens that they set. His rebounders rebound. And his post guys understand their position in the post and they do a lot of high percentage things there on the offensive end of the floor.

But it's just I think a traditional Bill Self type team in that he takes his guys -- takes his pieces and puts them in the right spot.

Q. Given how often they're on national television throughout the year, had you seen them before the plane?

JOHNNY JONES: Oh, yeah. No, I've had the pleasure of watching them several times. He's -- one of my teams that I have to tell you that I enjoy watching the style of play and the way they get after it.

And being the head coach at the University of North Texas for a long time and in the Big 12 watching a lot of their games, so familiar with that. And being in the SEC, I think I had a chance to watch a little bit of their challenge, as well, with Kentucky, as well. And I think that was at Kansas. So, yeah, following them a little bit this year when I could.

Q. We asked your guys a minute ago, too, you know, obviously, Kansas is going to try to take you out of what you do and vice versa. But if you are able to dictate this one, how does this game look from your perspective? What's the ideal Texas Southern style tomorrow night in this game if you're able to assert yourselves in this game?

JOHNNY JONES: Kansas has missed a bunch of shots. And they'll go for the offensive rebounds, something they're great and excel at.

At the end of the day, though, they're a terrific basketball team and it's going to be a very difficult and obviously a tough game for us. We'll have to defend extremely hard.

And if we can do a good job of maybe limiting their second-chance opportunities, it will certainly help us at the end of the day. Because I think they are a very good offensive rebounding basketball team.

But we've got to just make sure on the other end that we're able to score, as well, because they're a good defensive basketball team, as well.

THE MODERATOR: One more from the room and then we'll go to ZOOM before we come back.

Q. Yeah, following up on that, kind of scouting them a little bit. Remy Martin's been injured a lot this season and just kind of back here recently. Does that change the way you can look at them? Do you look mostly at the more recent games that he has played in? How does he factor into how you prepare for them?

JOHNNY JONES: Well, a good thing, we're familiar with him. We've played practically everybody in the country. And we played at Arizona State when he was actually their starting point and played a lot of minutes.

So we're very familiar with his game, his style of play. And so, that won't be anything new to us. But we certainly have to prepare for him when he's in the game and the things that he do or the -- obviously, what he likes to do offensively to be successful out there on the floor. We'll certainly have to be prepared.

THE MODERATOR: Okay. Let's go to Daniel Rodriguez on ZOOM. Go ahead, Daniel.

Q. Hey, Coach. I wanted to ask, you know, since you've been at Texas Southern, you've been in the postseason in three out of four years, with that only one year being the COVID year. What does it mean to have this kind of consistency in bringing a winning culture to Texas Southern?

JOHNNY JONES: Well, we're very fortunate. The good thing is we've had some tradition here at Texas Southern. Mike Davis had done a tremendous job prior to my arrival in taking the team to post-season play.

Just been very fortunate on the heels of that to be able to put together a great nucleus of guys. And the chemistry's really been good on our basketball team and our program.

And guys are coming to the program for the right reasons. We're dealing in the transfer market. And when you do that, you have to be careful, I think, of the combination of guys that you put together because of their own agendas.

And so, we've been fortunate with that. And I certainly have to credit my staff for making sure that we screen and we do the right thing, bringing the right guys in, that it's the right fit or whatever for our team for the right reasons when it comes down to winning. And I'm excited that great things are happening for us there at Texas Southern University.

THE MODERATOR: Okay. Back in the room. Upfront.

Q. Johnny, what does it mean to you to have these last couple games with your son? And has the reality start to set in at all?

JOHNNY JONES: Yes, it has. And it's really -- not only him and how close I've become with these guys. Probably a lot of it to do because of him. Knowing the relationship and stuff that he has with them, it means a lot. It's something that I've always wanted to do and I've been blessed to be put in a position to do it now.

And to have him around for the -- because he played one year when I was an assistant out at Nevada. And when I got the job, he played three years for me. And that's all I had left.

And then the COVID year gave him an additional year. And that was special. I said, Man, how God works. And so, this has really been good for us and really for him, in something that I'll certainly cherish for the rest of my life.

And I've been a Division I basketball coach since he was born, so I never got to do the AAU stuff or anything with him and his friends. It's always been kind of on the side and doing individual skill work.

Now to have a chance to coach him, it's really been special and a lot of fun or whatever for me. And even more than I could have expected.

Q. So given that, I mean, have you -- in what ways have you really seen him develop, then, in the past four years, being around him so often because you couldn't previously?

JOHNNY JONES: Well, his basketball stuff has been there because he was fortunate enough to -- his high school coach did a phenomenal job. He won three state high school championships.

And he's got an unbelievable basketball IQ. He's extremely smart and can really shoot the basketball. And that's where he thrives at for us in our program.

But in some of the things, away from the floor, say for instance that he'll bring up about games, opponents, or teams. Because I think he's got a knack for the sport in what's going on and what's happening, and he's go a good feel for the game and people.

So he's really developed I think more so than -- the stuff on the floor has been good. If you're talking about skill sets, defensively, I think he's, obviously, improved it and gotten better because he's gotten bigger and stronger.

But the main thing I like about him that he's kind of a coach in a sense that he understands what's going on and things that work. And a lot of times, he'll bring stuff to my attention. And he's spot on.

Q. I guess, finally, you know, when you look at your relationship with him, if you forget basketball, what do you take away from that and how much do you think you've grown together as father and son these last four years, five years?

JOHNNY JONES: I just have to say that I think as a father, you couldn't ask for a more of a guy putting in and doing the little things that make the big difference. Especially in the role that he plays as son.

Because he's got other teammates that's watching him. And he's never really put me in a position that you have -- you know, because you're talking about a vulnerable state with his teammates. Because he understood the role that he was playing.

And to be able to do that I think has got to be extremely stuff on a daily basis to understand that I got to walk a certain line in doing things. And he's been able to do that and has respected that. And that's been a great deal for me. Yes, thank you.

THE MODERATOR: Any other questions? Okay. Coach Jones, appreciate it, sir.

JOHNNY JONES: Thank you so much. Thanks for your time and your attention. Go Tigers.