NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - CAL ST. FULLERTON VS DUKE

March 17, 2022

Paolo Banchero

Wendell Moore Jr.

Mark Williams

Mike Krzyzewski

Bon Secours Wellness Arena

Duke Blue Devils

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: We're going to go ahead and get the press conference started. With us today we have Paolo Banchero, Wendell Moore Jr., and Mark Williams.

Q. Since Saturday night, what has kind of this week been like for you guys in practice? You guys talked Saturday night about needing hard practices to get your defense readjusted. Do you feel like you've got that, and how hard were they?

WENDELL MOORE JR.: This week was a great week of practice. It's been a huge week mainly focusing on the defensive end. Getting more pressure on the ball, forcing a lot of live ball turnovers, just so we can really get into our offense easier. It's been a great week. Definitely feel like our guys got better and also got a lot closer this week.

Q. This is a question for all three of you. There's been so much going on this season, a lot of pressure. How do you guys deal with the mental health aspect of this? What are things you do together or individually off the court to sort of combat that?

MARK WILLIAMS: As far as me personally, as the year has gone on, just using that pressure to our advantage. Obviously it's an opportunity that a lot of people don't get to play with the season and goals as high as we have them. Just for me personally, just utilizing that and using it to my advantage. Then preparing for every game similarly. Don't let the highs get too high, don't let the lows get too low.

Q. I know you guys have talked at various points about wanting to send Coach K out the right way. You feel like you owe his legacy here. At each point you've sort of said, well, this is his last game at Cameron. This is his last ACC Tournament game. You knew when the last was going to be. Does it almost help not to know when the last might be until you get to the very end here, to sort of set aside the emotion from it, from just going out to play a basketball game?

PAOLO BANCHERO: I think now it's our last game as a group, so that's really our mentalities. We're not trying to end our season any shorter than it has to. As a group, we all like being around each other. We've been working hard since June. We know how much work in the preseason and just all year we've put in to get to March Madness. That's really our motivation is to come out, and every game is a championship game and to win and advance. That's really just all we've been thinking about.

Q. Wendell, not a lot of guys have tournament experience on this group, and I guess you're the older guy here. How valuable is it to have a coach in a broad sense that's been in the tournament when you don't have that players' experience that maybe as a comfort or they can prepare you, you know they can prepare you because they've seen just about everything in the tournament?

WENDELL MOORE JR.: Even for myself, I don't have any tournament experience myself. I'm just having Coach really lead us through it all. It's been great because he knows what to do. He's been here more than anybody. He's failed. He's had success. So he knows the ins and outs of everything.

So really just listen to everything he says and really just using it to get closer as a group. The closer we are as a group, the harder we're going to be able to be beat as a team.

Q. This one's for Mark. You guys have a pretty sizable advantage when it comes to your length on the floor. How do you plan to take advantage of Fullerton tomorrow with some of your size?

MARK WILLIAMS: Obviously on the defensive end for us, we just want to play really active, cause turnovers, speed them up, play at our pace. Obviously, that will lead into transition in offense for us. Utilizing that for us and playing together is honestly what it will come down to. Just playing together on both ends of the floor.

Q. Wendell, over the last few weeks you guys have been in settings like this where you don't get the specific question, but people ask what's wrong with Duke? Sometimes Coach K interrupts and says, come on, they're 28-6. Do those kinds of questions make you laugh or angry or fire you up when you hear what's wrong with Duke kind of general questions?

WENDELL MOORE JR.: It definitely makes us laugh a little bit because we only get those questions when we do something wrong. When we do something right, it's never what's going well for Duke? We just want to stay in the middle mindset. When it's going well, it's going good, we know who we are and who we can be.

Q. You guys played really strong defense early in the season. I think Gonzaga, games like that, you guys played really well. Last couple weeks teams have been scoring easily on you. What have you seen in your play, what have you seen in the team that you guys are trying to correct and get better as you go into this tournament?

PAOLO BANCHERO: I really just think really overall as a mindset for us that we had early in the year, just trying to really having something to prove, and then just overall our communication hasn't been as good as it was early in the year. That was just a big thing in practice that we were stressing during the week is everybody got to be talking, everybody got to be loud, commanding each other, holding each other accountable because I feel like we got away from that later in the year, and it showed on the defensive end with our defensive intensity and stuff like that.

So, yeah, we watched a lot of film. We know what we did wrong, and we're not looking to make those mistakes anymore.

Q. Obviously, this has been a long season, regular season ACC champs, had some great wins. Compared to where you were at the beginning of the year, what is the area you guys think you have improved in the most? Maybe it's over the last week, but just during the course of the year, how close are you to the team that you thought you could be?

MARK WILLIAMS: Obviously, the more you play, I think that's just the more chemistry you'll get. I think that just comes with just playing with each other all year. Obviously, we've definitely grown as a team. With the wins and the losses, I think we become more together, and I think the tournament is honestly like the time you have to be the most together. It's not going to be a smooth ride. We're going to face adversity. Teams are going to make runs, things like that.

So just being able to embrace all that, come together, and do whatever it takes to win will be the biggest thing for us. As far as the year goes, I think we've definitely grown in that aspect.

Q. So many Duke teams have made great memories, historical moments in this tournament. What do you think distinguishes this Duke team and what you guys can do in the tournament?

WENDELL MOORE JR.: I think what distinguishes us is we feel we haven't reached our full potential yet. The thing is we're playing some really good basketball right now, and we feel like, every time we step on the floor, we can get better. We haven't reached nearly as good a team as we can be yet. I mean, we've seen glimpses of it. So hopefully this week, we'll be able to put it all together and make a run here.

Q. Paolo, you tweeted about being a ball boy at the 2015 tournament, I think, in Seattle. What do you remember about that experience?

PAOLO BANCHERO: What do I remember? I remember getting dropped off in like the back, walking in there, walking past like the team buses, seeing all the teams. It was Gonzaga and Iowa playing. Yeah, I remember just being locked in the whole game. I remember being nervous because I knew like if somebody fell, I had to go wipe the floor, and I was scared to go out there like in front of all the people.

No, I was just doing everything, being a ball boy, handing the refs water, all that stuff. I thought that was the coolest thing ever. So to be here is cool.

Q. I know you guys had a tough loss in the ACC Championship. What do you guys have to do to improve on that to keep you guys rolling throughout the tournament and make this a fantastic season for Coach K?

MARK WILLIAMS: I think for us to grow from that game is just going to be our defensive intensity. I think at times throughout that game, we didn't make those hustle plays, didn't make the right decisions, and we didn't communicate at the level we should have. I mean, now I think us doing that is going to be really important for us. That will just cause us to, on the offensive end, to get going, transition, and then obviously defense at that level will make it tough for the offense.

Q. This question's for Wendell. Talk about the -- I don't want to say emergence because he's played strong all year, but Jeremy Roach has elevated his play in the last four games specifically. I know that's not a shock to any of you guys because you see what he does daily in practice. Wendell, as the captain, what were some of your conversations with him when he went from starting to coming off the bench? And what were you guys' conversations like? And just talk about his emergence over the last four games.

WENDELL MOORE JR.: So Jeremy and I are really close. The conversation with us is pretty easy. It's more like I just always stay ready. For me, it's just never get too high, never get too low. You always want to stay right in that medium because, when you're in that medium, you're in a great head space. I feel like, if you're in a great head space, you can do whatever you want to do.

These past four games, he's been in a really great head space. He's done a good job running our team offensively. The defensive pressure he puts on is great. He's become a really great shooter for sure these past four or five games, and he's given us a boost. Every time he steps on the floor, we notice it. We notice his energy.

So just all that all together, it just made us a better team these past four to five games.

Q. Wendell, this is your third season at Duke and first tournament. Is there a sense of like finally I get a chance to do this? Is there any sense of that or is it just excitement, sense of relief? What is it like for you three years in?

WENDELL MOORE JR.: It's a little bit of everything to be honest with you. It kind of feels like I'm a freshman again. It's been a lifelong dream for all of us since we were probably able to pick up a basketball. I know for me growing up in Carolina, I watched every single Duke game in the NCAA Tournament I could. So just getting a chance to be on this stage with these guys right here, it means the world to me.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, could you give an opening statement.

MIKE KRZYZEWSKI: We're excited. We've had a good week of practice. We're healthy and ready to go.

Q. I asked Wendell the same thing. You guys talked after Saturday about defense and using this sort of week to get that dialed back in. Do you feel like you got out of that time what you wanted to get out of it?

MIKE KRZYZEWSKI: Yeah, we've had three really good days of practice. Hard, really very enthusiastic. The guys seem fresher since we clinched the regular season against Pitt and played those three road games in six days.

We kind of stepped back a little bit, and we haven't played well since. Spurts, just in spurts. But also during that period we really weren't able to practice at the level, and with a young team, you get back to old habits real quick. This week was more of reaffirming our good habits.

Again, guys have worked hard. They've been really good this week. Today we just -- we actually used the 40 minutes as our workout. We had our scouting report this morning. Nolan did that. Then we went to Furman and did our walkthrough, and then we'll try to have 40 minutes of good energy here to get accustomed to the court.

Q. You don't have a lot of tournament experience among the players. How much can a coach's experience help players when you're in the NCAA Tournament? You're not out there playing, but you've seen and know what to expect. How much can that help them?

MIKE KRZYZEWSKI: It's not so much -- it's more like how to be prepared for it and use your excitement in a positive way, shared enthusiasm, shared excitement. And not make it like remember it's one and done. I'm not sure anyone completely realizes it's one and done until it's done. So you can spend too much time on that.

So it's been very upbeat. The main thing is just to try to be who we've been most of the season but at the highest level. Then one game -- we look at it as the opportunity tomorrow night, we play a championship game tomorrow night, and if we win it, we'll get an opportunity to play in another one. Just to look at it, it's not just one game at a time, it's one championship at a time because, if you don't win it, you're not going to win a championship.

Q. Fullerton's a team that doesn't take a lot of threes, and they're making just over five --

MIKE KRZYZEWSKI: Oh, no, you haven't watched them then. They're averaging nine makes a game. Milstead's shooting 60 percent from three. Other than that, you're right.

Q. I was watching the last few games, Coach.

MIKE KRZYZEWSKI: I've watched seven games of theirs, so I have a lot of respect. I'm sorry. Just screwing around with you.

Q. I'll rephrase the question then. With your size obviously --

MIKE KRZYZEWSKI: It's a good thing you don't have our scouting report.

Q. I must have a different one here, Coach.

With your size advantage, do you look to take advantage and get out with some of the shooters there as well as down low, having that size advantage?

MIKE KRZYZEWSKI: Have you seen Anosike? I don't know how much size advantage we have. They're a really good team. Coach Taylor's done a great job of developing a program there. They're old. They're champs of the Big West, and they're deep. They're deep.

Milstead and Anosike really make them go. Milstead's had a terrific end of season, and Anosike's been the leading scorer in their conference and can play either the four or five. They have different -- they look differently when he goes from one to the other, so they can give you a couple different looks.

But they've been actually shooting the three well, and they come off the bench with Maddox knocking down two a game, Harris. Yeah, they're a good basketball team.

Q. All three of your guys spoke about communication and the lack of it over the last few games. Is that something that goes back to just those poor habits, or kind of what have you seen changing that?

MIKE KRZYZEWSKI: That's a good question. Communication to me is the most interesting thing in coaching. Your communication individually with a player, collectively with a team, and then the team with one another. I think when you get -- you accomplish something and you're a little bit tired, especially guys, they get more inward. They don't share as much. It's not a matter of attitude or whatever.

I thought we, right towards the end of the season there, the team played really well. We played against really good teams. I didn't think we were fresh. That's part of the thing this week is just to get them mentally fresh. It's not just physically fresh.

A lot of emotion. You know, the thing with all my stuff, it's over now. That's a lot for those kids.

Q. You alluded to these guys often don't understand one and done until it's actually done. In this case, one and done has a different meaning even more for you. Do you think it will take being done for that to sink in, or do you kind of go in with an understanding that this is one and done?

MIKE KRZYZEWSKI: Mine will be 47 and done. No, look, I'm just going to go forward. That's what I've tried to do all season long. When it's over, even you do these interviews, not just yours, what are you going to miss? I don't miss anything yet. I'll answer that question when it's done and if I miss it and when I can give you a correct answer.

I just want to be in the moment. I'm excited. Look, this is a great, great time. I mean, to see college basketball back at this level of stage again with -- I'm really honored to be a part of it. I think this is the 36th time. I never would have thought that my first couple years at Army or Duke, but it's worked out all right.

Q. Coach, you've had so many great tournament teams at Duke. What distinguishes this team?

MIKE KRZYZEWSKI: We'll see what distinguishes it. You don't distinguish until you play. So the thing about the tournament is you have a regular season, and I think every team is judged -- teams can be judged by the regular season, but in our sport, we're really judged heavily by what we do in March. So you have a chance to distinguish yourself individually and collectively. So we'll see what happens.

Q. In terms of the communication, how central is that to getting back to the defensive intensity you had? Or is there something you identified this week as well to get back there?

MIKE KRZYZEWSKI: If there were ten steps to get back to defense, communication would be the first five because it's the life blood. No matter how hard you play individually, if you -- it's five playing as one. Communication is the life blood of a good defensive team. It also produces an element of trust on the court. In other words, if I'm guarding the ball and I never hear anybody say you're okay, you're good, you're good, then I might have a tendency to turn or not put as much pressure. But if I hear that voice that reassures me, then I can take a step forward instead of maybe taking a step back.

And if you can do that throughout a team, then all of a sudden your team is taking steps forward. It's the single biggest -- besides effort and attitude. Communication, effort, attitude, throw them in, and if you got them, you've got a chance.

Q. What has Jeremy Roach done well that's really given him and you guys a spark here down the stretch?

MIKE KRZYZEWSKI: He's had a really good year, especially when Trev went out, he took over. He puts the best pressure on the ball, so when we're looking at units this week in preparation for the tournament, we have to pressure the ball better. We have not done a good job. And that doesn't mean steal the ball. It means pressure the ball handler. He can do that.

Then he's doing a good job of hitting his shot. During that stretch when Trev was gone, he was having high assist and low turnover games, and we need to get back to that.

Q. Coach, I'm piggy-backing off the last question with Jeremy Roach. Obviously, he's had an interesting last couple of years. Obviously, the ACL injury in high school, then COVID freshman year. Now he's started as a starter coming off the bench. What are your back channel conversations with him? Like the last question, his emergence, especially over the last four to six games, has been amazing. Just talk about what your back channel conversations have been with him and how important he's going to be in this run?

MIKE KRZYZEWSKI: With Jeremy, look, you develop relationships with each one of your players. In that relationship, it's not just a head coach, it's the entire staff, and you try to make sure that we can keep them as consistently high as possible knowing it's a long season and they're young. But Jeremy's been terrific. We believe in him.

For us to do well in this tournament, we're going to need Jeremy to do well.

Do you notice that Zoom questions are longer? I didn't mean to insult. I only have 15 minutes.

(Laughter).

Q. Gosh, I'm trying to cut out some words here.

MIKE KRZYZEWSKI: See, it's working, right?

Q. Tomorrow you'll coach in your 128th NCAA Tournament game, and I wonder what you remember from the experience of the very first, which happened in a faraway place.

MIKE KRZYZEWSKI: Yeah, Johnny Dawkins got undercut, and there was no call in Pullman, Washington, so that was my first experience, and we lost a real close game.

You learn from being in the tournament, and hopefully the lessons you learn can help the team that you have the honor to coach at this moment.

THE MODERATOR: That was our final Zoom question. Final question in here and we'll let Coach go.

Q. Wendell Moore said he felt like a freshman coming into this with the excitement. Just you personally, how excited are you that he's getting this opportunity to play at this stage?

MIKE KRZYZEWSKI: Yeah, it's the first one. Like a number of teams, we had a really good team with Tre and J. Rob and Vernon Carey. We were hitting a great stride and were not able to play. That's what I mean, the newness. A Duke team has not had this newness because we've been -- up until last year, we've been since the mid-90s to every tournament.

You feel that enthusiasm. It makes you more enthusiastic. Shared enthusiasm is huge. If you're only giving as a coach or coaching staff and not receiving, that's not good, or vice versa. This whole week -- and really the year, I just think we had a little bit of a lull, but for this week that's what happened. We're all really excited to play, and hopefully it will manifest itself into really good performance.