NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - LONGWOOD VS TENNESSEE

March 17, 2022

Griff Aldridge

DeShaun Wade

Justin Hill

Gainbridge Fieldhouse

Longwood Lancers

Media Conference

Tenne

GRIFF ALDRIDGE: Obviously today isn't the way that we wanted it to play out. But I think in no way does it take away from the season that our guys had this year, and I could not be more proud. I told them in the locker room how proud I was of what they had accomplished this year.

And you know, when you're 18 to 22 years old, you don't quite understand things the way 47-year-olds do, but it's just a special, special season and a really special group of guys. And I could not be more -- more proud of them.

Q. What makes Tennessee so good, and what lessons did you take away from this whole experience?

DeSHAUN WADE: For one, they are very talented. And two, they just move so well without the ball. For a defense like us, we try to switch everything, and sometimes we get so caught up on our man, it leaves driving gaps for guys like Chandler, and last name, Zeigler. That was very difficult for us.

And then when they missed, it's hard, you've got to really fight for the rebound. And on top of that, they play really good defense. They are just a pretty good team all around.

JUSTIN HILL: Can you ask the question again?

Yeah, they are just like overall a really good team. Like everybody's talented, so you can't focus on one person. You take away one thing, they are going to hit you with another thing. It's just things like that. Like sometimes you can't control, it's out of your control. We just try to play to our best ability. That then it's hitting shots on top of that.

Q. The size and athleticism that they present defensively, and I think they had four steals in the first three minutes but didn't turn them into points. Why did they turn them into points as the game went on?

JUSTIN HILL: I think we wasn't used to playing against those players of that size and stuff, and sometimes that seem open, they are not really open. They capitalized on our turnovers and they are just a really good team.

DeSHAUN WADE: Yeah, like he said, you might think that you've got a nice little passing lane and somebody just jumps in front of it. That happened a lot tonight. But I guess, you know, you just learn to just be patient and try to just learn how to try to just stay the course, as Coach would tell us.

Q. It was a wonderful environment out there, and Coach said you all had great season. I know it was a tough loss but did you get a chance to look around and savor the moment and really appreciate what y'all have accomplished?

DeSHAUN WADE: Yeah, right after the game, I know we lost, but right after the game, I just remember looking up, and I remember just looking at how big the arena was, and there's people all the way at the top. I was like, yo, what is this. I was looking at the scoreboards, looking at my dad and my mom in the stands and the fans and how many people we've just impacted. I was like, man, win, lose or draw it's just a great season.

JUSTIN HILL: Yeah, I want to thank all the Longwood fans and the community that came out, I feel like we changed the culture there and it impacted a lot of people. I want to thank everybody who came out and supported us.

Q. With a lot of younger guys, do you feel like you've put something together at Longwood that can last or is this a one-time deal?

DeSHAUN WADE: It can definitely last. Y'all didn't get to see too much of what we have on the bench but those guys are just as ready to play as we are. Can't put ten people on the court. But I'm telling you, those guys are ready, and they are talented, too.

JUSTIN HILL: Yeah, those guys are the players that really make us who we are, and they make us better every day in practice. So yeah, they are really good, too.

Q. Personally what lessons did you take away today?

GRIFF ALDRIDGE: Hopefully the team in the future doesn't shoot almost 60 percent from three. That's one of the biggest lessons. We've got to stop that from happening next time.

No, it's a special experience. You know, at a school like Longwood when you're a 14-seed, there's a real balance of having your players really enjoy the moment, and also really preparing. And I hope that we did a good job with that this year with these guys; that they were able to enjoy that experience.

You know, hopefully at Longwood, the goal was not to have, you know -- Mike, to answer your question, the goal is not to have a 1-1 team. The goal has always been to build a sustainable program that will compete for championships year-in and year-out.

From that perspective, this is really important. It's important for our guys to have a taste of this experience. You know, the second time through is always -- always easier. You know, the first time you make it to the dance; the second time, there won't be as much allure, mostly from y'all. And so that will be okay. That will be fine.

So yeah, I think we learned a lot just experientially.

Q. Tennessee is known a lot for their defense but how difficult a challenge are they going to be for the rest of this tournament if they are shooting the way they did today?

GRIFF ALDRIDGE: Yeah, I thought we certainly -- the thing that I find really challenging for Tennessee, like DeShaun said, is there are a lot of teams that kind of run a quick action, and then it turns into kind of one-on-one, one-on-one game offensively, especially at the power five level.

Now they have the players who can go make plays but it's more -- Tennessee doesn't do that. They are constantly moving, and so that's really hard. Their emotion is just -- it's a real challenge, and then you're trying to chase around the big guys on the -- on the interior with their screens, and Vescovi makes it so hard because he's so smart. He knows when to fade off of a screen, when it curl off of a screen. They are really good. We create advantages through ball screens and driving gaps and things like that. They really create advantages off of the screening game, and they are elite at doing that.

And as these guys said, as the game wore on, especially when you start to make a few shots, you start to forget your principles and your position, and you start worrying, who is going to make another three.

So we got caught a lot on that tonight. But I think they are a real problem offensively, if they are making shots like this, of course. But to me, defensively, they are just -- they are terrific.

Q. I don't know that I've seen two kids take a 30-point loss as well as your two kids have. Does that speak to the entire mentality of the program and just them already being aware of what they have accomplished, not just for the program but for the entire university and the community?

GRIFF ALDRIDGE: Yeah, I mean, like this is a really special experience, and this room is full of a lot of reporters and people. But I hate to say it, it's just a game, and the NCAA Tournament is obviously very special, but with everything going on in the world, there's some perspective that we all have to have, and for these guys, you know, with our program, we really try not to focus on results.

And obviously the result today was nothing close to what we wanted and we didn't play the way I thought Longwood necessarily plays.

But at the same time, the guys played hard. They gave it everything they had. You know, if we do that, we can live with the result. We'll learn from it what you need to do to compete at this level -- maybe to answer your question, to compete at this level, you've got to execute a little bit more.

But sun is going to come up tomorrow, and these guys are great kids, and in no way does, whatever it was, 32-point loss, it doesn't diminish the season, at least in my view.

Q. You mentioned some of the things that Vescovi does that make him difficult but as you prepared and went through the game today what do the other players do that make it difficult overall?

GRIFF ALDRIDGE: Again, I think they are a really team-oriented offense.

I thought one of the problems that happened today for us in my opinion is we had 11 turnovers in the first half. And so often, kids struggle if they are not hitting on all cylinders offensively, that can impact you defensively, and I think that happened to us today. We had 11 turnovers, and credit Tennessee. They are terrific. They started to switch. About midway through the first half, I thought we were doing a great job defensively. We were hanging with them and they started to switch, and we got a little bit more stagnant. And then unfortunately, I think that impacted us on the defensive end.

But you know, again, Chandler and again, I think Josiah, like they are beneficiaries so often of the offense, and he's hitting catch-and-shoot threes, and again, this is probably one of the differences in levels, too. You know, in the big south, we are closing out on those guys, and not a lot of guys are making those shots. There were some -- plenty of shots I thought today that I was like, that's just better offense. I'm not disappointed with the defense.

There were plenty that we closed too short on, as well. But you know, they just had players who were making shots today, and their offense I thought really put them in that position.

Q. I asked you after the title game about your demeanor in the final minutes where you were coaching the details even though it was lob sided, I heard you in the last minutes of this one saying that's not us and trying to tighten the execution. Why was it important to carry that message till the end?

GRIFF ALDRIDGE: Because I think that's what our program is about. You know, we are representatives of Longwood university, and our program is about toughness. It's about discipline. It's about execution. It's about excellence. It's really easy to, in the Winthrop game to celebrate and play hard and do everything the right way when you're up 20.

But it takes true character to do the same thing and execute at the same level when you face adversity to still show up and be the best teammate, play as hard as you possibly can, and do your best to execute.

If you can weather that adversity, then you're probably headed in the right direction ultimately.