NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - NEW MEXICO ST. VS ARKANSAS

March 18, 2022

Chris Jans

Teddy Allen

Sir'Jabari Rice

Johnny McCants

Clayton Henry

KeyBank Center

New Mexico St. Aggies

Media Conference

Q. Teddy, how are we feeling this morning after yesterday?

TEDDY ALLEN: We are just prepared for tomorrow.

Q. You getting a lot of DMs, a lot of notes from people after that extraordinary performance yesterday?

TEDDY ALLEN: Yeah, a lot, but it's usually like that after most games, so just trying to get ready.

Q. All business.

TEDDY ALLEN: Uh-huh.

Q. Teddy, I know your coach, Chris Jans, meant this in a nice way, but when you hear somebody saying he is a bad shot taker and he is a bad shot maker and sometimes you just have to go through spells and the ups and downs with you, how do you react to that knowing that you can heat up that well, and how do you react when your coach says something to that effect?

TEDDY ALLEN: To me, it just sounds like he believes in me, honestly. He pretty much said that he is willing to let me do my thing, and if it means that we can get it done, then that's what -- like I say, that's what you want in a coach.

Q. I respect that answer, and just I guess to maybe one of your teammates, how -- the belief that you guys have in Teddy in knowing that he can heat up at any moment no matter what kind of shot he is taking, just to any of you.

SIR'JABARI RICE: We see it every day. It's nothing new to us. We watch him just like you on the court. To be honest, we're amazed just like you are every day. (Laughing)

Q. Jabari, was there a shot that he hit last night where even you were like, oh, my gosh, I can't believe that went in?

SIR'JABARI RICE: For sure. In the first half, we were just talking this, the first half when he was missing at first, he was missing, he was missing, and then they were so hyped, and they just -- I guess they thought they were doing that, but with Teddy, you know, once he starts missing, eventually makes them, and they come until a row. So once he hits the first turnaround, I was, like, oh, yeah, it's coming. Then every bucket after that was just dropped.

It was to a point where we wasn't, like -- we weren't going to rebound because it was going through the net. We were ready to get back and play defense.

Q. Johnny, just in terms of putting that win behind you guys and kind of compartmentalizing and moving onto Arkansas, how do you feel like you are doing with that today after such a big win?

JOHNNY McCANTS: I feel like we took today head on. Everybody is all focused in on the new game plan we have to put on our team. And the game plan we got for Arkansas, I feel like everybody is locked in for it.

Q. This one is really more for Clayton, Jabari, and Johnny since you've been here longer than Teddy. In terms of the expectations for this program, I mean, you guys did something that has not been done in a really long time. It's been a really long time since this team won a tournament game.

Now that you are moving forward, do you maybe feel like you're playing with a little bit of house money knowing that you've already done something that was kind of historic to the program?

SIR'JABARI RICE: No. Everybody wants to win one game. After you win one game, what's the point of losing the next? I think we're more locked in than ever. If we make it to the Sweet 16, there is more history. If you make it to the Final Four, it's more history, Elite 8. I just think we're locked in and not worried about anything. We already made the history, and so what's more is just us.

Q. Just to follow up on that, what is the pressure that you guys feel going into the -- having the opportunity to play to go to the Sweet 16? I know Teddy has been there before, but the three of you, what is that pressure? What is that feeling?

JOHNNY McCANTS: I feel like we don't got no pressure. We love basketball. We love what we do. We're just going to fight every time, every possession, every minute on and off the court. We're just going to stay locked in. I don't feel no pressure. When I look throughout the whole team's eyes, or see their body language, I don't feel like anybody has pressure on them.

Q. If you want to chime in, feel free. I know it's a quick turnaround. What are your initial impressions of Arkansas? Did you get to see them play much during the season, and have you watched last night's game? What are your thoughts about Arkansas?

TEDDY ALLEN: They're a good team, athletic, score the ball well. You know, an SEC team, so got a chance to see them a little bit. Not too much, but more so now within the last however many hours, but definitely an athletic team, definitely play hard.

Q. Jabari, you want to take that too?

SIR'JABARI RICE: I think that they're a pretty good offensive team. They play a lot of iso ball. They don't have a lot of sets, so they go through number one -- I think it's Notae or something like that. Number 1 is kind of like the guy, and so that's going -- that's who I'm going to be matched up with, and just try to take the challenge personally and just have my team behind me, and I think that they're a good team. They have fire just like us. They got role players that come off the bench and make plays.

And so, obviously, they're athletic, but we just played an athletic team. So I think if we keep it a ground game like we did this last game and really just fight and claw every possession and do it every single time, we got a chance.

Q. Clayton, are they -- maybe UConn and you guys were a little more similar style. Is Arkansas going to try to speed you up a little bit more and just how are those styles going to contrast?

CLAYTON HENRY: I don't think they're going to speed us up more than UConn. I feel like UConn had -- I'm not going to say a better defense, but like a defense to where they speed you up more. Arkansas kind of gives you a little bit more space, and you can kind of work through the offense and run sets a little bit better, so I don't think it's going to affect our pace or nothing.

SIR'JABARI RICE: Out front maybe. They pick it up 90 feet.

CLAYTON HENRY: I don't think it's going to affect our pace. We working ourselves, so ...

Q. Is there anything fun for you guys about -- obviously the game you've been playing all season long, the people in New Mexico State have been watching you play like this all year, but is there anything fun about now seeing the rest of the country start to pay attention to what you guys have been doing and be like, wow, New Mexico State, that's -- I never would have thought they would have played ball like that, but sort of proving the rest of the country I guess wrong, I guess?

JOHNNY McCANTS: I wouldn't say it's fun just because we've been working hard for however long NMSU has been going to the tournament, and people haven't been looking at us like that. We work hard day in, day out. And for us to get our name on the map and get more noticed is better for all of us.

SIR'JABARI RICE: I like it, shoot. (Laughing.)

If people don't want to jump behind us, just adding more fire to the fuel, you know? Hop on and just let us do our job, and we appreciate all the fans. Really it helps us, to be honest, the more people that cheer for us and we had our crowd, and they were unbelievably loud yesterday. I heard them more than a whole bunch of people in there. More people started to get in with them. It was just a cool atmosphere.

It turned from UConn having a home game to it being a neutral site, so I think that's what helped us out a lot. It wasn't a home game, so we were able to level the crowd, and we were able to take their crowd out of it and make it more about playing on the basketball court than everything else. There was no distractions that way. I think that's what helped us get the win.

Q. For Teddy again, just having been here at the tournament before, but to do what you did yesterday as a key cog to your team and given the roundabout way you got here, how does that put into perspective the windy route that you took to get here and to do what you did yesterday with 37 points?

TEDDY ALLEN: As far as the roundabout, I don't really look at it like that. I just look at it like, you know, I'm a junior. I've been at a couple of schools, and this is the one that I'm at right now, and I'm just trying to make the best of these opportunities, and I'm grateful for them, and there, that's basically it.

SIR'JABARI RICE: I'm glad he came here.

JOHNNY McCANTS: Honestly.

Q. Just as a follow-up, does this then maybe feel like home?

TEDDY ALLEN: Yeah. New Mexico State is home.

Q. Teddy, is there a player maybe at the pro level or an influence that you have that maybe you pattern your game after, or do you --

TEDDY ALLEN: I've been waiting on this fellow. LeBron. LeBron. LeBron. LeBron. He is the goat, man. LeBron. LeBron. LeBron. LeBron.

Q. I was going to say maybe do you just try to uniquely be yourself? Your teammates, do you see a comp for Teddy? Do you guys see a comp for Teddy, or is he just uniquely himself on the floor?

JOHNNY McCANTS: Teddy, yeah --

SIR'JABARI RICE: He is him.

CLAYTON HENRY: He has his style. The shot going, I don't see no one doing the shot, the little herky-jerky shot. That's his thing. (Laughing).

TEDDY ALLEN: I don't emulate my game after nobody. I just respect good players, and you see what people do, and you just try to add things.

Q. After watching film, do you guys wish you were playing someone else?

SIR'JABARI RICE: No.

JOHNNY McCANTS: No. No.

Q. Johnny, I'm sure at this point growing up in Los Cruces, you could probably be mayor of the city. Do you have any idea what's going on back home? Did you get a sense that people were just thrilled and excited and yelling out the windows or anything like that?

JOHNNY McCANTS: Yeah, I saw a bunch of videos of restaurants. Everybody cheering for the Aggies. Everybody just basically going crazy because we got a win in the tournament. At home, it was crazy at home. My dad told me all about it. Then being able to see all the videos that people post of their little families at home and seeing everybody excited for us, it's just -- I don't know. It's just crazy.

CHRIS JANS: So far so good. How can you not wake up with a little bit of bounce in your step? The coffee tasted wonderful this morning, and we're having a good day thus far.

Q. Teddy now seems to have emerged on the -- arrived on the national stage. You've known him for quite some time. What do you make of the roundabout way that it took for him to finally get here and maybe find a home and what prospective he might have gotten from that journey?

CHRIS JANS: I can't speak for Teddy. Try not to speak for my players, but at the same time, I think in our basketball careers, I think in life, you never know what your path is going to take you. Some people have one of these paths. Some people have one of these paths, both in their careers and in their personal lives. I'm just glad he is with us now. I've known him since high school.

I've already told a bunch of folks, I recruited him three times. It took me that many for him to join the Aggies, and I think we're both very glad that he made that decision.

Teddy gets maligned sometimes, and he has been nothing but really, really good for us. He has immersed himself in our culture, in our community. He is very well-liked. He is very popular in our community. Teddy Buckets gets the most requests of anybody we have.

What I love about him is just the relationships he has built with his teammates. It certainly could be a tough situation when you walk in, you have a game like he does where he plays free and takes a lot of shots and he could cause some problems, and it hasn't been perfect. There's been some bumps in the road, but I think at this point everybody realizes the player that he is, and it makes the game easier for them.

Really happy for, like you said, getting some national love. And he is on the stage, and I think this is what he has always dreamed of. It's happening right now.

Q. I just asked the players a really similar question. You guys did something last night that hadn't been done in a really long time at this program, like winning a tournament game. You've seen the videos back home by now. I'm certain that you know how big of a deal that this was to the Los Cruces community.

Now that you've done that and now that you have gone and made a little bit of history, do you feel like there's maybe a relief of pressure going into this next game? Do you maybe feel like you're playing with house money a little bit, or is it really just more of that same expectation or even more pressure now that a trip to the Sweet 16 is on the line?

CHRIS JANS: First of all, I don't know what videos you're talking about. I haven't really spent a lot of time on my phone. Obviously, it's a quick turnaround, and we got to get to the next game, the next game plan, and trying to scout an opponent that we're not familiar with.

I didn't feel any pressure last night. Certainly I don't feel anymore today. We're trying to enjoy it. As a head coach, this is my third go-around, and I've learned from the past that maybe we were a little tight. We just wanted it so bad, and we were just purely business, and this year I'm telling them, hey, soak it up, smile, enjoy it, bring your camera, your phone to the practice and take pictures.

I guarantee my first year, those phones were in the locker room. I think it's a part of it. You never know how long you're going to last in this tournament. I just think it would be a darn shame not to soak it up, not to have those memories. That's what we're talking about with our kids.

We're business-like when we need to, and they've been great, but in terms of any pressure, yeah, we wanted to be a part of -- we wanted to be the staff that brought that next phase or got us back to where they were back in the early '90s when they made the Sweet 16 and won a game in the tournament.

At the same time, we've accomplished a lot, and I knew we were going to compete at probably our best, but I don't feel like we're playing with house money. I don't feel pressure. We're excited to be here and excited for the opportunity tomorrow night.

Q. I'm curious stylistically, does Teddy remind you of any player that you've coached or been around in your career?

CHRIS JANS: No. No.

Q. Is he just kind of unique?

CHRIS JANS: He is pretty unique. He is pretty unique. Skill set, body. I don't think he plays golf, but he should because his hand-eye coordination is off the charts. In practice, he'll be over by the water cooler and I'll blow the whistle, and it will be time to regroup and get going. He will just turn and throw up a 28-footer and get the bottom of the net. No one even really acknowledges anymore. He has a unique skill set. He has great hand-eye coordination. He is like a pitcher that can throw it from different slots. He can do that when he shoots the ball if you really watch him.

The thing that people are surprised most about him is when you get up on him. He is big. Like, he is big and brawny and strong. He is not a great vertical athlete, but he is determined, and he works his tail off. He is the hardest-working kid I've ever had.

I've had some really hard-nosed kids, but he is right there with the best players I've ever coached in terms of passion and work ethic and investing in his game. He is being rewarded for it now, but in terms of trying to compare anyone I've coached, just no one comes to mind. He is just very unique.

I've said this before, the best thing about him is if you really watch him, he is defending. He leads us in rebounds. A lot of guys that are leading scorers that have his kind of game, you know, try not to foul, try to hide on defense. Around here, it's fairly important to us, and when he arrived, we said, that's not going to work if that's your approach, and it hasn't been.

He has been a willing defender all year long, and he has rebounded the ball, like I said. He has been a willing passer. He had three assists last night and a couple of turnovers. With the type of coverage he sees, that's pretty impressive.

Q. I had a couple of Arkansas-related questions for you. One, and I know it's a quick turnaround, but Davonte Davis comes off the bench for Arkansas. He had 14, and he averages about seven, eight points most times, but in last year's NCAA run and this year, he is averaging 14 or 15. Wonder if you have any thoughts on him? What do you think about a guy that seems to play his best in these kind of games?

CHRIS JANS: That's the kind of guys you want on your roster? When they step up when the lights are the brightest. I was very impressed with him last night when I got to see him in person. Just seems so comfortable on the floor, and he knows his game, and he is very good at getting to his spots on the floor. He just doesn't get rattled. He has a smooth game. He has good size, great ball skills, and he just seemed like he has an understanding and a sense of what he is trying to do, and he gets the job done.

I'm surprised that he averages only seven points a game, but at the same time, he has a bunch of really good players around him that are good players, and he is one of the younger guys. I think he is a sophomore if I'm not mistaken, and obviously the sky is the limit for him.

Q. It's actually about 8.8. I didn't mean to give you bad info there.

CHRIS JANS: No worries.

Q. Just your overall impression of Arkansas? They had a really strong second half. I don't know if you know Eric Musselman at all, but your impressions of Arkansas and what do you know about Eric?

CHRIS JANS: I don't know him that well. I know him. I see him on the road. I saw him in passing. We had a nice little conversation in the tunnel there last night, but I don't know him all that well. I've never been in the same league with him or anything like that, but I remember in the Final Four one year, I went to workout, and we ended up being on the same workout room next to each other, and I remember going back to the room telling my wife, I'm, like, all I know is he was nonstop chattering, talking, working at the Final Four the whole time. I'm, like, man, he was on off the chart. His energy was unbelievable, and I remember going I'm just trying to log through my 30 minutes, and he is going crazy on the deal, and I'm, like, I'm embarrassed. There's all these coaches in there, and I'm just trying to get through 30 minutes and move on with my day. It's like he was training for a marathon.

The team, I mean, they got great tournament experience, obviously. He has great tournament experience. He has been there, done that. Nothing is going to rattle him or his team. They've got really good individual talent. He does a really good job of spacing the floor and putting their players in positions where they can be successful. I think their spacing is really good. They got guys that are good cutters. They have guys that are good shooters.

I think Williams is maybe the heart and soul from where I look at it from both ends of the floor. He is like the catcher on a baseball team. He just is running the show defensively. Obviously, there's much to be talked about how he takes charges and how he is anticipating. He is so good at it.

It just seems like the battery for them, especially on the defensive end and the offensive end, he just got -- a great passer and great midrange game. He has great pivot game. And certainly Notae, you know, is an All American player, and he can go off for 30 on any given night, but the other guys around him that you just can't just focus on one or two guys. Got a lot of respect for their program, for the coach, for their team, and we're going to have our hands full tomorrow night.

Q. Coaching junior college basketball is not for the faint of heart. How have those years at the junior college level paved the way to where you are now, and do you have any favorite stories from those times?

CHRIS JANS: I wouldn't trade it for the world. I cut my teeth at a young age. I got my first head coaching job at 26. At this point at 52, I still don't know what I'm doing, but at 26, I just look back going, I mean, what was I doing? About every five years, I look back and say you don't know nothing, dude. I guess that's good from a growth standpoint.

I wouldn't trade it for the world. It's made me appreciate what I'm doing now, the amenities of Division I basketball, the exposure, the platform. It's so meaningful. Those six years at four different spots in junior college helped shape me as a coach, and you do it all at that level. You just do it all.

Now I got too many guys on my staff, and I swear I walk through the hallway, and I'll chirp at someone like what are they doing all day? I don't even know what they're doing all day. I know they're making my job a lot easier, but it's just a different grind. It's just a different grind. We weren't riding on the buses. We're driving the buses.

I remember playing at Western Nebraska when I was at Howard Junior College, and we got done playing on a Saturday night, and your budgets are razor thin, and we couldn't stay the second night, me and the other coach switched driving, and we drove, like, 23 hours and got back the next day. And as I think back, I'm like, that was dangerous. We coached the game at night and then we're driving back in these vans with all our kids on them. That's just how it was back when you were a junior college coach 20 some years ago.

Q. Could you tell me a little bit about the logistics of finding out you have an opponent on Thursday and playing on Saturday? I assume you did some of the work and preparation beforehand looking at the two possible opponents, but I also assume a few guys didn't sleep much last night.

CHRIS JANS: It's pretty typical of the NCAA Tournament. You have some advanced guys like James Miller, who is one of the best assistant coaches in the country. He is my associate head coach. He is going to be an unbelievable head coach here real soon. Someone is going to be really, really smart and hire him. He took UConn, and then Coach Taylor and Coach Anwar split up Arkansas and Vermont. They do all that work like we're playing them right away, and then obviously, they're ready as soon as the game is over last night to try to get me up to speed as quickly as possible.

Certainly I think every staff in America would tell you at this time, it's caffeine-fueled, and you're not getting a ton of sleep, but I'm -- I got to have some sleep. I'm not one of these guys that can go all night and just keep working. I just can't function.

We get three, four hours of sleep and get up and shower and get some coffee in you and get back on the hamster wheel, but that's just the way it is during March Madness. It is as tired as you're going to feel your whole life.

Q. For those of us that have covered the team all year, we know that the team doesn't necessarily absolutely have to have a huge or incredible performance from Teddy to win, but it certainly helps. It's certainly nice.

Going into a game against Arkansas where you're probably going to be playing the best team that you've seen this season, I'm not sure what your thoughts are on that, but do you feel like against an opponent like that you're going to have to kind of have to have a big night from Teddy to win this game?

CHRIS JANS: I don't have a crystal ball. I can't predict the future. I have no idea how the game will unfold. That's the beautiful thing about sports. We don't know what they're doing, how they're thinking, how they're game planning. You have to adjust on the fly. Everybody has a plan, and then you get punched in the mouth, and the game starts.

It makes us better. Do we have to have Teddy have a big game? I don't think so. We've won plenty of games where he didn't. I know he is going to try. I know they're going to do their best to stop him. It will be an interesting -- how it unfolds and what kind of coverage we see, and certainly we've seen a lot of them. He has seen a lot of them individually, but even this particular team, we've seen different people try different things to slow him down. And usually that creates other opportunities for other players on our team, and we got plenty of other guys.

Again, they're guys that follow us that can make plays and make shots and be the leading scorer, so we'll adjust to whatever they do.

Q. It's about Teddy again. Not all coaches -- some coaches are very rigid, as you know, and might not take to the looseness or the amount of -- the types of shots and the way he plays. Where do you find that line where you -- knowing you can't rein him in? Where do you find that line where you know you can rein him in to a certain extent or do you?

CHRIS JANS: Again, great question. I was raised in basketball as old-school as you can. I played Division III basketball for Brad Soderberg, who is with Virginia now, won a national championship with Tony Bennett, and he played for Dick Bennett, and he was, like, 26 years old. That's all we did.

We would pass the ball seven, eight times, and if we looked at the rim before seven, eight passes, we're getting pulled, let alone not shoot it. We defended, and we blocked our mover, and it was old-school fundamentals. I didn't know I was going to be a coach at that time, and it served me well as a young coach, but if those teams -- those guys -- those coaches that watch us play now are looking at me like what happened to you? You know? You got to -- you got to adapt.

I've had certain teams where the shots that he takes would never be allowed, but he is a special player, and we've had a lot of discussions one-on-one about shot selection and the impact that it has on the game and our team and his teammates. The time, score, rhythm of the game. We have them in a group too and sometimes they're tough. We've had some difficult times that we've had to get through. There's definitely been times where we had to rein it back in or sit him down, right?

The old school way is the bench is probably the best motivator in the world. And, trust me, Teddy Allen, when you take him out of the game, you've committed a crime. He does not like to come out of the game. The thing about him is he works so hard at conditioning and taking care of his body, he can play 40 minutes and play at a really high level. That's another thing that's really unique about him is most kids can't. He can. He really can.

There's a lot of back and forth, but local guys that follow us would tell you that we definitely play a little bit different this year than maybe in the past, but I think you got to -- as a coach, you have to adapt and change and take advantage of the players that you have on that particular team.

Q. J.D. Notae, number one for Arkansas, he went scoreless in the first half against Vermont last night. He had 17 in the second. Just wonder what you and your staff's impressions were of him after that game?

CHRIS JANS: He is an All American. He is the head of the snake. He can score in a variety of ways, all three levels. That's what the coaches say. Got great range. He can shoot it off the catch, off the bounce. He can get in the paint, create for himself, create for others. He is strong enough, skilled enough to get to the line, which he does often. He is just a really hard guard. I don't think he is the kind of guy you're going to shut down.

Like you said, he had zero at halftime. I didn't see much of the first half because of media responsibilities. He certainly played really well in front of me last night, and, obviously, we watched a bunch of tape at this point. I don't think you just -- going into the game saying we're going to limit him to whatever point number, right? 10, 12, whatever it is. That's not how we're looking at it.

You have to try to make things as hard as you can, make him take as tough of shots as you can. I think most coaches would tell you the same thing, but at the end of the day, he is one of those guys if he gets in the zone and feels it, it doesn't really matter what you do. The basket looks real big to him, and he can put up a big number. We're definitely very aware of him and his game.

Q. After the game and then talking to the guys today, it seems like absolutely nobody in the locker room is surprised that you guys are here. Teddy and John said they don't see themselves as Cinderellas. What is it about this team that has that inner core and belief that they belong on this big stage?

CHRIS JANS: We've got some guys that are older and have been around. You're talking about guys that have played in the NCAA Tournament, that have played a lot of college basketball. I think John McCants is the most winning Aggie ever.

You talk about Teddy Allen, we've talked about him ad nauseam today, and he has plenty of experience. I would throw in Jabari Rice and Clayton Henry and the guys that have been around us for a long time. They have a lot of confidence. They believe in themselves. They have a swagger about them.

I don't think there's a game that they could walk into now or in the future that they would fear. I think they would respect the team that they're about to play, but I don't think they're going to fear anybody that we play. And if we are fortunate enough to win tomorrow and advance, you know, whoever we're playing then, they're going to get after them. It's like let's take the jerseys off and play shirts and skins and let's hoop at the church gym and see who wins. I think there's some of that attitude that they have.

As a coach, I love it. I love it. I maybe encourage it at times. You got to have belief. You got to have confidence or you're beat before the ball is jumped.

Q. At what point of the season was it before the season where you looked in your locker room and saw your guys have that attitude that they could walk in and beat anybody and all those things you just talked about?

CHRIS JANS: We felt pretty good about the team we assembled in the fall. It's bigger than we've been in the past. Had plenty of guys that were experienced. Plenty of talent. Plenty of size. The biggest team I've ever had.

You guys have followed us. We had lots of ups and downs. In the fall, I kept talking about we had a nice record, but I kept saying we're underachieving. Our level of play is not what it should be, and that was frustrating. We just never really clicked, and then we went on that road trip to GCU in Seattle and played our best basketball of the season in some huge games because of what was on the line for the regular season championship.

And at that point I said, all right, we have a chance. We have a chance. That was mid to late February before I really felt like, okay, that's what I envision, and then, boom, then we go and have all the guys out, and we lose a couple of games in a row. And that was a pretty big gut punch. We rebounded, and obviously, we play really good basketball in the WACC.

I knew when we got to this stage if we had a chance to get to this stage that they would play their best. They're just -- they got that attitude, that type of approach, and I'm just happy that the world has seen these kids perform on the biggest platform.

Thanks for being here. Appreciate it.