NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - HOUSTON VS ILLINOIS

March 19, 2022

Brad Underwood

Da'Monte Williams

Kofi Cockburn

Andre Curbelo

PPG Paints Arena

Illinois Fighting Illini

Media Conference

Q. Da'Monte, knowing you're maybe a minute away from season ending, career ending, what's it mean to you and Trent especially to have another shot at this, have another game?

DA'MONTE WILLIAMS: Just being able to -- all games don't end the way you want it to end. We had a little scare at the end, but fortunately we were on the other side of it and just lived to fight another day.

Q. Kofi and Da'Monte, you guys have won six of your last ten, you struggled yesterday. Have you lost some of your swagger, lost some of your confidence? Do you feel like you peaked early and have lost some of that?

KOFI COCKBURN: I definitely don't think we lost our swagger. I think we're a really confident team. We have great chemistry. I think it's just the way the games went. We came out a little bit flat. You can't really do that. This is college basketball. Every team needs to come out with that competitive edge. It's just up to us to start right, start with great energy and respect for each other, but our swagger is still there.

DA'MONTE WILLIAMS: Yeah, totally agree.

Q. Kofi, you had talked yesterday about not wanting that last year to happen again. To get the first one under your belt, does that lift a weight or a pressure or any sort of release like that?

KOFI COCKBURN: Yeah, definitely. That first game, especially in the NCAA Tournament, it's always a tough one. It might sound cliche, but once you get that first win or you get past that first game, things don't become easier but you're more prepared for it mentally and you know what's expected.

Right now our mindset going forward was way better than it was for the first game. We're really confident now, the freshmen seeing what it is, and all the guys who didn't play in the NCAA Tournament know what it is right now. It's always good to get that first one out of the way as tough as it always is.

Q. Houston's identity is on defense with a physical style. I was wondering what you've been able to see so far in preparing for them. What jumps out to you on the defensive end?

DA'MONTE WILLIAMS: They're a team that's going to fly around, play hard, and we're going to match it and do the same.

KOFI COCKBURN: Yeah, pretty much the same thing. We know their physicality, and that's why this matchup is going to be a really good one. That's how we play, we play with toughness and tenacity. The tougher team is going to win tomorrow; that's what it's going to come down to.

Q. Andre, what's the last 17 hours been like for the team? What did you do last night? What have you done today in terms of getting over last night's game and getting ready for tomorrow's?

ANDRE CURBELO: Last night wasn't the prettiest game, so like we've been saying, we've been just enjoying that we won, we go on to the next one. And we got back to the hotel, off our feet, watched a little bit of the Houston game. Kind of stayed up, watched a little bit of the games, as well, with the managers and coaches in our meeting room, and we just got out of practice and now just preparing for our next game, next-game mentality.

Q. Belo, people have such strong reactions good and bad to the way you play. Last night is an example. You turned it over a bunch and didn't shoot well. And then you look at the end and you're plus 18, which is kind of hard to believe given the way that game was and how close it was. What do you make of why the team was plus 18 while you were out there and also just the way people react to your play, especially when you make mistakes?

ANDRE CURBELO: I just stay true to myself. I know who I am, I know the player I am, and I could really care less what people have to say. They're just on social media, they're never going to come up to my face and say it. I know the player I am and I will continue to do my thing. That's who I am. I risk -- I take high-risk plays, and I feel like that's what separates me from other guards maybe.

Like everybody says, it's sometimes good, sometimes bad, but like I said, I'm going to stay true to myself and I'm going to continue to be who I am on and off the floor always.

Q. Kofi and Andre, what's the most difficult part of being able to turn around and recover when you have a day off and then another game in just 48 hours?

KOFI COCKBURN: It's taking advantage of the rest. Rest is the best recovery. Just making sure you get off your feet, making sure you get whatever you need. People recover differently. Most people use ice, most people use compression and stuff like that. Just knowing your recovery and using it to the maximum, getting a lot of sleep and eating the right food.

ANDRE CURBELO: I agree with him.

Q. Andre, obviously not a great offensive game for you and Trent at the point guard position. I know they were pressuring you. What did you take away from what you've got to do against Houston that does a lot of similar things?

ANDRE CURBELO: We've got to, once again, stay true to ourselves and do our thing and do what we do. We don't have to change anything, just stay the course, keep our composure and just go from there. I think if we do what we do, we're going to be all right. We've just, once again, got to keep doing what we're doing.

Q. Andre and Da'Monte, what Kofi said about getting that first win in the tournament, do you have a similar experience to feeling a little more relaxed after that? How do you approach after you get that first one?

ANDRE CURBELO: Yeah, I mean, like Kofi said, we won the first one, so we kind of got it out of the way. Now it's just the next-game mentality. We're just preparing mentally, physically and all that stuff, and we've just got to -- I feel like if we come out and play hard -- they're a tough team, so if we come out and match that energy or even higher, I think we're going to be all right.

DA'MONTE WILLIAMS: I agree with what both of them said.

Q. When is the last time you guys feel like you had a really good offensive game, a good team offensive game that it flowed well and everybody was pleased after with how it went?

KOFI COCKBURN: Last time? I think Iowa. I think we did a good job against Iowa. That was the last game we played at home. That was the regular season championship game. I think that's the last time we -- that was the most recent game apart from losing in the Big Ten Tournament, so I think that's the last one we had.

Q. Just knowing that a spot in the Sweet 16 is on the line with tomorrow's game, does that change your perspective at all?

KOFI COCKBURN: Yeah, absolutely. Last year that's definitely one of the main reasons it's in my mind every year. Last year we had that same feeling after losing to Loyola. That was another opportunity to go to the Sweet 16.

Like I said, it's reflecting on that feeling and not wanting to have that feeling ever again, especially for these guys, especially for the guys that's not going to be here next year. Let's send this off the right way. Let's come out with a different approach, a different mentality, making sure that guys aren't flat. That's how we lost to Loyola, we were flat, weren't as aggressive. Just making sure everybody understands the reality that this is the last game -- this could be the last game we're playing.

Q. Andre, I know last night you and Trent had kind of a task defensively guarding Smith and Baptiste. When you have to have that kind of a role, does that affect your offensive game and how do you try to balance that?

ANDRE CURBELO: Yeah, definitely. I don't think I've ever played this much defense in my life. I feel like this year kind of -- back in Puerto Rico, no defense at all, and in high school, freshman, no defense, either. I just kind of had to work my way up.

Last year I kind of did a little bit. But this year I've been taking that assignment a little bit more serious, and I've been talking about doing whatever it takes to win the ballgame. If that's got to be straight defense and five points, six turnovers, I'm okay with that. Because at the end of the day, plus 18, I feel like the plus 18 came from the defensive side.

I'm going to just keep doing whatever it takes to win the ballgame, and I'm going to let the offense come by itself while taking care of the defense.

Q. Andre, last year you guys beat Drexel pretty easily in the first round and then this year it was a much tougher game. I was wondering was the feeling in the locker room this year different from then?

ANDRE CURBELO: No, I think once again, a win is a win. We enjoyed it. We celebrated it. Winning a March Madness game is big time. Sorry. My English is kind of all over the place.

Yeah, I wasn't too excited just because it's next-game mentality, but obviously I enjoyed the win, and once again, a win is a win. But next-game mentality.

Q. I've gotten a lot of messages from people watching games all around the country that the basketball has seemed to look different, maybe might feel different, bounce different. Do they seem any different to you?

ANDRE CURBELO: Yes. Yeah, I think -- I don't know about these guys, but for me as a point guard having the ball a lot, the ball kind of bounces different from the other ones. And it's just kind of tricky because not everybody is Nike, not everybody is Adidas, not everybody is Under Armour. When you're playing in your conference and you play with a Nike and Adidas ball, which is -- mostly the Big Ten is Nike and Adidas -- and you come to a tournament and play with a different ball, it can affect you in some ways. But once again, that was the first game, and we're kind of getting used to it, so it should be fine for the next one.

Q. Are the 16 offensive rebounds that Chattanooga got last night a concern? Is there anything you guys can do to maybe clean up the glass a little bit from what you did last night?

DA'MONTE WILLIAMS: We've just got to keep a body on a body and box out. We know this team loves to offensive rebound, and we've got to take on the challenge of boxing them out.

KOFI COCKBURN: Yeah, pretty much the same thing. Like Monte said, it's keeping a body on a body. Like I said yesterday, yesterday's game was a really tough game because it's the first game and there's all this nerves and emotions. I think right now we're more settled in and we're more like -- have that competitive spirit. Because it's been a while since we played a game, it's been a whole week. Right now we've got that competitive edge where we're ready to take on the challenge. We know how physical they are, so we're definitely ready to match that.

Q. Coleman obviously had the block last night at the end of the game, but he's put a lot of good defensive games together. What does he give you guys on that side of the ball?

KOFI COCKBURN: He gives us versatility, the ability to guard multiple positions, the ability to rotate over and make big time plays like he did yesterday with his length and his athleticism, but I feel like his most interesting asset is his IQ. He's a very smart player and he's always in the right spots to make the right plays. That's due to his motor and his mentality. Hats off to him.

Q. Kofi, you just said that first game can be the toughest and there's the tension that comes with it. What do you wake up feeling today? Relief? We survived? Does it allow you guys to maybe play even more freely tomorrow, that you survived a tight one and you move on?

ANDRE CURBELO: Yeah, definitely. Today knowing that we're playing tomorrow, it's definitely a good feeling. We're going to come out tomorrow knowing we won the first one and knowing we have a chance to do a little bit better than we did last year and move on to the Sweet 16. Definitely going to give us a little fire, and we're going to come out ready to play tomorrow.

KOFI COCKBURN: When you're playing the first game in a tournament that's so important, a lot of times you get anxious. You get nervous. It's the reality. You have teams losing -- you have higher seeds losing the whole week before and you see that happening. You're definitely all over the place and your mind is everywhere. You're really trying to get this one, and sometimes you're not as composed as you should be.

But I think getting past that first one is really important because like I said, it gets you the opportunity to settle down and be like, okay, we're on to the next one, we got that first game. We know the balls, we know the rims. Now it's just about going out there and trying to get another one to get to the Sweet 16.

Q. Andre, what do you see from the U of H backcourt, and if you could maybe share a key or two that you're going to focus on in their matchup.

ANDRE CURBELO: They're really good. Overall they're a really good team, and they've got big guards. I think overall they're above 6'4" besides that point guard that's 6'1". So it's definitely going to be a good matchup. It's going to be great on that defensive side, Trent, myself, Monte, Coleman, everybody that could be guarding that guard position. I'm not going to get into keys because they'll probably see it, but just going to come out and play hard and do what we do.

Q. It seems like Chattanooga was kind of underestimated because they're not from a big-time conference. Houston from the American. I know you don't underestimate anybody, but do the players now realize this is anyone's game? Anyone can win a game in the NCAA Tournament?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: Yeah, I don't think there's any doubt about that. I think they've got a really good idea who the Cougars are. They were a Final Four team last year. They've obviously been very successful for a long time under Kelvin. So our guys have a -- doesn't matter. Doesn't matter what league they're in. They know they're good.

Q. The guys up there were talking about getting that first one out of the way, getting the nerves out of the way at the NCAA Tournament. What is the mood of the team after, as you said last night, surviving and advancing?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: Yeah, I thought we played tentative. I thought we played not to make mistakes. You can't do that.

I don't know if that was maybe pressure from last year's early departure. I don't know. It gets talked about a lot. Last year's loss gets talked about.

They're human. They feel it.

But it's also very -- it's a very good feeling, and I know we've talked a lot about this. We could not play any worse offensively. And to find a way to win a game, especially being down 20-6, is a pretty gratifying feeling.

So I think they felt like they believe in what we do defensively, and we found a way to make plays when we had to.

Q. What did you make of Trent's performance last night, and was it a little surprising to you, especially the position that he's in and the urgency that he feels to finish off on a right note?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: Yeah, I mean, I give Trent some -- he wasn't great. He wasn't himself. Trent is not going to have one of those nights very often, but we've also -- Trent has been fighting an eye infection from pinkeye since the morning he woke up the Friday of the Indiana game in the Big Ten. With that he had some of the nasal stuff and bronchial stuff I've had, so he's just kind of feeling himself again.

The great thing about Trent is just because he's offensively not very good, he made life pretty hard last night for their guys defensively. There's a lot more to Trent than making baskets.

But need Trent to play aggressive, and that's a key word. That's one thing I keep looking for for him is just be aggressive.

Q. How much is he visibly limited in terms of what he can see, and then do you have to make any adjustments in terms of putting the ball more in Curbelo's hands?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: We did some of that last night, no doubt. Today is the best it's been by far. He's gotten some of the swelling -- they've given him some different medicine to get rid of that. I don't know if you guys -- he visibly doesn't have as much swelling.

Last night he said he tried dribbling with his right hand and he looked down and he almost couldn't see the ball.

It's been a problem for him, but again, tough nut and tough kid, and today it obviously looks much better, so the medicine is kicking in and working.

Q. I know you're usually not too concerned about shooting, but the numbers come down a little bit. Is there anything you have to do differently offensively or is it just having a couple bad nights in the midst of that?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: No, I think that again, I wanted to give Chattanooga a little bit of credit. We got the ball to Kofi. Again, we need Kofi to make free throws. That stems the tide a lot. We keep going to him. We put a lot of fouls on him. He drew 11. They're shooting fouls. He's got to make free throws.

And then we've got to play in transition. I thought one of the things that we didn't do a very good job of was getting out, running early. I thought putting Dre in the lineup, I thought Coleman getting out and running, getting a lob dunk, all those things changed. Jacob Grandison had a big piece in that.

We've got to be more assertive in transition. We've got to be more assertive offensively. The ball stuck way too much. We tried to do way too much Kofi, Kofi, Kofi early, and we've got to find that balance.

Q. You mentioned Thursday that you had some good practices this week, the team had a presence about it. Did you see the same today?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: Yeah, today was a little -- it was different today. I mean, I think it was -- I don't want to say relieved, but there was a sense of joy last night. I think we felt a little bit different today. I don't know how to describe that, but again, it was -- it's good to get that one by us.

Q. Kind of two parts, both about Curbelo. First, it would be hard for anyone who maybe isn't a basketball coach to interpret how a player can shoot 1 of 7, turn it over six times and be plus 18. I looked at that and thought it was a typo. Maybe you could explain that from your point of view. The other thing is you talked about wanting players to be aggressive, but in the case of Andre, I know I saw at one point yesterday, at least one point, you kind of yelling at him to slow down. Where is that balance and how unique is it with him?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: No, I want Dre to be aggressive, and I think one of the things that I more than a lot of people have a lot of trust in him is that he's going to make the right decisions. He makes other players better. When you start looking at the plus/minus, you see our ball movement get better, you saw open opportunities.

Two of his six, one was a miscommunication that he threw to Coleman, and that was on me, simply a play call that he only heard half of it. And then he throws a pocket pass to Kofi that goes right through his hands. He gets the turnover for that.

So he's making other players better, and then the fact of what he does defensively gets completely overshadowed. He was electric defensively, and that's how you build a plus/minus pretty quick, when you start shifting things.

In last night's case, we were down 20-6 to start the game and we were down 7-0 to start the second half. Insert those guys and there's a little swing.

Q. Brad, you play a team in Houston who they're great defensively, but they give up a lot of three-point attempts. They kind of let you run your stuff and then they contest everything. Have you played a team like that, and how important is three-point shooting against a team that kind of allows you to take threes?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: Yeah, you've got to make some. There's no doubt, you've got to make them. They do what they do, and they do it at a very, very high clip. They're one of the best ball screen teams in the country. They're athletic. They play great in rotation. I made the statement when I was at Stephen F. Austin, they remind me a lot of my teams there. They were just way more athletic, but playing in rotation a lot, so you've got to be ready to shoot half contested threes, and then you've got to be able to make the extra pass.

Along with that, to their credit, they do what they do and they do it very well. They trap post, big on big, and you know what's coming. There's no tricks.

Q. Along those lines of defense approaches by your opponents -- you look last night, I think they used 11 fouls on Kofi. Is that sort of the way of life when it comes to how teams like to defend him, and does that sort of --

BRAD UNDERWOOD: Well, they only called 11.

In Big Ten play those were probably closer to six fouls drawn and 19 missed. But he's seen it all. He draws so much attention. Again, he's been shooting free throws at a 70 percent rate this year.

It's been really good for us.

Yeah, I mean, Kofi sees that every single night, and he just takes it and just goes about his business. He got a little frustrated last night with his missed free throws, but he sat out there and made a bunch today. We'll hope that trends over.

Q. You talked a little bit earlier about the pressure that comes with playing in the NCAA Tournament with all the conversation from last year. What kind of conversations are the players having or are you guys having with them to just avoid trying to play with pressures of being ignored?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: Well, if they didn't have to listen to you guys, it would be great. I think the one thing that's out there is you want them to have fun, and you try to keep instilling that, and to go play loose, go play with your hair on fire and just cut loose.

It's a player's game, and we've got good players. We need to be able to go out and show that off, and I thought we were tentative yesterday, and that's not us.

Again, no offense to Chattanooga, but we didn't play the way we're capable of playing. That's for sure.

Q. You were asked about Houston's defense. It's been a core principle there, hard doubles on the post. And I just wonder from your perspective, Kofi, his ability to play through doubles and things like that, how much of that development have you seen and how ready do you think he is for that kind of challenge tomorrow?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: Yeah, he's been -- we saw it real early this year. Arizona game, Arizona doubled us every trip, every time he touched it. He made great passes out. He was very, very effective. He keeps working. He understands to re-post. He understands we've got shooters around him, so sometimes it's -- he's the best asset we have to throw it in there, let them double him and put a team in rotation, and let our shooters make decisions or throw it back to him on a re-post. He's been great. That's one of the things of Kofi being a junior that he wouldn't have made as a freshman.

Q. I think I saw a graphic you guys only led for 25 seconds last night. Obviously got the win right at the end, whereas Houston ran out to a 34-12 lead or something like that against Birmingham and had an easy time of it. How important is it for you to get off to a good start in the game tomorrow because it puts so much stress on your team to have to play from behind for 40 minutes?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: Well, we led the right 25 seconds, and that's the important thing.

You know, I think we always want to get off to a good start. We don't want to have -- last night 20-6. You do that against Houston, it becomes an uphill battle.

I'm not expecting that, and we've been a team that's had good starts. And if things get a little rough, we'll make substitutions or call a time-out and try to stem it.

I don't anticipate that, and they are who they are. We've got to be great in transition. We've got to be great on the glass, and ultimately you've got to be able to make some shots.

We got good shots last night. I mean, you look at Trent's looks, they were great looks. Plummer got a couple early that were good looks. We just didn't make them, so hopefully they go in tomorrow.

Q. It seems like we've heard you use the word "aggression" with Trent for a while now. What kind of different buttons can you press to maybe unlock that out of him?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: Yeah, I mean, we've got to put him in some actions to get him a couple shots. And when Trent is at the point, Trent tries to do exactly what we try to do in getting the ball and execute, and sometimes he turns down opportunities that come his way.

I don't want him turning those down. I want him letting that thing fly. We all know, we've seen the Trent Frazier who can go get 30. We need that this tournament. When Illinois basketball is at our best, Trent Frazier is a big, big part of that, and nobody has more confidence in him than me. He's a guy that we all know can hit game winners. He's a guy that can get his own. He's got to be that tomorrow.

Q. Earlier Andre said he didn't think he'd played this much defense in his life. What have you done and what has he done for you guys to be able to get that out of him the last couple weeks?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: Well, if he wanted to play, he was going to have to learn to play defense. That's one of the staples of our program. He's an elite defender, an elite defender because he's got unbelievable instincts. Last year at this time he was our leading rebounder in our last five games, he had 10 the other night against Indiana. He's a guy that just has an unbelievable nose for the ball. He's got great length. He's got really, really strong and powerful hands, so when he gets his hand on a ball, it's his.

He's just got a gift at that end. All we did was just push the button that says, you're going to play hard and you're going to do it. He does that.

Q. Is the tentativeness from last night what leads Chattanooga to get 16 offensive rebounds, or is there something else that you're seeing that allows that number to happen, and what do you think could possibly --

BRAD UNDERWOOD: I think it was all that. I think it was all that. I think that people forget, most of the year we were No. 1 in the country in rebounding, and then all of a sudden we just -- Kofi stopped being active, as active in chasing balls, and Kofi was getting 17, 18 rebounds every night.

I've said it many times, we can't be happy with Kofi getting a double-double. Kofi can't just be satisfied with getting 10 when there's 20 that he can get.

Coleman Hawkins has been great. He's helped us. But we've got to get more out of our guards.

One of the things that Houston is No. 1 in the country at, they're No. 1 in the country at offensive rebounding missed threes. They get almost 40 percent of them back and they score on half of them, which is an electric stat. So guards, long shots, long rebounds. Guards got to go chase rebounds. It can't be just we expect Kofi to rebound for us. We've got to get guards chasing balls and be very dialed into that.

Q. Do you have any connection, relationship with Kelvin Sampson?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: Yeah, I've known Kelvin a long time. We scrimmaged each other right when he got to Houston, I was at SFA. His son was -- I've known his son for a long time, as well. He was an assistant at SFA at one point. We've just been acquaintances, speak all the time on the road and got great, great respect. Guy has been to -- taken two teams to two Final Fours. He's had a lot of success along the way.

Q. Coleman made those two great plays at the end and he's been contributing a little bit more as you've gone along. Can you talk about the trajectory of his season since he's going to be a guy you'll be counting on next year, as well?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: Yeah, Coleman is quietly a double-double guy. Every time I turn around he's got 9, 8, 10, 11, 12 points, and he's close to that rebound-wise. Great facilitator. He's a guy who can really shoot it. He's a guy that can pass it. Again, do that in a 6'10" frame. The block that he made last night was elite because he moved, he slid his feet, he got his hands up, and there wasn't any, I have to load to go block this shoot. It was boom, I'm there, and just made a great, great block, and then actually got the rebound on the missed shot.

Coleman has been an elite defender. His growth has come on the offensive end, just playing tougher, taking better care of the basketball, but he's a young man that got a very bright future, and really excited about where he's going to be. He's going to be one of the outstanding players in the Big Ten next year.