NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - SAINT PETER'S VS MURRAY STATE

March 19, 2022

Shaheen Holloway

KC Ndefo

Doug Edert

Matthew Lee

Hassan Drame

Gainbridge Fieldhouse

Saint Peter's Peacocks

Media Conference

Saint Peter's 70, Murray State 60

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Matthew Lee, Hassan Drame, KC Ndefo, and Doug Edert, and Coach Shaheen Holloway.

Coach?

COACH HOLLOWAY: I don't have a voice right now. I just want to give Murray State credit right now. They battled hard, great program, great coach. These guys deserve it, man. I said it before, I'm going to say it again. What I put these guys through during the year, playing the game is easy. Practice is hard.

These guys came out here on a mission. Everybody keeps saying we can't do that, we can't do that, we don't have this and we don't have that. We got heart. That's what matters.

Q. Talk about the defensive effort you guys did on a team that was scoring nearly 80 points a game, and particularly on Williams inside?

COACH HOLLOWAY: That's what we do all year. Y'all hear me? This is what we do all year. This is who this team is. This is a defensive team. This is why we came into this tournament with a seven-game winning streak because these guys understand that playing defense wins championships. Playing defense wins championships. And these guys bought in, and the rest is history.

Q. What gives you the ability to make big shots in big games like this?

DOUG EDERT: I would say it comes from repetitions. I always do my best to get as many shots as I can. I don't think about anything when I'm in the game. I just let it happen.

I've got to give credit to my teammates for setting amazing screens and to bring great passes. Good passes make good shooters, and the belief that my coaching staff has in me to take those shots and make them.

Q. What gives you guys confidence that Doug is the guy that's going to do the stuff he's done the last couple of days?

KC NDEFO: Well, it's not just in the games, you know, in practice, he makes amazing shots, tough shots, long-range shots. We just have confidence in him, and try to get him open, get him in spots where he can score, get him in spots he can shoot to the best of our ability. And we feed off him as a whole.

MATTHEW LEE: Like KC said, we feed off his energy, and it's not just in the games. In practice, we see him make and take a lot of tough shots. And we're confident in his ability, and in practice we know where to get him the ball, in what position, and he makes the tough shots.

HASSAN DRAME: This is not surprising to me. Since our freshman year when the game is on the line, Doug been making shots like that since our freshman year. So to be honest, this is not something that is really surprising to me, because I know he can make it.

Q. For Doug, Matthew and Hassan, can you speak to the job defensively that KC did tonight? That seemed to set the tone.

DOUG EDERT: In my opinion, KC is the best defender in the country. He does a tremendous job. He's really our anchor back there. He's blocking everybody. Anybody tries to dunk on him, he goes up to block it. And we feed off his energy on the defensive end.

HASSAN DRAME: Like Doug said, KC is somebody that if you see him playing, if you play with him a few minutes in the same court, the energy and passion he play when it comes to defensive-wise, he have a lot of affect on all of us. Especially when we see somebody get by one of our men, he's ready to sacrifice his body to go in and block the shot. That's something really amazing.

MATTHEW LEE: Well, I think Doug and Hassan hit key points. As Hassan said, sometimes our man will get past us and stuff like that. We're a good defensive team, but every team has letdowns, but to have him as the second line of defense is incredible.

He's one of the best defensive players in the country for a reason, and we love him for that.

Q. Matthew, Coach Holloway said the games come easy because of what he puts you guys through during the year. What's it like?

MATTHEW LEE: It's vigorous. What makes our practices so hard, not so much what we do, he expects a lot out of us. He puts us through tough drills and stuff like that to have us go 100%, and that's what makes it tough. We have a lot of hard-nosed, scrappy, underrated players. So we give it 100%, and the game comes easy to us.

Q. Can you talk about the range of emotions you guys have right now, knowing that you are going to be playing in the Sweet 16 in Philadelphia, and how do you think the fans back in Jersey City are reacting to it right now?

KC NDEFO: Well, the fans are great. We're going to stay consistent in everything we do, keep game plans in our head and get ready for the next game.

DOUG EDERT: We have amazing fans, and they did a great job all year supporting us.

As far as the Sweet 16, again, it's another quick turnaround. And we're not going to get too high. What we did is amazing, but it's already in the past, and we've got to move on and start preparing for the next team.

MATTHEW LEE: We're going to enjoy this one now. And like Doug said, it's a quick turnaround, so we have to stay focused. Our fans have always been there for us, and other people are just now seeing it, but our fans have always been there for us.

HASSAN DRAME: Like all of them say, the fans were there through the whole year. And like KC always say, the job is not finished. We have a lot more to prove.

Q. KC, regarding the defense tonight on Williams, what did you see as the challenge for him, and can you speak to what you did? You totally neutralized him tonight.

KC NDEFO: Last game I got in foul trouble early, so coming into this game I had the mindset of just playing my hardest without fouling, moving my feet.

He's a very good player. Just coming into the game, scouting him, you know, I know his tendencies, and just going in there and playing hard, 110%, and playing with the three Ds that coach preaches every day: Desire, dedication, and discipline. And that's what we did out there.

THE MODERATOR: We will let the student-athletes go and continue with questions for Coach.

Q. Coach, I was curious, the Racers have come back from deficit after deficit. I'm sure you've seen the tape over and over. What did you tell your team in the final timeout as the arena started to rock and they cut it to 3 in those final 6 minutes?

COACH HOLLOWAY: Basketball is a game of runs, right? I just wanted to make sure that we didn't let Brown get off. He's an amazing shooter.

I just told the guys relax, calm down. They're going to make their run. They're a good team. There is a reason why they're 32-2 or 30-2. They're a good team. They're going to make runs. We just gotta come down and do the same thing. So when they're making their runs, kind of relax, call timeout, come back down, get a score, get a stop, get a score, get a stop, and go from there.

Q. I wanted to circle back to when I asked your players about why the game is easy. Where did that coaching mindset come from? Not a lot of people prior to this weekend probably knew much about Saint Peter's University. So can you talk about your coaching mindset?

COACH HOLLOWAY: That's how I played, right? I played that way. I played to give it 110% all the time. I tell my guys all the time, you give me 100%, I will give you 200%. I was a decent player. I'm small. People counted me out. So I had something to prove every time. So I coached that way.

Q. (Away from mic) -- from when you played at Seton Hall, did you have to remind your players or show them videos, hey, when I was at Seton Hall, this is how I played, and that's how I want you guys to play, too?

COACH HOLLOWAY: I never make it about me. It's always about my players. I never talk about me, never. The guys may come in and, oh, you did this, I heard this, I heard that, and I downplay it.

But my thing is this: It's a give-and-take thing. If you give me hard work on defense, I'll let you play offense. That's us. Give me what I want on defense, offense, you can go out there. You don't come out of the game playing for me for making mistakes on offense. You come out of the game for making mistakes on defense. That's just how it is.

Q. What makes you feel the best about this?

COACH HOLLOWAY: I'm just proud that these guys get to play on a different type of stage. NCAA Tournament is every kid's dream. Playing in the MAAC is a great tournament -- I mean a great league. We play on ESPN+. We don't get a lot of big TV games. So these guys get a chance to show their talent on the big stage. That's what I'm proud of. These guys worked so hard for this moment. I'm just proud of them.

Q. Coach, talk about what this upcoming week is going to be like, especially dealing with the distraction of the Sweet 16 being in Philadelphia since you guys are in Jersey City?

COACH HOLLOWAY: You know what? We have a good team. Every team has a good team behind the scenes. We've got a good administration to keep our guys level-headed and hungry. I'm not worried about distractions because we've been dealing with COVID for two years and dealing with distractions. That, I'm not worried about.

Q. With Murray State's physicality, you guys kept your cool. They kept trying to muscle in. What was the thing you told them to stay calm when they were going to push you around?

COACH HOLLOWAY: I'm going to say this. It's going to come off a little crazy. I got guys from New Jersey and New York City. You think we're scared of anything? You think we're worried about guys trying to muscle us and tough us out?

We do that. That's who we are. We are a very physical team. Our bodies probably don't look like it, but these guys play very hard and very physical.

So that I wasn't worried about that at all. We have played bigger teams the whole time. So them being a little bigger and stronger, it doesn't faze us. When you got tough, hard-nosed kids, they're ready to play.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach.