NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: REGIONAL SEMIFINAL - PROVIDENCE VS KANSAS

March 24, 2022

Ed Cooley

Noah Horchler

Justin Minaya

Nate Wilson

Jared Bynum

Al Durham

A.J. Reeves

United Center

Providence Friars

Sweet 16 Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Providence head coach Ed Cooley.

COACH COOLEY: It feels amazing to be here. United Center, the building Mike built. I can't believe I'm sitting in this building. Also to have a Friar grad as the head coach of the Bulls, Billy Donovan. Inspired by him. Proud to be a member of the Big East Conference and the year that the Big East had, and really wishing Villanova the best of luck.

But just an opportunity for Providence College men's basketball and the school to be on this stage, I think our players have had a tremendous season. We're excited about our matchup. I think we've had enough time, both Kansas and I, our team, to scout, to kind of get familiar with one another.

And I think it's just a great opportunity. And I couldn't be more proud. I couldn't be more anxious and stressed at the same time to be representing Providence College and the Big East Conference.

So it should be a great matchup. Our players are hungry. Our players are eager. Our players are really, really inspired. And we're 40 minutes away from another opportunity.

Q. You talk about the blue bloods an awful lot. You use that term over and over again. Kansas certainly falls into that category. You don't usually get a chance to play many of them, obviously besides Villanova. What about this opportunity?

COACH COOLEY: I think it's a great opportunity. And, again, the reason we don't play the blue bloods is because they don't want to come to the Dunkin' Donuts Center. Let's call it exactly what it is. We'd love that opportunity and embrace that opportunity.

It's great. It's great for our school. And again they are the blue blood. I know they're a win away from the all-time wins in the history of our game. And they've earned that.

Coach Self is a Hall of Fame coach. Great players. Great staff. It's a challenge, a great challenge that we are prepared for. But an opportunity to play against a No. 1 seed is just something that just stuff that you dream about. And we're living that dream and hopefully continue to dream it big.

Q. When you got a bunch of these guys here the last couple of years who transferred into this program, they've all said in the last few days they joined Providence to win. And when they were coming here, you guys hadn't been in the tournament for a while. What was your message to them on the recruiting trail to get them to believe that winning here was possible?

COACH COOLEY: I want to correct that narrative. When the COVID season hit, in 2020, we were one of the best teams in America. I think we won eight out of 10. We won five consecutive Top 25 games. So, really, we've been removed from the tournament for a year. And obviously last year wasn't the year we wanted.

Our players want to come here and compete to try to win as big as they can. They believe. They trust. I think a lot of recruits in America don't know the resources. They don't know the energy and passion that's in our city for our men's basketball team. And again when they feel that and see that and witness that, they say, wow, I just didn't know.

So a lot of times when you're in the portal and recruiting it comes down to trust. So many times in today's world everybody looks at name. They look at what's been done in the past. My job as head coach of Providence College is to inspire people to come and trust us to be where we are right now, and that's what the players have believed in.

Q. On social media about the Patriots staying on a plane -- I know you're not in those decisions -- but just the appreciation you have of an NFL team looking out for a college in the region to help get their support staff here?

COACH COOLEY: Absolutely. I had an opportunity to speak to Mr. Kraft last night before I went to dinner. Ironically I went to dinner with Frank Mara, who is part of the Giants organization. I got the call when we were together. I thought that was kind of funny. But it's New England teams supporting New England teams. To do that, our families are able to come our donors are able to come. Our supporters are able to come.

So that's something, I really appreciate him looking out for us, because given how many planes are being used for the NIT, for the NCAA Tournament, just was limited. And for Steve Napolillo, who is our future AD, to have the connection to that, it's about relationships. So I just really appreciate some Friar fans to come to this incredible game that's going to be played tomorrow.

Q. I'm just wondering, in watching Kansas and scouting, what jumps out about them? And kind of what do you like about the matchup and anything that concerns you maybe about the matchup?

COACH COOLEY: Well, everything concerns me. I'm a coach. Agbaji jumps out. Braun jumps out. McCormack jumps out. Bill Self jumps out. Superman jumps out. There's a lot for us to worry about. And they're very, very talented. They're very athletic. We kind of mirror one another for a round one, you have McCormack, you have Watson. They stretch the floor. Very, very good driving the ball.

A lot jumps out. We've never played. I never played Kansas. I was an assistant coach when I think Coach Self was at Tulsa when I was an assistant at Boston College. I think we played in Puerto Rico and I think he had a good player named Coley, I think his name was.

But I have ultimate respect for what Coach Self has done, the amount of wins, the amount of championships. And it's going to be a tough game. But a lot of things jump out to us that we're going to have to be prepared for.

Q. What was the point this year when you felt like maybe you had a chance to do this? Was there a win? Was there a point in the season where you just felt like, okay, you know what whether it's a win against Wisconsin, Texas Tech?

COACH COOLEY: That's a great question. I thought our men had a chance when we played, I think it was Texas Tech at home. I mean, they're so good defensively, so physical. And I thought our men matched their physicality.

We had a game against Butler and we were down 19 and one of the more profound moments this year for us, we were out of timeouts with maybe 15 minutes left to play. Weren't playing well. And I took a step back. I didn't want to be in the huddle. And I wanted to see what our players were made of because it's really their team. If you play for us, it's your team. I manage you. I don't coach you. We coach in practice. We have to manage the game.

And in that situation, I wasn't a good manager. So I let the team talk. And I thought that was the biggest turn in this entire year for Providence College.

Q. The question about Bob Kraft and you had a chance to speak with him. I know you're a huge Patriots fan --

COACH COOLEY: I am.

Q. Can you share what the conversation was?

COACH COOLEY: He supports us. He supported a lot of other teams in New England. I told him how much I appreciated Tom Brady. I'm a big Tom Brady fan, because he's a winner and he does everything that he can to prepare himself to win and his team to win. And I'm motivated by Tom Brady, I really am. I think he does it the right way, and just had an opportunity to appreciate and thank him.

I don't know how many people would do that for a small college to literally send their custom plane, their logoed plane. And I'm pretty sure a lot of our fans will be on it. They're big Patriot fans. I love football. My team looks like a football team. We're not very pretty.

Q. You guys are going through a unique process of this tournament run where people are picking you as an upset pick in the first round. You get a No. 1 seed. How psychologically does the team handle that? Respond to it? Think about it if at all?

COACH COOLEY: I'm pretty sure, kids have social media and they read everything. I'm sitting here -- I've been doubted my whole life. So doubt is just something that I live with and embrace.

Doubt is for people who don't know. Doubt is for individuals who think they know. Doubt is for motivation for the team that is being doubted. Doubt got us here. Doubt got me here. Doubt will continue to send our school in a way that nobody ever anticipated.

I appreciate doubt. I appreciate people who don't believe. I believe every day I wake up there's an opportunity to be special. Every day I wake up I try and inspire the group that nobody is better than you for 40 minutes.

And if you deliver that message to your men the right way and you inspire them and lead them in the right way, unbelievable things could happen. And there's got to be some luck along the way. But in life, I've been doubted my whole life. And everybody who doubted is now watching doubt.

Q. Talking with Jeff Battle, your associate head coach, he said in all the years I've been doing this, I've never had a group that's lower maintenance than this one. It's 2022, you see kids walk into the gym, they think they're the best ever. How unique is it to have a group that's this low maintenance in these times and that does what this group does?

COACH COOLEY: I've been a head coach for 16 years. I've been coaching for 28 years. I've never had a group that has been this connected. I've never had a group that we haven't had one issue off the floor, one issue in the locker room, one issue on the bus, in the hotel.

It's been incredible to go through because again we had 18- to 22-years-old, in our case 18- to 24-year-olds, with COVID years, and everybody is older than us -- it's been an amazing to watch and see and feel. And I tell our players the less distractions you have off the floor, the more success you can have on the floor.

If I'm coaching issues, I'm not coaching players. And we haven't had any issues. And it's the reason why we're doing what we're doing. And hopefully we continue to move forward. But I think it's a great question, because it's something that I've never been through in my 28 years of coaching.

Q. Kansas, I think the first two rounds holding its opponents to, like, 38 percent shooting. When you look at them on film does anything jump out on you on what they do defensively that makes them tough to score on?

COACH COOLEY: Number one, they're good. Number two, they're physical. They play somewhat like Villanova off the ball, how they switch and how they communicate. I think they have great length. So we're accustomed to the switching style of which they have.

I mean, they're very talented. And they should be. They should be talented. They're here. They're in the Sweet 16. This is something that their program is accustomed to. And it's something, as I'm sitting here as a head coach, I'm learning what it is to be in this environment. My kids are learning. The program's learning. And that's part of process.

Yet, that stands out to me. Just defensively they're really good. They're disrupted. They guard the 3-point line really well. We'll have to really work hard to earn our points. So it's a hell of a challenge, but a great opportunity.

Q. You mentioned Texas Tech. Do you get something from that game playing against Texas Tech as far as who Kansas is about, or maybe more so from watching them play one of your common opponents in Creighton last week?

COACH COOLEY: Creighton and us don't play the same with respect, especially when Kalkbrenner went down, it wasn't really a post presence, so to speak, it was more five out where they would go off the bounce. And that was sort of a matchup problem because Kaluma is so good off the bounce playing the five.

We went back -- our staff does a great job. I can't say this enough -- and your ADs (indiscernible) luncheon because our staff does a hell of a job and they're not recognized enough. And we have put a lot of video together on styles of play and trying to evaluate the styles of play to try to find what we can do offensively and defensively with our execution.

So we haven't had an exact opponent. If anything, we have to prepare against ourselves a little bit because that's who -- we kind of mirror one another in a lot of different ways.

Q. Obviously the games are most important, tomorrow night's game's most important. I wonder from an organizational perspective what type of opportunity this has been with respect to recruiting, with respect to fundraising and advancing the entirety of the program as you go into this?

COACH COOLEY: I think so many times we as coaches forget we're not just a coach at school. That's what your contract says. You're an ambassador of the college. And my job is to try to promote the program as well as the college, our city and state, when I have the opportunity to get to this stage.

We hope it increases our profile in recruiting. We hope it increases our fundraising and applications. Again, we're a tuition-driven institution. So anytime you can have a stage like this and promote your school as well as your brand -- I want people to know who we are as people, not as coaches. There's a lot of coaches out there. But I think there's better people. And I think at Providence College, the people there allowed me a chance to speak to you today, and I couldn't be more grateful to the administration.

Q. Coach Self said the same thing you've said about mirroring each other. Wonder if you could quickly talk through the challenges and the advantages or disadvantages that kind of comes with preparing for a team like that and maybe they see the same thing?

COACH COOLEY: I think anytime you're preparing, you try to see, okay, I coach from the end of the game up. And again when you're in these close games that we've been very fortunate to be in my entire coaching career, we want a basket when we need it, not when we want it. And how can we get that based on our scouting, based on their style of play.

So it's going to be hard to score on them. It's going to be hard for them to score on us. It's not going to be 116-111, I hope. So again when you're scouting you're looking at ways in which you can take advantage and then you're looking at their strength and try to limit their strengths and play to an identity of which, you know, I like our identity. Actually, I don't like our identity, I love our identity, and hopefully that plays out.

Q. Richmond had been a really good shooting team from beyond the perimeter, Gilyard in particular, and yet you held them to 1-for-23. What was it about the defensive effort in your last game where they did nothing? It's really a remarkable stat how ineffective they were beyond three points.

COACH COOLEY: You know, in sports, as you know, sometimes there's games where everything clicks. I mean everything. Water doesn't spill on the floor. You know, you're loved by your family. You're not getting cussed out.

We had everything go right for us that day, the energy of which we played, the ball went in the basket. I don't know if it was so much of what we did. It just was our day. And we all have been there in sports. Sometimes you're not there. And sometimes you are there. And we picked the right moment to play one of our better games that we've played in a long time. I don't know if it was anything we did special. I thought our focus was good. I thought our preparation was great.

And then when the ball starts going in the basket like that, the game really changes. So I don't know if it was what we did well. It was just Providence College's day.

Q. What makes you a tough matchup for other teams? What's been the advantage that you've been able to acquire in previous games? And just give us a little tidbit about the gentlemen that we're going to see up next here on the podium.

COACH COOLEY: Okay. So what makes us unique. I think our game experience. We have a lot of game experience with all those seniors. We have a lot of different conferences that have been represented. And when we went to the transfer portal, you look at Minaya playing in the SEC and Durham in the Big Ten and Nate and A.J. have been with me the whole time. Horchler, who is emerging by the minute.

I think we have a lot of game experience. And the men you're going to meet when I get off of here have been absolutely amazing. I love those kids. Honestly, I tear up thinking about them. I appreciate them. Their willingness to be unselfish has been something that not many coaches have. The reason we're here, it's not because we have a first-round pick or a lottery pick, it's their belief in one another, their unselfishness in one another. You're going to see them smile. You're going to see them appreciate the moment.

Our program is about gratitude and appreciation. If you don't have that, you'll never play for me. The moment is not about you, it's about us collectively together having a mission that not a lot of people believe in. Not a lot of people believe that we should be here. Guess what, doubters? Providence is in the damn building, and I'm proud of those kids. Drop the mic.

(Laughter)

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Nate Watson, Al Durham, Jared Bynum, Noah Horchler, Justin Minaya and A.J. Reeves.

Q. Al and Noah, you guys were a pick that people were picking the upset pick in the first weekend. Now you're playing the No. 1 seed. The way the outside world sees you, how do you guys see that psychologically? And how does the team respond to stuff like that?

AL DURHAM: We see it as fuel. We've always been the underdog in every game play. We've been looked down upon. We use it as fuel to the fire that keeps us going and keeps us working hard and keeps us dedicated and locked in. So we use it as fire if anything else.

NOAH HORCHLER: Just like Al said, we've been underdogs in a lot of games this year. It's been kind of the theme of our season, like we've been lucky and winning close. We just take every game one game at a time and try to do our best.

Q. Nate and A.J., Coach Cooley was talking about no egos, no issues with this group. With you two being the ones who played the most games here, how much is that a source of pride for you setting the tone for everyone that's come in here to kind of fall in line.

NATE WATSON: Culturally we built a good group. Like he said our egos on the team are not present. We all have the same goal. We all want the same thing and that's to win and survive in this tournament.

A.J. REEVES: Nate couldn't have said it any better.

Q. Coach Cooley mentioned you guys don't normally get the opportunity to play blue bloods because nobody wants to come to Dunkin' Donuts Center. Tomorrow you get the opportunity to do that with a lot at stake. What does tomorrow mean for you guys and how you're going to approach it?

JARED BYNUM: It's a Sweet 16 tournament game. And we feel like we've got a group that can go far in the tournament, make the Final Four. So we're taking this game very personal, very serious, because it's one-and-done at this point. So yeah, they're a blue blood and it's great to play a blue blood. But at the end of the day you've got to play 40 minutes in order to advance to the round. It's a big opportunity for us and the program. But we've got goals that we're going to accomplish as a team.

Q. A.J. and Justin, you guys have been here less than a day. What's the experience like here in Chicago for the Sweet 16?

A.J. REEVES: It's really exciting to be here, just because you can feel the energy in the city. Whenever we're walking around there's a lot of guys and a lot of people around saying good luck to you guys, go Friars and everything. Because they know we're here to play basketball. We're here for the Sweet 16. And to be one of those 16 teams remaining, it gives us another level that adds to it because we know we want to be on in the Elite Eight on Sunday, and we just have to do what we've gotta to get there.

JUSTIN MINAYA: It's everything that I've dreamed of as a kid, just playing in March Madness and experiencing all this. I'm just trying to take it in, take in every moment. But like he said, we're trying to do everything we can to advance because we don't want it to end. We want to keep playing with each other. And we're always having so much fun this season, so we want to keep it going as long as we can.

Q. Al, when everyone talks about the advantage to having a veteran team this time of year, what does that mean? Why does your team have that advantage when you have a lot of experience, older guys?

AL DURHAM: We've all had our time in college, four years, fifth years, even six years. So, we've all had our time in college. We all experienced different things. We took all those experiences and brought it here to Providence and that's helped us a lot, helped us in close games, helped us keep our composure and never be rattled because we've seen a lot. We've all seen different scenarios and different games. That's been the key to us winning a lot of these games is having veteran approaches and veteran experiences. So I feel like that's just helping for us.

Q. Nate and Jared, your coach has talked a lot about how Kansas kind of mirrors you guys. And Coach Self said the same thing, about when he watches you it looks like watching them. What are the advantages and disadvantages of that, if you guys have seen it yourselves?

NATE WATSON: I haven't seen Kansas a lot until recently but I know they're a big physical team. They match us up pretty well. They have a load inside, Dave McCormack, so that's going to be a good matchup for both of us. They have a great player, Agbaji, I don't know if I messed his name up. He's a really good player, but we have one of the best defensive players in the country, Justin Minaya, so I'm excited to see that matchup.

JARED BYNUM: Like he said, both teams, us and Kansas, we both have a lot of similarities in the way we play and the players that we have on the team. So there's not going to be too many weaknesses that we can try to expose and kind of how we did in the first two games.

But I'm looking forward to a high-level, competitive game where it comes down to the wire. And it's a Sweet 16 game, so you've got to bring your A game or else you're going to end up going home and the season being over and we're trying to avoid that.

Q. Do those similarities make it easier to prepare for? Does that help when you're going through that?

JARED BYNUM: I feel like the similarities can help and hurt us at the same time because you kind of know what to expect, but it's basketball. Anything can happen. They can come out and play a different way than we scouted for and vice versa.

So we all can prepare for as much as we know. And we don't know exactly how they're going to go into the game and what their exact game plan is going to be. So we can only do so much and also focus on ourselves and what we can control when we get out there in order to win the game.

Q. Nate, back to the culture topic. How was the culture built so quickly this summer?

NATE WILSON: Everybody said we're an older group. So we all know we have to do what it is to do in order to become a great team. And that's to bring the fight every day in practice. And that's what we do.

We communicate very well with each other. We're very physical in practice. And that's one of Coach's mottos. He says we have to be physical. We have to go by tough 2s, no 3s, and that's one of the things we go by in games and in practice.

We have this motto that says "Us be together, Family Friars" and that's what we go by. As soon as I stepped foot on campus, I knew it was a family. And the way these guys have really gelled together so quickly is just a testament to how good we can be.

Q. Nate, Kansas through the first two games is holding its opponent to about 38 percent shooting, something in that neighborhood. When you look at them on film, what stands out about what they do defensively, in particular?

NATE WILSON: I don't know if I can -- sorry, I don't know if I can really answer that question.

AL DURHAM: They're real physical. Athletic. They want to speed you up. They want to deny. They want to be in the passing lane. They try to disrupt you. They try to not let you run your things. So we've got to be able to come prepared to get open and not let them steer us off what we have planned.

Q. Nate, David McCormack is from Norfolk, I believe. I'm curious how well you know him. How many times you guys maybe have played together or against each other.

NATE WILSON: He's from Norfolk, Virginia, and I'm from Portsmouth, Virginia, which is about 20 minutes away. But I never played against him. He played with Team Moda (phonetic), I believe, while I played for DC Thunder. I think I'm a year older than him. We just never crossed paths. I have seen him over the years. I know he went to Oak Hill for a little bit. And I watched him play, when he was a freshman, behind Udoka Azubuike. I'm definitely excited for this matchup. He's a big guy. Just like me. We match each other very similar. I think he's like 6'9", 6'10". I'm 6'9", 6'10". It's definitely going to be a good matchup, but I'm excited for it.

Q. Take me back to your decisions, transfer to Providence, you could have gone anywhere. Could have spent your graduate year anywhere. Wonder what drew you in. And could you guys have seen something this special like what's unfolded this year?

JUSTIN MINAYA: I think my time here has been more than I could even imagine. To think that we'd be in the Sweet 16 when I first committed and to reach all the accomplishments We've done, I don't even know if I could have imagined it back in June.

But I do know when I committed, I had a great relationship with Coach Cooley. And then when I first got on campus, all these guys welcomed me with open arms. I had no problems fitting in with the team. There was no egos, no jealously involved.

I kind of felt that as soon as I got on campus. And then from there it's just been kind of all the way up. And it's been, like I said, more than I can imagine, for sure.

AL DURHAM: As Justin said, it was an easy choice for me, I would say, to come here. Coach Cooley and Coach Ivan, they recruited me. It was a great relationship I had with them. And on top of that, I got here, these guys welcomed me with open arms.

I could say I seen us being special, I'm not going to lie. Once we got here, and we all clicked and I seen what everybody could do, I felt like we were going to be a special group. I felt we worked hard enough. I felt we came together close enough. I felt we just gelled really well when I first got here. So I would say we were special from the first day. And I seen it.

Q. Justin and Jared, just talk about the Kansas offense. Is it similar to anything you've faced. And then specifically if you have Ochai Agbaji as your guard, what is the scouting report? What do you need to do?

JUSTIN MINAYA: They have a lot of great different pieces throughout their offense. I would say Agbaji is a very great player. I'll say they have a lot of great pieces, not just Agbaji. They have a whole bunch of guys who can beat you. They're basically playing with four guards. I think offensively they're really tough to guard, but I think we'll be ready for it.

JARED BYNUM: Offensively I'll they have a lot of weapons you've got to prepare for. Of course they have an All-American. But at the same time they've got other guys that are good as well.

So you've got to prepare for multiple things. And I think transition defense is going to be one thing that we kind of have to hone in on because they're athletic and they play good defense.

So for them to get out in transition in the open court, they can find shooters and get to the rim and finish and make plays. So that's going to be a strong task at hand.