NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: REGIONAL SEMIFINAL - MIAMI (FL) VS IOWA STATE

March 24, 2022

T.J. Otzelberger

Izaiah Brockington

Gabe Kalscheur

Tyrese Hunter

United Center

Iowa State Cyclones

Sweet 16 Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger.

COACH OTZELBERGER: It's a pretty cool experience to be here for the young men in our program. Proud of the work that they've continued to do each and every day. They've brought a lot of pride to the Iowa State program and done a great job playing for one another. And that's something we're going to set out to do here again tomorrow, and excited for that opportunity.

Q. I know the past probably isn't big on your radar screen right now, but no program has ever made the quantum leap in one year from 2-22 to a Sweet 16. Personally what's it mean to you to have been part of that kind of revival?

COACH OTZELBERGER: Well, the opportunity to be the head coach at Iowa State means a lot to me. My wife and I are, our family, we love raising our family in Central Iowa, we love being Cyclones. When we came back we didn't set out to defy any numbers or win any specific amount of games. We're highly competitive. We want to win every night out.

We want to build this program first with pride, guys that really care about the Cyclones winning. And we want to make sure that we do that one step at a time. We've been fortunate, the young men in our program have embraced those work habits when we started practice in June, that we've asked a lot of them in terms of what they've sacrificed and committed and given.

They've been the ones that have truly made those choices and given the effort and the hard work. And like I believe in everything, if you work really hard and you have a belief and a plan, things can go your way. And our guys have built confidence in that process and in that plan over time.

And as the season has gone on, we've certainly been tested. We've had times where we felt like our back's against the wall. But we've always been able to go back to those work habits, go back to that togetherness and that plan, and regain our confidence to move forward.

So it's flattering that we're in the position that we're in. And all the credit to our players for how they've worked every day.

Q. In their two NCAA Tournament wins so far, your team has defended very well, holding opponents to about 51.5 points per game. But your opponent, Miami, runs a great small ball system and they lead the ACC in turnover margins. In your opinion, what will your team need to do to defend them successfully and perhaps force a few errors?

COACH OTZELBERGER: We have a lot of respect for their program. They have a group that can really score the basketball. They can really space you out. They're very creative offensively in what they do and the scheme they have. Coach Larrañaga is a terrific basketball coach.

For them, they're a team that wants a flow and a pace offensively to score in the open court, to generate turnovers and score off those turnovers. We're a team that prides itself on being a very gritty half court defensive team that pressures the basketball and dictates what we want to do.

So each team has their strengths. I'm sure that both of us will try to play to those strengths. The turnover margin will certainly be one that will have a substantial impact on who wins the game. And both teams are going to try to be the one that does a better job of that, I'm sure.

Q. You guys are obviously known for your defense but when you watch film of Miami what stands out about the way they play defense?

COACH OTZELBERGER: They're very disruptive. They'll trap ball screens. They'll trap a pass, a wing entry. They'll deny the ball back or to your point guard. They will -- at times they're very unpredictable. That style of defense, the amoeba-style defense that Coach Larrañaga has played in the past, he's really embraced with this group. And teams, as you do that, get a better understanding for how to do that well. What you can see over the course of the season is that their defense and identity has improved.

So a team that can really turn you over. And we need to do a great job of having toughness with the basketball, because those turnovers turn into points really quickly for them on the other end.

Q. Last weekend it was a lot about you going back to Milwaukee as well as Tyrese, but this week it's George Conditt and also one of the seniors in the program. So any certain stories about him coming back home this week or what that's like for him?

COACH OTZELBERGER: I know he's excited. We talked about that he hadn't yet played a college game in his home city. And takes a lot of pride being from Chicago, excited to have a lot of family and friends there to support him and support us.

Like you said, Tyrese and I were fortunate last weekend and Coach Blount on our staff as well, the opportunity to go home and have those games in Milwaukee.

I know it's an exciting feeling. For George, having been in the program, this being his fourth year, senior year, probably means even that much more to him to be able to come home in this situation. So we're excited for him. I'm sure he'll play with a little bit more of a chip on his shoulder that extra sense of pride and passion to do it in front of his family in his hometown.

Q. Things move really quickly in the NCAA transfer portal. How did you identify the players that you wanted a year ago, and sell them on coming somewhere where they didn't have recent success?

COACH OTZELBERGER: Well, it was really important to us that we identified guys that could help us bring back the pride to the Cyclone program. That involves people that have a very workmanlike way of approaching each and every day. We talk a lot in our program about low ego, high producing, work capacity and coachability.

And those are things that you would you think every team or every program would want to put in place. But it takes the right guys to do that. When we evaluate transfers, you know, we're not somebody that sells them on things that aren't real. We tell them how hard it's going to be, how demanding we will be every day, how we're going to challenge them.

I believe in those work habits, that time management. We coach our guys on sleep habits, hydration, you name it. So I want to make sure they know what they're signing up for.

Second, what I'd say is that I want to know why they've decided to transfer and understanding what they're looking for in this experience, but then, more than anything, how hard are they willing to work for it.

I think a lot of times people think recruiting is a sales pitch or forecasting only the best case scenario. And what we try to do, our way of going about it, is saying this is going to be really hard work. There's going to be bumps in the road. There's going to be adversity. And we see how they respond to that.

When you look at the leadership on our team, I remember those early conversations with Gabe Kalscheur and Izaiah Brockington and quickly me asking them, if that's what you want, how hard will you work for it? How much will you sacrifice? How much are you willing to lead, step out of your comfort zone? What do you do when things get hard?

I remember with both of those guys it was very apparent to me early on that they were the exact guys we were looking for to help lead our program. And we've been very fortunate that they've continued to do that each and every day over the last, whatever it's been, nine or 10 months we've been at this together.

So those are the types of guys that we will continue to look for in the transfer portal, is low ego, high producing, high character guys that want to work.

Q. You recruited Caleb Grill out of high school and then out of UNLV and then having him here. What's an important piece you've had to have and describe your relationship with him?

COACH OTZELBERGER: I've got a lot of confidence in Caleb because I've watched him at a young age. I've seen his development. I know how much he cares. He cares about his team winning. He wants to make the right play. He plays extremely hard and passionate. He doesn't have any ego. It's not about him scoring. It's not about anything related to him. He wants to do well for the team.

With Caleb, also, you know that there's a guy there that has the ability to get hot shooting the ball from long range. He's had some highly impactful games for us. Games on the road at Oklahoma State, at Creighton. There's been others that he's made big shot after big shot. So he also has the courage to knock down big shots.

I'll always be a believer in the guys that work hard that have character and that they care that things will come around for them at some point. For me with Caleb, I have an extra pride point with him because knowing him as long as I have, also knowing that Caleb had a lot of options coming out of high school. And when we were at South Dakota State, he believed in our culture, our way of doing things, the relationship that we had built.

To me, that's why you get into coaching is have those relationships with young people, help mentor, develop them as people and student-athletes.

So Caleb is really special to me. I'm proud of his continued development and fortunate to coach a guy who cares about his teammates and doing the right things to help us win.

Q. You were an assistant the last time this team made the Sweet 16, also under a first-year head coach. Now you're a first-year head coach leading this team to the Sweet 16. What are the differences in that 2016 year? What's different for you as a coach? And have you been able to feel this full-circle moment for yourself, even though the journey is not over yet?

COACH OTZELBERGER: At the start of the year, that group we had, we were fortunate. I believe, if I'm not mistaken, we were ranked fifth in the country coming in. We had a group of guys who were very offensively inclined, many of which are still playing in the NBA. A group we had high expectations for. They were a group that we knew coming in what we had in terms of personnel, what their strengths were, how they played well together. Very offensively inclined.

And guys that had earned it through their work habits over time -- the George Niangs, the Monte Morrises, Matt Thomas -- those guys stand out to me.

With this group this year an entirely different starting point. A group of all new guys, a team unanimously picked last in our league starting this season. A team that nobody expected to be here that's adopted and embraced the underdog mentality and doing the extra work.

So what I'll say in both cases is fortunate that with each team to be successful you have to have guys embrace their role, do their job, care about the team's success and work really hard. And in each instance, fortunate to have those teams both times. Yet entirely different where we started, how we got to where we are.

But, look, for me, talked about it a lot. I love being the caretaker of this program. I love Iowa State. And regardless, having Iowa State playing in the Sweet 16 with an opportunity to keep moving forward whether head coach or assistant, it's pretty awesome.

Q. Gabe has been primarily known for his defense over his career. But it seems like in games where he scored double digits I know you've beaten at least four ranked teams when that's happened. How big, especially the Wisconsin game, how big of an impact is it for this team when he's able to bring out that side of his game?

COACH OTZELBERGER: We have tremendous belief in Gabe's offensive abilities. We know he can help us facilitate offense and play at the point guard. We know that he can make plays off the bounce. He can attack. He can post up. He's a terrific cutter without the basketball. And when he gets in a rhythm, he can be a prolific jump shooter. So we've got confidence in Gabe and we know that he can do that job.

When it comes down to that other side we know he's elite defensively. He has the other team's toughest matchup night in, night out. He's a great communicator, he's our anchor defensively. He's our quickest to rotate. He talks our guys through what's going on.

So he's a very impactful player on both sides. Certainly when we're able to get him going offensively, we've been able to take our team to another level. But we're going to keep treating it as we have. We know that Gabe likes the big moment. Gabe likes the personal challenge. He's stepped up when those opportunities have been in front of him. And we've got all the confidence in the world that he'll do that again for us here.

Q. You mentioned earlier that this team's had to work through a few bumps in the road. One of those looks to be the first week in March, when the clock's ticking on the season. How much urgency did you feel at that time that, hey, we've got to get going here? And what's the biggest difference between this team now and maybe three weeks ago?

COACH OTZELBERGER: Urgency to me is something I've taken a lot of pride in my entire life as always having as a top priority, everything is urgent. So we've been urgent the day we came in. We were urgent every single day. We were urgent when we practiced today.

I say all that, because, to your point, we've had challenges. We've lost four of five at one point and had to recover. We lost four in a row and had to bounce back. We've lost three in a row late in the season and then bounced back in the tournament.

We've maintained that level of urgency that we came into when we started on this journey, the first day on the job, and we've maintained that same level of urgency with everything we do every single day.

Everything matters. We talk to our guys about every day how you do anything is how you do everything. And we've carried that out each and every day. So when we've had those challenges, and you're in those tough moments, you're going to revert back to your habits. You're going to revert back to your work.

You're going to have a sense of pride that you won't quit on yourself because what you've invested and what you've done. And so what we've been able to see from our group is when it feels like our back's against the wall or we're at our most challenged moment, which has happened from a wins and losses standpoint three different times late in the season, our guys dig deep. They recall and rely on those habits. They keep working hard. They're urgent every day. And things come around.

And I'll believe that that's such a valuable lesson for the young men in their program for the rest of their life because that's life and our guys have lived it right here. And I'm really proud of them how they've continued to fight, especially when things haven't gone their way.

Q. With what you've mentioned about the transfers and the portal, you've got a guy in Tristan whose old team is practicing right behind these walls. What did you see about him and his intention to come out and join your team? What was the pitch to him and how steady has he been for you guys all season long?

COACH OTZELBERGER: Tristan is a really versatile player. He's a guy at a forward position, he's a great mover. He's a terrific athlete. Laterally, he's able to defend smaller guys when called upon.

He's been a great offensive rebounder for us, somebody that when he comes in and whether he's starting is able to have a high activity level on the glass. Keeps plays alive with loose balls. We value that.

So overall I'd say that versatility is something that in our conference is paramount to have guys that can guard multiple positions, that can defend guards, defend interior players.

We've oftentimes, with Tristan, also, when teams have switched used him as someone who can post up and go to the paint. Those are things that we saw as we evaluated film. We knew what a terrific young man he was. His character fit with what we were looking for. And just fortunate Tristan, he's been a great team guy and he's a guy who has had a huge impact on our program.

Q. Wondering if you've crossed paths with Jim Larrañaga before and if so what the interactions have been like. And if not, just what your impressions of the job that he's done have been from a distance?

COACH OTZELBERGER: A lot of respect for Coach Larrañaga. I can't recall specifically us crossing paths a whole lot in the past. What I will say, as a young coach you study the veteran coaches who are successful and adaptive, especially at multiple spots because from year to year your team's going to be different. Your winning equation may be different.

And Coach Larrañaga, over time, has proven that. Proven it at Bowling Green, George Mason. He's been somebody that has continued to reinvent his team, that is ever present in the group that he has this year as they've reinvented through the course of the year. He's been very adaptive.

A coach I have a lot of respect for. Somebody who, as I said, as a young coach and you look at some of the highly successful coaches in college basketball who have done it over time, he stands out.

But that run that they had with George Mason, certainly for all of us, that's one of the things about March Madness that makes it so special, is a team like George Mason having that run. So that moment and that time certainly stands out.

Q. You mentioned several times restoring the pride in the Cyclone program. Why is that so important to you?

COACH OTZELBERGER: Iowa State is a place that took a chance on me and gave me an opportunity probably before my resumé truthfully had earned an opportunity to be coaching at a place of this magnitude. I feel really fortunate for that. Greg McDermott and Jamie Pollard, our athletics director, signed off on bringing in a guy who hadn't accomplished a lot, who was a high school coach. Stint in junior college for a brief bit.

And so that means a lot to me. When people believe in you before you have had the opportunity to really prove a whole lot, that says a lot. And to me I feel that across the board at Iowa State, that the folks there have been behind us and behind me personally for a number of years before the success and the wins and the tournament berths had come.

For my wife, coming from Australia as a foreign exchange student, playing at Ballard High School her senior year, the way that Central Iowa, the Ames community and Iowa State embraced her, we'll always be grateful for. She came from another country. No family here. Everybody put their arms around her, helped mentor her and helped her to adapt in a new country and a new place with a lot of challenges. And so that means a lot to us.

And then, look, as we've gone through on our journey with our family and you think about as much as I love coaching this team and as much as pride I have in this program to be able to raise our family, our three young children -- Jayce, Olivia and Stella -- in Central Iowa, to let them know what it means to be a Cyclone. To have all these real life examples and role models around us, it means a whole lot to us.

And so we're really fortunate. The wins are great. Being here is awesome. But what's even more awesome for us is each and every day we get to wake up living in Central Iowa, being Cyclones, and being a part of this program, which is really cool.

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Iowa State student-athletes Izaiah Brockington, Tyrese Hunter and Gabe Kalscheur.

Q. Gabe, your team has defended very well over the course of the season and over the last two games. Gabe, not long ago, T.J. praised your efforts and the leadership effort you take on that front. In Miami you face a team that has one of the top transition offenses in the nation. In your opinion, what would be the key to slowing down the Hurricanes and imposing your style of play?

GABE KALSCHEUR: I would just say getting back on defense, setting up our defense. And just continuing to play how we play. We play trying to turn over teams, trying to make them sped up on the offensive end and being in the gaps, being active with our hands.

Communication is key with our defense. The more and more we can do with that, we can definitely stop them in transition and make them face our half court defense.

Q. Izaiah and Tyrese, when you watch Miami what stands out as the way they play defense?

IZAIAH BROCKINGTON: They like to hard hedge and trap a lot with their 5. They'll gamble on passes and on cuts. They just get caught staring at the ball.

TYRESE HUNTER: Like he said, they're more aggressive. Ball screens, more aggressive. And then on their offensive end they want to get out and run, too. Piggyback what Gabe said, it's making sure we get back and get our defense set.

Q. Tyrese, what's the origin of the "last call" thing that you started doing before the games? And where does that come from and what kind of motivation does that speak to?

TYRESE HUNTER: Just to make sure everybody's ready. And I feel like it's just the motivation part of it that goes into it. Everybody's head's on straight. If you're scared don't come out.

Q. Izaiah and Gabe, what was it that made you want to come to Iowa State when they didn't have a lot to sell in terms of recent success, and you couldn't know what you would be facing?

IZAIAH BROCKINGTON: Really it was just T.J. and the whole coaching staff just showing me the guys that were already committed here and the type of system we'd be running, and how I would fit into it. Their lack of recent success hadn't really scared me off too much because as far as I was concerned that was a whole different team. It was a whole new coaching staff. Different players. So I saw an opportunity for us to do something special here at this school and in the Big 12. So I went for it.

GABE KALSCHEUR: Like he said, just really coaching staff with Coach T.J. and the rest of the coaching staff, just the trust. And with me and my family, it was really big in knowing that the pieces that he was putting together with this team, that the sky's the limit. And I could tell with the pieces he had and everyone would be bought in. And everyone had a good attitude and was a good person.

So I was just super happy to have teammates like that and just be bought in, because you can have players that aren't totally bought into the system. And it's never a good fit with that. So I just could tell the pieces we had were good for this system.

Q. I know you guys have probably been really busy in preparing for this game. But have you had a moment to kind of take a step back and take it all in that you're playing here in Chicago in the Sweet 16?

IZAIAH BROCKINGTON: It's still kind of unbelievable. I feel like when the whole experience is done, we'll fully grasp just how blessed we were to be in this position. It's really still unbelievable. But we're just trying to make this run last as long as we can.

TYRESE HUNTER: Just in the moment I feel like we're just in the moment right now. But once everything comes to an end, it will be just sit back and really look at what we did.

I know we know in the moment we broke an NCAA record, the biggest turnaround. But we're just in the moment and just thinking about the next game.

GABE KALSCHEUR: Like they said, I think we're just in the moment. Just experiencing what's going to happen next and focus on what's next. But I could tell, last night we had dinner as a team, and we were all enjoying that together, just embracing that, just having fun and enjoying the camaraderie and just being as one as a unit.

Q. It seems like whenever Gabe has a big offensive game, this team does well offensively. He's known as an elite defender, but when he's able to bring that part of his game out, how big of an impact is that for this team?

IZAIAH BROCKINGTON: It's huge. I feel we become really dangerous when he really gets going like that. I feel like it just opens up the floor for everybody else and it just gives us more weapons and it changes our team completely when he's playing like that, when he's playing aggressive, we're really hard to beat.

GABE KALSCHEUR: I mean, I think when I'm being aggressive and letting everything come to me, I think it definitely helps our offense. There's so many weapons on our offense. Our offense really comes from our defense with how we pressure. And easy baskets come from our defense, and it just makes everything flow. So I think me just being aggressive helps open up the floor for everybody else.

Q. Bunch of Cyclone fans are on the way. More expected tomorrow. Just for any of you or all of you, what's the bonding been like for you with Cyclone fans?

IZAIAH BROCKINGTON: I love the fans here. I mean, obviously coming in, first coming in, I got a lot of, hey, you guys going to win more than two games this year? All those jokes and stuff. I was, like, I promise.

But it was seeing that despite the lack of recent success, like the first game, it was almost sold out. And I'm all right, they won't keep this up, right? But it's like that every game. We had one of the best home court advantages not only in the Big 12 but in the country. And these fans love this school. They love this team. And they love good basketball. They appreciate the way that we play basketball. And I feel like that was the biggest thing.

TYRESE HUNTER: Just to see like the first game of the year, just knowing everybody came out, supported us, even after the past season that the guys had. And it was big for us. I thought we were really going to have to just build that trust up, even though we did, we held ourselves accountable. And just knowing that they come out and support us, we'll go out every night and play hard for them.

I really think that's the big thing for them, as long as we play hard, win or loss, they've got our back.

GABE KALSCHEUR: I think the fan support here is phenomenal. Even through games that we lose or are having to stretch a lot losing games, the fans are there supporting us no matter what. I've gone out in Ames with teammates and stuff, we've been out to eat and they're all super supportive. Just giving hugs and photos and stuff like that.

Just having that support, knowing that day in, day out we're going to give it on the court, each night, home and away, just knowing that we'll return the favor to them each and every night.

Q. Izaiah, it's been pretty well stated, especially by Coach Otzelberger throughout the year, how you and Gabe took on the leadership role early on. How did that progress? And more vocally, how has that grown the last few months, especially with Gabe, it's been noted and how does that help the chemistry of this team in March?

IZAIAH BROCKINGTON: I feel like I came in -- I had been a leader before. I was more of a lead-by-example, lead with my actions. I felt like coming here definitely helped me with my vocal leadership. And then along with Gabe I feel like as we got more comfortable with the team and this new group of guys, we felt more comfortable being vocal.

And you start to learn guys and what motivates them and what makes them tick. So I feel just getting to know each other on a deeper level helped us be more comfortable vocally.

Q. Gabe, what is it about your system that allowed you guys to make such a big jump in one year? And do you think it's something that other teams, even though they certainly didn't want to be in that position you were in last year, will try to kind of replicate going forward?

GABE KALSCHEUR: I think it's not really having one person being like the guy ball dominant. I think it's everyone, it's a system of everyone getting a touch and everyone feeling it out, everyone kind of playing for each other.

I think that's a big thing that helps -- it's really scary for opponents playing us, it's like everyone can really contribute as a team. There's not just one person that's going to be like a 50-point scorer or 40-point scorer, this and that. But it's everyone taking part in doing what do and know how to do and putting it out there each and every night. I think that's what really differentiates us and makes our system work.

Q. Outside of the Big 12, you guys are a perfect 15-0, the number one team in the nation when it comes to that, only one of three teams that hasn't lost to anyone outside of their conference. What do you attribute that to? And do you think people are surprised when they take the court against you for the very first time?

TYRESE HUNTER: Yeah, like you said, I think they're surprised. I think we put on to show that the Big 12 is one of the most dominant defensive leagues in the country. And that's something that we showcase on a daily basis when we go out there and play non-conference teams.

And when we are playing in the Big 12, it's physical every night. And when we don't play Big 12 teams, we go out there and be physical and just show them this is what we primarily do. And we turn that into offense.

Q. Tyrese, where did the nickname "The General" come from? And for Gabe and Izaiah, seems like you guys have a reaction to that, how have you bought into that identity for Tyrese?

TYRESE HUNTER: It started with myself. I called myself The General. I feel The General is self-explanatory. Someone that -- then it got deeper into just being a leader, making sure I demand stuff -- as a point guard you've got to demand the game, control the game.

And I was blessed enough, these guys, they took it on and they took it serious, like you're the general, you're the one that keeps everybody under control throughout the game. So it was big. It started as a joke, but now I feel like that's something people see me as. And the media, you guys know. So I'll welcome being called The General.

Q. When did you give it to yourself?

TYRESE HUNTER: When I was young.

GABE KALSCHEUR: Right when he got on campus.

IZAIAH BROCKINGTON: I didn't think it was going to stick. I don't know. When he first came on, I was, like, who is this kid coming in and giving himself a nickname? I ain't never heard of that. But I was, like, it won't stick. But it kind of stuck through his play, honestly. Him being the floor general and things like that. So guys started calling him that. Coach started calling him that. Yeah, definitely it stuck.

GABE KALSCHEUR: Definitely stuck, Tyrese has done a great job taking control of the game on offense and defense and bringing everybody together. We all three have voices on the team and so does everybody else. But Tyrese has done a great job just stepping up and really letting his voice be heard because he sees it all. He's the one -- he's the general on the floor, like his name is.