NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: REGIONAL FINAL - SAINT PETER'S VS NORTH CAROLINA

March 26, 2022

Shaheen Holloway

Daryl Banks

KC Ndefo

Hassan Drame

Matthew Lee

Doug Edert

Fousseyni Drame

Wells Fargo Center

Saint Peter's Peacocks

Elite 8 Media Conference

Q. For anybody that wants to answer, but given the run that you guys have been on, and I know you always say we're focused on the next opponent, has there ever been, even if just for a minute, you guys sat there and realized the type of media attention you guys are getting and how historic and special this is?

DARYL BANKS III: Yeah, it always kicks in a little bit for a quick second right after the game. Our phones are going crazy, we're seeing the different posts on social media.

But like you said earlier, after that little quick time goes by, we've got to focus on the next game, focus on the game plan. We can't let that distract us from what's to be played.

KC NDEFO: Yeah, as Daryl Banks said, we just try to focus on the next goal. But as we get back to the locker room after the game, our phones are buzzing, Instagram, Twitter, all types of social media platforms. It's good for the moment, for the night, we live it up as a team together. But as the next day comes, just focus on the game plan and our next opponent.

Q. For any of you, after the game last night, Shaheen is doing his postgame interview on the court, and of course he's greeted pretty much by all of you kind of bombing the interview. How do you think wanting to be a part of that moment and your connection with him has helped fuel this run and keep it going going forward?

HASSAN DRAME: I mean, during this type of time, it's always a special time. People always say, these are one of those opportunities that you get once in a lifetime, maybe twice if you're lucky enough.

When he was being interviewed, when we saw him, all of us going in there and jump over him, just the excitement we were giving at the moment.

MATTHEW LEE: Yeah, like Hassan said, those are once-in-a-lifetime moments. We were just happy to be in that moment and obviously just letting it all soak in, and we were just happy to be around each other. We saw Coach over there by himself, so we had to go mess with him a little bit.

Q. Matthew and Doug, speaking of that, how easy is it for you guys to play for Coach Holloway? What is it about him that allows you to feel like you can ride and die with him?

DOUG EDERT: It's pretty easy. All you really have to do is give 100 percent effort and defend.

But yeah, it's fun playing for him. He's a great coach. He believes in his players so much, and it gives us belief in ourselves and each other.

No, going back to the effort that we give, every time we're on the court we try our best to do whatever we have to do, whether it's guarding the ball, executing a game plan. And he has extreme confidence in us, which helps us when we're out there on the court.

MATTHEW LEE: Playing for Coach has been amazing. Like Doug said, he gives us extreme confidence. You see the fire and the energy that he brings to the court. He brings that same thing to practice.

You look to the sideline, you might have made a bad play or something, but you look to the sideline, you see somebody encouraging you and giving you kind words. He's been here before, he's been a player, so he knows what we're going through, and it's kind of just easy to play for him.

Q. For Fousseyni, Hassan and KC, you've gone up against great bigs along the way to the Elite Eight. Has that given you confidence going up against Armando Bacot and how good he is that you guys can deal with him, as well?

HASSAN DRAME: Like we always say, before going into a game, we don't see high, we don't see talent. Just all the respect, I don't even know who Edey is.

FOUSSEYNI DRAME: Like he said, it's true. I just always see basketball as just hope. Just play basketball, and like he said, we don't really know those names. All we see is a player.

Q. Daryl, just want to ask you what it was like coming up the ranks at The Patrick School, waiting your turn behind Bryce Aiken and Jordan Walker and Jamir Harris, how that shaped you as a player.

DARYL BANKS III: Yeah, so being behind them going against them in practice every day, it really just molded me to who I am today. Knowing that you've got to work, it's not going to be given. They're great players, you've seen their careers.

Yeah, so just battling against them every day gave me the experience and the wisdom they guided me through while I was there, and it was just an amazing experience to have.

Q. Matthew, curious if the opponent has a special significance to you and your family for your father's -- for North Carolina, and how many times have you heard his stories about that game especially?

MATTHEW LEE: I mean, I've heard a lot of stories of my dad's career. Obviously North Carolina was one of his biggest opponents and stuff. But I'm not really thinking too much of that. I'm just trying to stay focused and get this done with my team.

Q. For any of you, at what point does this stop become hey, this is kind of cool, look at this run, all right no, let's go out and win this thing. Is there a switch that flips there?

KC NDEFO: Well, there's no switch. Since day one, when we first came into the NCAA Tournament, that was our mindset, let's win this game. So that's what we came out and did every day, just tried to execute the game plan and contend and go for the win since day one.

Q. For KC and Hassan, Matthew mentioned the kind words that Shaheen can have for you guys. It seems like anyone who watches the games can see there's some harsh words in there, too, at times from Coach. How does he strike that balance of being able to be a very demanding coach but also you kind of know at the end of the day he really cares about you?

KC NDEFO: Like, like you said, just he has your best interest at heart and just listening to the message, not the tone, that's all it is. He's a great amazing coach and we're all together as a team. Just never getting down on yourself, and you know when that happens he's going to pick you up after. We don't worry about that too much.

Q. When you guys look at your last two games, you only shot 9 of 34 from three. Coach felt yesterday wasn't your best defensive game. Do you feel like you haven't even played your best game, that you can play better than you have the last few?

MATTHEW LEE: I feel like each game we get to learn more and more about each other and about this team, so we may have had a few rough patches and rough shooting and stuff, but we feel like we're just getting better day by day and we're going to continue to do that.

Q. For the five juniors, wonder if you can think back to high school as you guys became part of the same recruiting class. Did you guys get to know each other much before you got to Saint Peter's, and do you have any recollection of what your initial interactions with each other were?

DOUG EDERT: Yeah, the first person I met on campus was Daryl. Obviously he was my roommate since day one. It was nice getting to know somebody that you're going to be with like for a really long time. Our friendship turned into a brotherhood, and it's just amazing to be where we are now. And we've come such a long way, and we did it together. It just feels really good to have a brother, and brothers, doing the same thing.

DARYL BANKS III: Yeah, so I only really knew Doug before, played him in high school. We used to always compete against each other. I didn't really like him much neither, which is the funny part. He used to always get me in the fall leagues.

But, yeah, actually moving in the first day and actually being roommates with him was kind of funny. We grew as a brotherhood and then added on the twins and Matthew, and we've just been together for so long, we love each other, and it's just great to do what we're doing now.

HASSAN DRAME: In high school we played in the same AAU team with Matt but really on the Adidas circuit. So we knew him since high school.

MATTHEW LEE: Like Hassan said, I've played AAU with them, ninth grade. I played against Doug a few times my freshman and sophomore year. But I was kind of the last one to get here, so everybody was already a little acclimated, but they took me in with open arms, and it's been amazing.

Q. You were talking about you sort of knew each other from high school. I'm wondering, you've played Kentucky, you're going to play North Carolina. Have any of you guys been on the court with any of those guys before, and if so, does that make it a little -- I don't know about easier, but just sort of knowing what you're getting into? Does that make this a little bit easier or different?

FOUSSEYNI DRAME: To answer that question, like he went to a big-time school, high school, KC went to Elmont. Those are national programs that compete at the high level in high school.

Q. Have you played against any of those guys specifically?

KC NDEFO: Yeah, for sure. I think Ivey last night, he asked me what AAU team I played for. I told him. He said he played against me before. But just going back into it from the past, we definitely played against all types of guys. All of us played on a circuit or some type of AAU team.

But we definitely played against most of these guys. Growing up with RJ Davis from North Carolina, I know a few of us played against him on the UIBL circuit and stuff like that.

It's just basketball at the end of the day.

Q. On that, do you look at someone like RJ Davis a little different because he walked the same walk a lot of you guys did, playing in New York? Is there anything there where you think, hey, he's also playing with that chip on his shoulder?

KC NDEFO: I think we all look at it the same way going into the game and stick together as a team.

Q. For Doug and for Daryl, you guys have played in a lot of close games so far in the tournament. Teams aren't really able to pull away from you, and you're able to outlast them and come through at the end. I wanted to know what's it like -- how have you guys found success being able to pull away from teams coming down the final stretch?

DOUG EDERT: Yeah, it starts from the beginning of the game with our pressure on defense. We're just wearing people out. So by the end of the game, they're exhausted, and I feel like our willpower is just way more advanced, and we just want it so bad.

So I feel like it comes down to the end of the game where it's like we either win this game or we go home. We refuse to go home, and we're going to go out there and try to win every game.

Q. Last night was pretty much an electric atmosphere here at Wells Fargo, and in the second game UNC was definitely a heavier crowd, as well. What do you guys anticipate for the atmosphere tomorrow, and do you believe that the electric atmosphere kind of elevates your play, or do you believe it wouldn't matter if there was an empty gym?

MATTHEW LEE: Yeah, I mean, like you said, it was an amazing atmosphere yesterday. We don't really let that affect us. Last year we went the whole year playing without fans, not even in our gym. We don't let however many people are watching us affect us.

Q. To KC and also Daryl Banks, did you guys envision when you got first recruited to come here that you would be on this stage at this time playing for a trip to the Final Four? We all dream about it, but did you imagine when you walked through the doors of Saint Peter's that you'd be in this moment?

KC NDEFO: I mean, both definitely we dreamed about the moment and envisioned it, speaking it into existence. The twins always said it the most, time will tell. With hard work and dedication, we all stick together and we all had this vision in our head, and thank God we're here today.

DARYL BANKS III: Yeah, to piggy-back off what KC was saying, yeah, I mean, Coach when he recruited us, we knew what we were getting into, what the culture he wanted to establish here and the vision that he had.

You know, bringing in everybody else, too, as well, everybody was on the same page, and we just worked so hard through these years building this program, and now that we're here we're just -- it's paying off now.

Q. Are you all sick of being called Cinderella or do you like being called Cinderella? Anyone can answer.

KC NDEFO: We don't really get into the Cinderella too much. We like being called underdogs. The underdog statement, we thrive off of that, just being the team that everybody doubted. We excel and thrive off of that.

Q. Daryl, when Doug was talking about the 40 minutes of defensive pressure that you guys put through, I'm curious, where does it come from in terms of the conditioning? What does the off-season look like for you to get your conditioning to the point you can last as long as you do?

DARYL BANKS III: Well, it comes in practice. We practice a lot of game situations, so practice is a full fledged however the duration of time is, full court, man-to-man, getting after each other, and that's just really what it is, repetition after repetition. It just prepares us for moments like this.

Q. Coach Davis talked about your connectivity is something that jumps out on film. Is that a high compliment to you that this is a connected team and is that one of the keys that has allowed you to push forward through COVID and connectivity and get here?

KC NDEFO: Yeah, most definitely. Just being able to look over to my shoulder and knowing that all my teammates have my back and just the coaching staff, as well, we're all just together and do everything as a family, whatever it is, we just do everything as a family.

When I came out of the game yesterday, everybody on the court told me, I got your back, brother, and I wasn't worried about anything because I know these guys would definitely have my back at the end of the day.

Q. Daryl, what should the Tar Heels worry about facing you tomorrow night?

DARYL BANKS III: Just how we're always going to fight. We're going to keep fighting the entire game. We're going to get after them.

Yeah, we're just going to fight, we're going to get after them, we're going to do what we do, we're going to play Saint Peter's basketball, and should take care of itself.

Q. For KC, you guys said this isn't surprising to us, we all knew this could happen. Saint Peter's had never won an NCAA Tournament, the MAC hasn't won an NCAA Tournament game in 13 years. Can you put into words what this last few weeks have been like for you?

KC NDEFO: It's unthinkable, unreal. Just to do this, make history for this program, putting Jersey City on the map, doing this for our fans and our family is just an unthinkable thing to do.

Just for us to be doing this with the people that came in together, and I was here a year before and came in with Coach Shah, it's just a great thing. We're just thriving off of it, and we're going to keep this going.

Q. Why do you think you guys haven't been able to do this? You're beating teams with future NBA players, teams with top-15 prospects, teams with kids who basically could have picked any school they wanted. Why have you been able to do this?

KC NDEFO: We wanted it. We want it more than guys, and it shows on the court. We're doing whatever we have to do to get the win. We're grinding it out, we're a grinding team. We play defense, we love each other, and this is what it's all about. At the end of the day we're basketball.

Q. I just asked KC the same question, and I'd love to hear your response. You guys are beating teams with future NBA players. You're beating teams with guys who could have picked any school they want. You're doing it with guys who are undersized, who were barely recruited. Why do you think -- how has that happened do you think?

SHAHEEN HOLLOWAY: What was his answer?

Q. He said you guys have wanted it more.

SHAHEEN HOLLOWAY: You know what? It's funny, it's kind of hard to answer that question because I think these guys -- it's funny, I've been saying it the whole tournament, these guys really play with their chip on their shoulder, and some of these guys that were sitting up here just now feel like they belong at schools like that. So this is their opportunity to kind of showcase their talent and show what they can do.

I just think that we're just playing at a different level right now, being connected. No one is worried about who's getting the shot, no one is worried about who's getting to shine, no one is worried about this or that. They're just happy for each other, playing hard and just kind of figuring it out.

Q. I know Hubert is a few years older than you. Did you ever come across him playing or recruiting or anything? Obviously both of you guys are former pro players, now coaching your guys. Do you see any similarities between the two of you?

SHAHEEN HOLLOWAY: I'm not that old. I don't know how old Hubert is.

Q. Six years older.

SHAHEEN HOLLOWAY: I never played against Hubert. Great shooter, great player. He did a lot with the Knicks. I watched him. Doing a great job with his team right now. Unbelievable job.

I never came across him, but I love what he's doing with his guys. I love how they play hard for him, they respond to him.

With him being an ex-player, I think it says a lot. The one thing I will tell you is this: When you played the game of basketball and you're coaching and you tell your guys something and you can get out there and show them, it kind of means more because they really know that you know what you're talking about. So I think that's what's happening right now for both of us.

Q. Shaheen, when did you decide you wanted to be a coach? Why did you want to be a coach? When you look at your resume, you really started at the very bottom of the profession. What did you learn through all those early days at Bloomfield or being an ops guy at Seton Hall?

SHAHEEN HOLLOWAY: Well, I always knew I wanted to coach. It happened sooner than I thought. I had to take care of my daughter, so I stopped playing. But I think it was always in me. I think when you're a point guard coaching is kind of in you.

It's like a quarterback, like most quarterbacks become coaches because you kind of see the game and you know what everybody is supposed to do.

I think it's important to learn from the bottom up. I tell my guys all the time, like you appreciate it more. You learn every aspect of the job.

I think it helped me. It helped me kind of identify who I am and what I could bring to the table.

I wanted to be a coach because somebody -- a lot of people took a chance on me when it was so easy to go the other way. I wanted to be that guy to take a chance on some kids that people don't want or are kind of pushing away or got in trouble and need a second chance. That's kind of what I'm about.

Q. I asked this to your guys, but this run that you guys have been on, it's been kind of hard to put into words. You've got the entire country behind you. You're going on this show, that show, this podcast -- like all the media attention, do you ever take a second to realize what you guys have accomplished so far?

SHAHEEN HOLLOWAY: Not yet. No. I'll say it, man. It's a dream. I don't want to wake up, and these guys don't want to wake up. We want to continue living in this dream that we're in right now.

I'm so happy for these guys. They put so much time and effort into it. These guys really -- for six months of the year, seven months of the year dealing with me, like this is easy for them.

I'm so happy for them. I'm proud of them. They're doing an unbelievable job. I love the way they handled themselves right now. I love it. No one is really big-headed. Everybody understands what that's about. I wasn't happy with Doug jumping on the table, but outside of that, it's good.

Q. People love to romanticize a Cinderella story, but do you find having to walk a balance with people, remembering this is the ultimate goal and you guys think you can win this thing?

SHAHEEN HOLLOWAY: That's a great question. You know, you're right, it's a balance. You've got to be really careful with it because it's a thin line. I said something last night after the game, and I'm like, what are they going to say now? Some people kind of took that the wrong way.

What I meant by it is you hear all these stories about why we shouldn't be here, and my thing is every year a team like us is there.

So it's just one of those stories, it's a great story, yes, it's a Cinderella story. It's great that the whole country is behind us. That's kind of what this NCAA Tournament is all about.

That's why it's so much different than pro sports. Stories like this don't really happen. They happen once every year and everybody kind of gets behind it, especially the last two years with COVID and everything. It's a great story, and I'm just happy that we're a part of it.

Q. Last night after the game you're doing your interview on the court and your guys kind of interrupt, have that moment with you. What was that moment like for you for them to interrupt and have a good time with it, and what does that say about your connection with them and their connection with you and your relationship?

SHAHEEN HOLLOWAY: Well, that's what it's all about. That's who we are. Those are our guys, and that's what we do. That's why I tell you all the time, every time we have a press conference, I make sure these six guys are up here. They're the guys that started the foundation of it.

Last night them coming into my interview was great. We're like that. We're for real. That's genuine, that's not for now. If you watch us, you come to our practice, you take bus trips with us, this is who we are. We're not changing because we're here. We're a tight-knit family.

Q. I know you don't care about seeding, but I do want to ask you, upsets are part of March Madness, but in the last 10 years, like 15 seeds have won a lot more games than they did the first 25 years of that. I was just wondering as a sport, since you were a player, what has changed to make this more possible now than maybe it was in 1990 or whatever?

SHAHEEN HOLLOWAY: I think the players got better. The players are better. They're more athletic. They're more skilled. But I think the teams that make runs are older teams. If you're old in college basketball, you have a chance.

This new era of one-and-done or guys going to the same team, five guys, like All-Star team, like it's hard to get that kind of camaraderie because those guys, they're trying to look like the pros, so they're like, let me get mine.

When you're on a team where no one cares about the success and they grew together for three or four years, they understand what's at stake, they just go out there and play for each other. I think that's what's happening right now.

Q. You used the word "connected" a little while ago. Hubert described your team that way. It's probably an easier thing to say. How do you forge connectivity and bring a group together?

SHAHEEN HOLLOWAY: Well, I think playing in the MAC, right, so outside the Buffalo swing, everything else is like a bus ride. You're on the bus with your team, you're traveling. With us, we have a thing, after every road victory, we get milkshakes. Guys look forward to that. Little things like that.

You're practicing with each other like for the last two years. I didn't let my guys go home because of COVID because I wanted to have a season. So we were together for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's. When you start spending time like that and it's real and it's genuine, a bond happens, a connection happens. We spend more time with each other than we spend with our families.

Q. Do you do the milkshakes after every tournament win, too?

SHAHEEN HOLLOWAY: We tried. I probably came back to the hotel at 11:00 and nothing was open. We was in Indy. Nothing was open. The Shake Shack closed at like 9:30. I'm like, how did the Shake Shack close at 9:30?

Q. You kind of look at where you are, so much had to go right for this to happen, KC had to come back after no one taking him, Matthew Lee had to be okay with being a walk-on. Have you thought of how everything, all the stars aligned for this to happen for you guys?

SHAHEEN HOLLOWAY: It's funny, right, we was picked eighth or ninth, I think, in the preseason before KC came back. The day he came back, we put that roster out and then everybody picked us second.

I just think that the expectation was a little too high. Guys was kind of reading their own clippings, KC was preseason Player of the Year, some guys had this, some guys had that, and we got humbled real quick. Like our non-conference we got humbled really quick.

Once that happened, then we were in the COVID pause, we got a chance to really regroup and start all over, have like a little mini camp. And once we did that, this team started clicking because we started playing different lineups, other guys started getting confident. And once you get 11, 12 guys competing at a high level every day in practice, it's going to make you better.

Q. You talked about the COVID pause being a rejuvenating factor for this team, but five weeks when you gave up 84 against Siena, how much more did the light go on, did you flip the switch in the last five weeks? What's changed with this team?

SHAHEEN HOLLOWAY: Well, I think, first of all, Siena is a good team. Carm does a good job. Everybody in the MAC is pretty good. Shout-out to the MAC.

But that game was my fault. That game was totally on me. It was an ESPNU game, and they started focusing on things that I thought wasn't important, and I kind of stopped coaching the way I coach for the Siena game, and they jumped on us.

After that game, we had a big meeting. After the game I had a big reality check myself. I decided I'm going to do things my way, and whatever happens happens.

From there I don't think we lost a game since. Our defense got back connected, guys understood -- as a coach, you don't want to give roles out because I'm not that type of coach, I don't want to put guys in a box, but everybody needed to understand what they bring to the table, and everybody brings something really good to the table, and they bought in, and that's why we are.

Q. This is a new stage for Saint Peter's to be on, but you and your experience as a player, 1996, McDonald's All-American, MVP, and you've had success at Seton Hall, do you believe your experience as a player has made you a great leader for the Saint Peter's team?

SHAHEEN HOLLOWAY: Now you make me look really good. Geez.

You know what, something in line with that, right, because I don't want this to be about me at all. I want it to be about these guys. I gave them the experience I had with this tournament. I told them it took me four years to get here. And when I was here, I made sure I wanted to take advantage of it.

These guys, I said this going in, we play for the moment. Just play loose. Just be free. Do what we do. Don't stop doing what you do. Don't stop being who you are. That's kind of what helped these guys through.

Q. RJ Davis from North Carolina, he's a Westchester guy. What have you seen from him in your early scout of North Carolina?

SHAHEEN HOLLOWAY: RJ is really good. He was good in high school. He's a good player, comes from a good high school. Stepinac is a good high school. They guard players really good. He's going to be up there on our scouting report. He's going to be up there for us to try to contain him.

But no, he's a good player. But he's a good kid, too.

Q. The games that you all have played in this tournament have all been very close. The Kentucky game was pretty high scoring, the game last night was a low-score one, but no team really pulled away from you guys, you kept it close pretty much the whole game. Can you talk about what your team has been doing to find success pulling away late in those games and coming out on top?

SHAHEEN HOLLOWAY: We've kind of played games like this all year. We didn't really blow nobody out. We're not built like that. That's not the culture of our team. We've just been able to handle success because we've stayed together and locked in.

Everybody is on the same page. We're going to mess up. It is what it is. On the offensive end, on the defensive end, we almost have to have a perfect game to play in this tournament and play against the teams we've played against. So that's what I tell these guys. Let's just look it on defense, offense will take care of itself.

As far as down the stretch, make free throws and don't turn the ball over. That's the main thing. If you make free throws and don't turn the ball over, you'll give yourself a chance.

Q. What did you see in Daryl Banks when you recruited him, and what do you think of the player he's become?

SHAHEEN HOLLOWAY: Daryl Banks, first of all, if anyone knows Daryl, he's a first-class kid. Like I love Daryl. He's one of those kids that you would want your daughter to date. He's very respectful. 4.0 student, by the way.

So when you watch Daryl in high school, obviously being a powerhouse school, he wasn't the main player, but he always found a way to be on the court with those guys that was on that team, all those star-power guys they had. You look at guys like that, you're like, you know what, he could play for me. Coach Chavez is a tough, hard-nosed coach, so I knew he could take coaching. He always could make a shot, and he was the main defender on that team.

When you put all that together, I was like, you know what, Daryl could fit with me, I want him, and that's kind of what happened. And give him credit, he wanted to play for me, so that was big.

Q. Watching your games, it's pretty clear that you can be a demanding coach at times and get on your players, but also --

SHAHEEN HOLLOWAY: I've actually been pretty good this tournament.

Q. Matthew was saying usually when he looks over it's like an encouraging type of statement that you're making to him. How do you find that balance of being demanding of your players while also making sure they know that you care about them? How do you develop that?

SHAHEEN HOLLOWAY: Well, you know what, that comes with time. So Matt been with me for three years, so he understands that. These guys understand, like I always tell them all the time, don't listen to the tone, listen to the message. There's always message behind it. These guys also know -- I spend enough time with them, so they know I care about them off the court. They're in my office all the time. Sometimes I kind of close my door and hide, right.

But these guys understand that at this level, at the Division I level, you have to be able to be coached. You've got to play with energy, you've got to play with passion, and that's all I care about. If my guys are out there playing with energy and passion, that's all I care about. They know I've got their back 1,000 percent no matter what it is. And when you have that, that's what happens. I can coach them that way.

Q. I felt like last night I was sitting in Jersey City. It felt like all 2,200 kids at your school were in the arena, it was loud. When you play in that kind of environment and you get to feel the support of your community, what does that do for you guys in terms of being able to represent who Saint Peter's is?

SHAHEEN HOLLOWAY: I thought it was great for the guys to play in front of this big crowd. This is what college basketball is about. This is why they came to the Division I level, to play I think in this type of atmosphere. And therefore, to be in the Sweet 16, come on, man, who really expected that for these guys.

I'm super excited for them, super excited for the community, super excited for the school. Happy that it's in Philly so everybody could come down and watch us. Kind of felt like a home game for us, but we never had this many people at home. This kind of felt like a home game for us.

Q. You mentioned you were a player, you never got to this point. You were at Seton Hall as an assistant, you got to the tournament, you never got close to this point --

SHAHEEN HOLLOWAY: Yes, we did, man. I got close, I was in the Sweet 16. Come on, man.

Q. I meant when you were a coach. But do you almost have to pinch yourself that little Saint Peter's is 40 minutes from the Final Four?

SHAHEEN HOLLOWAY: How about that? How about that, right? It's the American dream, man. This is what it's all about. It is the American dream. College basketball is March Madness madness. It's match-ups, it's playing, it's upsets, it's the team that wants it the most, it's the team that's most connected.

Yes, we're the underdogs; yes, we're the Cinderella team. But at the end of the day, we're a team that's ramping up just like anyone else. You take the name off the front of the jersey, it really doesn't matter.