NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: REGIONAL FINAL - MIAMI (FL) VS KANSAS

March 26, 2022

Bill Self

Remy Martin

Jalen Wilson

Ochai Agbaji

United Center

Kansas Jayhawks

Elite 8 Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Kansas' Jalen Wilson, Ochai Agbaji and Remy Martin, followed by coach Bill Self.

Q. Big picture, this has been the goal for you guys all year, one win away from the Final Four. How much does that drive you guys or how much emotion is involved? And how do you guys contain that knowing you don't play tomorrow until 1:20?

OCHAI AGBAJI: It is just really motivating, knowing how far we've come, all the work we've put in and we're at this point, just as a team. And we're just so close to obviously getting to a Final Four, a dream for everyone on our team. So just staying focused, staying locked in and just that is where we are right now.

JALEN WILSON: We're just going through from all the work that we've put in, I think every single win we get just makes us hungrier for the ultimate goal, which is a championship. I'm super excited and super hungry to play.

REMY MARTIN: Super motivating to know how close we are and all the hard work we put in. So we're just going to continue to do what we need to do and stick to basics of what got us here and the rest will take care of itself.

Q. Remy and Jalen, Ochai finished with a career-high four blocks last night. He was a plus-6. What are the things he does to impact the game and help you guys win, even though he's not always scoring the basketball?

REMY MARTIN: Ochai, he's an all-around player. That's why he's All-American. That's why he is who he is because he helps us in so many things on the court that people may not see on a stat sheet. And that's why he's the best player in the country. That's why he is who he is.

He does so much on the court and he does off the court, as far as him talking to us, making sure that everybody is good. He's just a leader. And that's why he's the best player in the country, period.

JALEN WILSON: I'd just say, from the entire year, teams know who we are. Teams know who he is. And when we are in games and they want to play him certain ways, and try to not let him get the ball, it opens up lanes for us. No matter what is going on with him offensively, you have to respect him because you know what he can do.

And I think that helps our team so much because when teams try to adjust and play like that, it allows for us to get the ball moving more. And when you have a leader that's so unselfish like he is, it makes us flow so much better, because we have the same mindset, that's to win.

Q. There was a pretty cool double half court shot made during practice from Lightfoot and Teahan. How are you guys staying loose and having fun during this time and talk about that and witnessing that?

OCHAI AGBAJI: It was actually a quadruple double. It was like four half court shots in a row we made. It was crazy. Something we've never seen obviously. Everyone just having fun, being present in the moment. We were playing Duck, Duck, Goose to warm up before practice. Just everyone having fun. It just shows a lot about our team.

Q. Remy, you're shooting lights out right now -- 23 last night, 13 in the first half last night. What does it mean to show people on the national stage that you are a scorer and you can play like you've been playing?

REMY MARTIN: It feels good. It feels good to go out there and play my game. I think all the work that I put in the offseason, I'm now able to showcase because I'm fully healthy. And my teammates and my coaches are allowing me and making my confidence higher and higher each game.

I'm just being myself out there. I'm happy that I'm healthy, thanks to the trainers and everybody who has stuck with me, my family and everything. But I'm just happy to go out there and play my game the way I know how to play it. And these guys have been extremely helpful throughout the whole process. So a big credit to my teammates and my coaches for just believing in me.

Q. Ochai, what do you remember about Charlie Moore as a teammate?

OCHAI AGBAJI: Playing with Charlie, he was a great teammate. He was there my freshman year. I was only there with him for one year until he transferred out. But he was a great teammate, a really good passer, really aggressive and he can also score. And just his IQ for the game, his feel for the game I think is something that's kind of unheralded, but he's a really good all-around player.

Q. Ochai, who is the Duck, Duck Goose champion?

OCHAI AGBAJI: Who -- we really didn't get a winner. It was we played like a couple of rounds. But the circle was too big so it was kind of hard to catch, for the person to catch up on them. But it was still fun, though.

Q. What is the balance between remaining aggressive but not hunting your shot?

OCHAI AGBAJI: Finding that balance, I think, comes within just the flow of the game. I've done -- in my time here at KU, my past four years -- just understanding the flow of the game, where I find my shots at. And sometimes it is out of my character to go hunt shots. So just finding the flow of the game, where I'm going to get my shots. I know where I'm going to find those.

And also it just goes back to just trusting my teammates, too, because they're actually responsible for a lot of the baskets I get. So just trusting them and trusting the coaches to put me in the right position. So that's it.

Q. This is the first chance you all are having to make a Final Four. But are there any memories in your lives previously playing basketball that measure up to whatever emotions you're feeling right now?

JALEN WILSON: None.

OCHAI AGBAJI: I don't think there's any.

JALEN WILSON: No, for March Madness, this is the biggest stage I've been on as far as basketball in my life. And being this close is super motivating for all of us. And no, I don't think anything could match up to this at all.

Q. Ochai, heading into this season, what did you envision your role would be both on and off the court, for the team?

OCHAI AGBAJI: It's simple. Just like what Remy was saying, just a leader. Anything that the team needs for me to do, whether that's talking, making sure everyone's right or being aggressive and being that scorer, that main scorer for the team, just anything the team needed for me to do for us to be successful.

Q. Ochai and Jalen, obviously you would have preferred that Remy be able to be healthy and in the flow of things all season. But I'm curious what you think it's done for you guys to have such an added dimension this late in the season, how much do you think it's reinvigorated what you can do and even made you a different team a little bit?

OCHAI AGBAJI: I would say just starting things off, I would say it actually helped Remy, too, watching throughout the season, watching how we play and also where he sees himself, too. But when he's in the game and obviously in this postseason stretch, he's just brought a different dynamic offensively. It's really hard for other teams to scout us when you throw someone in even after conference, when everyone's been heavily scouting us. So, like I said, it just brings a different dynamic.

JALEN WILSON: I think he changes our team completely when he comes in the game. With him being super aggressive like we want him to be and super confident and him just being him and playing the game that he knows how to play, it changes the complete aspect of who we are. We're able to be so much faster. The energy he brings with the excitement, getting the crowd involved, those little things that we were missing, takes our team to another level.

Q. Remy, at least one coach saw you at ASU and have seen you recently at Kansas said how much better defensively you are. I would like to see if you agree with that and cite examples. And for Jalen, there's been a couple of instances, you're always getting downhill being aggressive, but sometimes your attack mode goes to the ultra level and just taking over games. Remy?

REMY MARTIN: I would agree. I would agree. I think that was one of the main reasons why I came here, not only to win, but to better myself as a basketball player and cover all my bases for whatever the future holds for me. And I think that Coach Self and his staff and my teammates have held me to a standard which they know I could reach with my quickness and my ability to recover on the defensive end, just being able to reach that potential.

And I would agree with that statement because I feel like I'm more locked in defensively, especially just thinking the game itself, just knowing little things Coach Self has helped me on and get me a better insight. He's the best coach around. So learning from him has been an honor. And I'm learning consistently every single day. So I would agree with that statement.

JALEN WILSON: I think just being aggressive just comes with the flow of the game, taking what I can get from the defense, especially when I know my team needs me to get down to the paint and create plays, whether it's taking it to the hoop or making the right pass. Just me trying to be the toughest guy on the court. If that takes me driving and creating contact with fouls and getting to the free-throw line, just anything to get us going with like a little spark.

I know driving is kind of contagious with us. One guy gets downhill, and then the next guy does. So just trying to do that.

Q. Obviously Bill Self has been in the public eye a long time, a very successful coach. Wonder if you guys could share anything that surprises you about him from your interactions him over the years, anything that we don't get to see as the media looking outside into your program?

OCHAI AGBAJI: From when he started recruiting me, something -- obviously people know that he's a really good guy, just outside of coaching. But just how he treats people, how he treats everyone. He treats everyone the same way, even from players to managers to everybody. He's just a well-rounded, nice human being. I give him props to that.

And just I think the motivating factor that he brings to our team and all the teams that he's coached is something that not a lot of people see. He'll always give speeches when we're watching film or stuff like that and you'll be ready to go run through a brick wall right after. That's just how he is, and he's one of the best motivators that I've ever met.

Q. Ochai and Jalen, Miami is very good in transition. They're very disruptive. Even though they're not a big team, they've shown the ability to defeat bigger teams. So for you guys, what would be the key to countering their strengths and finding a game plan that works against them?

OCHAI AGBAJI: I would say obviously containing their transition play. They play a lot of isolation. So it's going to be guard your man. Know their tendencies. Always have help. Strongside help, all that stuff. We'll need to be in sync defensively to disrupt what they're trying to do.

Q. Kansas men's basketball became the winningest program of all time last night. Obviously there's bigger goals right now you've been at different lengths at Kansas, just give us your thoughts about what that means to you?

REMY MARTIN: Me being a newcomer, it means a lot. It means a lot to be on this side of history. And just give thanks to all the teams and all the players that came before me. When I came to Kansas, seeing all these players and seeing all the history, it made me want to be a better person, better basketball player, and I'm just thankful to be on this team and make history. But it's also a privilege and I'm happy to just be a part.

JALEN WILSON: It's just a blessing to be able to put my mark on such a historic school like Kansas with all the great players that's came through here and all the championships, all the wins. Just to be able to have like a small part in that is a blessing.

Q. About Remy, I'm sure in a perfect world you would have preferred he was healthy all season and sort of fit in that way all season, but I wonder how much of an advantage it is for him to emerge this way late and almost be an entirely new thing for people to scout and learn about your team?

COACH SELF: I think our goal going into the year was a Remy Martin would give this team something that we needed. We needed speed. We needed personality. We needed explosiveness. And he obviously provides all those things. But he hasn't had opportunity to provide them, really, all year long. I think the first several games when he was here he was still getting comfortable. And then he gets injured.

And so somehow or another, in the last three weeks or so, he's been able to combine comfort, personality, health, explosiveness, all these things in a way that we haven't even seen yet this year.

We've said all along that we had a chance to be a much better team than what we displayed, even though we had a really good year, just because of him. But not knowing what "him" really was. And so yeah, it's been great.

He's one of the few guys out there that can a miserable or a very poor year by his own expectations due to things outside of his control, and he would tell you right now he's having the time of his life. It's been the best year ever, in large part because of the last couple of weeks.

Q. Is it almost better that it played out this way?

COACH SELF: I don't know. I do think that there's something to -- we look at Remy's stats which have been fantastic for us, but we look at that and sometimes we say, well, if he was more used to playing with Och and Och was more used to playing with him, could we have the combination of both a little better.

I think it would be like you get that healthy quarterback but he hasn't really practiced with the receivers running patterns. But I don't think it's bad at all. I think it's been great for us. But I think the longer we can stay together, hang together, it's got a chance to be better than it has been.

Q. In Miami, you face a team that is very good in transition, and they've proven capable of disrupting physically bigger teams. So in your opinion what would be the key to countering Miami's strengths and being successful tomorrow?

COACH SELF: When you talk about standing height, maybe we have them an inch in most positions or whatever. I coached Charlie. Remy's not any bigger than Charlie, or Juan. Two big guys are the same standing height. So I don't think there's a huge discrepancy size-wise. I think the fact that they can score off turning people over is what we have to be concerned about.

They can score in a lot of ways, and of course they can make hard shots. But the biggest thing is live-ball turnovers leads to them really being able to utilize their offensive skill set, which is really strong. So we've got to play 5-on-5 against them. And that will be a big goal of ours tomorrow.

Q. This game and the Elite Eight game has always been kind of difficult for you over the years you've been at KU and throughout your career. When it comes to the Elite Eight game, what makes the game so difficult to prepare for and get your players to prepare for knowing that dangling carrot of the Final Four is just right there?

COACH SELF: I think -- you're exactly right I think we're 3-7 in my career in the Elite Eight games. So that's not good enough.

I don't know that it's -- it is a different game because it's the hardest game in the tournament to not win. You can talk about first round, you can talk about whatever, it's the hardest game. The national championship finals, at least you're playing for it all or whatever.

But this one, every goal of every team is road to the Final Four. It's not road to the national championship. It's road to the Final Four. And even though the national championship is by far the biggest carrot and the biggest prize. Nobody will remember who is in the Final Four 10 years ago, they'll only remember the one that cut down the nets. In players' minds that's the best -- that's how it's marketed.

And they do such a good job of marketing it. But I think that makes the game a hard one not to win. It makes the game the second best one to win. At least in my experience. So obviously not as important as the following Monday.

But I don't know that preparation is harder. I do think the preparation is different. We're at the mercy of CBS or television networks. So you could play a late game, play an early game. There's sleep patterns. There's obviously the day between the Friday and the Sunday game, or the Thursday and the Saturday game of the Elite Eight. I mean, you're talking about a 30-minute practice and mainly a walk-through, where most of the time you'd be able to practice more or do different things. And then this time of year, also, fatigue mentally becomes such a huge factor. You don't want to just wear your guys out by doing too much.

So I was with Coach Knight when we went to the Final Four one year, our first year, I asked him any advice. He said yeah, don't practice on Sunday if you win. I said, what do you mean don't practice. He said don't practice on Sunday. I saw him Sunday evening at an event, and he said how long did you practice today. And I said 18 minutes. Too long. You totally blew it.

But that's kind of the mindset that fresh legs and fresh minds are far more important than practice time.

Q. What makes you think the mindset of this team that you have can get through this moment in the Elite Eight and get to the Final Four?

COACH SELF: I think, first of all, I don't want them to think "get through" I want them to think "attack it". "Get through" is a defensive deal hoping to hang on to something. I want them to play like they're going to take it. So that's the mindset.

And this team has had -- there's no guarantee that anybody is going to play good the next day. What happens today, even though you want to practice well, doesn't guarantee success tomorrow.

But the mindset of having a team that has some swagger about them, that likes the big moments, I think, gives me and them quite a bit of confidence.

Q. Given the number of super seniors on the team, can you talk a little bit about how the extra year of eligibility from COVID helped shape the team's roster and kind of what that's meant down the stretch in the tournament?

COACH SELF: You know what, it really hasn't shaped ours as much. We've got obviously Remy and Mitch. Those are two guys that wouldn't have had the year back if it weren't the COVID. Jalen Coleman-Lands really hasn't had a chance to play much. But if you look at just our starters, those starters have eligibility left. So the thing about it, even though we're an old team, they technically could all come back next year.

I do think this. I think what's happened with -- you look at the team we played last night, Providence. If they didn't have those four cats, they would look a lot different. If we didn't have Remy, we'd look a lot different. You look across America, if Villanova didn't have Gillespie they'd look a lot different. I believe he's a super senior as well.

So I think it's been great for individuals. I also think it's been great for the quality of ball this year, to give these kids an opportunity to play another year, but also to give teams the chance to maybe keep from dipping because there hasn't been much of this. It's been mainly pretty steady.

Q. How beneficial does Mitch and Chris being on the team in 2018 is for a moment like this?

COACH SELF: You know what, I would think maybe a little bit beneficial. Chris didn't participate in the game. He may have got in late because it wasn't a great game, unfortunately. But Mitch has been through quite a few big games and big moments.

So it may help some. But I'm really not buying into that stuff as much. I think this is really a first-time experience basically for this team, even though Mitch played in this game one other time. But I don't really see that being a huge benefit.

Q. Last night you guys became the winningest men's basketball team in history, something that doesn't happen every day. What does it mean to you personally to add to the history of Kansas since you've been here so long as well?

COACH SELF: Well, I think we started quite a few games behind. So we made up a little bit of ground. And it certainly means something. And I'd much rather be there than not be there. But really all it means, guys, is that we won a game last night and we get a chance to go increase that big deficit of one by winning it, doubling it by winning a game tomorrow. And to me that's all that really matters.

The other thing is, the way it could be said is that we passed Kentucky. So that's just the way it is. Well, this could last until November 15th and then it could flip again December 1st. So I'd rather be talked about in that light than not. But it really doesn't -- it would be a good recruiting mail-out, but I don't think it carries much weight with us right now.

Q. Could you tell us a little bit about your relationship with Jim Larrañaga over the years, like how far do you go back and stuff? And when I say to you "a Jim Larrañaga-coached team," what traits does that bring to mind to you?

COACH SELF: I really haven't known Jim long or well. Of course, I've known of him and knew him, but the most time that I've spent with him is on an Adidas retreat in the summertime where we both went and had a chance to have some dinners together and hang out together. And I think we have become friendly since then.

When I think of his teams, I think of well-coached, but I also think of freedom. Seems like to me he always has his teams playing with joy, with a free mind and aggressive offensively, which I think is a great trait to have as a coach.

Q. What do you make of Charlie Moore's growth as a player since he left Kansas? And is there any advantage of having coached him to now prepare to face him tomorrow?

A. He's playing his tail off. I think Charlie may have the best vision of anybody left in the tournament. He sees a lot of things. He did with us. He didn't play a lot when he was with us and, for one year, and just in large part because we had two NBA players playing guard slots then. But Charlie's talented. He's clever. He can get his own shot. He can certainly create for others. And he's crafty. He's very crafty.

He can do little things that get you off balance that allow him to get his shoulders past you and things like that. Charlie was a good player for us, but Charlie has become a terrific player.

I didn't follow him as close -- I watched as much as I could when he was at DePaul -- and I thought he had a good two years there. I think it was two years there. But to me his game has gone to another level being at the University of Miami. I think he's just done fantastic. And I'm happy for him. I was happy for all the kids that's no longer in our programs that do well. And he certainly has.

Q. Curious, the time, I don't know if any at all, do you spend looking at last night's tape, looking at what you guys did right, wrong versus all aboard for Miami. How do you marry that to make sure you're getting the most out of the short time you have before you --

COACH SELF: I'm embarrassed to say I haven't looked at one play from last night's game. I got home late. Watched the end of obviously the game after us last night, watched Miami and Iowa State. And then after that game was over, watched Miami in the tournament and some ACC Tournament games. And I've still got a couple more games to watch. And spent quite a lot of time watching a long edit, which is basically showing their actions for the defense, what they like to do over and over.

But at this point in time, I mean, I'm big at watching film of past games and learning from our mistakes and our successes. But this weekend we won't do any of that. It's all locked in on Miami.

Q. Last couple of weeks, I'm not sure, but maybe our shooting numbers have dipped a little bit but certainly our opponents' shooting numbers are really going down. And they're not playing as well, which is what you always talk about. How close is this team getting to accomplishing what you always have looked at in making sure our opponents don't play well and being tough and being defensive-minded?

COACH SELF: I think we're getting closer. I thought last night the first half is the best we've played defensively. But it's probably as poor as we played offensively, too. So team goes 7-of-35 and you're up nine at half. It's probably not a great recipe for success, because you know the tables will turn eventually. The law of averages will come closer to prevailing.

And it did the second half, and we had to fire our butts off to win. But I think we've improved in that. But to win at this level, and from this point in the NCAA Tournament, you've got to do both. And we're still waiting for the lid to come off. But we believe that will happen tomorrow.

Q. In addition to coaching Charlie, another guy you've seen in person, Kameron McGusty, what does he add to Miami's success?

COACH SELF: He had a good run at Oklahoma, playing for Lon. But this is, to me, the development of these guys being able to go get their own shot, to me, is very apparent. He was a good scorer at OU. He can score all three levels now. And he can get it with his handle. He can get it off the catch. He can explode over you. There's a lot of things he can do to score. And they have multiple guys that can do that. That's why makes this team hard to guard, in my opinion.

Q. I was wondering about the health of the team. Looked like Dave got off to a slow start had a great second half. How are Dave and Mitch?

COACH SELF: I actually think Mitch is the best he's been. So I thought Mitch was great the first half. I thought it was the best he's been. And Dave, I don't think anything is as much health-related. He just got off to a slow start. But he did respond late.

Q. How much can you teach about an opponent in 24 hours? How do you prioritize what's important to focus on in the limited time and not just overwhelm your guys mentally with so much cramming?

COACH SELF: I think you can familiarize them with personnel, with tendencies, especially a team like Miami that scores so much off individual talent. I do think that we can do a good job with that.

All their actions they run, we're not going to remember all those. But you can familiarize them with it, and understand this is how we guard ball screens or this is how we guard baseline runner, this is how we guard different actions that maybe some teams throw at you.

But I don't think it's a time where you do anything other than play to principles. And so hopefully our guys know well enough how we guard certain things, that we won't have to know every move or every step or every screen that Miami will use tomorrow in order to be effective guarding it.

Q. How hard is it to prepare for a team that you haven't played before, like a Miami, because you don't really play the ACC that much?

COACH SELF: No, really the only team we played in the ACC, if I remember right, we played Duke every three years. So that's been about it. So at least off the top of my head.

But they'll be a hard team to prepare for, but also they've got to prepare for us, too. So I don't see it -- I think if you haven't seen somebody, you would rather have it be the first game rather than the second game. And if it was us and Iowa State, I think both teams would say it's an easier prep just because we both would be so familiar with each other. But you can look at it as a disadvantage for us, but however it is for us, it's for them, too.

So I think it will be difficult, but I don't think it will be anything that both teams can't handle if they play well.

Q. Do you allow yourself to think about what might have been in 2020? Do you feel like this team and that team have any similarities or differences?

COACH SELF: I never felt like this team was the best team in the country this year. I felt like in '20, that was the best team in the country. So I don't really think about it a lot. And I don't think that team probably gets the credit from -- I hear a lot of people talk about, well, we would have been a high seed or a 1 seed or we had a great chance to go deep in the tournament. And that's true, but that team was different.

There's not very many teams you could ever put out there that would be the national defensive player of the year is your center and the national defensive player of the year is your guard. I mean, that team could really guard. That was a different level defensive team.

This year's team is different, totally. But I do think that this year's team has the same chance to do as well just because they have a strong belief that they can accomplish anything. And it's been impressive for me to watch them grow in that belief this year.