MOUNTAIN WEST MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 8, 2023

Richard Pitino

Morris Udeze

Josiah Allick

Thomas & Mack Center

New Mexico Lobos

Postgame Press Conference

New Mexico 87, Wyoming 76

THE MODERATOR: At this time I'll go ahead and have Coach make an opening remark.

RICHARD PITINO: Great win for our guys. A lot of respect for Wyoming. Hunter Maldonado is one of the best players in my 11 years of going against. He had 36 points, and I actually thought we played pretty decent defense on him.

But I think the offense in the second half was obviously phenomenal. Shot 58 percent. Shared the ball a little bit better certainly, and just found a way to get to the foul line, make winning plays.

We knew that would be a tough game. Really proud of them. Wanted also to make sure to just say that Coach Linder is in our prayers. I was able to speak to him before the game and I know he is going through a lot right now, and I can only imagine what he is going through. So he is a great person and a great family man. We're praying for him here in Lobo basketball.

So a great win for us. Now we have to get some rest and get ready for Utah State.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for student-athletes.

Q. Josiah, I thought one of the biggest keys was your defense on Maldonado in the second half. Yeah, he got his, but was that something that was talked about at halftime?

JOSIAH ALLICK: Yeah.

Q. Specifically, you drawing that assignment. I think you started out on him, but then your defense in the second half, talk about that a bit.

JOSIAH ALLICK: Yeah. I mean, it's hard to kind of accept a compliment for defense when a guy scores 36, but I'll take it.

No, I mean, like Coach said, he is a hell of a player. Obviously, we had our battles, the two times we played them during the conference season. But, I mean, I tried to do my best, just make him have to work for it a little bit harder. I mean, he was making some really, really high-level plays and shots.

So definitely at halftime basically everybody took their turn giving me a little insight into my defense, and so I definitely tried to take it a bit more personal than I already was and knew that, like, this game, if I don't try to at least put a cap on this, then the responsibility, like, of this loss is going to be on me.

So I just tried to make him work a little bit extra hard and tried to not to switch off him as much as I could, but I mean, yeah, he -- it's hard to talk about my defense when dude has 36, but I appreciate it.

Q. Morris, not only did you win the rebounding battle, but the physicality between you two was amazing. Was that the game plan, to just beat these guys up in the lane?

MORRIS UDEZE: Yeah, I feel like that's always the game plan. It's my job to crash the boards and rebounding, and I leave it up to the guards to score.

But me and Josiah's main job and we were brought here to rebound, so that's what I'm going to do.

Q. For both of you, Morris and Josiah. Can you just talk about the fan presence here? This is your first Mountain West tournament, but there's a reason they call it Pit West.

MORRIS UDEZE: Like I said, last time during media, I didn't know the Lobo fans traveled like that, so it's huge having them. It's like having a second home out here, so we're trying to get the crowd hyped up on defense, and it was fun.

JOSIAH ALLICK: Yeah. I mean, we had kind of heard a bit about that during the regular season, you know, about how they call it like the Pit West.

I mean, even when we played at Air Force, we probably had more fans there than they did. We have an amazing fan base, and, I mean, they came out and they showed up.

It really did feel like a home game here tonight. That extra energy definitely helped push us through some of those runs and get some stops, so...

Q. For both of you guys. When the game turned back in your advantage, they had a pour-point lead, 44-40, but it was all about transition. I know you both can get out and run a little bit, but Jaelen House and KJ got into it, and Mashburn got into it. The way those guards took over and scored in transition, you know, what do you two as bigs have to do to sort of get involved in that? I know you were, but when you are watching Jaelen take over in transition, what are you guys thinking?

JOSIAH ALLICK: So my biggest thing is -- so, obviously once we secure the rebound I'm basically just booking it to the front of the rim. I don't know if they're going to pass to me. I don't know what's going to happen.

MORRIS UDEZE: They're not.

JOSIAH ALLICK: Yeah. They might.

But the biggest thing is I occupy a defender. So because I'm hauling it down there, somebody has to run with me. Usually not every person on defense is going to be running as hard as I am.

So usually that one guy that's protecting the rim might have to come and play defense on me and just get in the way, and then I can either seal them into a screen or just occupy space and hopefully cause some disruption down there, maybe cause someone to retake, get a foul on them. Raise havoc really.

Q. You have roles even when Jaelen is not passing? He is scoring.

JOSIAH ALLICK: Yeah. They're dynamic scorers. I would never want them to have to put that in the -- I guess in the passenger seat. I want them to be aggressive. I want them to come down because that makes my job easier for when they do just decide to dump it off because three guys go flying at them or whatever it may be. It's all about just being selfless.

Q. I have another question about the defense. I know you said you didn't really want to talk too much about defense when a guy scores 36. How many of those shots that he made tonight, though, did you honestly feel like a percentage -- like, you felt like, man, I just defended him pretty well and he still scored?

JOSIAH ALLICK: Oh, there's -- there's a highlight reel worth. I mean, like I said, I tried to make him work as much as of the clock to get into a decent position to score, and then did my best to contest it as well.

I mean, one, he was fading away from the rim and, like, scooped it off the top right corner of the backboard. Obviously, his fair share of fade-aways over my hand where I had already tried to beat him up a bit on his way down to the block.

I mean, he is just -- he is a great scorer, but, I mean, I just -- I'm hoping I would have started the game like that, yeah.

Q. Utah State, that's who is waiting for you guys tomorrow night. What can you tell us about the matchup that didn't go right the first go-round that you have to try and turn around to have a chance tomorrow night?

MORRIS UDEZE: I feel like just as a team kind of got into a slow start. Especially myself with a couple of turnovers early.

So, you know, we're going to look to just play hard on defense just like we did the second half, man, get around the switches. I'm going to have to do more at the rim and block more shots and just play as hard as we can to keep winning, man. Stay alive.

JOSIAH ALLICK: Yeah. Mo basically summed it up. We really shot ourselves in the foot the first half. Obviously plenty of turnovers against a defense that doesn't really pressure, and obviously, just not making shots or playing our defense that we usually do.

So, I mean, that's the key. No stupid turnovers and fly around on defense like we showed tonight in that run.

THE MODERATOR: That will do it for the student-athletes. We'll excuse you at this time and continue with the coach.

Questions for Coach?

Q. What was the message at halftime? I mean, you obviously were playing hard but lost the lead. What was the message?

RICHARD PITINO: Guard the three-point line better; make them a little bit more uncomfortable. We did a much better job of just being more disruptive because I thought they were offensively comfortable, and I thought we did a way better job in the second half of being -- making them uncomfortable.

Then offensively let's get some stops and get out on the break. We're pretty good when we do that, and I thought our guys battled.

Josiah played good defense on Maldonado. He is one of the better players I've seen, and some of the shots he hit were amazing. Started with the three-point line, and then just offensively we just kind of exploded in the second half.

Q. Richard, I don't know if you saw that Jim Boeheim is out at Syracuse. Just I imagine that he is somebody you knew when you were growing up. I don't know. Do you have any thoughts on just sort of his impact on -- just his impact or any personal recollections?

RICHARD PITINO: I remember when my first year at Minnesota we played in the Maui Classic and we drew Syracuse in the first game. I remember I said to the media that me and him have over 800 wins together, and it's just amazing what he has been able to do for 42 years, 47 years?

I think he went to the NCAA tournament 35, which is just remarkable. To have the just belief in a zone to never get out of it, man, I've got -- when somebody hits a three versus zone I get out of that thing so fast, but just the players that he has coached, the brand that he built up in the upper, you know, New York area. Obviously, my dad was an assistant coach for him, so just a phenomenal coach.

Was always really nice to me. Didn't need to be as a young coach in this profession. I know that's a tough way to go out losing at the buzzer, but it never ends well. One of the great coaches of all time.

Q. DuSell hits a three; they take a four-point lead. It was their largest lead. And then you guys, I don't know if something changed or it started happening even though you were trying to do it, but the transition offense. You guys -- I know you try and get out in transition a lot and I know you guys know you're good in transition. Is there something you can do to even do that more because it was just unstoppable there for about an eight-minute stretch?

RICHARD PITINO: Play better defense. That's really it. It's hard to get out on the break when we don't defend, and we were defending. And we were rebounding. You know, we were getting some of those long rebounds. You look at Jaelen had seven, Mash had six, Javonte had nine. That's the key, is when our guards come back and rebound, we can get on the break.

So it's all connected, but it all comes down to defense and rebounding the basketball.

Q. Then when you see Jaelen kind of in one of those second half zones he has been in before he was starting to chatter a little bit with people and on the benches and stuff like that.

RICHARD PITINO: I didn't notice that.

Q. He is a guy that -- was tonight in the second half one of those just let Jaelen go kind of halves, or did you have to tell him to calm down?

RICHARD PITINO: I had to tell him to calm down, but be yourself. You know, he is so emotional. In a great way. That's why we've won 22 games. That's why he is an All-Conference player. There are some times he needs to slow down a little bit, but that's what makes him great.

More often than not his emotion and energy is going to end in a positive, and for a lot of this year when we've had him -- we obviously dropped Air Force in Wyoming without him, and that took us out of an at-large bid.

But when he is in there we're pretty good, so I have to let him be himself to a certain extent.

Q. What do you as a coach think needs to change primarily from the Utah State game in Logan to tomorrow night?

RICHARD PITINO: Well, I mean, it seems like it was a while ago. I don't know the exact date, but Utah State is really good. They've got guys that have been there a long time, and they're old and they share the basketball, and Coach Odom just offensively puts them in great spots.

So I've got a lot of respect for them, so I think the biggest thing for us, get some rest tonight. We'll watch a lot of film. Put together the best game plan that we can do, but some of it too is that's a hard place to play. You have to give those fans credit. They're really -- they're on top of you, and we didn't handle it well.

I remember being a little bit better in the second half, so just keep our composure and defend because they're dynamic offensively.

Q. Coach, some early fouls called really on a lot of the players out on the floor. Josiah and Morris ended with four fouls each. How does that change the way that you coach the game or encourage them how to play defense?

RICHARD PITINO: I told them, keep playing defense. Don't worry about fouling out. We're not doing that. I subbed Morris and Josiah out a little bit, but I try not to overthink it too much with the foul trouble because sometimes you can take yourself out of a game by sitting guys too long.

So we were able to get them out a little bit, but, again, although Maldonado had 36, I thought Josiah was doing a great job on him, and we needed him in there, because when we don't have him in there we have to scrap and scramble and give up some there's.

You just have to live with it. Sometimes you need to not overthink it as a coach.

Q. Coach Pitino, I'm wondering if you would share with us what you said to Hunter Maldonado in the handshake line, and I assume you're not going to miss facing that guy?

RICHARD PITINO: For one, I never want to see that guy again. He is unbelievable. What a unique player, and an absolute warrior, and that's what I told him. I said, you are a warrior.

He dominates the game. He does it with class. He is loyal, which I know Coach Linder had said that. That's kind of rare in the world that we're living in today to stick through a coaching change and to stick it out. So I've got so much respect for him.

A unique, unique player who is shooting the ball better. But, yeah, I just told him I have so much respect. I don't like playing against him, but, wow, is he a terrific player and so much character and substance to him.

THE MODERATOR: That will do it, Coach. Thank you.