MOUNTAIN WEST MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 9, 2023

Tim Miles

Omari Moore

Sage Tolbert III

Thomas & Mack Center

San Jose State Spartans

Postgame Press Conference

San Jose State 81, Nevada 77

THE MODERATOR: We'll have Coach make an opening remark.

TIM MILES: It was a great win for our program. Obviously, the significance of 20 wins and the first postseason win in history is awesome. These guys deserve that. They are tremendous workers. They have great mental wherewithal, and they're a really fun bunch to coach.

They never quit believing. They're willing to do all the work that goes into a difficult game plan, because Nevada is a terrific team. They're an NCAA tournament team in my mind. It was a great win for us.

THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions for the student-athletes. We have Omari Moore and Sage Tolbert.

Q. This one is for Sage. Previously you combined for five points in your previous two games against Nevada. How were you able to do that? And can you walk me through the reverse ally-oop dunk? *** (video glitch).

SAGE TOLBERT:

Q. We look at Nevada as a very good team. Obviously, the first two losses were very bad for us, and in those two games I didn't play well. So we looked at it kind of like this is a team that we kind of owed them. Right now it's the biggest moment. So I feel like I just need to be aggressive. I just let it come to me instead of forcing it. And we had a great game plan. You know, as far as the dunk, you know, I was facing that way. I caught the ball. The room is that way, so I just made it happen.

Q. Another question for Sage. In the last few games Coach kind of said the wings weren't really doing much. This game, whatnot, did you feel that extra sort of pressure to do what you did today?

SAGE TOLBERT: Yeah. I kind of felt the pressure, but also, you know, things were just going -- I just let it come to me. You know, we just needed a production. Just what I game planned. The bright lights are out and this is the biggest moment. We had to step up as a team and make things happen to win.

Q. For Omari, your four years here, and can you just maybe just compare and contrast how your year is culminating, specifically with what Coach Tim has done for you and this specific team in general for this sort of hopefully maybe it's a culmination year, but maybe speak to that.

OMARI MOORE: It's been a long four years here. In the previous years we haven't been a great team and I've tried to continue to get better over the years. Have gone and Coach Miles and the rest of the staff have really helped me tap into different levels I feel like.

They've helped me grow my confidence because of how much believe in me, and that's something that's huge as a player. You want coaches who believe in you. They've really helped me grow as a player and as a person.

As far as our team goes this year, we have a lot of guys who are really helping us out, whether they're playing or not. They may be helping us in practice. Sage Tolbert, Robert Vaihola, they're to us this year. We added them. That was huge for us.

They help us on the boards and they do a lot of the stuff that doesn't show up on the stat sheet. We're just -- we just have a lot of people who really help, and we're continuing to build on this.

Q. This is for Omari. You really turned it up at the end and really started getting going around, like, the 7:00 mark when you guys were able to survive just a big push from Nevada. What were you able to do late, and how important was that?

OMARI MOORE: I just kept being aggressive. Stuff wasn't falling for me tonight at all, and like I was kind of talking about earlier, my coaches just told me keep going, keep going, stuff is going to fall.

I kept being aggressive. My teammates believe in me. My coaches believe in me. I was able to see some stuff go through the net and help us withstand that little run.

Q. For both players, if you could both answer this. You didn't get to play San Diego State this year because of the unbalanced schedule at home. What are your thoughts of getting them down on neutral floor?

OMARI MOORE: Yeah, you know, San Diego, they're a really good team. They've been at the top of the Mountain West for as long as I've been at San Jose, so they got us pretty good at their place.

This is definitely a good opportunity for us to play them again and get our get-back in a sort because they embarrassed us, to be completely honest with you on their floor. We're definitely excited for it. We're definitely, definitely excited for it.

SAGE TOLBERT: Also with that, you know, we look at a team, and you play them on our court you kind of could judge them a little bit, but when they don't come to your court to play, it's kind of hard to tell -- playing them here at a neutral court we really get to see what they got (video glitched.)

Q. Do you think -- I guess this is for both of you guys as well. Do you think this is going to turn into something bigger where you guys are just scratching the surface when it comes to just being a part of March Madness lore?

OMARI MOORE: Definitely. Nobody on this team feels like we've even played our best basketball yet, to be completely honest with you. We didn't shoot it great. We have lapses, so, you know, why not keep on winning and making make it to March Madness?

SAGE TOLBERT: Yeah, I hope, you know. Why stop? I don't plan on losing any time soon, so I don't care who we play, you know? We're going to step up and make it happen.

THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, thank you. We'll dismiss you and continue with Coach.

Q. Coach, when you look at where this program was at just two years ago and now where it's at now, 20 wins, a win in the quarterfinals. For you personally, you coached a lot of games, several different programs; what does this mean for you personally where this program is at right now compared to where you took it over?

TIM MILES: I'm just grateful to be these guys' coach. I'm extremely -- I just can't tell you the thrill of watching exactly - you heard Omari Moore say -- the confidence grow, see the development of all of those guys.

You know, Rob Vaihola couldn't get on the floor for Fresno, and he is a go-to guy at the end of a game over and over and over. To see where Omari has gone to player of the year.

That's the coolest part. When I was out for two years, you are having dinner on your own and doing the media thing. It's fine. It's easy. It's one of those things, I love being back in the locker room. Being in the locker room before the game at halftime and seeing the attention to detail of these kids and listening to their discussions with each other on the game plan and what's going on, you kind of become this thriving being, and it's been fun to watch these guys because I think they believe they can beat Nevada, I think they believe they can beat San Diego State.

We'll need all of that to be able to do that. It's pretty cool.

Q. Tim, where did the poise that this team displayed down the stretch and in overtime develop? Was there a point during the season where you said, I can trust these guys in a tough situation, and it's just carried over?

TIM MILES: We had a couple of losses at Pacific and Hofstra at home where we had big leads and we lost them. I would say we came back and beat Santa Clara. We were down the whole night. We were rebounding the ball like crazy, and we came back and beat a really good team on the road.

Then, the next marker that I really remember is at CSU. Now we felt like, hey, we can do this, you know? Before I think we had hoped we could do it, and that's why we lost those two games to Hofstra and Pacific on the road.

After those -- after Santa Clara and CSU I think we were, like, you know what, we can do this. I think those were big moments.

Then cracking the code on the last-second shot and being able to beat Utah State and Boise I think gave these guys, you know what, we can play with anybody in this league.

Then tonight we showed that because Nevada just man-handled us twice, and it really -- I mean, I think we were okay at their place, but they just punished us in the paint.

To return that favor, so to speak, tonight was really good for this team.

Q. Just carrying on that last question and what you just explained through the season, there's definitely, like, a feel of -- you guys are hitting your peak right now in these last four wins. Does that kind of culminate into the defensive pressure, defense intensity? You can almost see that and rely that -- see that the last four games?

TIM MILES: I can probably find the numbers, but I'll bet you we played four of our best defensive games of the year, so it's a good time for that because we're not playing that great on offense.

As you look at this, I think the kids are bought in. They understand what they need to do, and I think they take more pride in the little things that don't show up: conversion defense, running back, getting your defense set, high hands on a screen and roll, defense.

I think they're taking more pride in all those little things, and they're seeing the payoff.

Q. There are a lot of guys on the team who feel when they came to San Jose State were either underproven or came with a chip on their shoulder. Do you see yourself in them at all?

TIM MILES: I'm pretty old for that (laughing). I've never been afraid of a challenge. Knowing what San Jose State, you know, the challenges that are there, I think I was a guy that said, you know, I can do this and we can establish the mindset in these kids and we can flip this thing, and we have.

Q. Then the same place where -- you were at the same place last year and you said bigger, stronger, better. What is it like to accomplish that now?

TIM MILES: We're not done yet. We have another big game, and when we're done-done. I'll tell you how it feels, because right now all I want to do is achieve more. If you are going to be greedy at anything in life, be greedy at winning.

Q. I'm curious, this program has had a whole lot of experience dealing with failure. This past week you win Coach of the Year in two polls. Omari wins Player of the Year in two polls. First time to 20 wins. You guys are setting all these new standards. Have you had to talk to them about dealing with success?

TIM MILES: No, not yet. I haven't, Jeff. You know, because they show up every day and work really hard in practice. You don't ever see any kind of let-up in them really. We were a little fatiguish or sluggish going into Air Force maybe, but -- and we had some therapy sessions in our timeouts that I think paid off for us.

My mom, God bless her. I know she's praying for me up there, but really they show up and they practice really hard. They pay attention to film. Practice really hard. They communicate the strategy and the game plan. I haven't seen any slippage where they think the yare too cool or anything like that. They're really grounded guys. (Video glitch.)

They were a low confidence team to start the year so, I think they're just gaining and gaining confidence. I think by the time it hits them, it will be too late. That's what I'm hoping.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach.

TIM MILES: Thanks.