NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST FOUR

March 14, 2023

Johnny Jones

Davon Barnes

Joirdan Karl Nicholas

John Walker

PJ Henry

UD Arena

Texas Southern Tigers

Media Conference

Q. What did that Arizona State game mean to this team as far as the confidence and the fact that you were able to win that game?

DAVON BARNES: I feel like it was a great win for us because to have managed a team like that, Arizona State, it was a good game, good win. We played as a team, and we fought hard.

JOHN WALKER III: I think it was big just based off how our status is at Texas Southern. We kind of pride ourselves going out there in the non-conference and actually competing. Getting games like this is just an early confidence boost for us and just sets the tone for the whole rest of the year.

JOIRDON KARL NICHOLAS: I feel like it was big because it was able to show the world that we can compete on that level and on that stage. And it was big for the HBCU community because we don't get a lot of those games at the crib like that. So us being able to have a Power Five come to the crib and win, that early in the year, I feel like that was pretty big for us and the community.

PJ HENRY: Yeah, Arizona State, that was a good win for us. They're a great team. They're big, physical, fast, and that gave us confidence for that win right there, and it was a great game. It was a confidence booster for sure.

Q. For all four of you, what does it mean to be representing Texas Southern on the national stage like this, on national television in the NCAA Tournament?

PJ HENRY: It means a lot to represent Texas Southern. I'm from Houston, so it means a lot, and I've been planning on coming to Texas Southern since I was in high school. It's very important for me to represent Texas Southern in the right way.

JOIRDON KARL NICHOLAS: Also from Houston, born and raised. It's a big deal to me because I take pride in playing for my city and my community, and just having TSU on my back is huge. I've been at other universities, and I never got the love and support that I got from other universities like I got from TSU. I take pride in playing for TSU.

JOHN WALKER III: Representing TSU on such a big stage means the world to me. Just coming from such a historic university like Texas Southern, to be able to stay on par with the legacy that they left in all aspects of the university, to carry it over to the athletic world and the basketball court, I think just speaks volumes to what's going on in Houston.

DAVON BARNES: I feel like playing for Texas Southern is just a great experience because of the magnitude and the type of team it is and the history behind the team. Then the things that they've done in the past, back-to-back championships and us winning a championship this year, it just feels like a great sense of pride in ourselves.

Q. Not every team could start out struggling record-wise like you guys were and then put it all together and end up here. What was it about this team that you guys were able to go through a rugged start but then turn it around?

DAVON BARNES: I feel like all the things we've been through this year, injuries, illness and setbacks, once we all got 100 percent locked in and playing together, we just like -- everything just started clicking for us in the games. Playing together, hardworking, and just coming in as one, and ultimately getting the W and just locking in as a team to win the championship.

JOHN WALKER III: I think just the fact our core group has been here so many other times. This is our third time coming, so I think we was able to lean on that more this year. With the injuries we had, I think we had a certain rhythm to ourselves. Like we knew what we wanted to do, our goals. No matter what happened, we knew at the end of the year we got the right guys and all our boys with us, we're going to do what we're supposed to do.

JOIRDON KARL NICHOLAS: I definitely feel like injuries played a role in that, but every team goes through that. And once we got past that, it was all about just meshing together and getting the confidence and the togetherness right. But we always had the talent. We was just battling through some stuff at the wrong time, but everything got back right and we was able to win at the right time.

PJ HENRY: Like all these guys said, we had injuries and other things that held us back, and we always had the confidence, though. In our eyes, we were the best team in the conference.

Q. What are some of the keys that you see in preparation for Fairleigh Dickinson going into the matchup tomorrow?

PJ HENRY: Yeah, we watched film on them, and we see that they press the whole game, so we feel like we'll be ready for that. That should be easy buckets for us. They do other things good, too, but we should be ready for them.

JOIRDON KARL NICHOLAS: I feel like if we play our basketball, things will work out in our favor. They keep the ball moving. Like PJ said, they press the whole game. But coming from the SWAC is definitely -- like it's something we have seen before, so we're just going to take it like we take every other game, one game at a time and handle our business.

JOHN WALKER III: I think games like this, for sure, I could be thankful for our non-conference schedule because I feel like the teams that we played, they were a lot more radical than we're used to. They kind of play a freer style of offense. SWAC is more greedy, bang, bang, bang. These are kind of like some West Coast, Golden State Warriors type. They never stop moving, they get the shots up, they play a good fast pace and they try to get the game up and down.

So I feel like it's kind of juxtaposed. As to playing in the SWAC, whereas more riding it out. So I think it'll be a good clash and just good basketball for fans to watch, honestly.

DAVON BARNES: Yes, the team, they move a lot. Like they said, press, they're very active on the offensive end and defensive end they get a lot of turnovers. So we've just got to keep watching film, get prepared for that, and just realize we've been there before like Karl said, so it's nothing new to us, and just execute our offense.

Q. J-Karl and Walker III, third trip here. Does this trip mean more than the other two?

JOIRDON KARL NICHOLAS: I'm definitely going to say this is the best one, and not because of like -- I could say, oh, I played the most this year. It has nothing to do with that. It's just last year me and Walk talked about leaving. We're very close. We both were entertaining going pro or going to another school. And we really sat down and really looked back at what we'd done already, and we wanted to make history.

We wanted to do something that ain't been done before in Texas Southern history and something that hasn't been done since the 80s in SWAC history. It was very big for us to come back. And now that we've done what we came back to do, it's nothing sweeter. A lot of people haven't done what we did, and just to be able to do it three years in a row, it's a blessing.

I definitely think this is the best one just because this is my last one, and I don't get no more after this. Yeah, this is definitely the best one for me.

JOHN WALKER III: Definitely if you look at it historically it is by far the sweetest one, just the feat that we did. It is definitely the most sweetest from the numbers-wise. But experience-wise, I'm honestly more interested to see what we do as we go forward, because like I said, we come to the First Four every year, we win, and we do our deal. But I'm more interested to see how far we can go this year. You ask me that question at the end of the year, I might have a different answer I feel like.

Q. For each of you guys, what would it mean to win, get out of the play-in and move on in the NCAA Tournament? What would that mean?

JOHN WALKER III: Yeah, like I said, that would mean the world to us and the university. We all know that feeling. Like I said, we've done it the past two years, so we all know that feeling. We can't wait to feel that again, honestly, and hopefully go even deeper.

PJ HENRY: Yeah, it would mean a lot to win this play-in game and hopefully play Purdue, possibly get an upset, see where we go from there.

JOIRDON KARL NICHOLAS: It's huge because I feel like we got the ball rolling in the right direction right now, so we're playing our best basketball. But we have been here before, so like I said, we're going to take it one game at a time. And then once we get on from this one, we're going to get ready for Purdue, and like PJ said, try to get an upset.

DAVON BARNES: Well, it would mean a lot to the city of Houston and the community of the third ward in Houston, Texas. And just the magnitude it would be to play Purdue, and hopefully like PJ and Karl said get an upset. Like Karl said, we're taking it one game at a time and just worrying about this game coming up.

Q. How do you guys feel, because when I was with you at the watch party, you seemed to have a lot of confidence, and from the dialogue today, seems like that confidence hasn't waned. Is that due to what Coach Jones has instilled into you guys as well as the staff?

DAVON BARNES: Yes, for sure, because Coach Jones, he motivates us a lot, pushes us, and he puts the ultimate amount of faith in all of us as players and gives us the confidence to go out there and play our game and play freely and just make shots, play defense, energize and just get going in ourselves as a team.

JOHN WALKER III: Yeah, absolutely I think that gives us confidence. Coach Jones does a terrific job of letting us know no matter -- even after a loss, like he, y'all are dude, y'all are some dudes.

And also just growing up, like I said, with these three being from Houston, they're big confident. I'm sure no matter what, they always think they're the best players on the floor. I know that for a fact.

JOIRDON KARL NICHOLAS: Yes, a big part goes to Coach Jones just because, first, he put this group together. We've all been together for two to three years or four years. But kind of like Walk said, I've been knowing Walk since junior high, I've been knowing PJ for the same amount of time, and I have all the -- and D, to speak for this -- I have all the confidence in the world in my teammates and my guys.

I know who I'm going to war with at the end of the day, and I'll battle up and suit up with these guys any day. So I have the most confidence in that and just the potential that we have when we're playing our best basketball.

PJ HENRY: Yeah, like Walk and Karl said, it starts with the players. We've all got confidence in each other. We've all been playing together for a long time, but it starts with Coach Jones, too. Coach Jones tells us every day in practice and after games that we're them dudes, so it starts with Coach and he gives us the confidence and lets us know who we are.

JOHN WALKER III: Sometimes I like it, but I don't when they kind of make a distinction between HBCUs or whatever. Because I feel like, as you see with Arizona State comes to the crib, we kind of level it out a little bit. I think we can fare way better than sometimes we showcase if we had a more bigger sample size.

Q. For each of you, what would it mean to get the win and watch your coach dance in the locker room again?

JOHN WALKER III: That's what I'm playing for, honestly. I've been thinking about that since the last game of last year. I can't wait that little jig he come up with in the locker room. I can't wait for it, I promise.

DAVON BARNES: Yeah, Coach Jones got some special dance moves. He really can dance. Not a lot of people know. But yeah, just seeing it after the game, I just know it's going to crack me up and get the team motivated for the next game, make us celebrate the win and just feel good.

PJ HENRY: Oh, man, it's a great moment to see Coach doing the dance moves, especially when he's got some cold water on him to make him do it with a little bit more attitude. But it's funny seeing Coach do his dance moves.

JOIRDON KARL NICHOLAS: I love it because nine times out of ten, I'm right there dancing with him. I love to see Coach happy, because when he's happy, that means everybody else is happy, and we did what we were supposed to do. Always looking forward to seeing him dance and celebrating and stuff because that means we're right there behind him doing the same thing.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, just an opening comment.

JOHNNY JONES: First off, I can say we're so excited to have an opportunity to be back here in Dayton and playing in the First Four. Certainly took the long route to get here, I think because of the schedule, type of schedule that we played early on. We played five teams that are in this field in terms of NCAA Tournament, two of them in Houston and Kansas are No. 1 seeds, and we're fortunate enough to have played an Arizona State team that we were able to beat there at home.

But that was when our team was fresh, and unfortunately went through a series of injuries and illness, and had some setbacks, but at the end of the day, I thought it benefitted our team, because a group of young guys who traditionally wouldn't have had an opportunity to play got a great deal of experience. And because of that, come conference tournament time, it was valuable for us because we needed those guys in some key moments, and they were able to come through for us.

That's one of the reasons we sit here today, because of the full complement of guys we had on our team executing at a high level at the end of the day to put us in this position.

Q. It's a fact of life with your schedule that every year you're going to play a lot of tough teams and almost all of them are going to be on the road early. How challenging, demanding -- what does a team have to have to go through that every year, and what does a coach have to have to go through it?

JOHNNY JONES: Well, one, experience. A lot of times we've dealt in terms of guys' transfers or grad transfer guys, junior college guys, and this year we had a mixture because we had several freshmen sit last year as redshirt guys.

But you have to have a balance, and I think it's important in terms of the approach when you play in those games that you play in them to get better, to challenge your team. Because the guys do want to play against the other Power Five teams and the top teams in the country to see how they measure up against them. I think it's a coach's duty to make sure the right approach is taken in terms of challenging them and getting better.

Over the past years we've been fortunate to have wins against several of the Power Five schools out there, some ranked teams as much as Florida last year, playing at their place after starting off 0-7. But our guys never got down. Their mission was to continue to get better each day, and the mission is to continue to improve. And if you can continue to get better -- and we've done it over the years, we've knocked off Baylor, Texas A&M, Oregon and those teams. But our mission is always to continue to play to get better so at the end of the year we can be sitting in a position like this.

It's certainly been beneficial to us and has helped us over the last three years.

Q. The series with the Pac-12 this year, you got some home games, the conference did, and you won them. What did that mean to the conference as a whole? What did it mean to you and your program?

JOHNNY JONES: Certainly have to thank, from our conference office, Dr. Charles McClelland, who had an opportunity because of his relationship with their conference to have them to get into that type of relationship and play a home and home schedule, something that we wouldn't have been able to do. It just wouldn't have happened, and it's something that's actually unheard of.

But to have those teams like an Arizona State to come to our place and to our gym like that, it created a certain atmosphere and excitement for our guys, and we were fortunate enough to come away with the victory.

We've always gone out there and played in their arena, but to have a team of that magnitude, a Power Five school, come and play in our venue, I think says a lot. But it certainly doesn't happen without the conference office and the vision of Dr. McClelland.

Q. Your players are motivated by a couple things. They want to win, but they also know if they win you'll dance in the locker room, that you dance better than people think. What do you think about that?

JOHNNY JONES: I'll tell you, when I'm in a dancing mood, it means some good things have happened, so it's always exciting to go in there, and I'm really thrilled. I've been very fortunate that they've been able to put me in certain situations to make me want to dance. I'm hopeful that they can continue hopefully throughout these next few weeks or so.

Q. On Saturday you told me you hadn't seen a lot of tape on Farleigh Dickinson, but from your preparation since then, what are some of the keys that you think the team has to rely on and do well in order to come out with the win?

JOHNNY JONES: Certainly you're going to have to defend. They certainly have a little bit different style than we've been playing against in terms of offensively what they run. And you've got to be committed to defending that end of the floor for the duration of the shot clock, and you have to make some quick decisions in terms of how you're going to defend.

On the offensive end. You've got to take care of the basketball, and that's something that we're familiar with. They will extend their defense after made baskets. They'll trap, full court pressure. They try to turn you over to create some easy scoring opportunities. And we have to do a great job of taking care of the basketball, one, so they don't turn us over and get easy scoring opportunities, and at the same time, they're a good shooting team in terms of three-point shooting and getting to the basket and spreading you out, and they will try and offensive rebound the basketball, as well.

We're going to have to make sure several things. One, hopefully they're one and done in terms of their shots and blocking them out, defending the paint, making sure we're not giving up easy scoring opportunities. And we certainly have to protect the basketball because live ball turnovers against these guys will lead to some easy scoring opportunities for them.

Q. Do you feel like your experience in this game, more importantly the venue, will be pivotal tomorrow night?

JOHNNY JONES: We'll have eight guys on this team that have had an opportunity to be in this position a year ago, and three of the guys have had an opportunity to win conference championships and play in the NCAA Tournament. That's valuable experience, I think, for us. Being here last year I think has meant a great deal because it's not something new to these guys. It's something that they've had a shared experience with, but at the same time, it's always a big moment, an exciting time. The good thing is we don't think the moment will be too big for us.

Q. What do you think is the best trait of this basketball team?

JOHNNY JONES: I just think the cohesiveness. I thought that they had an opportunity -- because of how things was going through the year, regardless of the injuries and illnesses or whatever, they had a chance to splinter. But when you don't do that and you don't go your separate ways and you wind up sticking together, I think it speaks volumes of the vision and the closeness of these guys.

And they know what it takes to win. I think that's an extremely strong trait for these guys to be as close knit as they are and a family unit.

Q. Along that line, what do you say to a 4-14 team to make sure that some of that stuff doesn't happen and they stay confident and they stay on their mission?

JOHNNY JONES: I think it's not just one thing. I think it's pretty much what our program is about in staying focused. You know that when you get into conference play, you know when you're a one-bid league, at the end of the day if you can get yourself in a situation where -- even just this year we were the last team to qualify out of a 12-team league. We had eight teams there, and we were number eight. But we knew if we could get in, we play a certain way and the right way for three days, that something special could happen to us.

Our guys never lost sight of that because we were picked preseason No. 1, and some things happened along the way that were out of our control. But the things that we could control is we controlled the controllables, how we're going to approach each practice, how we'll approach each game and how we'll respond to each one of those, and I thought our guys did that in a positive way.

Q. What does it mean to represent Texas Southern on this stage? And what would it mean -- because your players did talk about hoping to get a shot at Purdue. What would it mean to see your club get a shot at Purdue, as well?

JOHNNY JONES: Well, it's always great having an opportunity to represent Texas Southern university and our students and our fan base and administration there and the great city of Houston. We certainly have a lot of guys on our team and in our program that grew up there, and so we always want to make sure we're putting our best foot forward.

We have a big task in front of us tomorrow night. Fairleigh Dickinson is a very fine basketball team. They've earned their right to be here, and we've got to make sure that we take the proper approach, and that's our mission. But I think Fairleigh Dickinson, just like us, our mission is to try to get to our next opponent, and that's Purdue. I've been very fortunate to become not necessarily a fan but really enjoyed watching them play this year because of their style of play and watching the big fella. He's been a joy to watch.

Some of the strong centers that I've seen in the past that have gone on to do extremely well in the NBA, have just been really a fan of his just from watching him play in sense.

It would be a privilege obviously to get to that point, to have an opportunity to play against those guys, and just like Fairleigh Dickinson, we're hopeful that we have an opportunity to do that on Friday.

Q. What would another win for you guys, especially in the First Four, do for HBCU basketball?

JOHNNY JONES: Well, anytime that you can get at this level and on this type of a platform and having an opportunity to compete at the highest level in this venue in a tournament like this, it's the greatest show, I think, on earth. When you start talking about March Madness, and obviously to survive and advance is always the key, and to have an opportunity to do that, I think would speak volumes really about our league. We have a tremendous league.

The SWAC is outstanding. You had two teams that was there tied for first in terms of Grambling and Alcorn who had exceptional years, and the year before you just had teams that are playing so well. We're so happy to be on this stage to represent and to be out there fighting for our conference and everything else.

A win, I think, again, would be huge for us.

Q. How do you balance that opportunity to win a game in a place like this versus getting right into the 64, at least some years maybe? How do you view that?

JOHNNY JONES: Well, we just look at it as an opportunity for a next game or a next opportunity. We look at the history and know that teams, for instance, VCU several years ago, had to go along the same path and wind up making it to the Final Four.

Our vision is just like everyone else. You survive and advance and get to the next step, and that's our goal. We have to obviously take care of our business tomorrow. We are in the NCAA Tournament. Nobody can put us out. Nobody had to vote us in. We had to play our way in. We didn't have to sit there and wait on the committee. We had to do it the old-fashioned way.

To get to the next level, we have to do it the old-fashioned way, and that's winning. None of that has changed, and so our mission remains the same.

Q. What's the biggest challenge in facing FDU tomorrow night and your concern in preparation?

JOHNNY JONES: Well, it's not necessarily being overly concerned. It's just you want to be at your best in this situation, and you have to be at your best at this level and at this time for 40 minutes or however long it takes. You can't take plays off. We certainly have a motto, every second, every play, and that's where you have to be at to win.

And these guys that we're playing against because of how they do their things offensively, how patient they are and how quick and the ability to score, and then being able to take care of the basketball, you have to be at your best in sharing it and moving it and getting it to the right spots and being poised under their pressure and not panic. If we can do those things, I think we'll have a chance to have a great day tomorrow.