NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - PRINCETON VS ARIZONA

March 15, 2023

Mitch Henderson

Tosan Evbuomwan

Ryan Langborg

Caden Pierce

Matt Allocco

Golden 1 Center

Princeton Tigers

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by student-athletes from Princeton University.

Who would like to lead off?

Q. Matt, does the name Pete Carril come up often with his greatness there? What do you know about him?

MATT ALLOCCO: Absolutely. All the time. Obviously a legend in our program, not just the program, but basketball in general. We wear the bowtie patch on our jerseys now just to symbolize what he meant to the program, show our respects to him, all he's done for us.

Q. Caden and Ryan, before the season, early in the season, Coach Henderson talked about Tosan's passing, how Princeton won't see a passer like him in the next 50 years. Could you talk about that, describe what you see and how he is?

RYAN LANGBORG: I've had the pleasure of playing with him for a few years now. He makes my job easy, right? I get open shots on the wing. If it's not open, I can drive and pass it back and he makes another play.

It meshes with our team on offense and defense. He can guard so many different positions on defense, as well. It's been great playing with him.

CADEN PIERCE: Yeah, up until this year, obviously I'm a program, I only heard stories until this year, but obviously as soon as I got here, I knew right away he was an amazing passer, like Ryan said, it made our jobs really easy on the perimeter.

Q. Matt, what does it mean for Princeton, the men's and women's team, both in the tournament? How much do you follow them? How cool is it to have both of you make it?

MATT ALLOCCO: It means a ton. It means a ton. I think it's huge for our school. The women's team has obviously had it rolling for a little while now. They're an inspiration for us just to carry on the winning tradition.

We wish them the best of luck in Salt Lake. Yeah, I think we're big fans of them. We see their support at our games as well. We're really appreciative of their support. We wish them the best of luck.

Q. Tosan, when in your development in London did you begin to get serious about basketball?

TOSAN EVBUOMWAN: Yeah, I'd say like probably when I was about 16 was the first turning point. Up until that point it was mainly just enjoyment. I just loved the game and loved to play it. Probably about 16, 17 was when I really started to realize I could go somewhere with it, end up at a place like Princeton. That was probably the first turning point in my career I think in terms of seriousness.

Q. What did playing in the London Classic mean to you? How many people did you have come watch?

TOSAN EVBUOMWAN: Yeah, no, that was huge. We had a great turnout in terms of family and friends, other Princeton sports in general. It was amazing to be able to play in front of somewhat of a home crowd. Family and friends who hadn't had the opportunity to see me play live before were able to do so. It was really nice to share that moment with them and with my teammates, of course.

Q. For any of you guys, when you first popped in the film where the coaches showed you for Arizona, what was the thing that stood out to you more than anything from that assessment?

MATT ALLOCCO: Obviously they're really big. Their team speed is pretty elite. They play really fast. It's going to be an unbelievable challenge and we got to be pretty special to get it done.

We're here to compete, so... I think we're going to fight, we're going to compete, and it should be a great game.

Q. What attracted you to Princeton University?

TOSAN EVBUOMWAN: Yeah, I think I can probably speak for all of us in saying it's just a great university, it gives you the best in terms of playing basketball at the highest level. Obviously the academics are at the highest level, too.

Just the people are great. People that are both present in the program now and were in the past. The coaching staff, all of my teammates, obviously everyone is great people. The alumni connection, as well, the support that we receive from them is second to none really.

I think it's just a really great well-rounded place and we're very fortunate to be able to attend there.

Q. I know it's been a couple years now. I was wondering what the COVID year was like for you guys because you didn't play at all. What did you do? Matt, you came to Princeton that year, a couple other guys were playing before that. What was that experience like? How was it to watch other teams at the same time be playing?

MATT ALLOCCO: Yeah, I mean, obviously we missed out on a whole year. That hurt. Watching essentially every other team in the country play.

But I think it actually helped us in the long run. We were able to get together in the spring and practice, be with each other, build those relationships.

Yeah, it ended up being a great experience, although looking back on it obviously we'd like to play, have another year. It is what it is. I think in the long run it ended up helping us.

Q. What did you do? Did you do individual workouts? I don't know what the restrictions were at the time. Were you able to do anything as a team or were you regular students that year?

MATT ALLOCCO: I wouldn't quite call it 'regular students' for sure (smiling).

We did some individual stuff at the beginning, then I'd say as the restrictions loosened maybe a little bit, we were able to get together as a team and start building that chemistry with each other.

Q. On a different note, talking about Arizona being strong up front, you guys have been pretty good up front. Your numbers inside two-point percentage, defense, et cetera, pretty strong. How do you feel like you match up? What has been the key to how you've been able to do it inside?

TOSAN EVBUOMWAN: I think we're a really good layup-making program, have a strong presence inside, like you said. We've done that all year.

I think just the style of play, obviously our personnel, but kind of when we get in from day one of the season our coach makes it an emphasis. Obviously we can shoot the three and we make threes, but to have that inside presence as well. Like Matt said earlier, Arizona is big, and they have obviously the same thing. Obviously we're looking forward to that matchup and competing with those guys.

Q. Matt and Tosan, coming into the NCAA tournament, first appearance for a few years in your school, going back to the 1996 upset of UCLA, have you seen the tapes? How much have you? How much has it talked about? How much does that fuel your dreams?

MATT ALLOCCO: It's definitely an inspiration. Yeah, I believe that was Coach Carril's last year, I want to say. Winning that game, then obviously in March it's brought up a lot more. We've been able to see a couple clips. Obviously the iconic photo of Coach Henderson as a player celebrating.

We hope to repeat and do the same thing.

TOSAN EVBUOMWAN: Yeah, no, exactly the same thing. Massive inspiration, a really cool thing they did, something we're able to look back on. Like Matt said, hopefully repeat that a little bit we go into the tournament tomorrow.

RYAN LANGBORG: We've been hearing about it before we came here, being recruited by Princeton. It's always been a dream of ours to replicate that. I think the same thing for the program.

CADEN PIERCE: Yeah, I mean, when you walk around our facilities, you kind of see the iconic picture of Coach Henderson everywhere. It's always been a dream of ours to hopefully recreate that moment.

Q. For all of you guys, talking about that year, Coach Henderson being part of that, how much of that system is still run today? There's the reputation of the Princeton offense. Do you feel it's evolved differently? Looks like it is a little bit different. How would you describe what you do today, especially when you see clips from '96? What still carries over?

TOSAN EVBUOMWAN: Yeah, I think it's definitely evolved and it's definitely different. Obviously Coach Carril inspired and Princeton inspired. We play probably a little bit faster. We try to push the ball when we can.

Yeah, I think some of the same kind of themes still exist in terms of just playing, limiting play calls, guys having the freedom to play off one another. Obviously the selfless style of basketball that we play on offense.

Definitely some big themes remain, but it definitely has evolved.

THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, thank you. Good luck tomorrow.

I'd like to welcome Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson.

First of all, welcome. A couple of your players were talking about an iconic photo of you as a player at UCLA.

MITCH HENDERSON: That photo, a lot less gray and skinnier, off the ground a foot or so. They were talking about make their own memories. That's my charge. We're really happy to be here and hopeful to create some of our own memories here that are special for both our universities and for the guys.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Henderson.

Q. Pete Carril was a big name here, a big name in your life. What can you share about what he meant to you, his legacy?

MITCH HENDERSON: Came out here to visit a few times, looking up at the banners in the early 2000s, Vlade, Chris Webber, the early Sacramento teams, a great run. This current Sacramento Kings team is really fun to watch. But that was a great era.

We felt always that passing bigs sort of shared the ball was very much a staple of who Coach was. We saw that when we watched the Kings play.

We have a bowtie patch on our uniforms this season in memory of Coach. So much of what you see with us, the way we play, is what I've learned from Bill Carmody, Pete Carril, and modernized it. Coach said when I got the position here, Be yourself. He didn't say it in a suggestive way. It was more like, Don't be me (smiling).

You know what, I think what people saw out here with the Kings was a happier, maybe much calmer version of Coach Carril than what we experienced. The '96 season we had lost to Penn eight times in a row, then beat them in a playoff game to get to the NCAA tournament. This is a very similar situation, in a way. Just three days ago we were fighting to make the tournament.

It's just a joy to be here. 27 years ago yesterday was when we beat UCLA.

Q. I don't want to overdo it, but I'm wondering almost like a spiritual element of you guys being here, of all places. You make the tournament right after Coach Carril passes. You get sent to Sacramento where he went after Princeton. The UCLA upset, UCLA here in the building. Northwestern, where you started your coaching career, they're here in the building. So many pieces tie together. I wonder if you thought about this swirl of two degrees of separation from everything? How much Coach Carril ties into all of that?

MITCH HENDERSON: I think it speaks to Coach Carril's influence on the game. When we played, my senior year we were seventh in the country at Princeton. Princeton basketball has enjoyed a tremendous amount of success. Coach Carril was out here working for Geoff Petrie, who was one of his great players, great player in the NBA. You mentioned Northwestern, Bill Carmody. We have a large coaching tree, playing tree. You mentioned you were speaking to Steve Goodrich earlier, great player, played in professional ranks.

That win over UCLA, they were three Division I head coaches on that team that played, three Division I head coaches on the bench. Seven Division I head coaches total: Sydney Johnson, Brian Earl, myself, Joe Scott, John Thompson, Bill Carmody, Pete Carril.

Think about Coach. When we were preparing to play UCLA, this is a long time ago, but it's a tall order. Arizona, they're unbelievable. We just want to try to play really well together, see if we can hold our own against a really good team.

Q. What defines size in the Ivy League that you've experienced? How does it compare to what you face here with Arizona?

MITCH HENDERSON: So size, like as in Ballo and Tubelis, we haven't seen anything like that (smiling). Those guys are enormous and they're fast. Again, we can practice with guys that have, like, broomsticks attached to their hands. This is going to be new for us in some ways.

At the end of the day they still have to guard us and play us. I think in these games, in these moments, you have to remember, like, what got you here. Of course, we're a very respectful of our opponent. This is amazing to be here and be together. But you have to be yourself.

We're going to give it our best shot of being the best version of us, which is what got us here.

Q. The first thing that a lot of people think of what they say Princeton basketball is backward cuts, all that. How has this offense evolved to what you're running now?

MITCH HENDERSON: Tosan, who plays a little bit of, like, point center us for in some ways, top 10 in assists in school history, but he's only played for us in three years. He would be our leading assist person in that. In that sense, we've had a great run of centers, posts, sort of in the Bill Russell mold that contribute to winning, do the things that matter towards winning.

Tosan is in that mold, too, making other people around you better. The team is very committed to one another. That's very much of a Princeton basketball through-line, something similar.

We've had a great run of success against some high major programs in the last few years. That's been a real point of emphasis. I want to prepare our guys, have a program that has sustained success over time against all levels of opponents.

I think we're very physical. Not that we weren't back then. We would routinely get out-rebounded in some of these games. It's a physical group. Cade Pierce is averaging a double-double here as of late. See if we can keep it going against the Wildcats.

The other thing I think you'll see that's familiar is shooting. Coach Carmody, I credit him, but make shots. We just talking about making shots all the time. It doesn't necessarily need to be two feet away from the basket, it accountable 30 feet away from the basket, just as long as it's open. That's a good shot for us.

Q. You talked a little bit about the ties to Pete in Sacramento. Sacramento is very much a basketball town, right? The only major league sport in town. Do you know much about the basketball sort of enthusiasm here? Playing in an NBA arena like this, how much that adds to the atmosphere?

MITCH HENDERSON: Yeah, last time we were in the tournament, we were in Buffalo. That's a terrific sports town. I think Sacramento in the same vein. We feel very fortunate to be here. I think this is an amazing sports town.

I had the fortune of getting an NBA pre-draft workout with Jayson Williams and Larry Hughes. Came out here, 1998, a long time ago, but you could feel the energy and the support of the Kings back then towards the Kings.

Our guys are going to feel this here in a few short minutes, what people feel about basketball in this town. There's some great powerhouse programs here. You probably don't think of us in the same vein and UCLA and Arizona, but we do. Our charge is we recruit nationally. We aim to get the best student-athletes in the country and get them to come to Princeton. Feel like we've done that. You'll see that with our players. We have a great group.

Q. Along the lines of recruiting, if it has, how has it changed for you guys? Historically haven't had athletic scholarships. Now there's NIL. Does that play a role, transfer portal, does that affect you at all?

MITCH HENDERSON: It's a good question. And, no, our philosophy in recruiting, our blueprint, has been largely the same. I think that we've increased the profile of the player that we're getting.

Tosan, for instance, he's got NBA suitors. He had interest from all over the country. We aim to get the top 20 student-athletes in the country and recruit them very hard. We want to go up against the big boys in all the recruiting process.

I think that Princeton, what we are is the best undergraduate institution in the country. Very biased. We feel that we aim to find guys that have great character and are going to commit to all the different levels of being at the school.

One question, if you get a chance, Tosan and Ryan are writing a senior thesis right now, due in a month. Ryan is writing about the effect of NBA travel on sleep. This is what we sell. This is what we talk about. We're proud of it. There's a lot of good high school student-athletes out there that want that.

To me, sorry for the long-winded, but you see all the NBA athletes. They're looking for ways to diversify themselves. That's what the NIL is, to grow yourself in a further way. That's what we've been here for a really long time.

Q. Within the Ivy League, is there any competition? Say you and Harvard are going after the same player, do you have an NIL collective of any sort that can help you?

MITCH HENDERSON: No. Instead of the collective, we talk about the things that we think matter the most for a young kid's development. We want them to be the best versions of themselves.

NIL, of course, it's the hot topic. We're less engaged in that process than we were in what's really going to be reality for the kid, which is we want him to have a personal relationship with his professors, we want him to engage with his or her alums on campus. Our alums are the best. They love Princeton basketball, and we're going to have a lot of them here tomorrow.

Q. When you were playing for Princeton, did you have any wild idea that someday you'd coach them and be in tournaments?

MITCH HENDERSON: No way. I was just trying to stay out of Coach's glare, Coach Carril. No way. Never thought I'd be here. But I pinch myself every day walking into Jadwin. I feel very lucky, fortunate.

Q. You had a player who went to Colorado this year because he had to. Can't play fifth year. Has that caused any frustration among coaches in the league, any lobbying to change it? Is that the way it is?

MITCH HENDERSON: That's what distinguishes in a way. We're a four-year undergraduate institution. We to not have a professional graduate school.

I had another guy go to Michigan, one is at Duke, one is at Belmont. They all graduated last year off of an Ivy League championship team. Tosan and Ryan have eligibility if they'd like to continue to play.

We have three other seniors that have eligibility. Each one of these guys has an extra year. It doesn't change anything for us. We're very much about the four-year process. Hopefully three year and two years for some of these guys if they decide to go professional.

Princeton, we're about the growth of the student-athlete over the four-year process. I hope that's not saying we're a stick in the mud. It's very much who we are. We expect them after senior year to be able to kind of go out and make pretty serious contributions in their communities.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, thank you very much.

MITCH HENDERSON: Thank you very much, guys. Look forward to seeing you tomorrow.