NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - ORAL ROBERTS VS DUKE

March 15, 2023

Paul Mills

Max Abmas

Connor Vanover

Issac McBride

Amway Center

Oral Roberts Golden Eagles

Media Conference

Q. Max first, for a lot of mid majors walking in here having this kind of setup, playing Duke in the NCAA Tournament might be kind of overwhelming, but your experience and the team's experience, how much does that help going into this situation?

MAX ABMAS: I think it definitely helps. Being here a couple years ago, kind of understanding everything and what comes with it. And so the big thing for us is really staying in the moment, blocking the outside distractions, and getting ready for the game tomorrow.

Q. When we talked to you Sunday, you guys hadn't had a chance to study Duke a whole lot yet. Now that you have, what stands out about the Blue Devils for you?

MAX ABMAS: They're a great team. They're coming off of winning the ACC championship. They're playing good basketball right now.

The coaches, the second we knew our opponent, they got on the film and started watching film. And they've given us the scout and we're just going to go out there and execute that.

Q. Connor or Issac, understanding that you have to stay in the moment, as Max said, you're on a very good run right now. Do you let yourself think of how far can we take this? Saint Peter's took it quite far last year.

ISSAC MCBRIDE: Just staying in the moment for us is just what it means, staying in the moment. We're not looking on past accomplishments, we're not looking at what we did in conference. This is the moment right now. This is the opponent we have, so we take care of business. Like Max said, as soon as we figured out we were going to play Duke, we got to work, film, preparation, and practice and things like that. That comes with staying in the moment.

We're not really focused on what we did in the past, we're not focused on accomplishments right now, we're not complacent, we're looking for the now, and we want to keep advancing so we want to do everything it takes to be able to take those steps to advance.

Q. Connor, first year on this team but you have made a deep run in this tournament before. How are you relying on that experience for whenever you take the big stage tomorrow?

CONNOR VANOVER: Yeah, I've just got to take it one game at a time. From here on out, everything is really important, so just kind of staying locked in. Yeah, I'll just use this experience from the past few years that I've had and just kind of keep these guys focused. It's going to be crazy tomorrow, so we just need to make sure that we're all dialed in on the right things.

Q. Connor, for you, you're known for your 7'5" height, but tomorrow you're going to take on a Duke team with two seven-footers that play at the same time. How much of a challenge is that going to be?

CONNOR VANOVER: I think it's going to be a good challenge. Not very many teams in the country have at least one seven-footer, so to have two, it's a big thing. Having one of the tallest lineups, I think it'll be a good challenge for me down low. Just trying to use my length, deter shots, do what I usually do, but I think it's going to be a good opportunity for us.

Q. Issac, this team goes on a lot of 10-0 runs. It's kind of a metric that's picking up in the sport. Whenever you guys are on one of those 10-0 runs, what goes through your mind? Do you see red and just know to attack, attack, attack?

ISSAC MCBRIDE: Yeah, I think just seeing it in practice every day, seeing it pick up before the season even started. 10-0 runs, that starts in the gym, with the guys to the left of me working as hard as they do and the rest of my teammates in the gym. Being able to put the ball in the basket is a blessing to have as a team.

Also being able to do it on the defensive end, that starts those 10-0 runs. Whenever we go on those, I'm never really surprised because I know my teammates and I know how skilled and how amazing they are, and I know how great they are on the defensive end so we can start those runs.

10-0 runs you sometimes look up and go, wow, we put 10 points on the board that fast, that easily. But it comes with the work that these guys put in and the preparation they put in.

Q. Max, Duke prides itself on its defense, and one of the numbers they like to throw out is they've held 24 opponents below their season scoring average. In looking at film of their defense, what impresses you about their especially perimeter defense, not so much the big guys but their perimeter coverage.

MAX ABMAS: Yeah, they've got good perimeter defense, and like you said, the big guys, they're kind of patrolling the paint. But for us, I think that we're just going to go out there and take what the defense gives us. Just whatever they give us we're going to take, and we're just going to be out there playing basketball the right way.

Q. Duke has a national fan base. Did any of you guys grow up being a Duke fan?

MAX ABMAS: Not me personally.

CONNOR VANOVER: No. I know people who definitely grew up Duke fans, but not personally, no.

ISSAC MCBRIDE: Yeah, I'm here with ORU, so...

Q. Issac, you got a chance to look at Duke's tape since we talked to you Sunday. What stands out about them for you?

ISSAC MCBRIDE: Just an impressive team. Obviously Coach Scheyer, Coach K did a great job of keeping it in the family. I see a team that's disciplined. I see a team that has a long tradition, a lot of pride in their name. I'm here with ORU, as I said, and we have a great group of guys.

The guys to the left of me are All-Americans or outstanding players, outstanding people. I just feel like we have an opportunity to go out and represent for our university. Great Duke team. I'm here with ORU, though. I love ORU. I love my guys.

Q. Max, had a great ORU career. It's coming to an end. How do you approach this knowing that this could be one of the last few times you put on the ORU jersey?

MAX ABMAS: Like I was saying, just staying in the moment and really just enjoying every step of the way. I think that's a big thing that I've kind of been doing the whole year is just trying to stay in the moment and not look too far ahead. I get a lot of questions about the future and everything, but the big thing is right now and doing what I can to prepare myself for the future.

Q. Max, you guys have had such an amazing regular season, probably the best regular season in ORU history. How important is it to add some tournament success to that if you guys lose tomorrow? Does that take some of the accomplishment off of the regular season?

MAX ABMAS: I think we have accomplished a lot during the regular season, but now none of that really matters. Every team in this tournament good and they're here for a reason. We have to do the necessary things that we have to do so that tomorrow we put our best foot forward and do what we can to continue our season.

PAUL MILLS: Excited to be here, ready to go. I'm fortunate that we have a group that has experience playing in NCAA tournaments, winning in NCAA tournaments. I know how excited they are.

We're looking forward to obviously a really good opponent in Duke.

Q. We just met your players, many of us for the first time, and they're very confident, but not in a bragging way, about their ability and what they've done this year. How much does what happened two years ago translate to that confidence, because it seems like they know about staying locked in, staying in the moment, and not looking ahead. They seem very focused.

PAUL MILLS: Yeah, I don't know if you've ever met a basketball player who didn't think they would win. It's just really rare.

You know, obviously two years ago helps. I would tell you that if you look at the NET rankings, we played the sixth-toughest schedule in the country. Alabama was fifth. Of the four of the five true road games we played, four of those five teams are in the NCAA Tournament.

When you play the sixth-toughest schedule, you play it on true road games against teams in the NCAA Tournament. New Mexico, the one team that didn't get in, is in the NIT. I think our schedule has prepared us well. I think the experience has prepared us well.

You also have an older group who's been around the block a time or two, so they understand what this tournament is.

I remember two years ago, I kept telling them, our staff has 81 games of experience, and you guys have zero. So you have to listen to us. Now they have 24.

To have guys on your roster who have been through 24 NCAA Tournament games, it's a privilege.

Q. You mentioned this is the most determined group that you've coached. Where does that come from, and how much of that starts with Max?

PAUL MILLS: Yeah, I mean, Max is obviously the catalyst. How rare is it to have a guy who's a three-time AP All-American on your roster. So to have that ability -- I've got a group that gets in the gym at 6:00 a.m. every morning, and they follow Max's lead. I've got another group that comes in at 7:00 a.m. in the morning, again, unprompted. They just want to be better at whatever craft they have the ability to be better at.

A lot of people get up early to work on whatever gifts they have. For Max, he's a catalyst to a large part of this and does a phenomenal job just being a great example of the things you need to do in order to become a three-time AP All-American.

Q. You guys drawing Duke, it's kind of an excitement for this game as one of the first-round games that people are really interested in with your success in the regular season a couple of years ago. Do you like getting a tough draw like this to add to that excitement, or would you prefer not a blue blood that went to the Final Four last year?

PAUL MILLS: Yeah, it doesn't matter to us. As I told the guys, we're going to play somebody good. That's kind of what the NCAA Tournament is. You're going to play somebody good. Just having done this now for a number of years, I can remember in 2010 coaching at Baylor, we lost to Duke in the Elite 8 when they went on and won the National Championship.

You don't really look at the bracket, you just kind of pay attention to what's in front of you because you may think such-and-such school is going to win, such-and-such school is going to inn with. I've got a group that's in the moment, they're going to be locked in on the moment.

I only know Tennessee is on the other side because Rick Barnes called me and said, did you know we were on the other side of you, and I said, no. Had he not told me that Monday afternoon, I had no idea that they were -- I now know they're playing Louisiana.

We've got a group that's focused on Duke, and that's all we thought about, all we cared about. We'll see what happens next.

Q. When we talked to you Sunday, you hadn't had a chance to study the film of Duke yet. Now that you have, what stands out?

PAUL MILLS: Man, really good, obviously, being able to win an ACC Tournament championship. But they had a plethora of injuries, especially at the guard spot early. Five of their top seven are freshmen. I would tell you going into -- now you're approaching game 35, that they're no longer freshmen. These guys have really grown up.

Jon has done a remarkable job. They're a top-10 rebounding team in the country offensively. They do a great job. Sometimes with the big kids who offensive rebounds you can foul, they're 25th in the country at being able to convert from the free-throw line.

They don't have a weakness, start multiple seven-footers. They're the tallest team in the country, which translates obviously to them being really good at offensive rebounding.

The best thing they do is -- you can talk about offense, they're really good defensively, and they're a top-25 defensive team. They don't have a lot of holes.

We're anxious to jump it up and see what happens.

Q. You talk a lot about shot selection. Everybody wants to do that well. What has been the key for you guys in making that a hallmark of your success?

PAUL MILLS: Man, I could get pretty wonky on this because I could take you through the numbers and just -- on what's an efficient shot and what isn't. You're just really trying to ascertain efficiency. So the easiest way to explain it is 33 percent from three is the same as 50 percent from two. 2 for 6 from three, six points; 3 for 6 from two, six points. 33 percent, 50 percent, you're getting the same points. What are the shots that are leading to over one point per possession?

I was really bad about it two years ago, constantly throwing the numbers in the guys' face about this shot. We tracked 14 of them. Our players know the 14 shots. They get a report after every game. You're just trying to take shots that are highly efficient.

You're also trying to make the other team takes shots that are highly inefficient. So you know every single player on their roster, where they shoot from, what leads to under one point per possession and what leads to over. We need to take away this, we need to maybe allow this. We don't need to be as worried about this.

You're going to give up something. Every team is taking shots. What are you willing to give up, and do your players know? Because if they're over there -- if make or miss is the goal, you can play good defense and teams make a shot. That happens. You can play bad offense and a shot goes in, and we're not going to sit around thinking that that's good.

I just think that shot selection has to be conveyed in a way that it translates to being efficient. And for us, we kind of -- being a former calculus teacher, I kind of try to back it up with as much data as possible.

Q. What kind of progress have you seen from Max maybe this season and just throughout his entire career with this program?

PAUL MILLS: Yeah, again, two years ago, he was the leading scorer in the country, shot 57 percent off the bounce, effective field goal from three, and that was No. 1 in the country.

Now he's dialed back his scoring in order to facilitate. So if you look at the last game we played, he had 26 points, 11 assists. That ability to get others involved, to know that a guy who can score at his level cares about sharing the basketball, it kind of speaks volumes about how "I'll take away things that may bring more accolades in order to allow the team to win" and be willing to do it.

I just think that at that position you have to have a guy who cares about winning, and again, he may need to score, but then he also may need to facilitate.

But to have a guy like that who's so willing to put his ego aside -- and the kid could have gone anywhere in the country if he would have wanted to. But to put his ego aside and say, man, how do I have value here, and what role do you need me to add value in, he consistently does that.

Q. How big or small is the margin between a brand-name program and a mid-major champion, and where is that difference typically found?

PAUL MILLS: Great question. It obviously depends on the year. You see really good mid majors, Loyola Chicago, Wichita State, Butler, Gonzaga, so on, so forth. There's a lot of them.

I think again what makes Power Fives Power Fives are resources. Most of them have football.

I mean, we didn't -- there's a number of teams who are in the top 30 in NET who don't have true Quad 1 road wins. They have Quad 1 wins, but they don't have Quad 1 road wins.

I could name you four of them right now. Well, why do they get those opportunities and we don't? Well, the reality is we get penalized because we're poor. We do not have the same amount of money. They get rewarded because they're rich. So we understand it, we get it, but it is what it is.

Are there mid majors simply because somebody has a certain name across their chest that could win? Absolutely. There's nothing magical about somebody's name. What makes something magical is the people.

If you have a group of people who are committed to something and doing it, there's no magic school. You go to this school, you're not guaranteed anything.

For us, I just think you're just focused on what are the people in the room and what are we doing in order to add value and get better. And if it's anything other than that kind of focus, you're going to be myopic about this whole process.

Q. You just mentioned the name across the jersey. For some mid majors, playing a Duke in an atmosphere like this could add some points to Duke's scoreboard there just because of that intimidation factor. You don't seem worried about that for your team. Is it just the experience or is there other stuff about it?

PAUL MILLS: I mean, you could have told us we were playing whomever. I don't care. I just don't consider any school superior than anybody else.

Q. I just asked DeShang Weaver if he could put into a nutshell what's been the key to your success as a coach. What would he say, and he said one word, faith. And I said do you want to expound on that, and he said that's all you need to know. Maybe you can expound on that. What do you think he meant by that?

PAUL MILLS: I love Dr. King's quote that faith is the ability to take the next step of a staircase without knowing where it's headed. You just have to take the steps. And if you believe that what you're doing is a calling, you believe that you're equipped to do it -- again, having spent 14 years at Baylor, having spent a year at Rice, I just worked for fabulous people in Willis Wilson and Scott Drew. I worked alongside Jerome Tang who was Big 12 Coach of the Year. He and I were roommates for four years. I've worked alongside really, really good people, and I've seen the steps that it takes in order to do it.

You're just constantly encouraging your players. Again, our staff has coached 30 NBA guys, so I mean, we've been around the block a time or two. We understand what good players look like. We understand the habits that are involved in having really good players.

I guess from the faith aspect, it's just, man, we are going to take that next step not knowing where this staircase is headed, but we're not going to be intimidated about taking the next step.

I just have guys that you're constantly trying to level up. The term that gets thrown around quite a bit is trust the process. It's just, listen, how oriented are we. But if you're focusing on anything other than getting better today, it's just going to drain you mentally in my opinion.

Tomorrow has enough worries of its own. Let's just be focused on this particular moment.

Q. You mentioned earlier that it didn't matter -- direct quote: I don't care who we play. Is that difficult to convey to your players, particularly perhaps the younger players to get them to not look at the brand name that may necessarily be across the way?

PAUL MILLS: Unlike Duke, we don't play our younger players, so it doesn't -- for us, it doesn't -- those guys, they may be, right, my older guys aren't. We're one of the most experienced teams in the country. I mean, Connor played Duke last year when he was at Arkansas. Again, they don't care who we play.

Q. (No microphone).

PAUL MILLS: Absolutely. If you're nervous or this school -- I couldn't even tell you who has the most National Championships. It may be Duke. I don't know. It may be Kentucky. I don't know.

But I will tell you this: When they released the brackets, I told our guys after the first three went by, I said, we're playing Duke or Kentucky. If we were an 11, we were going to play Kentucky. If we were a 5, we were playing -- we're excited about playing.