NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - TEXAS A&M-CC VS ALABAMA

March 15, 2023

De'Lazarus Keys

Simeon Fryer

Legacy Arena

Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islanders

Media Conference

Q. A couple years ago UMBC had 16 seed blueprint of knocking off Virginia. To what extent have you guys talked about putting your name in history books in that context against Alabama tomorrow.

SIMEON FRYER: Well, it's March, I feel like at this point anybody can beat anybody. We did not really come here to lose, obviously. And we're actually coming here to shock the world, I would say.

De'LAZARUS KEYS: And we have a game plan, so we're going to stick with it. Whatever happens, happens. We're going to play to our fullest. It's our last game, win or lose.

Q. Obviously, Brandon Miller is one of the best players in the country. What have you seen of him on tape that's allowed him to be so successful?

SIMEON FRYER: Just the fact that he's 6'9" with guard skills, can shoot the ball, can basically score all three levels. He's a great player and he's fun to watch.

De'LAZARUS KEYS: Really fun to watch. Being able to play against him and probably end up guarding him, it's going to be really good. And he's a very talented player, and he's going to do what he has to do to get his team to win. So it's going to be very exciting.

Q. How much, kind of, loose are you all knowing the pressure is on Alabama? Does that take some pressure off of you? Make it easier to relax and go out there and play.

De'LAZARUS KEYS: Not really. They are number one in their seed. They are number one for a reason. They are really good. I have been watching them throughout the year on TV and YouTube and stuff like that. The pressure is really on us still because we have to compete. If we end up losing we can't lose by a lot. That's not our goal. We're here to win by one or two, whatever it takes.

Q. Obviously, a core disadvantage of a First Four game is being able to play while other teams rest up. Now that you have been through a First Four Game, do you think it benefitted you guys, like you have more rhythm and got a chance to play before Alabama?

SIMEON FRYER: I would say, yes. We can catch like a rhythm. I mean, it's March. So anything can happen in March, basically. Anybody can beat anybody. So I think it's good that we got our win, our feet on the floor kind of. So yeah.

Q. Over the course of the season, what do you think you have grown as a group, are you playing your best ball right now?

De'LAZARUS KEYS: Definitely. Ever since it was middle of the season when we lost two games back-to-back, Coach told us last year this is when we started the six-game losing streak. After that we picked it up. Next practice started practicing harder. Every game we play, our first mindset was to win, win, win, win, win it all, and go as far as we can go.

Q. Can you just talk about what everybody's had to do in terms of picking up the slack after Terrion went down in the championship game. Obviously losing such a key part of your team in the conference tournament. How has everybody stepped up and been able to kind of fill that role in their own way?

SIMEON FRYER: I feel like everybody stepped up good. And it kind of happened before Terrion. When Tyrese went down, Big C went down. We actually have, I believe, what is it like five players who are out right now with injuries. And we basically -- some people that are used to playing guard have to play big now. We're all trying to step it up, do whatever is possible for the team so we can win.

Q. Talk about the quick turnaround. You got in from Dayton about 1 o'clock in the morning. Did you guys get to sleep it in a little bit? Are you feeling it at all today?

De'LAZARUS KEYS: We got to sleep in a pretty good. Woke up, ate breakfast, lunch, got some stretching in, and of course watched film. Got a lot of rest in.

SIMEON FRYER: Got a lot of rest. Almost feels like AAU a little bit with the crazy quick schedule. It's fun for sure. A blessing being here.

Q. You have been through a lot in your careers. Now third year. You are the oldest guys on the team. What does it mean to you to be part of Texas A&M Corpus Christi history. You guys had never won the tournament game before. You won five games in your first year as a school. What does it mean to be a part of the history that you have made so far in the season?

De'LAZARUS KEYS: It's actually pretty crazy. When I first came here and I actually got injured the first half of the season, so I wasn't playing. I was at home. And COVID hit, and I wasn't allowed to travel. I was watching them on TV playing every game. We kept losing and stuff. And then Lutz came in and we had a talk and I believed in him. He said he's going to get some guys in who want to win. Got guys in, first time we played pick up, I seen it, I was like, "yeah, we have a chance." We won the conference and repeated, and now we're here again. It's a great feeling. It's truly a blessing.

SIMEON FRYER: I would say the same thing. It's a great feeling, the first year here we only won five games. And we basically get a whole new everything; coaching staff, players, only three players who returned which was myself, Laz, and Myles Smith. And after that, you couldn't kind of get worse than that. We had no real fear besides playing your heart out every game. Then when Lutz game, he changed the whole mindset to a winning mindset. After that, we won the conference tournament, made the March Madness, lost first round, and then we knew since we did it last year, we can do it again. It's possible. We had majority of the guys returned. So it's a good feeling to know that we're winners, actually, now. It's a good feeling.

Q. Playing about 50 minutes from Tuscaloosa, what do you think the atmosphere is going to be like here tomorrow playing in that?

SIMEON FRYER: It's going to be great, it's going to be amazing. I know they are going to bring as many fans as possible. We also have our fans. It's going to be a great atmosphere. I'm ready to play at this point.

De'LAZARUS KEYS: Excited to play.

Q. An audience member who's not going to be as familiar with you guys tomorrow turning on the game, how would you describe your team's brand of basketball and how you guys potentially match up against a team like Alabama?

SIMEON FRYER: I would say just being very aggressive on defense, trying to turn them over as much as possible. Crashing on the boards, just doing all the dirty work as possible, and just locking in.

De'LAZARUS KEYS: Alabama they are a lot more lankier than us, taller than us, they have more bigs than us right now. And we're focused on having to box out and battle them. They are a good offensive and defensive rebounding team. That's one thing we have to work on. And hopefully, we can do good.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you and good luck.