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

March 15, 2023

Tommy Lloyd

Azuolas Tubelis

Courtney Ramey

Cedric Henderson

Golden 1 Center

Arizona Wildcats

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: We have a student-athlete contingent from the University of Arizona.

Who would like to do the first question?

Q. You had a great season obviously. Was there any one key that you felt was the big thing to get you here to Sacramento?

CEDRIC HENDERSON JR.: I think the biggest thing was our effort. We picked it up really big-time in the last couple games. We started trying way more on defense, ball pressure, then rebounding. That was probably our biggest keys for us, was just really getting a chip on our shoulder, like Tommy likes to say, putting a chip on our shoulder, playing as hard as possible.

Q. Can you talk about the first impressions from watching Princeton, what you expect from those guys.

CEDRIC HENDERSON JR.: Can you repeat that, I'm sorry?

Q. (No microphone.)

CEDRIC HENDERSON JR.: The biggest thing is that it's a cutting team. They're really solid. They know exactly how they like to play. They have really good shooters, a good player, and they all revolve around him.

The biggest thing is being solid, disciplined, not letting us get back cut and giving up easy buckets, things like that.

Q. Azuolas, you went through this last year. Is the confidence level higher for you this year because of what you went through last year, getting to the Sweet 16?

AZUOLAS TUBELIS: Yeah, of course, last year I got a lot of experience. I kind of figured out what it means for the program, what is March Madness and how it works. So now I'm more focused and locked in, and I know what it means, so...

Q. Do you guys feel slighted at all that you beat UCLA in the Pac-12 championship game, then you're both 2 seeds and they get the West region?

CEDRIC HENDERSON JR.: No. I mean, we get no say-so in that. We beat 'em, but we also had losses that we shouldn't have had. So, I mean, you could argue both sides of the point.

End of the day we're both playing basketball, and we're both going to see each other if we see each other so...

I've got one for Courtney. The shot to get us the ticket to get here, to put us in this spot, how do you feel being on this stage again? Are you ready?

COURTNEY RAMEY: I was just fortunate to be in that position. It was a big-time shot. But I think we all moved past it and understand we have to focus on Princeton.

For me, I don't think about the shot anymore, dwell at the past. At Texas that was something we kind of lacked. When we won the Big 12 championship, we were kind of stuck in the past, let a game slide in the first round.

I think it's best for the team that we move past the shot and focus on our next point.

Q. What do you guys know, what have you learned so far about Princeton? What makes a team like that difficult to face? What do they do well?

CEDRIC HENDERSON JR.: I mean, the best thing they do is they play together. They're a solid team. They pass the ball well. They're not really going to be sped up. They're going to take their time. They're going to get what they want.

They play through a guy that knows exactly how to play basketball, and he plays with shooters all around him. We have to be prepared for cuts. They run a well-run offense, so we have to be solid.

Q. How about No. 20, Tosan? What do you make of him, or have you broken it down enough to know about him?

CEDRIC HENDERSON JR.: He's a good player. The biggest thing is he's big, he's strong, he knows how to post up, he can shoot a little bit. A lot of what we've been working on is similar to, like, prepare you, like, a little bit like Jaquez or Drew Peterson. He's going to back you down, take his time, pass it out, too. You have to be prepared at all sides, and to stay down.

THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, thank you for participating. Good luck in the tournament.

We have with us Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd.

Coach, you've put together quite a program so far.

TOMMY LLOYD: Thank you.

Q. At what point in the season did you feel your team was really starting to gel?

TOMMY LLOYD: Well, I had high expectations for this group. We lost some really good players. I think we had three guys drafted in the top 33 who were all very deserving. So I think from the outside looking in, I think everybody accepted maybe for us to take a step back.

I didn't think we would. I thought we had the pieces in place to play consistently at a high level. I felt like we had a group that was built to win basketball games. Maybe if you try to prognosticate it out, like the experts do, maybe it was a little hard to see the forest through the trees. But I thought if we just really kind of drilled it down, took it day by day, I thought we had a good group.

I felt like we gelled really early, to get back to your question. I felt like we were built to have a great season. Fortunately the guys have followed through on that. Now it's time to put the icing on the cake, so to speak.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I want to ask you about your relationship with Sabonis. You recruited him when you were at Gonzaga. What is your relationship now and what he's done with this organization here?

TOMMY LLOYD: The relationship is family. We're incredibly close with him and his family. Domas is like a little brother. We had great relationships with his parents and his siblings. Any time we get together, it's a lot of fun.

Recently me and a couple of guys on our staff that played with Domas or were there when he was with us, we went to Salt Lake City to go to the All-Star break with him and his family and had a great night. Really cool.

Just so proud of him to see how far he's come. When they made the move to get out of Indiana, you looked at it and you were like -- I think selfishly me and my family wanted him in Phoenix. Listen, I'm not in on those conversations, but that was potentially an option.

When it came to going to Sacramento, I think everyone took a step back. You just trusted Domas would make the best of it. Obviously it's been an incredible fit. I know Coach Brown a little bit, as well. The way he's utilized Domas, the way he's played, I think it's special. It's so much fun to turn on the TV and watch him play the way he does every day because he brings it.

I think he's a great fit for this community. I think he's lucky to have Sacramento and I think Sacramento's lucky to have him.

Q. Coach Henderson from Princeton said one of the successes that the team loves playing together. You have the same team. Can you talk about how much enjoyment they get playing together.

TOMMY LLOYD: Yeah, I mean, for me it's simple. I think basketball's best when it's a shared experience. I think it's best when teammates are enjoying each other's successes, and they're not fighting each other for individual success. That's something that I think organically happens in our culture.

Our guys love playing for each other. I think they love playing for big moments as a group. I mean, it's fun. It's what makes the job enjoyable. You can see that obviously Coach Henderson and Princeton, it's synonymous with team basketball. Literally if somebody asked me the other day, is Princeton running the Princeton offense? I'm like, Yeah, they run the Princeton offense every year no matter what they're running because it's the Princeton offense.

You can see them play. I even know Coach Carril, had a special relationship with the Sacramento organization. It's kind of cool to see how everything kind of comes full circle for both programs to be here in Sacramento.

Q. The Princeton offense, how unique of a challenge is it?

TOMMY LLOYD: I would say this. When you say the term 'the Princeton offense', I'm sure they have layers of it in what they do, but it's not what they're doing. They're running a offense that everybody is running today, five out, two man, three man actions. The Princeton offense is synonymous with back cutting, movement, things like that. They back cut here and there. It's not the Princeton offense I grew up with.

All systems evolve. Their system has evolved. The one thing is it's rooted in fundamentals, unselfishness and being able to pass. All those elements that are required to run the traditional Princeton system, you can see them in what they're doing today.

Q. Tosan, No. 20 for them, how unique of a player is he? What have you seen from him on film?

TOMMY LLOYD: He's a really unique player. With his size, ability to handle the basketball, facilitate. Obviously he's a willing passer, leads their team in assists. Makes it for a tough matchup.

We've played a few guys, maybe not exactly like him, but similar with size and how comfortable they are with the ball. Drew Peterson from SC, Jaime Jaquez from UCLA. Those guys are hard to play against. They really put a lot of stress on your defense and force you to make decisions.

It's been fun to watch him play on film. He's definitely got our full attention. You know we're going to come out and hopefully do the best job we can neutralizing his impact on the game.

Q. Pete Carril, you're West, he was East. In coaching circles, did you meet him? Did you run into him?

TOMMY LLOYD: I never did. I was never able to meet him. I think the closest I came to the Princeton program, Coach Skye Ettin, their assistant coach, has some West Coast ties. My son was playing in an AAU tournament back East. We took an unofficial visit to Princeton. Liam plays at Northern Arizona now. I don't know if Princeton was an option for him or not.

It was cool to walk around the campus, see the facilities. I got one trip back there. Princeton has an amazing basketball tradition. It's an honor to be playing them in the tournament.

Q. I asked Azuolas earlier about his confidence level this time around with March Madness. He said it was high. How do you see Azuolas coming into the tournament this year versus a little bit of a struggle for him last year?

TOMMY LLOYD: Well, obviously he didn't play great in the tournament last year. I think that happens sometimes. I mean, I think players can ebb and flow. Unfortunately his ebb kind of came at an unfortunate time for him and our team.

I think he's flowing now. I don't have it in front of me, I need my SIDs to confirm, I think he was the Pac-12 tournament MVP, right? If you win the Pac-12 tournament, play three tough games, three consecutive days, you're the MVP, I think you're playing pretty good.

I like where he's at. He's had an amazing season. I think he's got a focus to keep that going and make the most of this moment.

Q. When you're able to take a step back and look at what Kylan has been able to do reclassifying, how quickly he was able to ramp up and be a contributor on the court for you.

TOMMY LLOYD: Well, Kylan has had a tremendous freshman year that I think is building the foundation for what is going to be a special career.

The plan was for him not to come to Arizona. He was going to be in high school, do all those things kids like him do, be a McDonald's All-American, play in the Hoop Summit game, GEICO tournament. Unfortunately he broke his foot over the summer, and his family inquired about maybe coming earlier so he could come here and rehab, just get maybe the medical treatment that they were hoping for.

He did that. When he did that, I told him, That's great. I don't know how much you're going to play. I wanted to be honest with him. I wanted to kind of tamper down expectations. I knew it was going to be more of a struggle than he realized.

Early in the year he struggled a little bit. I told him, I'm not really going to coach you early in the year. Try to be healthy by December 1st, okay? He got healthy around December 1st. We'll see how it goes.

Then January 1st I'm going to start coaching you. February 1st, I'm going to quit saying, He's doing great for a 17-year-old. I'm going to start coaching you like the All-Conference player you need to be.

I've been on him pretty hard. It's a lot to take, maybe an adjustment for a 17-year-old kid. He's handled it with class. I think he's getting better week by week, game by game right now.

Q. What are your expectations from Ballo? Anything change with him expectations?

TOMMY LLOYD: I'm expecting him to come out and impact the game like he always does, play with great energy and effort. Statistically I don't put much of a burden on his shoulders because I think if he's playing well, impacting the game, the stats just come.

We're looking for Oumar to have his usual impact that he's been having on all these games.

Q. Two years, successful, a lot of wins. How have you settled in, if that's the right term, coming into the second year of this? I'm sure it's hard to talk about your success, but if you could, how well you've done to this point.

TOMMY LLOYD: Well, I think the success is a by-product obviously of having good players, but I think of really taking a day-to-day approach. I know that's old and boring, but that's what I do.

I think this time around in the tournament, I feel much more comfortable. Not that I haven't participated with Gonzaga as an assistant coach at a lot of NCAA tournaments, familiarity, but this time as a head coach, I feel a lot more comfortable. I think our team's comfortable. I think we're obviously excited to be here, but I know we're not satisfied.

I think that's a good formula. I mean, I like our mindset. But listen, there's no guarantee that mindset is going to roll into victories. You got to go out, play the game. I keep telling our guys, You can call it the NCAA tournament, March Madness, but at the end of the day it's basketball. This is all about basketball. We need to stay locked in and play good basketball. That's been my message to them.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach.

TOMMY LLOYD: Thanks, guys.