NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - KENNESAW STATE VS XAVIER

March 16, 2023

Sean Miller

Souley Boum

Jack Nunge

Adam Kunkel

Colby Jones

Greensboro Coliseum

Xavier Musketeers

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: We'll start with the student-athletes from Xavier.

Q. I was just curious, what was the first thing that Coach said to you guys when, you know, he was trying to build this program back into becoming a winner and now you guys are the 3 seed. What do you guys remember about what he told you guys that he wanted this program built on?

SOULEY BOUM: He said he wanted this program to be built on toughness, togetherness, people that's going to go out there and play hard and play together.

Even though I wasn't on this team last year, there are a lot of narratives on this team that it was this and this and that, but we just wanted to come out this year and be a hard-playing team, being a scrappy team, play together and just play the right way.

I feel like we did that this year. That's a big part of the reason why we're sitting here today.

JACK NUNGE: Outside from the first day that Coach came onto campus and started practicing with us, you know, it was really evident about his passion for the sport. You know, he really did a great job of getting us to live it all out there, play together, play as a team and try to get as many wins as possible.

ADAM KUNKEL: The one thing I really liked about how he talked everyone is talking about how it's going to be a rebuilding year, and he kind of made it known that this isn't going to be a rebuilding year. That we're going to hit the ground running, and that's what we've done.

COLBY JONES: Just piggybacking off what they said, sort of what A.K. said, it was not going to be a rebuilding year. We knew the guys we had coming back, and we knew with Coach Miller coming in, we had a good chance of having a great season, and that's what we did.

Q. Souley, on Sunday night after the bracket was revealed, you talked about how Xavier is going to be an extremely, extremely hard-playing team when that ball gets tossed up into the air on Friday.

SOULEY BOUM: Yeah.

Q. Why do you think that's the case? Where is this team at in terms of bringing that on Friday?

SOULEY BOUM: I feel like this is it right here. We know our season could end, though, tomorrow, so this is the biggest and probably best tournament we're going to play in for the rest of our lives. This is it, man. This is our last -- a lot of us our last go-arounds.

Every time I know after we come off a loss, we always bounce back. We always come out and play a little bit more harder, a little more desperate. I know we're just going to be -- like I say, I know we're going to be ready and play so, so, so hard.

Q. Adam, how is the rock treating you right now?

ADAM KUNKEL: Man, it's good. It's good. It's a little heavy on a road trip bringing it all the way here. It's a little heavy, but it's good. It's good.

Q. Jack, what's this experience been like being a part of this, just participating in this and getting to close your career perhaps this way?

JACK NUNGE: Yeah. I feel like it's just a blessing to be a part of this tournament. You know, the whole week leading up to it, you know, it's just a whole lot of excitement.

We just have to do a great job of appreciating it and then, you know, making the most of this opportunity. You know, I feel like none of us want this season to end, so we're just going to go out and leave it all out there.

Q. For anybody. I just wonder what do you know about Kennesaw State. Did you have to watch a lot of film to get caught up? They run an interesting offense.

COLBY JONES: I actually know a couple of the players on their team. I played with them in my AAU career, so I'm pretty well known with a couple of those.

They're a great defensive team. They pride themselves on defense. They're number one in steals in their conference. They just have a lot of tough-playing guys.

That group, they've been a part of a rebuild process at that program, and they've built to what they have now, so it's going to be a tough task for us, but I think we're ready for it.

ADAM KUNKEL: Yeah, kind of like Colb talked about. They pride themselves on defense. Number one in steals, and they pride themselves on just be a hard-playing team.

So we're going to have to match that and top that and be the harder-playing team in this.

JACK NUNGE: Yeah, they're a team. They're very well-balanced. Across their starting line-up, they're on the same scoring average, and even on the bench they guys that can come in and shoot.

They just play really hard. We're definitely going to have to match their energy from the tip because they're a great team.

SOULEY BOUM: It's a group that's been together for a while. They don't really have a lot of transfers. They've grown together, gone through the growing pains together. They're very, very scrappy defensively. I know we all said that, but that's what they pride themselves on.

They flock to the ball a lot. They fly around. They're aggressive. They like to get up in you and stuff. Yeah, that's what sticks out really in my eyes to them.

Q. If you don't mind, each of you guys might want to answer this question, what is the one thing or maybe two things you've learned from your head coach this season?

SOULEY BOUM: That's a good question. I don't know if there's really one thing that sticks out. Coach Miller, he really taught me and our team a lot of things. It's not really one thing I can really just stick out and say, but he has definitely taught me personally a lot of things being a point guard, playing this for the first year. I know he has taught a lot of us some new things as well.

JACK NUNGE: Yeah, I would say, you know, the way that he feels about basketball and how much he loves the sport and loves coaching us, I think that that's really brought me to appreciate it more. Just really try to have fun with it, but also just play as hard as I can every possession when I'm out there.

ADAM KUNKEL: I would say the same thing. His passion and love for the game. He pretty much talks about how you treat the game the right way, you play the game the right way, it will come back to you.

Yeah, I would definitely say just his passion and love for the game.

COLBY JONES: I would say just being the person that sets the tone, not really cruising through the game, just a team has got to have that tone setter. And that's something me and him have talked about a lot throughout the course of the season, so that's one thing I've taken from him.

Q. Colby, what was Coach's message to you guys and the team in advance of this? Like, what does he want you thinking about going into tomorrow's game?

COLBY JONES: Really just leave it all out there. I mean, all of us know if we lose, we go home. We don't want our season to go out like that, so we're really just focused on one team at a time. We know what's at stake if we win these next two games, but we're just focusing on one game at a time.

SEAN MILLER: Well, we're all very thrilled to be here back in the NCAA tournament. Myself and our staff, certainly our team, and I think Xavier as a university.

Sometimes when you are away from the NCAA tournament, you missed it and learn how special it is to be here. Being a 3 seed and returning back I think is something that means a lot to all of our players. We have quite a few players that are here that have huge roles on our team that have never participated in the NCAA tournament, and I think that makes it even more exciting for them.

So we're thrilled to be here. I'll stop right there.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Just curious, going back, why did you come back to Xavier, and what was your mission when you got back here? Do you feel like you are on the right road?

SEAN MILLER: I have a ton of respect for Xavier as a university, Cincinnati, Ohio, as a place to live, the community. I was at Xavier for eight years, and they were some of the best years not only of my lifetime, but really my family. Three sons that grew up in Cincinnati. Had an amazing experience the first time.

You know, given the opportunity to return, especially to be a part of the Big East Conference, which the first time we were a part of the Atlantic 10, I think made a place that was already really special even more special.

So grateful to be back.

Q. Sean, tell me a little bit about what -- maybe a lot, what your father taught you about coaching and how many of those concepts you took into your coaching career?

SEAN MILLER: I think the first thing, my dad instilled a love for the game of basketball in our house. I mean, we grew up -- I don't know if there were too many conversations growing up really as a family where basketball wasn't a topic of conversation.

He is one of the most passionate people that I have ever met about this game. He loves it himself, and it's contagious.

I think the first thing is it was never a job. It was a game that you fell in love with, whether you played it or coached it. I think that's something that, you know, I have with me from now until the end.

Q. Coach, three games in three days. Do you feel like the break in preparation for this has served your team well? And what's their readiness level for tomorrow?

SEAN MILLER: I do. I think not playing today and playing tomorrow was a good thing for our team. You know, the Big East season, you have to remember, is the first time where all of us play ten home games and ten road games. It's quite a task.

It's an amazing conference. The competitive spirit in every arena I think is on par with any conference in America. Players, coaches, teams. That in and of itself is quite a task. I think you then add three games in three days in Madison Square Garden where in the championship we ran into a great team in Marquette, and we also, ourselves, were out of gas. I think the combination of both of those things didn't let us end very well in New York.

I think the extra day, having a couple of days to be off and then to prepare, you know, my hope is that it does serve us well, but we're going to have to be ready at 12:30 tomorrow, or else the tournament ends. You have to be ready, and I think that's something we have really stressed this week, the importance of us being at our best because we're playing against a very hungry, connected, together, good Kennesaw State team.

Q. What can you tell us about Kennesaw State and the way that they play? What makes them a tough matchup?

SEAN MILLER: Yeah, I think they're very well-coached. You know, I know Amir just through the profession itself. He has done a great job building a program at Kennesaw.

A lot like our team, they have several players that have grown up within the program, the ranks. Their starting point where they began and where they are now is a real testament to how good of a job that coaching staff and Amir have done building it.

They remind me of a number of teams in our conference -- St. John's, Seton Hall, Providence, Marquette -- in that they really pressure with their defense, and they can force and create turnovers, steals, blocks, deflections.

I think when their pressure is up and their defense is thriving, that really helps their offense, and they're able to get easy baskets.

We have faced that quite a bit this year. I think being able to play good offense and not turn the ball over and take care of it is really going to be essential to us having an opportunity to advance.

Defensively they run a lot of good sets. They have a low post score, and they have a number of different players -- not just one or two, but a number of different players that are capable from the three-point line.

I think it's that combination of playing good defense, but our defense will really start with not allowing their defense to turn us over and get steals, something they're really good at.

Q. Some of the players, when we talked to them, said -- you know, asked about the message that you gave them when you first got here, and it was we're not rebuilding. We're going to hit the ground running. I just wonder if you can talk about that philosophy and where you are at right now in terms of building this program.

SEAN MILLER: Number one, I inherited a really good group. You know, obviously Desmond Claude was not here, and Des is a freshman that's really impacted our success. Then, obviously, our starting point guard Souley Boum is a First Team All-Big East player, and we brought him in with our staff.

A lot of the players that are here today with us were here for last year and beyond. So I thought we had a sense that if we had a great offseason and we were able to continue to improve, get to know each other, implement a brand-new way of doing things and system, I think we had the firepower and talent to get into this tournament.

To get into this tournament as a 3 seed, you know, to be 15-5 in the Big East Conference, you know, arguably playing one of the most difficult nonconference schedules that maybe we've ever played as a program.

I can remember in November playing in the PK85 tournament. We played Florida. The next day we played Duke. They have one day rest, and we play Gonzaga. That's quite a task when you are a new staff.

A lot of those moments as far back as November I believe have brought us here today. We've improved, and I think the other thing about our team is we've been very resilient. When we lost Zach Freemantle after 22 games, none of us really knew what we were going to do without him. If you look at our stat sheet, his stat line really jumps off the page.

When he left us, he was our leading scorer. 17 points a game. He had games at Villanova where, I mean, he was the Big East Player of the Week. When you lose somebody like that, you don't really know how it's going to go, and I think the testament for us is we've been able to overcome that injury as well, which I give a lot of credit to our players.

Q. Sean, you were watching this tournament like a lot of people last year at home. Have you been able to take some time to appreciate the fact that you are back here right now and everything that's gone into that?

SEAN MILLER: For sure. I may have lost perspective on a couple of things over the years, but I have never lost the perspective of how special it is to be a part of the NCAA tournament. There's nothing like it.

I go back to my playing days. If you asked me in order who did you play, first time ever in the NCAA tournament, Eastern Michigan. After that game who did you play? Vanderbilt. How about the next year? Ball State. I can rattle them off. It's something that sticks with you forever. I think it's why you play the game, why you want to be a part of it, be a part of March Madness.

We're thrilled. The Selection Show that we had in front of our students and fans and to see that seed line come up and our name be called, I think it gave everybody in the building goose bumps. And it should be that way. It should never be taken for granted because there's so much parity in college basketball now.

Anybody can beat anybody, and it's not an easy task to get into this tournament. So we're really thrilled to be here, excited to be here, and I hope that shows up tomorrow at 12:40.

Q. Real quick, Sean. Since you mentioned it, how much did that Vanderbilt game still stick with you?

SEAN MILLER: It's the most difficult experience in sports of my life. It really is. It's funny because somebody was asking me about the tournament. Unfortunately, on YouTube, you can really capture anything these days, and you can really watch those last couple of minutes.

When I was in Madison Square Garden last week as a coach in the Big East, we were getting ready to play Marquette in the championship, and Charles Smith was at the game. I talked to him. When I walked up to him, all I could think about was that game.

I mean, we were a 2 seed, and I'm an old guy now. That's been a long, long time ago, but, you know, back to the questions that you asked, if you are in the tournament, you remember the great moments, and you also remember the others. That's what's so amazing about the tournament, the drastic difference between advancing and your season ending.