NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - GRAND CANYON VS GONZAGA

March 16, 2023

Bryce Drew

Ray Harrison

Gabe McGlothan

Ball Arena

Grand Canyon Lopes

Media Conference

Q. What was yesterday like not having your gear?

GABE McGLOTHAN: It was fun. It definitely added another step of enjoyment to this trip, something we can look back and remember and have a good laugh.

But we've been dealing with adversity all season, so it was nothing new. Nobody's fault, just unfortunate, and just, so I'm excited to add to it.

Q. Were they able to find sneakers large enough for you guys?

RAY HARRISON: Yeah, they did. It actually worked out -- it was good for us because everybody got a new pair of shoes, so it was good.

Q. Ray, what's it been like to have all these other guys around you come together and play as well as they have the last five, six games to help you out?

RAY HARRISON: Yeah, I've been very proud of our team, first of all, and it's the main reason why I came all the way across the country, just to be able to be surrounded by a bunch of talented guys where I don't have to carry the load. I can depend on everybody, so it's been good.

Q. Gabe, this experience for you, how does it feel different than going two years ago when it was the bubble?

GABE McGLOTHAN: Yeah, I mean, it's exciting. Brand-new group of guys, pretty sure the only people that were on that team from last year was Chance McMillian and Jovan Blacksher and myself.

With this new group, it's just very exciting, different matchup, different mentality, and that year was the COVID year, so kind of a little bit different being outside the bubble, but all the same, it's exciting, and it's a blessing, so we're happy to be here.

Q. Gabe, if you could give us a thumbnail of what you see in Gonzaga.

GABE McGLOTHAN: Yeah, they're definitely strong down low. Drew Timme is a great player, so we're going to have to do well on him, and then they have really good guards, too. They can space it. They can shoot the ball. It's just being able to contain them. They play fast, score a lot. Just being able to make sure we can keep up with their pace and stop them when they're running.

RAY HARRISON: Yeah, like Gabe said, we give credit where credit is due. We know that Drew is a good player. We know they've got good guards and they're coached by a good coach. We're just excited to get out there and compete.

Q. You kind of laughed off the travel stuff. At what point did all the adversity of the season start you roll off your backs? You seemed to have found a groove here over the last month or so?

GABE McGLOTHAN: Definitely. I think it's just taking hits as like a family. We took hits as a family. We're so close to each other, it's just like we rally around each other. Jovan Blacksher went down with a knee injury, and the first thing that we did was: We need to do this for him.

Just having that mentality, that perseverance, it was just consistent through it all, and then it was just realizing that we're going to be able to get through this, just as it says in Romans 5:3-5.

Q. When you're a 14 going up against a 3, what's the mentality going into that game?

RAY HARRISON: I feel like our mentality is similar to the mentality that we've had this entire year. Like I said, we know who they are, but we know who we are, as well. Like I said, we're just excited.

GABE McGLOTHAN: Super excited. We've been built into a resilient team, so we're going to go play our basketball, resilient basketball, and leave it all out there.

Q. It's been documented that the team meeting up in Cedar City, you guys kind of had a great meeting and then you took off six in a row, haven't lost in March. When did you realize you had something special with this team?

GABE McGLOTHAN: I go back from the summer. We were all just -- you could tell just with the culture that this team was brewing, just the guys they brought in and the talent that we had, we knew something was in the making and something special was going to come.

But then through the season, adversity, all this stuff, it was just making sure that brotherhood stayed strong and strengthened it. I would say since the summer we realized we had a special squad, it was just trying to find where we could get the best out of all of it, dig deep.

Q. When you were being recruited to GCU, was Gonzaga ever brought up as like this is who we're trying to build ourselves into?

GABE McGLOTHAN: For me it wasn't. It was quite a while ago, but they were just really selling GCU, what they wanted to be, and that was just a faith-driven school, something that really cares about basketball, all this stuff. Just wanting to go there and find this great culture, this great opportunity and join that.

Q. What was the selling point for you? You mentioned being around a lot of talent and not having to carry a team, but to come across the country, what made you really want to be in Phoenix?

RAY HARRISON: It was a few different things, but the main thing was just, like I've always said, just the family environment that has been instilled here at GCU.

I remember when I was being recruited by different schools, the main thing that just stuck out to me was just how everybody -- like GCU approached me differently. It wasn't just about basketball or how they could help me on the court. It was mainly how they could transform me into a better young man, and just like I said, the family environment.

Q. After being on a roll for those four wins in five days, how do you keep your momentum and your confidence where it was last week with the gap now?

GABE McGLOTHAN: Going back to that family aspect, it's looking each other in the eyes and knowing we're going to give each other our best basketball, at the end of the day our best effort and relying on each other. Even though we've won a lot in the past, this past March, we've got one more ahead of us, and that's what we're looking forward to.

RAY HARRISON: I would just say we trust each other, and we know we're going to all bring our best, like Gabe said.

BRYCE DREW: We're really excited to be here. We have a couple guys that played a couple years ago in the bubble, and since this is our first really true NCAA experience, and for most of the other guys this is their first time in the NCAA Tournament, a lot of excitement, a lot of learning as we go on.

Obviously we had the hiccup yesterday with our stuff not making it, but we're all set, all ready to go, and shoes and practice gear is all delivered.

Q. When you find that out, who sends the first text between you and Scott saying, hey, we might need some jerseys?

BRYCE DREW: Yeah, we sent it to him. We had kind of a group of jersey -- we had St. Regis, we had GCU T-shirts and we had Baylor scout jerseys. We improvised and the guys made a good time of it, so it actually turned out as a positive.

Q. Bryce, is there any chance like that loosens things up at all?

BRYCE DREW: This group has been really loose throughout the last few weeks of conference tournament. They had a confidence to them, but they also had a looseness to them that they were enjoying it.

We haven't seen a shift in that through the travel, through getting here. They're still a confident group that's doing it with a loose personality nature.

Q. You guys playing Gonzaga and obviously what they've been able to do as a mid-major, has that ever been something that you've thought about being a model for GCU basketball school?

BRYCE DREW: Yeah, I think you look, GCU, a lot of schools in the country, you look and see what Gonzaga has done, and it's been unreal the last three decades how successful they've been.

I think we're on the way to that. Our second tournament in three years. Unfortunately it doesn't happen overnight. It takes steps, and I think we're taking the right steps to get there.

Q. How nice is it for your mom and dad that they can travel right here and not have to go to two places and you don't have to face each other, either?

BRYCE DREW: Yeah, so nice. Usually they have to decide if we aren't together which site they're going to go to. Great blessing to be all in the same region, here in Denver, so they can watch Scott's game earlier in the day and then come and watch us. Special NCAA Tournament from that aspect.

Q. Mark was in here earlier, Coach Few, and just talked effusively about the respect for the family and the respect for the families back and forth. Can you talk about that relationship a little bit?

BRYCE DREW: Yeah, it kind of started with my brother and Mark. They've been friends for years. If I'm with them, I kind of get to hang out with them. We've actually played pickleball together. He loves to fish, me and my brother love to fish. So there's a lot of common things between us.

Just really admire how successful he's been but also how humble he's been through all these decades, what he's achieved again is unreal compared to other coaches in the country, but yet he always comes with that humble nature but also very confident in what he has achieved.

Q. Does your brother give you any tips or advice since he played them a couple years ago, Gonzaga, and how do you try to defend a monster like that, a team like that?

BRYCE DREW: You know, how Baylor plays is significantly different than how we play. If you look to Timme, he has seen every coverage. He's seen every type of defense. He's pretty much annihilated anyone that's ever tried anything against him. It's a huge credit to him. He's probably if not the top one or two most noticeable players in the NCAA Tournament because he's played so well for so many years, they've played National Championship games, he has some other players, so they have a lot of experience coming into this tournament.

Q. That pickleball match, did it happen here? I know Scott talked about trying to get it together.

BRYCE DREW: Yeah, it didn't happen here, so not here, but previously, yeah. Mark is pretty good. Give them credit for being good coaches, they're also pretty good pickleball players.

Q. Just the three of you all being in the same city for this, Mark had said you guys got on a text message chain when you found out you were coming here. What were those conversations like?

BRYCE DREW: Yeah, pretty much talked if there was a chance to play, but I don't think it's going to work out to be able to do it.

Then I also have another connection, their assistant coach, Roger Powell, we coached together for eight years. A lot of connections amongst the staff and amongst just people that we know that have been part of their family, also.

Q. How do you keep the momentum going from what you guys had in the conference tournament? You have some off time, and to keep it rolling going into tomorrow?

BRYCE DREW: Thankfully we're playing on Friday because it's been a quick week from a recovery standpoint, playing six games in ten days, four and five. And then after you win, you don't really sleep, so we didn't really sleep going up to Selection Sunday. Guys have been really tired.

And so it actually worked out, to be honest, that our gear wasn't here yesterday because we didn't really practice as hard as we probably would have, so the guys got to get refreshed a little bit more for Friday.

Q. I asked your brother, too, but a little memory lane question, 25 years ago, your shot, how often do people ask you about that? Did you know at the time it would be replayed for every tournament after that?

BRYCE DREW: Yeah, we definitely didn't know. We had a group of six seniors that it was our third straight NCAA Tournament, and we had lost the previous two years, and when we won that game, we were just so happy because that was our big goal going into the season was win a game in the tournament. So we had finally accomplished that goal after three years.

So we were just so excited about that. We never dreamt that we would be 25 years later getting to answer a question about it.

But just a special time, special memory. It was a while ago, so I like when people just say "anniversary" and they don't give it the number. The number makes it a lot -- seems a lot older when we put a number on it.

Q. You talked about how it's nice to have both your parents be able to come to one site. When they do and you play on the same day, does one parent go one way and one go the other? I know Scott said you guys would call them out --

BRYCE DREW: They would probably go together or just stay home and watch. I think one thing, families, they're part of it. They take wins and losses so hard. My mom and dad -- I don't know how my dad coached for so long and my mom, how she stood all those wins and losses for so long.

This is always the pinnacle as a college basketball coach when you can make the NCAA Tournament. You want to advance and keep going.

But this is why you put so many hours in and you work hard to be able to give your players and your school a chance to perform at the highest level in college basketball.

Q. We spoke with Walter Ellis, is such a big name here for basketball fans. Do you get a sense how special this is for this young man to play in a city where his father, LaPhonso, made a name?

BRYCE DREW: Yeah, for sure. We've talked about it. And I know LaPhons is here. He got off with ESPN to be able to come and be at the game. And so just very special, I think. Obviously, for GCU, we have a lot of students up in this Denver area, so it's really cool that some of them will be here, come to the game. And then it's really cool, like a reunion, for Walt growing up here a little bit in Denver and coming to this arena and watching his dad.

Q. Bryce, what kind of conversations have you had with Roger when you guys found out you guys were matching up with each other in that friendly competition right there?

BRYCE DREW: Yeah, you know, again, like our relationship, he was my associate head for like eight years, so we went through a lot together, and our kids were literally best friends. They FaceTime all throughout the year and they play sports. We had dinner in Vegas after they won their championship before they left town. We were hanging out last night a little bit. Tonight is probably going to be a no-go, but last night hanging out.

We said no matter what we promise we're going to be friends after the game. Just a great friend of mine. And I'll hate to compete a couple hours against him, but I know he wants to win and I want to win, and we're both going to give our best.

Q. I'm kind of dying to know who's the best pickleball player out of you guys?

BRYCE DREW: With that group of people? I don't really play, to be honest. Like I'm doing too many other things. I would say Scott and Mark are both -- they're pretty good. They play a lot more.