NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - COL OF CHARLESTON VS SAN DIEGO STATE

March 16, 2023

Pat Kelsey

Ante Brzovic

Ryan Larson

Amway Center

Col of Charleston Cougars

Media Conference

San Diego State - 63, Charleston - 57

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by University of Charleston.

COACH KELSEY: I'd like to first recognize Brian and his team at San Diego State. Watching tape on them over the last several days, I have unbelievable respect for their program, first of all, the way they play, how they play.

I mentioned it the other day in the press conference they hang their hat, pride themselves on a lot of the same things that we do and that's toughness, tenacity, they're a strong, physical team. One of the best defensive teams in the country.

And they were the better team tonight and they made the plays down the stretch.

Can't be any prouder of our team. I read off a list of accolades of this team, which is amongst the greatest in the history of our program, whether it's the Charleston Classic, CAA regular season, CAA Tournament, a 20-game winning streak, Top 25, another 10-game winning streak. It's hard to do.

You go into gymnasiums on the road with a bull's-eye on their back. Those guys, to be as consistent as they have been, our seniors are so special. It's as special a group as I've ever coached. Hopefully I coach for a long time. But I know I'll never coach a group like this one. Just special.

Their professionalism, maturity, commitment to excellence every single day just amazed me. Blessed beyond belief. Praise God to have this opportunity to be the head coach and be around young men like these like and to coach at a world-class institution in a beautiful city. Very lucky and blessed.

Q. You guys knew they were a really good 3-point defensive team. What did they do out there that shut down that aspect of your game tonight?

ANTE BRZOVIC: I think they just made us uncomfortable shooting 3-point shots. Most of them were wide open. We just didn't make shots, I guess. These games, the shots are not falling in as they usually do against other teams.

But I think, overall, we have to be proud how we played the game, especially in the second half. We all gave our best. We were fighting really hard. It's just those last two minutes, the ball, I guess, didn't bounce our way. They made a couple of good plays. We didn't finish the way we wanted to. But have to regroup and be ready for the next year.

Q. What is so difficult about trying to stop Matt Bradley off the drive when he gets to the basket? They went to that play a lot. And he drove and got key baskets in important moments. Why is that such a challenge?

ANTE BRZOVIC: He's just a really good player. That's why he's here. That's why he plays at this stage. And we did a scouting on him. We knew what he's capable of doing.

For the bigger part of the game I think Jaylon did a great job trying to slow him down. We tried our best to give him help, but they just made a couple of bigger plays, plays when we didn't. And I think that's what separated us from them today.

Q. Ryan, could you just talk about the specialness, if you will, of this team and what this one year in Charleston was like for you?

RYAN LARSON: I can't put into words what this team means to me, what the coaches, the whole coaching staff means to me. Quite frankly, it's probably been the most special basketball season of my life. And it's all credit to my teammates and coaches.

And to College of Charleston as a whole, the school, the student body, just gave us so much support the whole season. I would not trade a single thing for what's happened this year. I absolutely love each and every one of them in the locker room.

Q. You had a seven-point lead in the first half. What did they do or what did you guys not do that kind of changed the momentum of the game there to close the first half?

COACH KELSEY: From what I remember, went on a little bit of a scoring drought. And again, they make it hard to score. Shot 30 percent from the field for the game, I believe, 20 percent from 3, and we're still right there with a one-possession game right there at crunch time.

They're long. They're athletic. They're tough. They're well-coached. They're well-schooled. And you knew going in, when you saw the matchup, you just look at their metrics and their statistics, and they take away 3s as good as anybody in the country and they defend the 3-point line and hold teams to as low a percentage as anybody in the country.

We knew we had our work cut out for us. We went inside a lot to Ante. Got us going early. Scored the ball. Loosened them up a little bit.

And to shoot that percentage and still be there at crunch time, I think, is a tribute to one thing. These guys' toughness. The second half -- we were getting our butts kicked physically in the first half, and we never do that. Ever.

We were getting seven percent of our misses back, and we're a team that gets 34, 35, something like that. We're top 20 in the country. And they were getting 36 percent of their misses. And a lot of those were tips, loose balls, 50/50 balls, ones that we take pride on eating loose balls for breakfast. That's what we do.

Before I said anything at halftime, those guys had already addressed it. No question, credit them, they were the better team tonight, they won. In my opinion, we were the more physical, relentless physical team in the second half and that's why we were able to be right there at the end.

Q. If you could just follow up on the challenge of defending Bradley with the ball in his hands going to the basket.

COACH KELSEY: He's good. He's good. Big, strong, physical kid that can score from distance, can score at the rim, can put foul pressure on you. He's a very good all-around player.

I'm guessing he's All-Conference in the Mountain West. He's good. They have a good scheme that gets him the ball in places where he can be successful. Brian's a smart coach. He knows what he's doing. Kid made some big shots, big moment, probably a couple he'll tell his grandkids about.

Q. What did you take from this whole experience, from winning the CAA championship all the way to here? What will you use to bring back for next year to hopefully get past this spot?

COACH KELSEY: Well, you know what I told the guys in the locker room is, these seniors, although they played their last game in a Charleston uniform, they're going to leave a legacy that's going to last decades. It just will. These seniors led a team that lit our city on fire. Fire.

Charleston's been rocking. There's a bounce, there's a vibe on Kings Street. The arena's packed. That's because of the leadership and what these guys accomplished this year.

It's what seniors do. They set the stage, set the tone. And when you have it rolling as a program, when the new group walks in on day one, I have to say less because of the example that Ryan, the seniors set, and the guys like Ante who are going into his junior year, and the other guys that are older, they let the freshmen know before I even need to how we roll, what we do, what our culture is about, what we do, relentless effort, competitive excellence, power the unit, 25 strong.

And I told the team in the locker room that next year Ryan Larson is going to burst with pride when we're back here again, and next year take the next step, just like John Meeks and Jordan Sechan when they come back, and they use phrases and say things that's part of our culture.

And they took that and they're using it as they move forward in their life. That makes me proud as a coach. We're teachers I'm a teacher. Skip Prosser said, it's an Emerson quote, "Our chief want in life is someone who can make us do what we can."

I'm not the CEO of the program. I'm the CRO -- the chief reminder officer. And it's my job to tell them what the standard is. Those guys lived up to it and then some. And I'm blessed to have the opportunity to be their coach.

Q. It hurts now obviously, the loss hurts now, but when do you or can you in a couple of days here kind of rise above the, the tree line, as you say, and appreciate everything that happened this season?

ANTE BRZOVIC: Absolutely. I think when it's all said and done, and when the emotions cool down a little bit, I think we have to be really, really proud of what we did this year, winning so many games. It's just special.

The group of guys that we have. I will never ever forget this season, these guys, these coaches that I had this year, because it means so much to me. And I'm broken the way this ended, because it's harsh, because everything we did this year, it came down to this.

But it's just how it is. So we've got to bounce back. I know we will because that's what we're all about. And I can't wait for the next year.

Q. Coach, you mentioned some of the things that San Diego State did to you guys and you were a very efficient offensive team. I think it's 57 points, the lowest you scored this season. What can they do in this tournament? Is this type of team that they can get on a run and cause other teams problems as well?

COACH KELSEY: I think so. I think there's no question. I think they're a very good team, very well-coached. They're talented, they're athletic, they're tough and disciplined. And they're battle tested, older group, they're experienced. They went through a tough time last year and took the next step today. I don't see any reason why they can't.