NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - BOISE STATE VS NORTHWESTERN

March 16, 2023

Leon Rice

Max Smith

Naje Smith

Golden 1 Center

Boise State.Broncos

Media Conference

Northwestern 75, Boise State 67

THE MODERATOR: Our contingent from Boise State is here. Max Rice, head coach Leon Rice, to his left Naje Smith.

Coach, up-and-down game. Hung in there. Can you give us a little overview about your feelings towards the end.

LEON RICE: Yeah, just two really tough teams, I think. Give Northwestern a ton of credit. I think both teams played so hard and battled, gave everything they could.

Their guards made plays all year long for them. Winning plays down the stretch. They were able to make some big, big shots for them.

But our guys, I couldn't be more proud of our effort. To get 20 offensive rebounds against that team, that just shows you we're trying to find a way. Our guys never - just like they always do - never gave up, kept battling till the bitter end.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Coach, with Shaver going down the way he did at the end of the first half, still having played big minutes in the second, what can you say about his toughness?

LEON RICE: First of all, for the team, he wanted to do it. He was hurting. That was kind of devastating. I feel awful for Shave. The numbers he was able to put up this year and the things he was able to do, and wasn't able to really be himself. It was amazing how many, like, bad breaks like that he got throughout the year. It was crazy.

You hate to see a senior have to go out that way, but he tried for these guys. I mean, it was a bit of a miracle to get him back for the second half, to tell you the truth. But he wasn't going to let that stop him. He was going to try to be out there for these guys.

I think, like I said, the hardest thing for me is I know who Shave is and I know how good he is. Not just tonight, but throughout the year, he's had that, so many bad breaks. He's got a lot of great breaks coming, I think.

But that's the only thing that really makes you -- that you have regrets about, is that poor kid. These guys have practiced with him, played with him over the years. They know, like, what a great shooter he is. He never really got to cut loose this year like we thought he really would because held back by a lot of that stuff. Then it kept reinjuring his ankle.

But credit to him. He's courageous, he's tough, and he didn't want to let these guys down, us down. It's just unfortunate.

Q. Not the result you wanted, but if you could comment going to Portland last year, playing two big-time programs, what it means to Boise State basketball, the school in general?

LEON RICE: I think I consider us a Big Ten program. We come from a Big Ten league. We won it last year, were second this year.

But this is a good team we played. I can feel that. I saw it on tape. They got second in another Big Ten league. Great team that we played. Like I said, I was really proud of the way our guys battled.

Q. You mentioned how important depth was going to be this season. Tonight all starters playing 31 minutes. For you guys to reach the heights you want to reach over the next couple years, how important is it going to be to build depth?

LEON RICE: No doubt. That's a big part of it. Not to move on to next year quite yet, but we got some great guys coming in. We have a terrific nucleus coming back. Probably three all-league players coming back, some great freshmen players coming in. There will be some more. We're going to be pretty special. But that's for tomorrow.

Q. Max, seemed like their starting trio of guards had an answer every time you came within a possession. How frustrating was that tonight?

MAX RICE: Yeah, well, that's just a credit to those dudes. They've been doing it all year. We tried everything we could to stop 'em. Though just kept scoring tough buckets when they needed them.

Just a credit to those dudes. They're really good players and they've had a great season.

Q. Max and Naj, offensively that second half you guys hit a couple threes. What was the feeling like then? Why do you think you weren't able to sustain that offensive output?

NAJE SMITH: I definitely feel like we got a lot of good looks as a team that we usually knock down that just didn't go our way.

We had Shaver, one of the guys who leads our team and runs our offense, there's definitely some droughts.

Q. Obviously ending the season on a loss isn't ideal. But making the tournament is huge. How do you reflect on this season now that it is over?

NAJE SMITH: You just kind of take a step back and take a breath and kind of just let it hit you for a second. I can probably feel the same as Max. Doesn't feel real yet. Kind of processing all the emotions. Having plays in your head, play back through the whole year.

You just have to reflect in a positive way and take what you can from it.

MAX RICE: Yeah, I don't think anyone expected us to be here. I still think it was an amazing season. Obviously we wanted to get our first win in the tournament. But they played good tonight. They played better than us tonight and made a bunch of big shots.

But that doesn't take away from what we've done this year, just as a whole what we did... I'm still really proud of my team and everything we've done.

Q. Naj, at the end of the game we saw you soak everything in, wave good-bye to the fans, hug your teammates, administrative staff. What has Boise State meant to you?

NAJE SMITH: It's meant so much to me. Given me that home I was looking for coming out of junior college. I feel like a lot of times I bounce around a lot, team to team. It's nice to have a home and know they have my back. So I tried to give them mine and play as hard as I could.

Q. Naj, after the game you had a long embrace with Tyson. The future is still the future, but how big can he be for this program?

NAJE SMITH: Oh, I think he can be Mountain West Player of the Year. His ceiling and potential is insane for a guy that can't really jump, may have to play a little out of position.

The things he can do, his IQ, it's just next level.

Q. Max, what have Naj, Shaver, and Milner meant to this team?

MAX RICE: Yeah, it's tough to even talk about 'cause Naj is like a brother to me. I'm going to miss him probably more than any teammate I've ever had. Shave is right there with him, and probably Milner. I'm going to definitely miss those guys a lot.

It's just weird they're going out without me just because me and Naj came in together and we're the same age. We grew up together. So it's weird that I have another year and they're leaving me.

But I'm going to miss 'em. I'm going to really miss 'em. They did a lot for this program. You can kind of see our program going in the right direction, and that's because of the foundation they laid for us.

Q. We know Boo is a great scorer. What did he do specifically tonight in terms of driving to the hoop, getting the contested layups?

NAJE SMITH: I think he did a really good job of just finishing over guys. We tried our best to go vertical with him, tried to keep him off the free-throw line. He made us pay by finishing those layups.

THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, thank you.