NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - ARKANSAS VS KANSAS

March 17, 2023

Joseph Yesufu

Kevin McCullar, Jr.

Wells Fargo Arena

Kansas Jayhawks

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: I would like to welcome our student-athletes, Kevin McCullar and Joseph Yesufu. Questions for our student-athletes?

Q. For both of you, impressions of Arkansas after getting a look at them?

KEVIN MCCULLAR, JR.: Yeah, Arkansas is a really great team. They're a very athletic team, have some long guys and some explosive athletes. They like to up and down and they're a very good team.

JOSEPH YESUFU: Kind of piggingbacking what he said, they're athletic defensively and even offensively you've got to be ready for them.

Q. What's it been like not having Coach Self here around as usual? I guess he's been around but not coaching the games. How has it been with Coach Roberts?

KEVIN MCCULLAR, JR.: Coach Self has been around us as well. He's doing great, and having Coach Rob pushing us, it's no drop-off. Coach knows what he's doing and he's a mirror image of Coach Self. He gets us the game plan and we go out there and execute.

JOSEPH YESUFU: He's a mirror image of Coach Self and expectations don't change. We just gotta be ready.

Q. Kevin, you completed against the Razorbacks two years ago in the NCAA Tournament. I think Devo was the only player on that team that played you guys. What do you remember about that game and what do you remember about him?

KEVIN MCCULLAR, JR.: Yeah, that's been a while ago. I don't remember too much about it, but I remember it was a good game. It came down to a last-second shot or something like that, and it was a great environment.

We played them at Butler and it was like the Sweet 16. Devo is a great player. He's a great guard, and it will be fun to matchup against Arkansas again.

Q. Guys, playing in the Big XII you obviously play against a lot of big-time talent over the course of the year, and I know you can appreciate what Arkansas brings to the table. What is it like playing in a game on this stage with so much NBA talent on the floor as we're going to see tomorrow?

JOSEPH YESUFU: Of course we've seen a lot of that from the Big XII. Like I said, Arkansas has a bunch of explosive athletes. You've gotta to learn how to defend them and just got to lock in on them.

KEVIN MCCULLAR, JR.: Yeah, like he said, they have a bunch of athletes, high-caliber guys. They can put the ball in the hole at a high rate and guard.

Playing in the Big XII I feel like we've been battle tested, and them playing in the SEC they've been battle tested, so it's going to be a great matchup and it's going to be fun.

Q. Kevin, I know you said your back spasms be went away, did they flare up at last night during the game?

KEVIN MCCULLAR, JR.: No. I'm feeling good, man, the best I felt. Credit to the training staff here at KU for getting me back right. Yeah, I just felt good out there, being out there and competing with my brothers.

Q. Joe, during the tournament, more and more people talk about how depth doesn't matter and you need five- or a six-man rotation and that's all you need. Since you've been leading the bench unit for the majority of the season, how important to you is bench depth when you get to tournament time?

JOSEPH YESUFU: It's very important getting guys rest because it's a long tournament. We're trying to go three weeks in the tournament, but we're taking each game as it is.

I feel like we just gotta get these guys rest as much as we can.

Q. Kevin, could you offer a little bit of reflection on the journey you've had this year? Presumably this is the point in the year really why you chose to finish things out at Kansas. Thoughts about what's happening for you so far now that you're in the middle of all this?

KEVIN MCCULLAR, JR.: Playing in games like this and why I came to Kansas, this is why I came here. It's been a great journey so far. Taking it day by day and enjoying the little things on the way, you know.

It's been great going out here and competing with the team and playing amongst the guys on our team as well, so it's been fun.

Q. Kevin, what does it bring to the team when Joe is hot like yesterday, when he comes in and hits a couple threes?

KEVIN MCCULLAR, JR.: It's huge when Joe comes many and knocks shots down that gives us momentum. He's instant offense off the bench and he's a bulldog on defense.

That's his role and he's been doing a great job at his role.

Q. They start four guards. Is it going to be similar teams going at it?

KEVIN MCCULLAR, JR.: Yeah. We get that lineup quite often against teams we play. There will be four guards out there at any time during the game most of the time, so, yeah, it's going to be a fun matchup.

Q. Guys, obviously you are number one seeds for a reason because you had great seasons. But the number ones get upset once in a while, and it's not uncommon for one of them to get beat in the second round.

As a number one seed who had a great season you are heavily favored, but how do you see that matchup that a No. 8 or 9 can be a dangerous team?

JOSEPH YESUFU: We've got to be prepared any game. Anybody can get upset. We just gotta take it game by game, focus in on the scout, and not take anybody lightly in this tournament.

KEVIN MCCULLAR, JR.: It's March Madness for a reason. Anybody can get beat and everybody is in the tournament for a reason.

Really doesn't matter your seed once you get here. You've got to worry about your next matchup and go out there and play.

Q. Joseph, you guys won the national championship. What do you do to get back to that stage?

JOSEPH YESUFU: That takes great leadership, JWils and Juan have been doing the leading and getting us prepared for this stage, and we will be ready. And Kevin has been part of that, too.

Q. How might Saturday games help you in this tournament schedule?

KEVIN MCCULLAR, JR.: Yeah, it's huge, playing on Saturday and then getting ready and getting prepared, one-day prep, playing on Big Monday in the season gets you ready for the tournament.

Doing a good job learning from your mistakes from the last game, putting that behind you and kind of looking forward and getting ready quick, taking care of your body and doing all the little things you gotta do.

JOSEPH YESUFU: K is 100% right.

Q. Jalen is Big XII Player Of the Year. What do you like about his game?

JOSEPH YESUFU: For me it's his work ethic. Behind closed doors he works his butt off, and I see that every day. Constantly watching film with our coaches and he's a great leader overall. That's what I could say about him.

KEVIN MCCULLAR, JR.: Yeah, I just see the little things that he does. It's not all what people see about him scoring the ball at a high rate or his stats, it's him affecting the game in different ways and being versatile and being so versatile, being a leader on the bench, timeouts, different things like that. That's the biggest thing I see.

Q. What games have you guys been watching? Any impressions of the other games? Have you had a lot of free time?

KEVIN MCCULLAR, JR.: Yeah, I've been watching a bunch of games. Really no surprises. It's March Madness so that's the best time of the year. Anybody can get beat, like I said earlier.

It's been fun. It's nothing better than sitting around and watching games all day when we're not playing, so it's been a blessing. It's been fun.

JOSEPH YESUFU: Like he said, it's the best time of the year. It's a blessing to be here. Not a lot of teams can say they've been here, so it's definitely been fun watching these games.

Q. Jalen has talked so much about how this team's championship pedigree and you've been down in big situations and come back; you've been in tough situations. Does the thought ever creep in, this could be it? Is there a nervousness or is it business as usual when you get into a tough spot, which could happen in a matchup like this one?

JOSEPH YESUFU: Definitely nervousness is there, but I feel like that's needed for us to stay focused. Obviously we don't want this to be our last practice and we don't want the next game to be the last game, so locking in and being prepared for each and every moment.

KEVIN MCCULLAR, JR.: Piggybacking off what Joe said, you gotta trust the work you put in, trust your preparation every day, and play every game like it's your last game. You know, you just want to be able to walk off that court and know you left everything on there.

Q. Joseph, what is it like for you playing postseason play where you initially started your college career?

JOSEPH YESUFU: Coming from Drake, had to make it out of the Missouri Valley Conference, but here it's kinda known that we were going to make the tournament, but we still had to work hard.

Still had to uphold what others brought to this team. So there is not really a difference. I still know I got to play hard, do what I gotta do, and play my role.

Q. Kevin, picking up on the question about Jalen, could you offer some insight on him away from the game? From our perspective we only see him here, right? He seems like a mature young guy that has really grown up over these however many months. He seems calm, collected. What's he like away from the court?

KEVIN MCCULLAR, JR.: Yeah, Jalen is real calm and collected. That's my roommate. Probably the cleanest dude I've ever been around. I can't leave nothing out without him getting on me.

But, yeah, he's real mature. Going back to knowing him since high school, how far he's came, it's been a huge step for him, when he was at John Guyer. Just seeing the steps he's took, I'm just super proud of him and blessed to be able to play my last year with him.

Q. What is the number one way that Coach Roberts is the mirror image of Coach Self?

KEVIN MCCULLAR, JR.: I would say his passion and his will to win and wanting to win, how competitive he is. His pregame speeches get you pretty pumped up. You want to go out there and run through a brick wall sometimes, he gets you turnt up, so I would say his grit and how bad he wants to win.

JOSEPH YESUFU: He's very competitive. You should see him in practice. He has the will to win just like Coach Self, and that's what I can say about Coach Roberts.

Q. I know you have probably gone through film study but do you guys compete against any of these players in AAU ball or high school? I know you have Texas connections, Kevin, so I didn't know if there were any passovers there.

KEVIN MCCULLAR, JR.: I've never played any of these guys other than Devo in the Sweet 16, about two years ago, but they have a bunch of Texas kids, high-ranked guys that came out of high school in Texas so it will be fun to match-up with those guys making it out of the state and having a name.

JOSEPH YESUFU: I played Ricky at Wichita when I was at Drake. We squeaked by on that one, but it's definitely a great group of guys. Like he said, we just gotta be ready.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, gentlemen.