NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - FURMAN VS SAN DIEGO STATE

March 18, 2023

Brian Dutcher

Lamont Butler

Darrion Trammell

Micah Parrish

Amway Center

San Diego State Aztecs

Media Conference

San Diego State 75, Furman 52

BRIAN DUTCHER: First of all, I'd like to congratulations Furman University and Coach Richey on a great year. They're a really tough club. We prepared hard. We knew they were good. Then we played a really good game today at both ends of the floor.

Obviously we hang our hat on defense. That's the one thing that we do every game. Then when we get the opportunity, we start making shots and play good offensively, then we're very good.

We're fortunate to be moving forward. We're happy. We're looking forward to playing in the Sweet 16.

Q. Coach, first time back in the Sweet 16 for the program since 2014. What does it say about this team to battle throughout the season and make it back there?

BRIAN DUTCHER: We're about the right things. I mean, this is a veteran group. They play the right way. They're for one another.

Most teams can't play this deep a bench and have great chemistry. We have incredible chemistry playing a nine-man rotation. And that's been the key to our success, that we play selfless, we play together, and we're all about winning.

Q. Dutch, it just seemed like teams have spurts and moments when the energy and effort really peak, but it seems like you guys main that throughout. There never really was a lull. It seemed like you were hustling, chasing loose balls, the kind of things that win these games. Was it different today in terms of just that sustained effort from start to finish? That's hard to do.

BRIAN DUTCHER: It's hard to do, but when you have the depth we have, we always have fresh legs on the floor. We don't play a guy and all of a sudden he's tired because he's so valuable he can't be off the floor. Everybody 1 through 9 is the same on this team. Anybody is capable of leading us to scoring. Anybody is capable of making important plays.

Our depth is our strength. That's why we're able to play over a sustained amount of time in any game, because we have great depth.

Q. Darrion, going from JuCo basketball to this, what does that mean to you?

DARRION TRAMMELL: It's just a dream coming true. Obviously we're not done yet, but I mean, this is a blessing to get here. All the hard work I feel I've put in and doing things the right way, and I feel like I'm being rewarded for that. I'm just grateful to be here with my teammates.

Q. Dutch, you talked all season about how you wanted a 40-minute performance and a good offensive and good defensive performance. How rewarding is it that it came together in this game?

BRIAN DUTCHER: It's the best. You should play your best at the end of the season, and we're playing our best basketball at the end of the season. And that's what we've always done at San Diego State basketball, whether it was Steve Fisher leading this program, growing this program, to me taking over, we've always gotten better. And we're playing our best basketball at the most important time of the season.

Q. Micah, there was a stretch in the first half where you took over a little bit scoring, held them out. What was it you were able to see that allowed you to get free up on offense?

MICAH PARRISH: It was really my teammates finding me in transition. We just try to find an open guy. Each game might not be your game, but I guess today was mine, and the teammates just kept finding me. So just got to thank my teammates.

Q. Darrion, was this perhaps maybe this team's most complete game? It seems like the contributions defensively, offensively just came from so many places. You guys really shared the ball and got easier baskets throughout. Was this one of the most complete games?

DARRION TRAMMELL: I think it's one of them. It's one of our most complete games. I feel like we had another game earlier in the season where our offense was clicking and defense was clicking. But like I said, we're not done yet. I feel like we can take another step. And that's the urgency we're going to carry in practice every day because I feel like we're not done yet.

Q. Coach, talk about that little run you guys had at the end of the first half, 15-0, held them scoreless for about 11 minutes. I know you hang your hat on defense. Talk about that spurt there.

BRIAN DUTCHER: Yeah, obviously if we get two or three stops in a row and then we can score a basket, we're going to build on most leads. So I thought our defense was really good. We have an ability to play a center like he's a guard. Our bigs have good feet. Our power forwards have good feet.

We just felt playing Furman we were going against five guards, that these guys were all really skill and talented, and even though you're a center you're guarding a guard tonight. And I thought our defense set everything up for us.

Q. For Lamont and maybe one or two of you also could chime in, what did you do to them specifically defensively? They were late in the shot clock a lot of times. How much did it help having played Colorado State and Air Force and some of the same principles five times in year?

LAMONT BUTLER: Well, we tried to pressure them and get them off their sets. Like Dutch said, we've got centers who can guard guards, so we switched a lot and that helped a lot. And we kind of just controlled the tempo on the defensive side and we didn't let them get out and run in transition as much, so I feel like that helped us a lot.

DARRION TRAMMELL: Yeah, we had to disrupt them. They had two really good players on their team and the whole thing was just disrupt and keep the pressure on them. We were switching out and our bigs did a great job guarding the guards, switching out aggressively, and I think our defensive aggressiveness was really high tonight.

Q. Dutch, a lot of the outside conversation in recent years has been about where this program hasn't gotten to in the NCAA Tournament. How satisfying is it to now shift that in terms of Sweet 16 and now it's about where you have gotten?

BRIAN DUTCHER: I just like the professional nature of this team. They're not in there throwing water bottles around. We have games to play. As much as we're enjoying this, which we are, it's rare that you can make any kind of run in the tournament. We're focused on the next task. We're about winning, and we want to continue to win.

Q. Coach, for this to be the first Sweet 16 for San Diego State under your tutelage, what this means to you personally and why you feel like this team is advancing this season.

BRIAN DUTCHER: I know it's hard to believe, but I'm not taking any personal credit for it. I try to think back TO all the NCAA Tournament games I've been involved in, whether it was at Michigan with Coach Fisher or with him at San Diego State. If you're part of a team, you feel like you're part of all of those.

As much as people want to say this is your first head coaching experience, I just embraced them all like they were all mine or they were all ours.

I'm really not focused on what I'm doing for the first time. I'm focused on what we're all doing for the first time.

Q. Micah, at halftime, you probably didn't hear this, but Charles Barclay said San Diego State has grown men and Furman has college kids, they couldn't handle the physicality. Did you sense today that you were just bigger and stronger than them?

MICAH PARRISH: I don't think it's fair to say that. I feel like Furman was really good. I felt like we were just better at going inside. They have good players, four great guards. We just had a better advantage inside today.

Q. Brian, going back to what you just mentioned being part of other teams that have gone far in the tournament, how can you lean on that experience taking this team into the Sweet 16 next week?

BRIAN DUTCHER: I just said it before the game, teams don't win that play on their heels. We've got to play on our toes and with that comes intelligence. You can't go out and play crazy. I think we play connected, we play the right way, and we play with confidence. I thought the first game, as much as you could say about it, I thought we were nervous. There's always nerves that go into it. So now that we've settled into the rhythm, we know what this about, I think we'll play better moving forward. And that's really encouraging moving into the Sweet 16.

Q. It's going to be a while before you find out who you play, but there's a chance, and obviously Alabama is favored, you could face the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament. I'm sure you guys have seen them play. If each one of you could answer what are your thoughts on possibly playing a team like that.

LAMONT BUTLER: For me, playing the top teams is what I want to do. I came here to compete, and I thought we can compete with any team in the country. Also, it's about ourselves. If we focus on ourselves, we can beat anybody.

DARRION TRAMMELL: Like Lamont said, I think that's the culture we have. We're all competitors. We have an entire lineup of competitors. That's our mentality. But yeah, like Lamont said, we have to focus on ourselves and take it day by day, and everything will work itself out.

MICAH PARRISH: Like those two said, focus on ourselves. I got the chance to play Alabama last year for my old school, so I understand what it takes to win the game and things like that. We've just got to basically focus on ourselves really.

Q. What does it mean for the conference with the Mountain West, because a lot of people on the East Coast don't know about you guys because we don't see you playing late-night basketball. Talk about the Mountain West and how great that conference is.

BRIAN DUTCHER: I just think it's one of the hardest travel conferences in the country. When we're traveling to Laramie or Logan and we're playing at altitude at 7,000 feet. In some of these environments, they're hard to get to, and we're battle tested.

Someone asked me what would it feel like if this building was full of Furman fans. I said it would feel like a road game and we're 8-2 on the road. We've been battle tested. We're ready for any environment. I think the Mountain West has a lot to do with that.

Q. Large contingent of fans there in the arena today. What did it mean to have that support behind you guys, and were you be able to sense them there and did it motivate you guys?

MICAH PARRISH: Yeah, definitely. It's great to see all the San Diego State fans come all the way here to Orlando, Florida, to come and watch us play and cheer us on. That means a lot to me and my teammates. I know our families got to come out here, we got to spend a little bit of time with them in hotel and things like that. So that just means a lot to us.

Q. With you guys going to Sweet 16, maybe further, what do you feel is the key in those types of high intensity games? Whether it's offensively, defensively or if it's just your mentalities, what is that key factor for you guys?

DARRION TRAMMELL: I mean, defense travels. That's something we have on the paper every game, every away game. That's something that we hang our hats on. I think that's going to take us very far. Like tonight if the offense is flowing, I feel like we're a very hard team to beat, but it's not something we have to rely on like a lot of teams do, so I feel like that's an advantage against our competition.