NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: REGIONAL SEMIFINAL - SAN DIEGO STATE VS ALABAMA

March 23, 2023

Nate Oats

Brandon Miller

Mark Sears

Jahvon Quinerly

KFC Yum! Center

Alabama Crimson Tide

Sweet 16 Pregame Media Conference

Q. For Jahvon, you mentioned on Twitter today about the balls potentially be overinflated in the tournament. Just what have you noticed from that, and how has that affected you?

JAHVON QUINERLY: Yeah, I just feel like sometimes the balls are just a little too bouncy. I don't think it's affected me personally this tournament, but, you know, it's been something that the guys talk about in the locker room.

Q. For Brandon, just wanted ask about the groin. How has it been, and how helpful was the break from Birmingham?

BRANDON MILLER: It's been really good. Me and Clarke spent a lot of time with it during the break. So I feel like I can just go out here and compete with my team at 100 percent.

Q. Mark, it seems like San Diego State is an interesting combination of physicality and size and really experienced guys. They don't play any underclassmen. How do you view them in terms of that type of matchup, you know, inside?

MARK SEARS: You know, very older team. You know, I feel like we prepared with a great nonconference schedule and a great conference schedule to prepare for them.

Q. Brandon, does San Diego State remind you of anybody in the SEC that you guys have played against this year? Maybe Texas A&M, maybe an Arkansas type? Who do they look to you like?

BRANDON MILLER: I think they're being viewed right now from us as just a team that we have to go out and play really hard against. We know they're a veteran team. So they're going to be physical. Probably more experienced than us.

But I know that they're going to come out and play hard. I feel like we just have to come out and give the most energy that we can possibly bring.

Q. I guess for the three of you, what have you seen on tape from San Diego State so far that's led to their success to get to this point?

BRANDON MILLER: We started watching film over the break. We saw that they play a four and a five, a legit four and a five. I feel like -- well, we know that they're a veteran group, of course. I think we just have to come out and just compete.

MARK SEARS: I agree with him. You know, a veteran group. Defense, they cause some teams problems, but I feel like we're prepared for them.

JAHVON QUINERLY: Definitely their physicality stood out. You know, like these guys said, veteran group. You could tell that they've been playing college basketball for a while. You know, they look like a really good team on film.

Q. You guys have obviously experienced these last few weeks being the No. 1 seed, but when you look at this regional, there are, I guess, more underdogs, quote/unquote, than there are in other regions of this tournament. Have you found any useful tricks or tips to kind of keep yourselves, as you've been dominating in your first two games, from getting complacent and kind of just trying to handle that dichotomy?

BRANDON MILLER: I feel like us as a group, we just take it slow. We don't overlook any team. We know this team is here for a reason. They've beat highly, highly talented teams. So we just have to come out here and just play our game really and just not let them speed us up or play at their tempo.

MARK SEARS: The other thing is we take it one possession at a time.

Q. Brandon, coming from Birmingham the first two rounds, what's the message to the fans? Not too bad of a trip up 65. What do you want to see in the crowd tomorrow?

BRANDON MILLER: We know as a team they came out and showed out in Birmingham and Nashville, so we just hope to see them here in Louisville tomorrow and just root us on. We're always going to play for them and feed off their energy.

Q. We saw photographs of Coach Saban at your practice yesterday. I wonder what his message was as he cleared up the question about wrong place, wrong time?

BRANDON MILLER: It was a great experience in practice for me I can say because I always grew up being an Alabama football fan, so Coach Saban has always been a great role model for me. It was just great just seeing him an arm's length away from me.

Q. Brandon, you've had a few games, the Houston game, last week against Corpus Christi. I mean, a lot of players have games where they aren't all the way there. Is there any common thread to your tough games that you've identified at this point that you have to solve each night?

BRANDON MILLER: I mean, just knowing I have guys behind me to back me up when I'm not on each night, it's kind of a great thing to have. I think the leaders next to me here on this podium today, they kind of challenge me to be the guy who I am today on and off the court.

So it's just not about scoring the basketball. I think it's the little things like playing defense, getting every rebound, taking charges. Just really doing everything on the court to get wins.

Q. With Saban at practice yesterday, it kind of brings attention to the fact that you all have brought a lot of attention to the basketball program from what is considered a football school. How have you all kind of embraced getting that kind of profile these last two or three years, and where do you feel like it kind of establishes the school?

BRANDON MILLER: I feel like it kind of motivates us guys. I feel like we have a winning school. It's just not about the football team at Alabama. I feel like there's Alabama basketball, Alabama football, Alabama track. All the organizations there, I feel like it's just a winning program.

Q. For all three of you guys. I wanted to ask you about Bryan Hodgson being hired as the new Arkansas State head state coach. What has he meant to you in terms of a coach and recruiter and everything and especially as a person?

BRANDON MILLER: I'm so happy for Coach. That's who recruited me when I decided to transfer from Villanova. I'm super happy for him. Since he has gotten to Alabama, he has brought great players in. Obviously, we've been winning a lot more. I couldn't be more happy for him.

Q. Kind of talking back about this San Diego State team, you guys play a majority of your -- you play a lot of your games on the perimeter, really good at three-point shooting, and San Diego State has one of the top three-point defenses in the nation. So how are you going to adjust this game to kind of go against one of these better defenses?

JAHVON QUINERLY: I feel like we played a bunch of teams this year who has tried to run us off the three-point line. You know, we've adjusted, and we've made -- we've gone to the basket if they try to run us off the line.

We get a feel for how they're guarding us, and we try and, you know, find that adjustment. This won't be the first team who is not trying to let us shoot threes, so I think we're pretty prepared for whatever they throw at us.

Q. I know you guys can't talk about the incident, hopefully Brandon and Mark can both answer this, this (indiscernible) incident, but I'm curious, there's a lot of external distractions around your team. How have you been able to deal with it and not have that morph into the basketball court? How have you been able to block that out?

BRANDON MILLER: I feel like we just lean on each other.

MARK SEARS: Go with what he said. We just lean on one another.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, welcome to Louisville and the Sweet 16.

NATE OATS: Great to be here Louisville. We were in the Sweet 16 two years ago. It's a lot different situation this year with having the arenas full. Completely different team.

Quinerly is the only scholarship player that was on both teams. He is obviously playing great for us now. He played great for us then.

Come back with two separate teams, you know -- all the teams in the Sweet 16 are pretty good. San Diego State is really good. We've got two teams, with us and them, that are both top five in the country in defensive efficiency. They're a great defensive team. They've got a lot of players on the offensive side that can create shots. We're going to have to be great defensively.

You know, there's similarities in that. There's obviously style of play differences. They play a lot slower. We try to get it up and down. So it's going to be who can make it more their tempo. But I think we have been able to show that we win games in the half court too. When you've got a good defense, I think you're in most games.

We're going to have to be great defensively. We're going to have to rebound the ball well, and we're still going to try to play fast, but we're not -- if you watch us play, we don't force the tempo on our defensive end. We're not gambling and pressing and trying to get the tempo. We play pretty solid on the defensive end.

So, you know, we'll push on offense, try to score early. If they're getting back and not letting us score early, we've won plenty of games in the half court too. We're confident we can win either way.

But we're going to have to be tough. They're an older group. We're younger. We don't have near the experience they have. Which with most groups, I think, that worry you, I think this group has shown how much maturity we have. And the fact that we're young doesn't mean that we're immature. Just means guys haven't played as many games, and they're a little bit younger.

I told our guys this morning the NBA drafts a lot of young players, and they start them early in their career, and they're pretty good. Like I think you guys have been mature, and this lack of experience people are talking about, I'm not worried about it because you guys have shown how mature and prepared you can get. Age doesn't necessarily matter. It's more what your mindset is, how focused you are, how mature you are when you walk in.

So we're looking forward to playing a great game. We're happy to be here. It's a great time for Alabama basketball.

Q. Coach, this location, the reason why you guys are here, the fans is a big reason. Quick trip. What's the message to the fans that can make a long weekend out of this?

NATE OATS: They've been great for us the entire NCAA Tournament. We would love for them to come support us just like they did in Birmingham.

When you get the No. 1 overall seed, you get to choose your first two locations, so we chose the two closest places, obviously, Birmingham and now here.

It's not too long of a drive, and we need their support. They've been great all year. We love to hear them. We loved having them in Birmingham. We loved having them in Nashville for the SEC Tournament. Just a little further, you can stop through Nashville on your way up here to Louisville.

Q. Nate, John Calipari used to like to say, "I'm not going to let anybody steal my joy." With everything that's been going on around your program, have you and, maybe even more importantly, your players been able to enjoy this?

NATE OATS: Yeah, we're having a blast. We're winning games. We know who we are. We've got a great group of guys that lean on each other, that have come close.

We've never lost sight of the fact that we have a heartbreaking situation surrounding the program. The fact that we have such a good group of guys enables them to keep that, as they should, be a serious matter, and it has been, but, you know, you play basketball from the time you were young to get to these moments, and we're going to enjoy these moments. They've earned the right to enjoy the moment they're in, and I think our guys are having a lot of fun.

You know what, I delete all social media apps off my phone before the season. I encourage our guys to spend more time watching film and everything. We just -- we're going to control the stuff we can control, and our guys have done a great job being cognizant and aware of the entire situation we have going on and the big-picture stuff, but they've done a great job of being where their feet are at and focusing on the details at hand.

When we're in a video session, that's where our minds are at. When we're in practice, that's where our minds are at. We're focused on practice. When we come into the games and the ball goes up, our entire focus is on what we need to do to win that basketball game. I think that's enabled us to enjoy the moment as we're in the moments too.

Q. Nate, the three-point shooting numbers across the tournament are pretty low. The ball, the actual ball itself, keeps coming up. I think one of your guys said that guys in the locker room are talking about it. Other sites, guys have talked about it. Is this an actual thing? Should there be a uniform ball across college basketball? Have a new ball for the postseason seems kind of --

NATE OATS: Yeah, we kind of had the discussion as a staff. I'm big on the players being as comfortable as they can be, the environment. We try to shoot in the arena we're in. If we get into a place, we shoot the night before.

Charlie Henry was in the NBA, is on our staff. He is like, I have no idea how college doesn't have a uniform ball. Like, I couldn't imagine. You're in the NBA, everybody plays with the same ball every night.

So here we've got -- you know, we've got all the different balls we could possibly play with through the year. Our gear, our equipment manager has enough of them that the days leading into that particular game, we play with that ball. Nike, Wilson, whatever, go down the line.

I do think it would be a lot better if the NCAA mandated a particular ball. I'm sure there's money aspects involved with all that.

Look, I don't see -- I don't play anymore. I used to play. I still shoot occasionally when we're in there with the guys. I've felt the ball. You can pump up any ball to be too hard. It would be great if the referees actually made sure it was within the guidelines of how hard it's supposed to be pumped up because, obviously, if you pump it up to where it's a rock, you're not going to shoot as well. It's going to come off the rim every time it hits it.

I don't see there's an issue with the ball. I think defenses get better. You look at the teams that are still winning. Most of them have pretty good defenses. When the defenses get better, shooting percentages go down.

I'm sure the NCAA is on top of making sure the balls are all going to be correctly inflated and all that here for these Sweet 16 rounds. But we've got to do a great job of getting our shooters open shots. And I'm not going to be too worried about the ball. I'm going to worry about the stuff I can control.

We preach it to our players all the time. I have zero control over the ball. I don't think there's an issue with it. Let's make sure we get our really good shooters as many good looks as we can and get the percentages up to where they need to be.

Q. Obviously, Coach Saban stopped by practice yesterday, but a day before that he had some pretty pointed words about a player that had gotten into trouble on his own squad. And, you know, that man is intentional just with some of his word choice. I'm curious if you took that to be a criticism of how the basketball team has handled the tragic situation this winter.

NATE OATS: Yeah, so he and I talked that night. I didn't take it that way at all. I got a ton of respect for Coach.

I said, my opening press conference when I got hired at Alabama, that he may be the best coach for team sports in modern sports history. I mean, when I was a high school coach back in Romulus, I had a whole section of Saban quotes in our practice plan. I still have it. I probably use them a little less now that we're here had, and they get plenty of Saban quotes just in the regular media.

I've got a ton of respect for him. He has been tremendously supportive of our program since he has got here. He says it all the time. He wants the entire athletic department to do well. He has been at multiple games this year. He came yesterday to speak to the team.

He was good. Players loved it. He and I have got a great relationship, and I'm really thankful for the support that he has given us and continues to give us with the basketball program at Alabama.

Q. Nate, Alabama, I'm sure, like a lot of schools, they bring in speakers, either externally or internally, to address things like how to treat women, NIL opportunities, even media training. Just wondering, even though guns are legal in Alabama, I understand, but they're not allowed to be on campus. Are athletes at all counseled or addressed on issues dealing with guns?

NATE OATS: Yeah, and we've had -- like you said, we bring in speakers of all different types throughout the year. You know, we've had -- that's been addressed, certainly, and we've got an unbelievable administration with us, and they take the opportunities when it's appropriate to reemphasize things that have been previously talked about and need to be emphasized, and that's been done.

I think our administration and our coaching staff has done a great job using the resources we have at Alabama to help -- to really help these young men grow into better adults and better citizens moving forward.

Q. What was the message, then, I guess, at some point earlier this season before the shooting about guns and just --

NATE OATS: We emphasize you have to follow university policy. There's university policy. As a student-athlete, you should be well above reproach on all university policies regarding any of that type of stuff.

Q. Nate, San Diego State's three-point defense is I think No. 4 in the country. What stands out about that group and what they do against -- around the perimeter?

NATE OATS: Yeah, if you look at the way they guard, a lot of teams get their threes off, you know, running the ball screen or an action, and you have to pull a third defender in, that guy has to go from rotation to help.

They switch a lot one through five. I think they switch all the time one through four on ball screens. A lot of times they switch with the five. Sometimes they don't.

They definitely have it in their package, but when you switch, you don't have to pull a third defender in. You guard the pick and roll with two. You may have to get some help on a post-up or helping your big. But they do a great job, A, as a whole concept about they guard defensively. Their coaching staff does a great job, but then their players individually.

You know, we get a lot of threes. Our guys are able to beat players one-on-one. So, obviously, they switch. They've got their power forward or center on our point guard. They can beat them, get in the lane. All of a sudden help comes. We spray the ball out. They do a great job of not getting beat.

So, I mean, people can look at, yeah, get out, challenge. Well, it's more than that because if you don't help once you get beat, you're giving up a layup. You see some teams just refuse to help. They're scared of the way we shoot it. So they're not going to help, and we end up with 40 at-the-rim attempts and shoot 80 percent of those.

So you can't just choose to not help off our shooters, or you're going to give up layup after layup after layup, unless you can sit down and guard the ball and not get beat. They have really good individual defenders that don't get beat. We're going to have to do a great job on our offensive end.

We've played some really good defenses in the SEC. I mean, you look at Tennessee. If you look at the top five defenses, I think we're one of them, and then after we play San Diego State, I think we'll have played three out of the four.

We played get great defenses. They're not fun. We lost at Tennessee. This is another one of them we're going to have to be on point. They're tough. They're physical. They're big. They're strong. They move their feet. They take pride in it.

We're going to have to do a good job and be sharp, and we can't turn the ball over. That's another issue. They will force turnovers with how physical they are too.

Q. I'm curious with the David and Goliath narratives that tend to be really common throughout this tournament, how do you approach that as a 1 seed? Do you lean into it, or do you try to flip it on its head a little bit to motivate your guys and prevent from overlooking your opponents?

NATE OATS: Yeah, I think what makes the NCAA Tournament such a great event is what you are talking about. I mean, I go back to when I was a kid, and you see these -- I'm thinking about Bryce Drew and hitting his shot at Valpo and just all those great upsets and shots.

But you've also got great games between two great teams. I'm thinking about, you know, Bobby Hurley's Duke team or Christian Laettner hits the shot against Kentucky. That's one of my best memories watching two really good teams play.

So you don't just have to have the upsets to make for great TV and for the fans. You can have really good teams go going at it, which is what I think we have here.

We never lie to our team and try to tell them -- no, we don't try to -- we tell them the truth. We tell them, you know, when we're focused and concentrating on what we're supposed to be focused on, we should be the best team in the country.

Now, we need to play like it, and we've had enough games this year where we haven't done that. So we're not trying to flip it and tell them anything different. They know we're the No. 1 overall seed. They know what we're capable of when we bring it, but we need to bring it.

They also know we're capable of losing at Oklahoma by a large margin, and we lost at Tennessee. We didn't guard very well against Gonzaga. Took a loss the last regular season game of the year. Went to A&M. Weren't what we needed to be.

We've taken enough losses against good teams and some that weren't as good to where they know what they have to do on any given night.

So, no, the David/Goliath thing, from here on out I think we're going to be playing really good teams. It's going to be two great teams going at it, and it will be good for college basketball and our guys just have to be ready to go.