NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: REGIONAL SEMIFINAL - PRINCETON VS CREIGHTON

March 23, 2023

Greg McDermott

Ryan Nembhard

Ryan Kalkbrenner

Trey Alexander

Arthur Kaluma

Baylor Scheierman

KFC Yum! Center

Creighton Bluejays

Sweet 16 Pregame Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: We'll begin with questions.

Q. Any of you guys can take this one. A chance to make history this weekend, take the program to its first Elite Eight. What does that kind of mean to have that opportunity and with this group?

RYAN NEMBHARD: Yeah, man, yeah. It would be great for us as a program. Obviously, like you said, it would be our first time getting to the Elite Eight. Huge for our program. Huge for our school just to build our brand, and huge for us.

We've been working for it all year. A lot of practices, a lot of ups and downs throughout the year, and, yeah, it would just be a huge thing for our program, so we're looking forward that it.

Q. For Ryan Kalkbrenner, I'm curious. I look back at the past two years, and obviously it's probably hard to predict something like this happening so quick. But I look at how much R2, Trey, and Art mean to this team as sophomores, and I'm curious, where were you when you realized the final guy of them had committed, and you saw the whole ensemble, and maybe how did you feel about how it could change the trajectory of the program?

RYAN KALKBRENNER: I don't remember where I was when these guys committed. I just remember looking at that whole class as a whole and being, like, damn, we got a lot of really, really good freshmen coming in.

When they got here for the summer and started to get to actually work out with them and all that, you could see they're going to be really, really special, and they've been really, really special since they've gotten here.

It's just been a lot of fun having them on the team, and they're just super, super good players.

Q. For any of you guys. What do you see in Princeton? What kind of problems do they pose?

ARTHUR KALUMA: Princeton is a very solid team. I mean, you don't just beat Arizona. So we've just got to take them seriously and take what they bring at us. I mean, I feel like their biggest threat is their catch-and-shoot opportunities. If we could eliminate that, I feel like we should have a pretty solid chance.

Q. For Baylor. How much of a difference does it make having several days to prepare for a game this big as opposed to having less than 48 hours like you guys did against Baylor?

BAYLOR SCHEIERMAN: It makes a big difference. Obviously, having a whole week to prepare for a team, you're able to catch up on their tendencies a lot quicker and get those dialed in, and then also just, you know, their plays, their out-of-bounds plays and just what they like to do as a whole, which makes a big difference coming into game time.

Q. Trey, when you look at this team of what you guys did well last weekend, what went so well against NC State and Baylor that you hope to replicate this weekend?

TREY ALEXANDER: I feel like it had a lot to do with our defense. I feel like we were locked in on the defensive end, and we played the way that we were supposed to and being one of the best defensive teams in the country. I feel like if we're able to sustain that throughout the whole tournament and against Princeton, then we'll be just fine.

I mean, it was mainly just being locked in and playing together on the defensive end. Just knowing what each team's tendencies were and trying to take those away in both games, so...

THE MODERATOR: Coach, an opening statement.

GREG McDERMOTT: It's good to be back. I was here in 2018 for the Kentucky Derby and had a soggy, but good day that day.

But thrilled for our team to continue this journey. It's been a great ride with this group of young guys watching them kind of navigate some adversity during portions of the season and continue to grow closer together, continue to get better. As a result of that, you know, we're still alive and have an opportunity against a very good Princeton team on Friday.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Greg, you've got a chance to see Princeton on film, and obviously, they have a very unique player in Tosan Evbuomwan. What kind of challenges will that offense present for you?

GREG McDERMOTT: Well, it's not just their offense that presents challenges. I think defensively I've been incredibly impressed. I've watched a lot of Ivy League basketball here the last three or four days, and I'll be watching more in the future because I've been really impressed with the execution. The coaching in that league is outstanding.

Obviously, for them to be co-champions in that conference I think speaks to how good they are, but defensively they're terrific.

Then offensively, you know, Evbuomwan, he can score, and he can really pass. If you allow him to do both, you're asking for trouble. So we have to figure out a way to slow that down. It's hard to do, and they space the floor with a lot of really good shooters. Then when they miss, you know, the first two games, 30 second-chance points for Princeton and four combined for Arizona and Missouri.

So I think that speaks to their discipline defensively on the glass, blocking out, not giving you second opportunities, and then their second effort that they make to get to that offensive glass when they do miss a shot.

We our hands full. This is a really, really good basketball team. It's not a fluke that they're still playing.

Q. Coach, you mentioned adversity. Do you feel like it's been a streaky season, and if so, what would you attribute that streakiness and adversity to?

GREG McDERMOTT: I don't think it's necessarily been streaky. I guess if you look at it strictly on paper, it certainly looks streaky. We won six. We lost six. Then at one point we won eight or nine in a row.

But part of that especially, in the conference portion of the season, was due to the strength of the Big East, and I think everybody now has found out how strong the Big East is.

We have the best record in the tournament percentage-wise at this point of the tournament, and I think there's a reason for that. The league was really good.

But there were some reasons that we struggled early. Illness was certainly one of them and losing a key component, but we were also still growing at that team. We were starting three sophomores that were 19 years old that had a ton of expectations placed on their shoulders and were dealing with all of that for the first time. They navigated it extremely well. I'm really proud of them for that, but it's all part of the journey.

You end up at the ending place at the end because of everything that transpired before that. Had that not happened, I'm not sure we would be the team we are today.

Q. Mac, question about Jeremy Anderson. Was a testament to his work last weekend when you guys were playing at altitude, you're trying to push tempo, and you didn't have oxygen on the bench either?

GREG McDERMOTT: What I could see about Jeremy Anderson is if you go and look at how we played in the last four to six weeks of the season and every season prior to his arrival, and then you look at what we've done since he has been here, we've played our best basketball at the end of the season. Part of that is on him. Part of it I deserve the credit because I listened to him (laughing).

So never have I -- and this is certainly -- I really respect Jeremy's knowledge, and he doesn't recommend things without science to back it up. It's not just a gut feel.

He has data, and I remember the first year having a conversation as he started to want me to shorten my practices as the season went on, and I said, Why?

He said, Well, if you -- they're not going to have a fresh body on game day unless they have a fresh mind. So my job is to make sure their body is ready, but I can't get their body ready if they're in a bad place because they think they've been overworked, they think they've done too much.

He and I have really forged a partnership. He knows I trust him 100 percent. I joke about it sometimes and try to get an extra five or six minutes for a practice on occasion, but he has been a rock for me in terms of managing the season, how much we can do, when a guy comes back off an injury. He and Ben McNair work very closely together to get that player back to full speed in a way that their body can help.

So he has been terrific. I've got -- obviously my coaching staff is terrific. My support staff is terrific. But, you know, Jeremy has changed the way I look at strength and conditioning. He has changed my approach to practice. Sometimes when somebody has been in it 30 years, it's hard to take this old dog and get him to change and do some new tricks. Jeremy has done that.

Q. Greg, I'm curious how what you think you have to do to be able to slow down the second-chance points that you talked about. Also, how has your offense evolved over the years?

GREG McDERMOTT: Princeton does a great job of putting their body on you on the offensive glass, so we have to put our body on them first. It's that simple.

If they get to us first and they create an angle, they create a seal, then I have to hope that it bounces somewhere else or they're going to get it. You know, offensively we've just became better as the season has gone on. I think guys have gotten accustomed to playing with each other. I think the bench has improved as the season has gone on. Francisco Farabello had a great game against Baylor. Shereef Mitchell has had his moments. Mason Miller has done some good things. Fredrick King gives Kalkbrenner a spell off the bench.

I think the first 10, 15, 16 games, and even more than that for us because of the -- losing Kalkbrenner for a while, we were all trying to figure out what our role is, and I think those roles are very defined now. I think guys are being champions in their roles.

The guys that are playing a bunch of minutes are doing a good job off the floor with Jeremy and Ben to manage their bodies so that they can handle that.

And to the point of the question earlier, you know, we didn't have oxygen on our bench in Denver like our opponents, and I think our guys kind of looked at that with a chuckle, like, Really? You know, they've got an oxygen mask down there? We're the ones playing fast here.

We're in a good place, and our guys are very confident in their teammates' ability to function on the offensive end.

Q. You had a very emotional, dramatic win against San Diego State last year in the tournament that was just absolutely crushing for them. They were up nine with just over two minutes to go in regulation and lost. It affected their season. I know you shared a charter with them to Maui this year. How much have you followed their season, and do you have an appreciation for what they've been able to do in this tournament?

GREG McDERMOTT: Absolutely. Steve Fisher is a great friend of mine. Has been for a number of years. I've known Dutch forever.

You know, when we found out we were both in the Maui deal and we weren't going to have a full plane, we worked together to share that charter, and Brian and I sat right across the aisle from each other all the way to Hawaii and all the way back.

You know, we're hopeful that we would meet in the championship game, and one of us comes home 3-0, and the other 2-1. It didn't quite work out like that, but tremendous respect for their program. You know, we stole the game last year. We really had no business winning. Everything had to go right in the last three minutes for us, and it did.

I'm not surprised that they've had the season they've had. They're tremendous defensively. They're unselfish offensively. They played in a very good league, and they won a very good league.

You know, it's good to see them here. I'm happy for Dutch. I'm not surprised at the success that they've had.

Q. Coach, it seems like there's a lot more media attention on your guys' team this year with the camera crew following you around. If you compare this to your last Sweet 16 appearance, stress level-wise, do you feel the same, maybe more, just because there's more media attention as far as getting game plans installed by game time?

GREG McDERMOTT: I mean, when you're in the bubble, I mean, I was thinking about rearranging the furniture in my hotel room. That's what it came to when you were in Indianapolis as long as we were.

It was just different. It was you and the team, and that's it. There was no sharing the joy with anybody on the outside, including their families, any fans.

But I think your preparation -- I mean, in some ways it was almost hard to believe. We were taking three buses to practice. Like, come on, really? Just so many things that had to happen for that tournament to be pulled off, and the NCAA and Indianapolis did an incredible job of pulling it off and making it as enjoyable as possible.

But I think now because you have the emotion and the celebration around it, you have to bring the guys back down to earth on the practice floor to make sure they're ready. They had none of that the last time. You know, except for Shereef and Kalk, nobody else was there. None of those guys experienced it. It's basically a brand-new team in that regard.

So I think we've managed it pretty well. I think the guys enjoyed their time back on campus and enjoyed time with their families after the game in Denver. But once we hit the practice floor on Tuesday, they were ready to go back to work.

Q. You guys had a great crowd showing in Denver, and earlier on Twitter this week you made an appeal to Jays fans to come down to Louisville. What kind of atmosphere are you expecting again from CU fans?

GREG McDERMOTT: I'm one of those guys that likes an underdog and a Cinderella too, so I have a feeling it's going to be us in blue against the world on Friday because of what Princeton has accomplished here in the first two games.

But I think we'll have a great showing. I was very impressed with the amount of people that turned out in Denver. Especially coming off the Big East Tournament when a lot of those same people were in New York.

I think we'll have a great crowd here. I think people understand that it's hard to get to this level. And really in the modern era this is the first time any of our fans have had an opportunity to come and enjoy a Sweet 16 because the numbers were so small in Indianapolis.

I think a lot of people will be here. I think it will be a great environment, and obviously, playing a really good team.