NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: REGIONAL FINAL - FLORIDA ATLANTIC VS KANSAS STATE

March 24, 2023

Dusty May

Alijah Martin

Michael Forrest

Bryan Greenlee

Madison Square Garden

FAU Owls

Elite 8 Pregame Media Conference

DUSTY MAY: Well, obviously extremely excited to still be playing and surviving and advancing like much of the year. Last night is a great example of different guys stepping up for our team in a cumulative effort, and like I said, we're excited to face Kansas State tomorrow.

Q. Alijah, can you talk a little bit about kind of maybe setting the emotions aside from last night's win and just talking about the mindset heading into the game tomorrow?

ALIJAH MARTIN: Yeah, I mean, we obviously just celebrated in the locker room, and as soon as we left and got to the hotel, just flipped the page and started prepping for Kansas State.

Q. Just what you see from Kansas State, and also your impressions of Johnson, Keyontae Johnson.

BRYAN GREENLEE: Obviously they're a very talented group. From what I saw yesterday just by watching the game in person, they've got a floor general as a point guard who can get everyone involved. And Keyontae Johnson is obviously like a freak athlete, very aggressive.

We just are going to trust the scout, lock into what we see on the film and what the coaches tell us to do and just execute that the best we can.

MICHAEL FORREST: Yeah, they definitely have a great point guard. And the team as a whole, everyone is amazing playing on and off the ball. For the next 24 hours we're going to just focus on the scout.

ALIJAH MARTIN: Yeah, they've got a great team. They're here for a reason, as well. But like Bryan said, we're just going to trust the scout and try to come out on top.

Q. (Indiscernible) you all believed this was going to be a really good team. People on the outside did not really see that coming. What was happening behind the scenes in practice over the off-season that led you to believe that this was going to be a great season and the dam was going to break for the program a little bit?

MICHAEL FORREST: Just the level of focus and intensity that these guys come into workouts with every day since the end of last season. Everyone has been coming in with their hardhat on and giving their best effort. Whether it's on the court or in film, like everyone is always giving 100 percent. That's really what's helped us out a whole lot.

Q. Bryan, when you're making the decision to transfer from Minnesota, obviously you were coming home to a certain degree, but what else goes into that? You're in the Big Ten, you decide, okay, I'm going to try something different?

BRYAN GREENLEE: I'm definitely grateful for my experience in Minnesota. I learned a lot. But it just wasn't the right fit.

I had a decent relationship with Coach May before I decided to come here, and I've just got to give glory to God. I felt like everything kind of fell into place. Obviously I was close to home, so that was a bonus. But just interacting with the staff and Coach May for the brief time that I did, I just felt like it was the best move for me, and I had a lot of faith in everything that he had going on here.

Q. We've established that you're not a Cinderella, but what does the term "dream season" mean to you guys, and do you think this season has been a dream season for the program?

ALIJAH MARTIN: Yeah, most definitely. We dreamed to be here. And just to make this run, it's amazing. Just thinking about all the work that we've put in, all the competing we do, all the serving we do, and we're just thankful for it.

MICHAEL FORREST: Yeah, it definitely is like a dream come true because I feel like all hoopers growing up want to have that like almost perfect season and be able to be in March Madness. So for us to be in the position that we're in, it's definitely a blessing.

BRYAN GREENLEE: Sure. Not only is it a dream season, I think it'll be a dream season 100 percent if we win the whole thing. But just really like a Dream Team, to play on such a great team with a group of guys that really don't care about personal stats and just everybody is so locked in and laser focused on just winning. It's been an unbelievable experience for me.

I'm definitely going to soak it all in once this is over, but right now it's just on to the next game.

Q. Last week at this time you hadn't even played a game yet at the NCAA Tournament. You've won three now. We know you guys were confident heading in, but is there a certain momentum at your back that you're feeling, an extra layer of momentum the deeper you go into this thing that gives you more confidence than you already had?

BRYAN GREENLEE: I think just seeing the team in like the scout and going out there and executing everything to our best ability and coming out with a victory just definitely gives us confidence. I can speak for myself, and I'm pretty sure the rest of the guys can attest to this, but just beating these teams that we have, it gives us a confidence boost, and we feel like we can compete and beat anybody in the country.

MICHAEL FORREST: Yeah, as we go along more and more into the season, I feel like we definitely have been building a lot of momentum. Just both defensively and offensively, everyone is finding their stride on the court, so it's really good.

ALIJAH MARTIN: Yeah, like Mike said, just getting deeper into the season, we're going to continue to get better. The more games we play, the better we get. We still feel like we haven't played our best ball yet, just because we're still going up.

Q. Alijah, picking up off of that theme, so many of the players in this tournament, guys you've already faced, are known names, brands in this game. What's it been like to enter this tournament and to continue playing in it with this sense of anonymity?

ALIJAH MARTIN: It's been great. You know, just playing here in the NCAA Tournament on one of the biggest stages, doing it with my brothers and just playing great ball, team ball and just living life, man.

MICHAEL FORREST: Yeah, it definitely is like -- we really don't think about things like that because we all know at the end of the day we put our pants on the same way they do. So once we step on to the court, we're just going to give our best effort and leave everything up to God.

Q. Bryan, so many of these guys are brand names, big names, on television all the time. You went to the tournament, not everyone knew who you were. What's it been like to enter this tournament and continue to play in it with somewhat anonymity?

BRYAN GREENLEE: It's been wonderful, honestly. When you step between them lines, all that extra stuff just kind of goes out the window, and it just comes down to competing and who has the biggest heart. I feel like we've proven that we just want it more than a lot of teams.

Q. Mike, you were held scoreless in the first two tournament games and then you had a key performance last night. I think Coach May was saying you put too much pressure on yourself the first two games and something clicked last night. Do you think that's true?

MICHAEL FORREST: I would say the biggest difference was like I was just able to just relax because my teammates were all -- they all kind of sensed that energy that I had and they were like being positive with me and just trying to keep me upbeat. So just from that.

And then being able to just like -- I took a little walk in Central Park and went there and just relaxed. That's really been like the biggest difference, just being able to relax and just release from all the city stuff.

Q. One of the things that Nowell does so well is he passes. How do you restrict his vision? Bryan, I'll ask you.

BRYAN GREENLEE: On-ball pressure is a big key, and also the help side defense and making sure that the rest of the defenders see their man and don't get back door cut and different things like that that just give him an opportunity to find open people.

I believe with our switching defense and how attentive we are to being disciplined, we can do a good job of containing him.

Q. I was wondering if you were to express what is a key of what Coach May does to make you successful, as good a team as you are, what would come to mind?

BRYAN GREENLEE: First off, he instills confidence in all of us. I think just his belief in what we can do just allows us to play with freedom, and we don't have to think about making mistakes or think too much on the court.

Also just how accountable him and the staff holds us. Our preparation and the work we've put in have prepared us for games and opportunities like this. It's all the work that goes on behind the scenes.

MICHAEL FORREST: Yeah, I feel like it's the trust that he has in everybody. From the best man to the last man coming off the bench, he treats everybody the same, and it's just a testament to how good of a coach and how good of a person he is.

Just his belief in everybody is really what gives us the confidence on the court to work hard and to stay disciplined.

ALIJAH MARTIN: Yeah, Bryan and Michael hit it right on the head. Just the trust he has in us, also with the coaching staff, the work he helps us with. Most coaches don't be in the gym rebounding for us, but he'll be the first one in there just rebounding us, helping us stay on top of our game.

Yeah, man, he's just a great coach, and we all love him.

Q. Have any of you guys ever played a game in the building before yesterday?

ALL: No.

Q. Coach May has been in the building before. Did he tell you guys anything to get ready for playing in this building?

MICHAEL FORREST: He didn't give us any warning really. He just said the experience would be amazing and just so soak it all in, so he definitely hit it on the head with that.

ALIJAH MARTIN: Just to play calm, let the game come to us.

BRYAN GREENLEE: Yeah, just to play confident, just do the same thing we've been doing.

DUSTY MAY: I did. I just didn't give them the context that it was in this building, about the big play and the cell phones buzzing all night and being focused on what just happened instead of what was next. Chiozza hit the floater against Wisconsin and then we played South Carolina here two days later to go to the Final Four and we ran out of gas. I told them the story, I just didn't give them the details. Some fond and some not-so-fond memories here.

Q. Dusty, you didn't have a straight line, and I was talking to Joe Pasternack about this back when you guys were Indiana managers about the path to get to this point. How would you describe your coaching path from being an Indiana student manager under Bob Knight, your time with Mike White, to get to this point in the Elite 8?

DUSTY MAY: Very gratifying to go through so many steps. The journey was tough, but to really go the tough route, all I ever wanted to do was be a high school basketball coach in Indiana. This all kind of just happened, so very -- like you said, very up and down. Across the board, moving your family every year when you have young kids, all that kind of stuff.

It's been awesome. Every step I've enjoyed. I loved being an assistant, I loved being a video coordinator, I loved being a head coach, so every part of it. Grateful to be here, grateful to be a part of this game and recommend these young men. They're awesome guys.

Q. On the manager aspect, they're often overlooked, work their tails off. What aspect of being a manager can actually lead to being a head coach?

DUSTY MAY: Serving without wanting anything in return. Except knowledge and experience.

Q. Kansas State has a lot of transfers on its roster and looks like they can look at the all-conference teams and say, okay, that's the guys we want at some of those lower levels. You're dealing with guys like Bryan and Vlad who really haven't played that much, maybe even Jalen who's been there for three years. What is the process of evaluating these players who haven't played that much on the college level to make you think that they will be successful at your program?

DUSTY MAY: Well, B.J., I was an assistant at Florida and he was at the Rock School in Gainesville so I was familiar with him, seen him play a lot, watched him in AAU. And then even when I got this job, he was still on the circuit, and I knew his coaches well, his AAU and his high school coaches.

But it was understood this he want to go Power Five. He wanted to go to the highest level and he was going to wait a while to do that, so we moved in another direction. And then when he left, the timing wasn't perfect, so it he ended up just working out. And he's provided -- we knew what kind of player he was. It was just a matter of him finding the right fit and us finding the right fit as well.

With Vladislov when he went in the portal, we studied his CSKA, his youth from back Russia film. We watched the Putnam Science games. They had all their stuff online, so we studied him thoroughly and knew how good he was.

And then Jalen Gaffney, I was on the staff when we recruited those guys at Florida, and Jalen ended up going to UConn. So I had seen him, knew his dad, very familiar with him as a person, so it was seamless. The recruitment was short with all three of those guys.

Q. When you came to the building for this regional, did you spend any time sort of reflecting on your first experience here? I wasn't sure, had you ever been part of a coaching staff that has been here?

DUSTY MAY: I was UAB preseason NIT. We upset Arizona and Tucson and Blake Griffin and those guys and Boston College with Tyrese Rice, and the NIT later changed their rule so the higher seeds came here automatically. So we feel like we were partially to blame for the Blazers being here in the Garden, for changing the preseason NIT rules.

We played really well, didn't find a way to beat Blake and those guys with Oklahoma, but had a great experience. And then obviously the last one we feel like we left a great opportunity not advancing to the Final Four, but it's part of the experience.

Q. For the people who are not from the southeast and maybe are sort of just catching on to who you guys are and the way that you guys play, if they were to ask, how did this happen at Florida Atlanta? What would you tell them?

DUSTY MAY: I would tell them we were on the verge -- I've told everyone we were on the verge last year. We won 19 games and Nick Boyd was out all season, and Nick only averaged five or six as a freshman two years ago. He was out, B.J. missed a lot of time, and we invented ways to lose last year. So we felt like we had a 20 to 25 win team last year if we just clean up a few possessions. Really did a deep dive in the off-season about why we lost those games and was very intentional every minute of every day about fixing those things. And we felt like if we did that, we would be really, really good.

Now, 30 or however many wins we have, I lose track, I don't pay attention than much to be honest, other than conference standings -- whatever it is, we never envisioned this. But knew we had a special group if we cleaned up a few things we'd have a chance to win a lot more games.

Q. I was trying to square you guys' timeline and I wasn't sure, would you have intersected with Keyontae Johnson?

DUSTY MAY: Yeah, I watched him a lot at IMG his junior year and then saw him a little bit at Oak Hill and then his official visit when signed him and spent time with him and his family. So I know Keyontae well. My oldest son, Jack, is a walk-on at Florida, and he was teammate, very close friend. So they had a couple great moments last night, as well.

Q. What was your biggest takeaway from him?

DUSTY MAY: He played like a 35-year-old veteran at 18 years old. The game is really, really slow in his mind, and that's very unique when you consider his size, strength, length, athleticism, shooting ability, his ability to drive the basketball. He's just a really unique talent.

Q. You mentioned, you said all you ever wanted to do was be a high school coach in Indiana. Why? Where did that idea come from when you were younger?

DUSTY MAY: No one in my family ever played basketball. My mom signed me up when I was young and something about this game, I became obsessed with it from the very first minute I ever played it. She made me wear sweat pants because I had so many floor burns. I was so aggressive. And I just wanted to be like my high school coach. That was it.

Q. Talking to folks you've worked with or worked for, one thing they've mentioned a lot is your capacity for work. What is your approach to that and where do you think that might come from?

DUSTY MAY: Well, blue collar family, hard work is rooted in who we are. We take a lot of pride in our work ethic back home in southern Indiana, and then I love basketball. So none of it feels like work. Watching film, studying leadership, getting in the gym, it feels like a hobby that I get paid to do. I think all that stuff is very overblown because I enjoy doing it.

Q. To be one of the eight teams left, saw it with you guys and Kansas State last night, you have to have that special thing, and every team maybe has it a little bit different, whether it's trials and tribulations throughout the season, great players, something. What is it with your team would you say is your it factor?

DUSTY MAY: What they just said. The anonymity, embracing it. We have no one that's searching for the spotlight, making it about them. We all make it about us every single minute of every single day. Great example, Mike Forrest was in a little bit of a slump. He walks in the locker room last night and we're all chanting Mikey, Mikey, Mikey. We're so happy for him to break out.

He stops everyone and thanks his teammates for being so positive the last few games while he was down. Everyone is always thinking about the guy to the left and the guy to the right.

Q. When you first watched Markquis Nowell's film, if you watched any of it last night or this morning, was there a player that popped into your mind when watching him, and what do you think is the key in slowing him down tomorrow?

DUSTY MAY: Well, I watched him a lot this season because I enjoy watching that team play. They play the right way, they share it, they're enjoyable to watch. And as a coach, that's the greatest compliment when you'll turn on a TV and watch a team play.

So I watched them a lot. So very familiar. And obviously watching Keyontae, last night he put on a show, just his ability to score, to impact every single possession. We're not even talking about his defensive ability. His steals, his quick hands, his quick feet, his anticipation. He just impacts winning every single possession of every single game. And for him to sprain his ankle, come back in and play in whatever capacity he was and to do the things he did, it just shows how special he is as far as heart.

Q. When Keyontae went through his episode, I wondered how that impacted you, what you recall your emotions were that day, and did you have any conversations with him or people around him following that?

DUSTY MAY: I talk to Mike White every day, their entire staff. A couple guys on their staff now used to work with me here at FAU. So my son was on the team, my wife was probably at that game. It's hard for me now like to watch -- they showed it on SportsCenter yesterday, and I said, I've got to go.

Q. I asked the question to the players, how do you shut down Nowell. I mean, how do you take away his vision.

DUSTY MAY: You don't shut him down. You try to make him score inefficiently, you try to challenge every pass, every passing lane with anticipation, with our athleticism. But you don't stop a guy like that, you just hope to make him inefficient on that particular night.

Q. You've talked a lot about defending Markquis Nowell, but he's kind of shown late here that when you double him, he's quick enough to dribble around it. When you're preparing for a player that's that quick, what kind of strategies can you use to take away some of their speed?

DUSTY MAY: Well, you have to pick your poison with him and choose best angles possible. We talk about him and Keyontae all the time, but their supporting cast are good and they have a perfect mix of shooting and guys who can play above the defense. So if you turn your head with his playmaking skills and give him too much attention, now they're throwing lobs as they've proven all year they're able to do.

So you have to pick your poison, decide what you're going to live with and try to make them as inefficient as possible. Because when you have the range, the mid-range, the floaters to the rim, the passing to the left and right hand, he has no holes in his game and he's going to find a solution to whatever coverage you're in.

So we'll probably have to switch up some coverages. Hopefully we don't, but players like that typically make you.

Q. Just talking about facing K-State and you mentioned you were telling the story to your guys about sort of being gassed out in your prime coaching career, do you feel like that's the benefit of having an eight, nine-man rotation where you can get guys in and out and stay fresh?

DUSTY MAY: Yeah, the eight, nine-man rotation, it provides a lot of advantages. I think scouting us on short notice, which guy is which, some of them are left-handed, some of them are right-handed, and these things are happening very quickly, fast in our game.

We used it more in Columbus because after we won the first game against Memphis, it was emotional. Our guys knew they were going to the favorite against. We did not want them on their phones feeling too great all night. We wanted them, hey, let's enjoy this, enjoy this moment with your family, friends. Let's turn the phones off and get our rest. You'll thank us later. Hold your roommate accountable, because a lot of us -- if the guy sitting over here, if I can hold him accountable and he holds me accountable, we go a lot further.

So we used that last weekend and then we did it again last night. We have such great leadership in our locker room. Giancarlo we walked off the bus together and Rosado is one of the best leaders I've been around. I said, G, let's make sure our phones are off by 2:00 -- it was 1:00 a.m.; let's enjoy this next hour. By 2:00, let's make sure our phones are off and we're getting some rest because tomorrow is a huge day for preparation.

Q. Dusty, when you're together with them and the phones are off and SportsCenter is off and all that stuff, how much can you play the nobody believed in us thing after you win the conference championship, beat Tennessee like you did last night, win these games and advance far enough in this tournament?

DUSTY MAY: We don't talk about those that don't believe in us. That's not why we play. That's not why we do what we do. That's not why we work. All those things are something that we can't control.

We can control what we do every single day, and when you talk about dream season, this isn't a dream season because we're 34-3 or whatever we are. It's a dream season because of how these guys are every single day. And we won 20 games in a row, and these guys didn't change up a bit. They were more determined, they had better attitudes, they shared the spotlight even more during that.

We're prepared for this moment because it's really difficult as an 18- to 20-year-old to go through that long of a stretch while you're the hunted and continue to fight off every challenger. Especially in our league, which is proven to be incredibly difficult.

Q. I know when you broke into the business the transfer portal didn't exist, but I'm wondering if you think there's any correlation between changing jobs every couple years, which means you have to learn a new set of players, and develop relationships with them very quickly. And then finding success in the portal now that it does exist because those recruitments are so brief and you're gelling a large number of guys quite quickly?

DUSTY MAY: It's very difficult, and some coaches are really good at it. I think the coaches that have a junior college background, they're probably more accustomed to filling a roster every year. I'm probably not as good at it. I really enjoy the relationship piece. Usually freshmen and I butt heads for one year and then we have a great relationship for three. It's just kind of how it's worked out.

Obviously we're going to use it at times. We're still going to recruit high school players, we're going to recruit junior college players, we're going to recruit the players that are best for us, whether it's the transfer portal or whatever case.

Q. Truth serum here: Before the Conference USA tournament, how concerned were you that you could get an at-large bid?

DUSTY MAY: Probably not concerned enough. I felt like we were in before Conference USA tournament. I had a good friend say, I wouldn't lose the first one if I were you, and I was like, wait a minute, we're not in? I was probably a little bit -- I probably should have been more concerned.