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

March 24, 2023

Jerome Tang

Ismael Massoud

Keyontae Johnson

Madison Square Garden

Kansas State Wildcats

Elite 8 Pregame Media Conference

JEROME TANG: First of all, we apologize for being late. Just trying to get some rehab in, make sure that we're as physically fit as we can be for tomorrow. We're blessed to be in New York for another day or two and be together, and excited about the game on Saturday.

Q. Keyontae, when we asked Dusty about his relationship with you, he actually got emotional talking about what you have gone through. What was your relationship with him? What impact did he have on you? I know he had left I think before you started playing, but talk about that and your relationship with Dusty.

KEYONTAE JOHNSON: Me and Coach May, he was a part of the recruiting process for Florida. His son was the walk-on for our team, so one of his sons is one of my close friends. He was at the game last night. Coach May has always been there. He gave me advice throughout the season when he came to our practice and a few of our games.

So me and Coach May is real close. That's my guy. Proud of everything he's doing for FAU this year.

Q. The story has been told many, many times. Last year there was two guys on scholarship and now you're in the Elite 8 here. What are the skills and qualities that your coach has that allowed the program to do what it's done? What role has Jerome played in that path?

ISMAEL MASSOUD: I mean, it's just a faith that can't be understated enough. The amount of faith he had in me and Markquis and the belief that he had, him and the coaching staff to be able to put a team around us and be able to build that foundation, to be able to do what we're doing today.

Also that and just the hard work, just instilling that hard work, and he wanted to bring guys that valued hard work because he's a hardworking man himself. And just having that around, I would say those two things, faith and hard work.

Q. Keyontae, when you were deciding to transfer to Kansas State, did you have any conversations with Markquis, and did he try to help them get you?

KEYONTAE JOHNSON: Yeah, when Coach Tang started recruiting me, Markquis was one of the main guys that reached out. His brother also was dealing with me the whole time, just giving me his pros and cons. Saying if I go to a different conference, I'd be Keyontae. But if I come to the Big 12, like I'd showcase and show everybody who really Keyontae is.

So I feel like Quis and his brother did a great job of making me feel welcome, feel like a family. They never forced the conversation, always told me to go with my heart. I felt like that was just real for me.

Q. To have one of the star players out recruiting, how unique is that, and kind of how did that make you feel?

KEYONTAE JOHNSON: I mean, it was major. I knew Markquis, I knew who he was. I seen his game before. I wanted to play with a guard like him. I watched film on him. Just seeing his IQ and just trying to relate it to my game, where I cut and stuff and seeing where I can get open. And he's doing a great job of that right now, so just props to him.

Q. Ish, the start of the season was somewhat rocky for you, a few games you didn't play much in. I was wondering if you could walk us through that process of how you and Coach Tang got on the same page and if there was a mindset for you to be making an impact onto the team now?

ISMAEL MASSOUD: For myself, I understood it was a different situation, different role. People are able to grow and understand and understand things at different times. So for me it just took a little longer to understand what the coaching staff wanted from me.

And at times it was frustrating, but just having the conversation, Coach Tang always tells us his door is always open. And at first I didn't really want to have those conversations because it was hard conversations to have. But I realized this team was winning and just I wanted to be a part of it. And I knew I could help and I knew I could play a big part for this team.

So it was taking that first step to having those conversations and just understanding at the end of the day, you could control what you can and try your best and that's all you could ask for. So Coach Tang was really open and honest and he helped me a lot, and I feel like the conversations we had helped get us to where we are now.

Q. Keyontae, Markquis turns and says, "watch this" to Isaiah Mateen. What did he saw what he turns his head and says to put yourself in position for that alley-oop?

KEYONTAE JOHNSON: Well, I didn't know him and Coach Tang was arguing about a call. I kept seeing A.J. kind of scooting up farther and farther. And as soon as Quis stopped looking at Coach Tang, he just looked at me, and I just told him to throw it. And I did just a full sprint and went up and tried to dunk it. I mean, the reverse was the momentum of the game. Wasn't planning on doing it. It just happened.

Q. Did you say --

KEYONTAE JOHNSON: It was an eye contact, I raise my eyebrows sometimes or something like that. So he just threw it. I knew I was going to get there, just had to finish it.

Q. Ish, being a New York guy, when you see this on the back page of the Post, what goes through your mind?

ISMAEL MASSOUD: It's his city. He missed New York City for a reason. I wouldn't expect anything less. He's well deserving of all that praise because he's worked hard for it and no one deserves it more than him.

Q. A lot of transfers on this team and Keyontae, you gave your reason. Ish, why did you come here? I know you were in the previous administration, so to speak. What was it about Kansas State that drew you here?

ISMAEL MASSOUD: Just it has a great history. Kansas State plays in the best league in the country. And just the history of the school, it's a great university, first and foremost. And then Manhattan, Kansas, is one of the happiest places on earth. Just being around that environment, seeing the Octagon of Doom and just the opportunity it presented for me to come out and just have a new home, and it was something I couldn't pass on.

Q. Keyontae, when you knew you were going to get a chance to play again and you kind of mapped it into your mind, what did you see for yourself in this last season of college basketball?

KEYONTAE JOHNSON: I mean, I had a goal for myself coming into the basketball season, I wanted to take advantage of it. And my goal was to try to change the program. Just play to -- Coach Tang, he showed me his platform for me. He's like, the freedom, I seen that in him, and I knew Big 12 -- I was preseason Player of the Year in the SEC, so I just wanted to transfer my talents to the Big 12, what they call the pro league. And just see my skill sets from there.

And Coach Tang had trust in me from day one with everything, my team just welcomed me here, and it's just like a home to me. It's the best thing I could have did.

Q. For both of you guys, kind of the early going of preparing for FAU, what are some things that have stood out that Coach has talked to you about?

KEYONTAE JOHNSON: They do a good job of -- man, it's going to be like a lot of one-on-one games, staying in front of our man. They hit tough threes, they're physical, they don't back down, they play hard. It's going to be another tough game.

Elite 8, basically just got to keep it going really. Just stick together, the toughest team is going to win, most connected team will win this game, and I feel like that's what we do best. We should come out with a W.

ISMAEL MASSOUD: They're obviously here for a reason. They won, what, 34 games. That doesn't happen by accident. They're obviously well-coached, have a great team, great team chemistry. They shoot the ball really well. So like Coach Tang, it's going to be a 40-minute war. A matter of falling back on habits and worry about what we can control and what we can do and just being the aggressors.

Q. Coach said yesterday the Big 12 was the best conference, Baylor and Kansas won the last two titles, Texas Tech got to the final the year before that. What is it about the league that makes it so good, so tough? And not to get ahead of yourselves, but how much are you guys trying to continue the trend of the Big 12's success this year?

ISMAEL MASSOUD: I would just say just from top to bottom, there's no nights off. Whether you're playing at Baylor or at Kansas or going to Oklahoma, there's no nights off. Anyone can beat anybody. Just the detail and having a game plan for every single team, and they're doing the same for you.

And the talent on every roster, every team has multiple players 1 through 5, 1 through 10, so all of that plays a big role. And the tough environments as well, it just plays a role into it being the best league.

KEYONTAE JOHNSON: Basically what he said. A lot of great coaches in the league, a lot of talented players. Every night we've got 6 out of 10 teams that was in the top 25. So there's no off nights there. Best player and the most connected team got to show up, and I feel like that's what we did throughout the season.

Q. I know Coach has done a great job keeping you guys in the moment, one-game brackets. But that said, you're human. You know the situation, one game away from potentially the ultimate college basketball stage. How do you stay in the moment, and have you allowed yourself to dream a little bit about the Final Four?

KEYONTAE JOHNSON: We always preach about 1-0, so this game, we're just going to take this -- try to do everything we can to lock in with film mentally, even though a lot of guys might be tired. But just try to stay focused, just stay together and just got to lock in on scout.

At this point, like you said, we're one game away, and everybody's goal is trying to get to the National Championship. That was our goal from the beginning of the season. We're just going to keep with that, fight with a hunger and just stay together.

ISMAEL MASSOUD: Like Keyontae said, the whole year we've been preaching going 1-0. So Coach Tang said earlier this morning, we going to fall back to our habits. Since we've doing that the whole year, I think the guys will be pretty locked in on going 1-0 not looking ahead to Houston but just worried about FAU.

Q. Keyontae, I know you've probably been asked this many times before, but if I had a health issue and was in a medically induced coma for three days, the last thing I think I would do is get back out on the court. Did you see 10 doctors just to make sure, or why?

KEYONTAE JOHNSON: I mean, my parents always told me to never let one person tell you a decision and change your life. We went to -- I got two other opinions, and the two other opinions out of the -- well, I got three different opinions, and the scale -- the ratio was 2 to 1. So I just went with what the two doctors said and trusted in God and trusted my faith just with everything. Just my circle kept me positive and just kept me in an uplifted mood, and it just got me through a lot.

Q. Every time I see you, you have a smile on your face right now. How much fun are you having right now, and what are you remembering most about this experience to this point?

KEYONTAE JOHNSON: I mean, I just always try to keep a positive energy around me, always let the guys see I'm happy. I can't be blessed enough to be here, so just trying to enjoy life, enjoy the moment. You're only in college for so long. So everybody that comes back to K-State or previously at Florida always told me, enjoy college life here because it's going to be gone.

Basketball was almost taken away from me, so I go out there to have fun and show my teammates the love and joy that I have for them.

Q. Keyontae, when you first started getting back on the court, how did you not think about the health? How was that not something on your mind?

KEYONTAE JOHNSON: I mean, in the summer Coach Tang always told me to trust God. He wouldn't put me in this position to fail me and not take care of me. So when he said that, just going through the practice in the summer, at first I was thinking about it, but going through practice, getting comfortable with the guys around me, trusting the medical team. It was easier for me to -- like one less stress on me.

I don't really think about it, I just go out there and play. Everything happens for a reason, but I've just got my faith in God and I know he's going to lead the way and not fail me.

Q. For either of the players but mostly for Ish, you and Markquis have been roommates, you're best friends. Last night he goes down, hurts his ankle or foot. Have you seen his determination and hard work kind of carry over towards rehabbing and making sure that he's able to play tomorrow night in comparison to what he does on the court in the summer in terms of getting extra shots up?

ISMAEL MASSOUD: Yeah, for sure. I knew that wasn't going to keep Quis out of the game, and I knew once the game was over, he was going to be doing it, working on his foot around the clock. You know, Quis is fine. He's a warrior. He's battle tested. A little ankle tweak is not going to affect him.

KEYONTAE JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean, Quis, he's the hardest worker. He always wants to show that he's a leader on the team. And for him to come back in the game was big for us, just got everybody more comfortable, just showing that he wanted to come out there and work hard for us.

We just tried to go out there and have his back and showing that we got him, even though he was injured at the time.

Q. Keyontae, one other thing about the collapse. Where have you put in your mind and your perspective about the meaning of that in your life? Is there a way you can describe what that meant to who you became?

KEYONTAE JOHNSON: I mean, for me, it helped me see that I'm an inspiration to everybody around the world. A lot of people hit me up just saying I am inspiring them. That motivated me to keep going, just not let my story fail. They motivate me and I'm motivating other people, and I feel like that's just driving me to keep going.

Q. As an assistant at Baylor, you've been on both sides of the Elite 8, the joy of winning it to get to the Final Four and feeling that pain of losing. How would you describe what an Elite 8 game is like?

JEROME TANG: I've always heard that it's probably the hardest game to win. Both teams know that they're right there. Yeah, I've experienced both -- like the guys said, we have the same old boring habits, and we're going to work on going 1-0.

And I'm just grateful to be here because you think of how many coaches never get a chance to play in an Elite 8, and you just said I have been in three of them already. I'm so blessed.

Q. What was that swing like of the win versus when you didn't get it?

JEROME TANG: Come on, man. When you lose, the season is over. There's no way to describe it. It's such an abrupt end. You've got guys that you're never going to be with again.

Yeah, it's not a great feeling. And when you win, it's exhilaration and it's something that you worked so hard for. It took us, I think, like 18 years to do it. That was just one of the best feelings that I got from a basketball experience in my life.

Q. I believe it was a year ago today that you were announced as the new coach. I'm not certain of that, but I believe it was. I'm curious, after so many years at Baylor, did you know the persona you would have when you finally became a head coach, or did you get on the job and start saying, this is who I'll be, how I'll be? How did you feel that out?

JEROME TANG: I'm just being me. This is who I am. I've always been like this. I mean, I'm not doing anything different that I hadn't done for the last 19 years. I just did it behind the scenes.

Now, for some reason, social media -- I guess it might be Jareem Dowling that got me out there. But yeah, I've been the same guy this whole time, and I was never going to change.

Q. Jerome, can you take me back to when Keyontae committed to you guys? I know it was later in the process in the summertime. Do you remember where you were and how the staff kind of reacted to that news?

JEROME TANG: Yeah, I can take you back to when he didn't commit because we were getting ready to go on vacation as a staff together. And he had told us that he would tell us on like August 11th, but he didn't clear it with his mom first. So Ms. Nika was a little upset, so she wouldn't let him do it on the 11th.

So we're on vacation and we're waiting for him to call and let us know and he doesn't let us know. So you really can't celebrate. Like, is something going to go wrong. Then he visits Nebraska after we get back, and then after he goes to Nebraska, he comes back and school is about to start the next day. And he says, all right, I'm coming.

We felt like we was going to get him, but then once he does that, you don't really have to time to celebrate. You've got to get him in school and get him there. It wasn't the big party we had wanted it to be, but very thankful that it did happen.

Q. Keyontae has had some great dunks this year. How would you rate the one last night? Secondly, what has he meant to your team from a play making standpoint this year?

JEROME TANG: How do I rate the dunks? Well, top 3 top 3. I'm not going to tell you what order.

And what has he meant to the team? Man, just -- I think it's very evident to see what he does on the floor. But I'm just telling you all, what he does off the floor, in the locker room, and how he's just one of the guys and treats everybody the same and all his teammates love him, it's just -- you can't quantify it, how it impacts the chemistry of the team. And guys just root for each other because they see this guy, who he's clearly gifted, but he just acts like one of the guys. I appreciate that.

Q. Jerome, what was it like when you take the job? How did it go with deciding you wanted to keep Markquis or trying to convince him to stay? Obviously not a lot of high majors believed in him. I was told Kent State was the only high major to offer him when he transferred out of Arkansas Little Rock. How did the process go?

JEROME TANG: I got the chance to watch him play for a whole year and help scout and develop a defensive plan for him. And watching film when I was at Baylor, I told our staff he's a Baylor guard. He could play for us at Baylor. Then I also thought pound for pound he was the toughest kid in the conference.

When I was interviewing for the job, he was one of the people that I was like, man, I've got to make sure I keep him. And then after I got the job, our first team meeting, he had incredible eye contact when I spoke to the team, and he was nodding very positively, and I just felt like there was a connection there.

Found out a few weeks later that he had actually texted our athletic director Gene Taylor my name as somebody he should look at and that he had told Gene he was planning to stay and help the program win.

I mean, knowing that, just that kind of buy-in and that kind of belief, it was just incredible. It really wasn't anything that I did. It was just this kid, this young man. He's just incredible.

Q. I was told his older brother did a lot of research on you.

JEROME TANG: Yeah, Markquis does a lot of research. I never even thought anybody paid attention to what I did. Scott is a rock star, and it's amazing how people pay attention to everything you do. And that's a lesson for our guys to learn, that everything they do somebody is paying attention to it, and it could impact your future.

Q. It has been exactly a year since that introductory press conference, and it's a great day to be a Wildcat, and it's not going to take long. Have you processed that? Have you processed what all has happened in the span of 365 days?

JEROME TANG: I don't know like you can fully process all of that. But like I always say, this wonderful book that I read, it says that the power of life and death are in the tongue, and we have the ability to speak life to people or to speak death to people. Everyone talks about positive thinking and all that kind of stuff. I mean, it's right there in the scripture.

I can't tell you that I thought about what I was saying at that time, but I do believe that it was the spirit of God speaking through me, and therefore it inspired me to live to those words that were spoken.

Q. You've been coaching now 30 years in only three places. Most of the time obviously at two places. It's a very itinerant profession. It's very rare. Is that something you wanted to shape your career like? Is it something that just happened? Is it something you appreciate and like why did it go that way for you, and are you happy with it?

JEROME TANG: Well, I'm super thankful for the way things have gone. I can't tell you in the midst of going through it that I was, because I couldn't see the big picture.

I could have stayed at Heritage Christian and been the youth pastor at the church for the rest of my life. It was the best job in America, and I always feel like wherever I'm at is like the best place in the world.

I got to the point where I was at Baylor that I told God that if he wanted me to be an assistant for the rest of my life, I was okay with that, because my identity was not going to be caught up in a title. If he wanted me to quit coaching and go into ministry and do something different, I was willing to do that, too.

I just wanted to do what he wanted me to do with my life.

I felt when I got to that point in my life that I wasn't pursuing a title, God allowed me to experience some great things. I always talk about the fruits of our labor. It's very rare you get to be somewhere and start something and watch it come to completion or reach its pinnacle.

And I got to see that at Baylor. We started from the bottom and built a thing and win a National Championship. It was great that I got to experience the fruits of our labor, both Scott and I together.

I think I'm a pretty loyal guy, and when I'm all in, I'm all in. That's just kind of how I live my life.

Q. The phrase "crazy faith" on your tee shirts, you use it all the time, it's obvious that religious faith is very important to you. When it comes to your team, is that word "faith" referring to religious faith? Is it referring to faith in team? How do you define what faith means within your program and how you want your players and everybody around to sort of perceive that?

JEROME TANG: Well, I want every individual in our team to experience their own faith and what that means, whether it's faith in their teammates, whether it's faith in the coaching staff, whether it's my faith in them.

Obviously for me personally, it's my faith in my beliefs and my faith in what family means and my faith in how to love people. That's what that means to me.

I want everyone to be able to put their own definition and their own -- add their own story to what that word "faith" means.

I just know that -- I don't know if y'all ever saw the video when Scott got the job at Baylor. He looked like he was 14 and he says, I didn't come to Baylor to win a game, I came to win a National Championship, and everyone thought he was crazy, this little kid saying that. He got a lot of backlash for it because of what had happened.

And 18 years later, we win a National Championship and all they can do is play that video over and over and say what great faith he had. They called him crazy early and then they called it faith late. So that's what we call crazy faith, and that's what I try to tell the guys, we're going to go to the NCAA Tournament. At the Big 12 media day, people thought I was crazy. And now that we are here, they're like, man, what great faith.

So we've just lived by this crazy faith of believing in each other that we can accomplish anything together if we love each other and we play with joy.

Q. I wonder if you can just break down what makes Markquis such a great passer? Is it his precision or his vision on the court? Second part, your face lit up and had the biggest smile I've seen when he thanked God on the court in that postgame interview right after the game last night. How proud were you of him in that moment and what did that mean to you?

JEROME TANG: What allows him to be such a great passer, it's his confidence. He has great vision, but he also has this confidence. Kind of like Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers, they think they can like thread that ball through anywhere. And he really feels like he can get it there, so he has this great precision, this great confidence and vision that he was blessed with.

The smile on my face, we talk about winning in interviews all the time. And to talk about your why, whether it's your family, your faith, whatever it is, talk about your why, then it's about your teammates. And then finally, then talk about yourself or how you were able to contribute to what happened in that game.

He went in order. He talked about his why, and then he talked about his teammates, and it's just really cool to see guys grow and develop in that aspect.

Q. A couple weeks ago a K-State freshman passed away. I was told that you spoke with the family before the game yesterday. I'm just wondering, can you describe that conversation, and what made you in that moment want to talk to the family?

JEROME TANG: My older brother passed away about 14 years ago, and my mom told me that the worst pain someone could ever experience is burying your child. It just stuck -- I just remember. Anytime I talk to my mom and my brother comes up, it's like she's about to cry. Like she can still feel the pain.

Lilly, I went to her sorority and had dinner there, we did something else, there was a Boot Scoot Boogie that I was at with them. She drove down to Oklahoma State for our game there, and she was just a big fan, and they told me that she was more a big fan of me than necessarily the basketball team.

When I heard what had happened, I've been wanting to get the number so I could reach out to her parents because of that pain.

So yesterday sitting 40 minutes before the game, instead of just me thinking about what could go wrong and everything like that, I said, you know, man, I could use this time to bless somebody's life. So I was able to reach out to her parents and just talked with them and just let them know I was thinking about them and praying for them. Yeah, that's tough.

Q. I just have two questions. One is very quick. With Markquis, is there an update on his injury? Is it simply a tweaked ankle or what?

JEROME TANG: Yeah, I think Luke says it's a tweaked ankle. He's doing all right. Feels a lot better today.

Q. The NBA is thinking about going back to drafting 18-year-olds. How will this change the landscape in college basketball?

JEROME TANG: You know, I think if a kid and his family feel like they're ready to go straight from high school to the NBA and become professionals that they should be allowed to. They're allowed to in a lot of other sports. I'm not against that.

As coaches, we're just going to have to determine who's going to be going that route and make sure we don't waste time recruiting them.

But you know, with NIL and some of the different things that kids are allowed to take -- young people are allowed to take advantage of now with their name, image, and likeness, they're going to have some good decisions to make. And it all benefits the student-athlete, so I'm all about it.

Q. One thing I've been thinking about lately is it's kind of neat that you have such a diverse roster with guys from different religions, different countries, different states. It's probably as diverse a roster as you can see in this tournament. Looking back, how do you think you unified all those guys to one purpose this season?

JEROME TANG: Well, I'll talk about their DNA; they're all winners. One of the things we talked about them coming was about winning. It wasn't about their individual accomplishments and stuff, but that winning helps everybody get what they want.

And good business is when both people win. The team wins and individuals get awards. That's what happens. Because they're all winners, they were willing to buy into that.

Then they're just really good people. We made sure that everybody learned each other's story. And when you know somebody's story and you know the things that they've gone through in life, you can empathize with them and it allows your hearts to connect quicker.

But they're just a great group of young men. They love each other. They appreciate each other, and because they want to win, they're willing to do whatever it takes.

Q. Coach May said that you guys were a team that he's watched at different points throughout the year. Is FAU a team that you have watched at any point throughout the year, and what have you gotten initially from the scouting about that team?

JEROME TANG: Well, I'm not going to talk to you about the scouting, but I will tell you that I've watched several of their games. They play in a league against North Texas, and one of my best friends Grant McCasland is a coach there. They play against Louisiana Tech, and Talvin Hester is a coach there.

And I've known Dusty for a really long time. When he was at Indiana they recruited a kid that played for me at Heritage Christian. I'm a big fan of Coach May and I knew him at Florida, him and Mike great guys. He has a terrific team. And I'm telling you, if you just took the names off the front of the jerseys and you lined them up against anybody in America, you'd say they're a high major team. They are, they're a high major team.

But they're high major competitors, too, just tough and together, as connected of a team as there is in the country. I've been super impressed with them from what I've seen.

Q. Is there something about maybe the guard play of Florida Atlanta that has stood out to you? Obviously Johnell Davis and Alijah Martin are the guys leading that team in scoring. What have you seen from those two guys?

JEROME TANG: Man, 'Nelly Davis is a goon. What a player. He's got NBA feet. He's got NBA balance. He's a special athlete and with a great feel for the game. I read the story about him getting Ochai Agbaji's workout and diving into it. You can tell he's passionate about the game, and you can tell his why. Last night that interview when he told his family, hey, we're going to be all right, you could tell, my man has a why.

All the guards are terrific. They can all shoot. They can all dribble and pass. They're quick. They're athletic. They defend. I mean, they're just super impressive to watch.

Q. I also wanted to ask about Vlad, the 7'1" center. How does he compare with some of the other big men that you guys have faced the last couple days?

JEROME TANG: I mean, he's a Big 12 center. He was at Texas Tech, and he's every bit of 7'1" and he's strong and he's physical and he can catch and he can finish, and he protects the rim, does a great job in ball screen coverage, and he's as good as anybody we've faced this year.