NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: REGIONAL FINAL - UCONN VS GONZAGA

March 24, 2023

Mark Few

Julian Strawther

Nolan Hickman

Anton Watson

Rasir Bolton

Drew Timme

T-Mobile Arena

Gonzaga Bulldogs

Elite Eight Pregame Media Conference

Q. Drew, can you give us your thoughts on what you've seen from Adama Sanogo on film and from afar and how difficult a player he will be tomorrow, the challenge? Seems he's got good footwork and good touch around the rim, do you see similarities between your games?

DREW TIMME: He's a hell of a player. He's an All-American-caliber player. He uses his body well. He's strong, he's aggressive, he gets a lot of his misses back, which I think is the underrated part of his game. He presents a lot of challenges and he's a smart player. So I mean he's going to be a handful for sure.

Q. Drew, could you in short explain, describe your relationship with Coach Few and how it's maybe evolved over the years?

DREW TIMME: Smart guy. He's been so good to me. We've had our ups and downs. We've butted heads before. I think that's the best part of it is that we've been able to go at each other, push each other's buttons and love each other too.

I think that's why we've been so good together is we're not afraid to get under each other's skin and push each other to do better. It's like the perfect brotherly love, I guess. I don't know. But he's the best coach I could ever ask for. I love that man.

Q. You had to work through some rough times?

DREW TIMME: I mean, "rough" is to someone's definition. My version of rough is probably a little different than y'alls, but maybe some arguing every now and then. But it's been great. Loved it.

Q. Julian, what have the past few hours been like; you had time to process last night? Looking ahead to tomorrow, your last college game in your hometown, what do you think the emotions are going to be like?

JULIAN STRAWTHER: It was kind of one of those things like a short memory, because March there's no time to dwell on the past and try to live in that moment too much. But I mean, tomorrow's already game day. That's what we've got our eyes set on.

As soon as we got back to the hotel yesterday, immediately hopped on some film on UConn and started to prep for the game tomorrow. Short memory. I'm super excited for tomorrow and what the crowd will be like, and it's the regional final. It's all you could ask for.

Q. Julian, I know you said short memory, but take us through after hitting the shot. Did you connect with friends and family last night? What was last night like hitting that big shot in your hometown? And just take us through what happened after the game.

JULIAN STRAWTHER: Right there, after we celebrated on the court a little bit, I ran over to my dad and two sisters and nephew, gave them a big hug. Talked to friends and family for a little bit. And then came in here, celebrated with my team.

That was the main thing, try to celebrate here as much as we can because as soon as we left the arena it was all business. Just celebrated here. Obviously just had moments talking to my dad and my sisters. It was a cool moment to share with them. I'm so glad. It's something I'll never forget.

Q. Julian, Gonzaga's been deep in the tournament so many times year after year for a long period of time. How much have you guys talked about maybe being the group that makes that breakthrough and finally gets all the way over the top?

JULIAN STRAWTHER: Before every season, I mean, that's our ultimate goal, especially at Gonzaga. I mean that's all we've got our eyes set on. And yes, we had some rough patches this year that may have brought some dark times and a little bit of negative energy.

But at the same time we did an amazing job of just bouncing back and playing through adversity. I think we've hung our hats on that, our ability to fight through adversity and just having resilience throughout the season.

In March Madness, that's a great quality and great trait to have. And it's already shown up twice in our run so far. And hopefully we can continue this run and be the first team to cut down the nets.

Q. I hear Drew talk about his relationship with Coach Few. I'm curious, two things from you guys, anything that pops in your head. Number one, your first memorable encounter with Coach Few that tells a story about who he is and what he's like. And then, two, how would you describe what makes him a great coach?

ANTON WATSON: I would just say I've been here since I was a freshman. He's going to let you hear it, if you mess up. He might give you a little nickname. He gave me a couple of nicknames, Drew a couple of nicknames. Have to kind of laugh it off.

But he's a good mentor and he gives us the right advice and you've got to respect him. Like Drew said, we bumped heads a little bit in the four years, but that's just how it is with your coach, and I'm just proud he's pushed me to become the player I am today.

Q. Of the nicknames, can anyone share one or two?

ANTON WATSON: He gave me the nickname Sleepy Floyd. I don't know why. But I guess I wake up sometimes go to practice and my hair will be to the side or something. He gave me that nickname.

DREW TIMME: My nickname was Dumbass for a while my freshman year. Pretty fitting.

Q. Ras, I hope I'm not putting you on blast too much, but I was talking to your dad yesterday. And he was telling us about, like, the passion that you've always had for sports and when you were a kid you would sleep, before it was a football game, you had your helmet and pads. You slept with your pads. Is this something that a stage like this, do you have any superstitions of something so big heading into big games like this?

RASIR BOLTON: No, that was a big football game for an 8-year-old. And I just had my helmet on all night. But really no superstitions. Just listening to music and go out and play. No real superstitions now.

Q. Anton, Andre Jackson is a guy who has a huge impact on the game but doesn't necessarily show up on the box score. How do you limit his impact on the game tomorrow?

ANTON WATSON: It's going to be tough to do that. He does a little bit of everything. Once he gets a rebound, he pushes it up the court super fast. So he's just a player that kind of does what I try to do and what I do. And it's going to be tough to stop him.

But we're going to have to figure out, watch some film on him and figure out ways to stop him. But he does a little bit of everything.

Q. Nolan, wondering, similar question to the last one, but Jordan Hawkins, what do you see in him in the way he moves off the ball? And how difficult is he going to be to keep up with?

NOLAN HICKMAN: It's going to be a hassle for sure. The way he moves without the ball is amazing. It's definitely pro-like. So I just feel like just being attached, being on his hip the whole game, and just being tough, being there on the shot is going to make the tough shots harder for him, I feel like.

Q. Julian, in games like this, you have two very good teams playing, what are some of the intangibles that can make a difference in a game like this?

JULIAN STRAWTHER: I had a similar conversation earlier today. It's one of those things where you could worry about all the Xs and Os and remember all the sets or them remembering ours, but at the end of the day you've got to roll out the ball and play.

It's going to come down to who gets the big offensive rebound, who forces a turnover, and who really wants it more. That's really what it comes down to in March when you've got two heavyweight teams going at it and fighting to get to the Final Four.

This is what it's all about. And it's really going to come down to those type of plays, offensive rebounds and things like that.

Q. 'Ton and Drew, there's a lot of, I guess, outside similarities to this game from the Baylor game in 2021. Just what did you guys learn from that game after a big one like this one and how are you going to apply it going into this game to avoid a letdown?

ANTON WATSON: I would just say kind of what Julian said, just short memory. We celebrate in the locker room, and once we left the locker room, got back to the hotel, we got straight to film, started locking in on UConn.

I think we just changed our approach and our mindset so hopefully be a little bit more prepared for the game tomorrow. And ready for that.

COACH FEW: Hey, everybody's fired up and excited to still be playing in the greatest sporting event in the world. Short night and UConn presents a lot of problems.

I mean, talking to people, I think we all feel like they're playing as good as any team in this tournament right now. And so there's a lot of things we've got to get over, cover today and hopefully in a walk-through tomorrow and get ready.

We know it's going to be a real physical game. Their transition offense is every bit as good as ours. And they just have the ability to score inside and outside. And then their defense has been top-notch through this tourney. It was excellent yesterday.

Q. We just got done talking with your guys, and I asked if they had any interesting memorable story of their first encounter with you.

COACH FEW: Great.

Q. They jumped into nicknames. And Drew said his nickname as a freshman was Dumbass.

COACH FEW: Do you have a problem with that?

Q. I think it's incredible. I think it's outstanding.

COACH FEW: It's changed now. He's The Union Rep now. That's his nickname now. That's been -- he's been The Union Rep the last two years. He's always on me about length of practice, length of film sessions, days off, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. So I guess he's moved up some, right?

And I heard Anton is Sleepy Floyd. Sleepy Floyd was because Anton played like he was asleep the first two years. No emotion. So I just threw out Sleepy Floyd.

Those guys have no idea how good a player Sleepy Floyd was back in the day. I think he was a cartoon character or something.

Q. Coming out of Liberty what were the intangibles most about Julian that you saw and his development under you, what do you see in terms of the player that he was?

COACH FEW: Just what you saw last night. And his ability to score, I don't know if you covered him or watched him at all back in the high school days, but prolific scorer. I remember one of the games I was down recruiting at, he had at least 40 in. And he just scored it really, really easy.

And we were looking for a big wing, like a Kispert type wing that could shoot and score at the time. And he fit the bill perfectly.

Q. I know it's been 24 years, but can you talk about what that last, that Elite Eight appearance against UConn meant to the program and to you personally?

COACH FEW: It was a long -- it was 24, 25 years ago, obviously just a magical whirlwind run. I mean, the school had never even won a game in the NCAA Tournament let alone three of them. And so it was just such a magical ride.

We had never done press conferences. We never had police escorts. We never had anything. Very rarely even been on national television except for maybe once or twice on ESPN or something.

It's arguably -- it's not arguably -- it's the start of the entire run. And everybody knows the story. Enrollments went from 2500 now to over 8,000. And there's all kinds of new buildings and new arenas. And it's just been a great story to be a part of.

Q. You mentioned that run 24 years ago, and you've taken so many teams deep into the tournament since then. What's unique about this group and what gives you optimism that maybe this is the group that can go all the way?

COACH FEW: I never would have thought that, if you would have checked with me in November, early December, but I think that's probably their resiliency and their ability to just figure out how to win.

I mean, we've been in some pretty dire situations this year and just done a great job of sticking with it and just finding a way. And it's been different each and every night.

But kind of that ability right there. It's not maybe what some of our great teams have done in the past. We've had No. 1 ranked defenses and great size and just unbelievable skill and speed on the offensive end, when you think back to that '21 team.

But these guys just have this kind of winning DNA and just figure out what it takes to win. Even sometimes when the analytics don't really back it up at the end of the game.

Q. Back in November, you guys played a stretch where you had to play three of the best bigs in the country, Tshiebwe, Edey, Nunge. They each gave you guys trouble in their own way. Sanogo from UConn is part of that elite caliber. What can you do defensively to stop him, whether it's limiting post touches pressuring guards, denying him? What's your strategy?

COACH FEW: All of the above. It's kind of no secret. You've got to do whatever you can and play to your strengths. Obviously he's a load down there and a physical presence.

They do a great job of getting him the ball from different areas and different spots. And a lot of the feeds are from the middle of the floor. And then they're mixed up with wing touches. And they run actions before he rolls down in there.

And then on top of that he's just a big-time offensive rebounder. He's one of the big issues that we've got to get solved here.

Q. We always ask players what they learned from their coaches. What as a coach have you learned from Drew, anything?

COACH FEW: I just learned that -- I've always came to respect just how he always comes to practice in a great mood and kind of raises the level of everybody. His is usually with humor, not really a rah-rah guy, but takes the edge maybe off the moments, or when you're in those tough -- coming back from a tough loss or a tough game or whatever, Drew can always drop it down a couple notches and maybe make it feel like it's not life or death. He's got a great gift with that.

And I think because he's like that, I think people grossly underestimate the ferocious competitor that he is. Again -- I've been doing this at least, as an assistant or head coach, for 35 years, and I just think he's one of the all-time greats in the modern era in college basketball. I don't think enough people are saying that.

The wins he's been a part of. The scoring and what he's been able to do. And we took off a whole tournament in 2020, when we were the No. 1 seed and Spokane was hosting the first and second round. So I really liked our chances that he would have even more games into this thing. And, who knows, he might even have a national championship that year.

So he just delivers. He delivers in games we need him and nobody hears about maybe during our league time where we're struggling. Then he delivers night in, night out in the biggest moments on the biggest stage in the NCAA Tournament.

Q. Sticking with that, because we hear all these stories about the competitor, the personality. Take us back to Richardson, Texas, Pearce High School, his roots, what made you fall in love with him back then?

COACH FEW: Watching him on the AAU circuit. He was on a very competitive AAU team and played with some just phenomenal athletes coming out of Texas. And yet here was this -- wasn't maybe as athletically gifted guy but he had this confidence and this brashness about him.

He would take the ball off the defensive boards and lead the break and go behind his back and make a great pass. He'd see a point guard, make it to somebody, or do what he was doing last night, kind of go coast to coast, inside-out a guy and lay it in.

He showed all those skills that we like our bigs to have, but he always had this swag about him. Really, it's swag. And that swag, even his freshman year became contagious within our team. And with a team like the one we have this year, what that does is it maybe instills a belief in some of the other players that they don't necessarily have deep in their core that he has. He thinks he's going to win every time he walks out there.

Q. What do you make of UConn's back court, especially Jordan Hawkins, 24 points? Does he compare to anyone you've seen through your tough non-conference schedule?

COACH FEW: I think he's the best probably jump shooter in college basketball, especially what he's able to do with off-ball screens and pindowns and flares and actions like that. He's able to make, he's got that gift. Adam Morrison had that for us back in the day, hitting closely-guarded shots.

You can be there in his face have a hand up and he's still able to hit those. And they run some really, really good actions for them. They screen for him very well.

And he's so dangerous. He's had, I think, multiple 20-point halves. And so he's definitely at the top of our list.

Q. Do you have a relationship with Hurley at all, or what have you heard about him?

COACH FEW: I haven't spent much time with Dan. We were recruiting down at, I believe, it was Montverde or a prep school in Florida. And got to spend a little bit of time with him, enjoyed talking shop with him back in the day. But that was it.

Q. You talked a lot about Drew. I'm curious, like you said you saw the swag in high school and even early at Gonzaga, but how do you evaluate that a kid will be that competitive, that tough, that will raise the level in practice? How do you see that when you're trying to find --

COACH FEW: I don't know if you necessarily knew that. But the skill package was there. The confidence was there. You could see how he competed in those games, that he wasn't afraid. And you get multiple looks at a guy and get to know him.

And you could tell he loved to compete and he enjoyed that. And had a lot of self-confidence. That always works in our program.

Q. I'm sure you've seen Drew defended a million different ways. You talked about what Sanogo brings offensively. What challenges does he present on the defensive side of the floor?

COACH FEW: He's a big body, good rim protector. He moves his feet really, really well for someone his size. I think probably those three attributes are what make him a good -- it won't be just against Drew. He does a good job with ball-screen coverages. He gets out, moves his feet and hits his coverages really very well.

Q. What team on your schedule most resembles what UConn provides, as far as the offensive strength, the perimeter threats and also the defense?

COACH FEW: Somebody asked me that earlier. The closest thing probably was, maybe Purdue, just because Purdue had Edey inside. The guards could really, really shoot. The forwards were tough. The defense was tough and physical and didn't miss a lot of assignments.

That was probably the one that stood out the most. Obviously the pace that Alabama played with when we played would be probably most similar with how they go up and down.

Q. With Malachi Smith, when you saw last spring that he was in the transfer portal, did your eyes light up? What kind of reaction did you have? And, secondly, when he came to you, building the relationship with a new guy like this, especially a guy that's willing to come off the bench after being a Southern Conference Player of the Year, what was that like?

COACH FEW: I usually let the staff kind of sift through all the portal stuff before I get too fired up. I think they brought it to me and I watched some film on him. And obviously once we started watching film, liked more and more what we saw.

To be hones with you, what got me was when we met him in person and met his mom -- his mom has an incredibly impressive story. And I think he was up here at some point. He's a very energetic, charismatic guy who is a big-time team guy. And our team really needs that energy.

We've got some pretty stoic low-emotion guys. And so we needed Malachi just for that spirit that he has. He's got a real positive spirit about him. Walks around, constantly a smile on his face, and he's definitely an uplifter, and we needed that.

And the other thing he's got he's got that confidence also. He's not afraid of the moment. I think that's borne out of his experiences at Chattanooga where he was the man and needed to score, and could even process missing. So he might have a particularly kind of average half the first half, but I have a lot of confidence he'll hit a big shot in the second half. He doesn't dwell on it.

Q. Andre Jackson is obviously a hyper-unique player. When you're going through the scout and you're watching how Dan uses him in so many different ways and actions, coach watching coach, what do you see about how Dan uses the guy?

COACH FEW: Just how active and how impactful he is. He's incredibly impactful on both ends of the floor. He's really impactful in transition. And he's scary when he's up on top of their three-quarter-court press or even on top of their zone.

And he's also a very danger cutter, which I think is kind of a lost art. And seems to -- just seems to have his hand in a lot of different things for them. So you can tell just how important he is to them.

And obviously defensively, I mean, you can tell that they have somebody they want to shut down, they put him on them.