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

March 25, 2023

Dan Hurley

Andre Jackson Jr.

Jordan Hawkins

Adama Sanogo

T-Mobile Arena

UConn Huskies

Elite 8 Postgame Media Conference

Connecticut - 82, Gonzaga - 54

Q. Andre, you guys have been dreaming of this moment, and now you've achieved this. What is it like?

ANDRE JACKSON JR.: It feels good. Definitely we put in a lot of work to get here. And we just have the first -- actually the last two years they didn't even have us in the Top 25. We got a lot to prove. We still have a chip on our shoulder.

We had a goal to make to it the Final Four, but more importantly to win a national championship. That's what we're still pushing towards.

Q. Jordan, Gonzaga made two 3s. You made six. Was it one of those things you felt in the zone and everything was going in?

JORDAN HAWKINS: I seen the first one go in, I felt good. I was getting a lot of open looks. So I was letting it fly. I knew my teammates was going to do a great job getting me the ball. So all credit to them.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, would you like to make an opening statement?

COACH HURLEY: What a performance by the boys. To do what we did to a team of that caliber, a program of that caliber, obviously we were just playing at a super high level.

But I don't think we were -- obviously surprised by the margin of victory, but not surprised about where we're going next because this is who we've been for a large part of the season.

Q. Throughout the game, you guys, the energy was high with the coaches, with the staff. You were getting the crowd involved. What's it like to go to war with the whole University of UConn and the staff and everyone?

ANDRE JACKSON JR.: You could feel the energy. Everybody's all in. We're all in. It's a family over here, so coaches, players, managers, GAs, we're all a family, cheerleaders. UConn nation showed up. It definitely feels great to be part of this university and really be representing on this level.

Q. Coach and Andre, in the first half they were kind of dropping off of you, and it seemed like maybe you guys were trying to find your rhythm early. Then you had a run of assists to your 3-point shooters. How did you make that adjustment? And, Coach, how did you unlock that as well?

COACH HURLEY: We figured that out. That doesn't work anymore. To be honest with you, coaching mistakes during the season or just took me too long to get Andre to the places where he could still be one of the biggest impact players in terms of winning and losing. There's not many players in the country that impact the game like this guy does.

Once I got better as a coach and Andre, I wasn't putting him in a position to be successful. And since we've unlocked that code, he's been unbelievable.

Q. Adama, a career-high six assists, five in the first half.

COACH HURLEY: Way to go, Adama.

Q. Was that the game plan when they doubled you, find the open man?

ADAMA SANOGO: Definitely. Going into the game, I know they're playing for me in the post. So every time I saw them double team me, it was like, all right, if you're going to double team me, I want to find my teammate.

That's why I was definitely ready for it because I know they had a game plan for me. Every time they did that I was ready for it, to pass the ball, yes.

Q. Jordan, you hit that step-back towards the end and you flexed your jersey, flexed UConn across the front. What did that shot feel like to go in? And what does it mean to play for UConn?

JORDAN HAWKINS: Means everything. I'd like to thank Coach Hurley for giving me this opportunity and to be able to play in March Madness, Elite Eight games. It's something you dream of. My emotions took all of me. And I just had to flex UConn. UConn's back.

ANDRE JACKSON JR.: Back! Back, but we never left.

Q. Jordan is known to be a volume shooter but he's been a three-level scorer, especially throughout the tournament. And Andre has shown on defense that it's more than just offense. What is it like to have players that are so versatile?

COACH HURLEY: I mean, they're NBA players. They're obviously two guys who have long NBA careers when they're done at UConn. Obviously they, stylistically they play the game in two different ways, but they're two of the most exciting wing players in the country.

Right now Jordan is playing like a junior. At points early in the year, middle of the year he was still a young player but he's playing like an upperclassman and a high-level draft pick.

And Andre is one of the best all-around players in the country in terms of impacting the game. And Andre's an NBA high draft pick. I could only screw it up when you're sitting next to three NBA players. We should be going to the Final Four.

Q. As Jordan just mentioned, "we're back." Was it easier or harder than you thought to get UConn back to the Final Four, when you look at the big picture?

COACH HURLEY: Harder. And probably because, like, the history and tradition doesn't really -- it helps you in recruiting. We sold to it these guys. We've done it here before; we can do it again.

But I think it becomes a little bit of a mental hurdle, especially like early rounds of NCAA Tournament where you feel like maybe the burden of the history and tradition and first-round games, maybe even second-round games.

But it also feels like, when you coach at Rhode Island and Wagner, you're not always getting everyone's best shot every single night. And when you play or coach at UConn you get the other team's best shot every single night. It's their Super Bowl. So the climb to get to this point has been real and it's been more challenging than I thought.

Q. Coach, since the two-point loss in the semifinals in the Big East Tournament, you guys haven't had a close game in the NCAA Tournament. What do you attribute the play of your team to this point?

COACH HURLEY: Listen, the Big East, especially if you look at the top four in our league, it was the best top four, and even when Providence was playing really at a high level, it was the best top four, top five of any conference in the country. And it wasn't, in my opinion, it wasn't very close.

So people were seeing us for a second time. In some cases a third time.

When you play us for the first time, and we're very unique with what we have with Adama and these two wings, and then you're looking at CLingan coming in at 7'2" and the shooting off the bench, we're an elite defensive team, we're a top five offensive team, and we general beat the other team on the glass.

And sometimes when people are seeing us for the first time, it's overwhelming. And games get reffed differently in the tournament too. Sometimes the Big East -- forget it.

Q. Seems like there's going to be a lot of NCAA Tournament games here in Vegas in the future. Wanted to get your thoughts. Seems like Vegas is turning into a mecca of college basketball. What's your thoughts on the Sweet 16 at this venue and playing these two games across the country in Las Vegas?

COACH HURLEY: Awesome. The Strip, bright lights, incredible arena. Maybe the nicest arena, nicest arena besides Gampel and the XL that we played in this year. So just the crowds were awesome. The people were super friendly. Everyone treated us great. And just been an awesome trip.

Q. Coach, you were just talking a little bit about Las Vegas, but what makes Las Vegas a little different than playing anywhere else for a neutral-site game?

COACH HURLEY: I think it's all good for us. We're pretty comfortable here because we're all from the city. We're all city people, right? So we're very comfortable in a city that's got a lot of life to it. And people got a lot of pop here. So we liked it.

Q. There's a lot of great basketball families out there like the Currys, the Barrys, the Drews. With a Hall of Fame father, a brother who won two titles and now you and your son in the Final Four, do you feel you belong at or top of that list?

COACH HURLEY: I don't know. I'm just really happy that obviously -- they'll enjoy this -- my wife, Andrea, and my son's, Danny and Andrew, obviously is a big part of the team and our spirit with that.

And my dad is a patriarch of our whole basketball family. My dad is one of the great coaches of his generation. If he coached in college and made that decision and went to the NBA, you'd be talking about him just like you talk about Coach K and all the great coaches of all time. So this all started with my dad.

And we're just blessed that we grew up in Jersey City and found basketball and had a dad that pushed us. And I'm just proud that he's been able to travel with us and now I get to take my dad to a Final Four.

Q. Andre, early on in the season you guys struggled a little bit when teams didn't want to guard you on the perimeter. Gonzaga tried to do that to you tonight. You almost had a triple double. What changed now versus what you were doing earlier on this year?

ANDRE JACKSON JR.: I think earlier on I was taking it personal a lot and looking at it like disrespect. Tried to prove them wrong; I'm a shooter or whatever.

At the end of the day I'm just going to play the game to my strengths and play to win. And Coach taught me how to find different spots on the court, that short center and also set some screens and popping and slipping, and just learn how to play the game in a whole new way that's opened up and unlocked a whole new part of my game that I now watch people like Draymond Green do stuff like that as well. I learned how to really counter whatever they do. So I like that.

Q. Jordan, how does it feel representing the state of Maryland in the Final Four and the Capital Beltway and Gaithersburg and where you came from?

JORDAN HAWKINS: Capital is Annapolis. But this is amazing to play for Maryland, a lot of guys from Gaithersburg don't get this opportunity to play in games like this where I'm from. So it's a blessing. I think these guys, all credit to these guys. So, yeah.

Q. Coach, at the end of the game, obviously, you spent some time with your family on the court. And this family affair throughout this entire season has been truly special for you in a lot of different ways. What were some of the things you got to reflect upon with your parents there on the court after the game?

COACH HURLEY: Basketball has been a huge part of our lives because obviously my dad and what my dad taught me and my brother is that your basketball program is your family. Like, we're all family. These guys are as big a part of my family as anyone in my family. So it was great to enjoy -- like this group is a great group.

I love coaching this team. I've gotten emotional. Andre saw me crying before the game, I think, right, in there, because I just can't think about coaching this group for the last time. It makes me sad. Sorry for over-pronouncing that "A" there.

But it's just an incredible group of guys to coach. The additions that we brought in, Joey Cal, Nahiem, and getting Tristen back to Texas, right, the El Paso guy gets back, T-New gets back. It's a family affair both my family -- we're all family.