NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP - FINAL FOUR: FLORIDA ATLANTIC VS SAN DIEGO STATE

March 31, 2023

Dusty May

Michael Forrest

NRG Stadium

FAU Owls

Semi-Finals Pregame Media Conference

COACH MAY: First of all, we're very eager to get in the stadium with a few fans and bodies in here so it looks a little bit different than it has in practice just so we can get more comfortable with the environment.

But we've had a great week of preparation. Very impressed with our opponent, San Diego State, and the culture and the way they play. So it's going to be a great basketball game.

Q. SDSU has been able to compete and win without strong efforts from their leading scorer in Matt Bradley. What does that say about them, and how do you prepare for a team that has different guys who can step up and take the lead role when needed?

COACH MAY: It's very similar to competing against ourselves in practice. They've had four NCAA Tournament games. They've had four leading scorers. So they're much like looking in the mirror and seeing yourselves.

We never know who our leading scorer is going to be. But when you are a leading scorer, you generate a lot of attention and help those other guys be successful.

Once again, it's a testament to those guys being unselfish, their sacrifice for the good of the team. So we're prepared for it because we see it every day. It's like looking in the mirror.

Q. Can you just talk us through the process of yesterday culminating with the report that you're returning, which I think you knew for a while. But at what point did you realize this is the place? And when you started getting the interest, how much, at all, was it tempting?

COACH MAY: That's a lot to digest. It was never that tempting because of my affection for the guys in our locker room. Staff, players, support staff, everyone, our administration.

I learned a long time ago you never mess with happy. And so I know what makes me happy, and right now at this point in my career I couldn't be any more pleased and happy with where we are and just continue to -- just excited to continue building.

As far as the timing, nothing's changed probably in the last six or seven weeks, this was always on the table. But I felt obligated to focus on our season and our team versus all the other stuff, the peripheral stuff that goes on.

So it was just a moment where nothing's really changed, but let's go ahead and put it out so we know what our intentions are, even though nothing was done differently yesterday except just releasing what our intentions were from the beginning.

Q. Talk about San Diego State. What do they look like? Did you play against somebody in the Conference USA just like them, or this is a brand-new team?

COACH MAY: Probably the closest reference point would be North Texas, who we saw win an NIT championship last night. They're disciplined. They're tough. They're together. I could go on and on with adjectives, they're all positive, to describe San Diego State.

It's going to be an extremely tough game, but fortunately we have seen teams with similar level of discipline and approach to the game that they play with.

Q. You've seen a lot of success in Conference USA this year, especially with Charlotte winning the CBI and last night both UAB and North Texas having like a great game in the NIT. You guys featuring, being in the Final Four, what does that say to your conference? What do you have to say to people around the world or around the country at least that might doubt mid-majors, especially from Conference USA?

COACH MAY: It certainly affirms what we saw all season long. Every night was a battle, well-coached teams with great players. Just happy that the nation can see what we saw all along because as Charlotte, UAB, North Texas, what they're able to do in those moments was special. And like I said, we saw it all along.

Q. Last week in New York, you just made a comment that your players were being recruited right now with the portal being open. And I'm just wondering if you felt like that was kosher or if it's just sort of how it is in that world?

COACH MAY: To be honest, I feel like it's a nontalking point. There's probably not a program in our country at any level that's not facing that obstacle in some way, shape or form.

And it's not necessarily -- I'm not being critical. It is what it is. If there's a player not playing at the high major level, then there's going to be intermediaries reaching out to see if they would be happier coming down a level where they can play more and have a bigger role.

I wasn't accusing anyone. I never said the word "poaching." I just said our players are being -- there's a lot of avenues to get directly to players now.

And there's third parties reaching out to coaches and assistant coaches to change jobs. It's part of our industry.

I thought it was a little overblown, to be honest. I wasn't complaining. It's stating the obvious. I think everyone knows there's people reaching out to our players, to their players, to their players. It's just part of it.

Like I said, our job is to provide the absolute best environment every minute every day for our players. If they want something different, then we'll support them and we'll bring somebody in that wants what we're willing to offer.

Q. Do you get a sense that the NCAA came out with some guidelines about second-time transfers, and it sounds like they have a little bit more teeth in it? Do you get the sense that people are going to respect those boundaries and the players that may be contacted right now would be eligible for first-time transfer but the ones second-time transfer would be kind of protected, or do you think it's just a free-for-all?

COACH MAY: A little bit. Because there's going to be constraints to be eligible immediately twice. I'm also not opposed to transfers having to sit out at times academically. Transfers lose credits. It affects their graduation. It affects their life after basketball. I don't know that I've ever coached a basketball player that redshirted as a high school senior, incoming freshman or transfer sitting out that didn't improve immensely and have an amazing experience because they're looking at the games and the process through a completely different lens.

So I'm for both. Whatever the rules are, I support them. And we're going to roll with it as they are. If we have to sit out, then we'll bring you in and work like crazy to have you ready for the next year. If can you play immediately, we'll do everything we can to fit you into our scheme and culture and everything we do on a daily basis. Whatever it is, we're on board.

Q. You talked about their discipline of San Diego State, but there's much about their physicality, which I don't think anyone can mimic with their own team. How, then, do you prepare your guys for just how big, tough, strong this team is?

COACH MAY: I think you schedule a Tennessee Volunteers in the NCAA Tournament and do it recently as well. I think that helped prepare our guys.

You can never be prepared. It's a mindset. Our expression is you're either the hammer or the nail despite your size. Both teams are probably going to be the hammer on Saturday night. So we're going to have to do the best we can.

But our guys, once again, if I'm in a foxhole with anyone, I want to be in there with our guys. They're physical as well, as we've shown night in, night out.

But hats off to San Diego State. To play with that physicality and level of discipline is truly impressive.

Q. Do you feel less pressure or are you still getting a lot of requests for tickets even though there's a lot of seats and the prices have gone down somewhat because Texas and Houston aren't here?

COACH MAY: We tried to limit the ticket distractions and other distractions early in the week so our guys could focus on the game and whatnot. I know my wife, she's handling all that for us so I can stay focused on what's important. So we're all hands on deck getting ready for San Diego State.

Q. The program didn't exist 35 years ago. No March Madness wins until a couple weeks ago. It's been said don't call this team a Cinderella. Why is that? Take us inside that mindset.

COACH MAY: I guess growing up, Cinderella -- and I don't know if it's something I've said or what our players believe, it's a group think in our locker room. We're very like-minded and we roll with each other's thoughts if we agree with it. Usually we agree with each other.

But the term "Cinderella" has always been that team that maybe hit a spurt late in the season and got hot where they average five made 3s a game, and then over the over course of five games they make 12 a night. Whatever the case. It's more a flash in the pan versus a five-month body of work.

I think when you look at our league, who we've played, the way we've tried to schedule, even as difficult as it is to get games, when you look at who we scheduled and then look at the preseason prognosticators, we tried to schedule teams that were picked to win their league: Northern Kentucky, who played in the tournament; Bryant, who we have a great deal of respect for; Eastern Michigan, with Emoni Bates.

When you look at our scheduling attempts, we tried to schedule as aggressively as we could to hopefully get an at-large opportunity. When you've done what our guys have done, with so much longevity and consistency, they don't consider themselves a flash in the pan.

Q. You guys played Miami obviously the start of the previous season, completely different teams and all that. But what do you remember of that game, and do you have any relationship with Larrañaga?

COACH MAY: I see Coach Larrañaga a lot. Have a lot of respect for the way he coaches the game and the way he treats people. I know their staff well. We had friends on their staff. The thing that really stands out, it was early in the season and it was such a big deal for FAU to get Miami to come to our place.

It was a scheduling quirk where in year one they needed a money game and they didn't have their normal allotment. They wanted us to come down and play. And basically I said, I won't come and play for that unless you'll come to our place in year three.

So it basically was a money game and home-and-home that we were able to squeeze in somehow, someway, and thankfully Coach Larrañaga honored a contract after COVID.

The first half we weren't ready for that moment. It was essentially the same group for us. We were young. We were inexperienced in that type of atmosphere. The second half we showed a lot of great growth and looked like we belonged, and we made a play to tie it with just a couple of seconds left. And Isaiah Wong hit a buzzer beater. We were disappointed because for 20 minutes we felt the stage was too big for us we weren't just quite ready.

But those are the moments that prepared us this year gave us confidence we could compete with anyone, especially after they made the Elite Eight.

Q. When you look at where your sport is right now with NIL, bunch of questions about the transfer portal, do you feel like there might be -- is there an urgency to sort of figure out what all these rules are going to be for the next four or five years so that everybody sort of knows what they're doing and they're on the same, quote/unquote, same playing field?

COACH MAY: I don't have a lot of urgency to figure out what trend it's going to go towards because I don't really have much say in those discussions. I don't have any say in those discussions and I'm fine with it. I know what my daily responsibility is in the short term and the long term. And just like we tell our guys, let's control what we can control and focus on what's important for us and our program. And that's what we try to do.

Q. Nick Boyd told us that Bob Knight once got on you for taking notes during practice. I know you probably have a long list, but one or two Coach Knight stories?

COACH MAY: I have a thousand favorite Coach Knight stories. But the impact that he had on me as a teacher is something as a head coach I refer back to daily. The way he cared for people, especially after they went through the program is something that I try to do as well.

When our guys are done, I feel like it's my responsibility to be there for them for the rest of their lives.

So those are the things outside of obviously the tactical side of the game which Coach Knight was probably the best at. It was other stuff, the way he poured into people behind the scenes, which is probably something I'm going to try to do hopefully as my career progresses.

Q. Can you talk about the impact that Jalen Gaffney has had?

COACH MAY: Absolutely. There's three or four guys on our roster that they don't get a lot of the spotlight because their numbers are -- what some of the other guys' numbers are. Jalen Gaffney has brought a calming presence. He's brought an IQ and knowledge to our team.

And we've all learned something from Gaff. He's been an unbelievable teammate every single day. He doesn't care about shots. Doesn't care about starting. Doesn't care about the spotlight. Just cares about being a great teammate and enjoying the process.

We're grateful he joined us because when he came in we said we had every single guard back in addition to Nick Boyd. We can't guarantee or promise anything. And him and his family both said: Whatever I earn, that's what I earn, and I just want to be a part of something that you guys are building.

Q. You've been using the Wilson ball since the start of the conference tournament. I think you're using Adidas ball for home games during the season. How much does it matter, the different ball that you're using? And what do you tell your team for the sort of different depth playing in a stadium like this?

COACH MAY: Our guys during COVID shutdown, the gymnasiums were closed, there was nowhere to shoot. They would hear stories of people driving by the local parks and they'd be shooting in the park.

And so we've said this is a lot easier shooting in a park because a lot of the parks have double rims. So it's a round ball and a round hole.

We get a couple days here to practice to get acclimated to the backdrop. But once again, all year we've talked about things like if the shots don't go in, we have to figure out other ways to defend. We're going to defend, rebound, figure out ways to manufacture enough baskets to win.

So that's been our mindset. If we shoot it well, great. We've done that a lot this year. But the nights we haven't shot it well we've still been able to squeeze out wins. That's our same mindset.

Q. What do you remember from the initial conversations you had when you were recruiting Bryan out of the transfer portal, what stood out to you about him?

COACH MAY: To be honest, there may have been one conversation with Bryan. Someone had reached out that he wanted to stay close to home. He really had some family stuff going on. And I knew Bryan when I was assistant at Florida and he was in Gainesville. I'd see him around. I knew his family. It wasn't a long courtship. It was basically one conversation and it made sense for both parties, and it was done.

Q. Just looking back at the career decision you made by taking this head coach position, are you overall pleased with joining the team? And just kind of would you ever have believed you'd be here today at the Final Four?

COACH MAY: I never thought or dreamed this. It was always just do the absolute best job you can do, get to the tournament and see what you can do once you get here. Our guys proved all year long they belonged on this stage. We've had a lot of confidence. Other than the first day, I've been ecstatic to represent this university and be a part of this program, other than that one day. So we're batting about 99.99 percent as far as me being the coach at FAU.

Q. Michael, what was Coach's pitch to you when he was recruiting you as a freshman to come to FAU when the program was in a different state than it is now, in the Final Four? What drew you to the program?

MICHAEL FORREST: Just how genuine Coach May was and truthful he was about all the good and the bad of the school. He offered me opportunity to play right away and learn from my mistakes, and that's an opportunity a lot of freshmen really don't get. So I just feel like it was a great fit for me to come with Coach May.

Q. Obviously the first year the 3 seed or higher hasn't been in Final Four. How do you feel the parity in college basketball this year is affecting the game?

MICHAEL FORREST: It just goes to show that whatever your record is doesn't matter; as long as you're on the court and producing and playing with heart, that's all that matters.

COACH MAY: My belief is our continuity is one of our greatest strengths. Our guys know each other, respect each other. And because of their relationship that's been developed over time, they can hold each other accountable and know that anytime they're being corrected or criticized, it's out of love and what's best for all of us.

So I do think that that's contributed with a lot of new rosters bouncing around for our guys to stay together, and therefore they operate as more of a unit than a group of individuals.

Q. You talked about the impact that Coach Knight had on you. Have any other coaches reached out to you with advice for you being in the position of being in the Final Four?

COACH MAY: Several coaches. I've talked to a couple. I've worked with a couple of coaches that gave me great insight and advice, Mike Davis and Richard Williams, Indiana and Mississippi State. Brad Stevens and Bill Self, those two gave me great advice. They've been here in recent memory, and Coach Self actually had a long list of things to be thinking about that I would have never thought of any of those.

So very appreciative of all the coaches that have given us their time to help us prepare for this moment.

Q. You mentioned Coach Mike Davis. Worked with him at Indiana, worked with him at UAB. What impact has he had on your career? Have you talked to him at all throughout the season? I know you played against Detroit Mercy this year.

COACH MAY: I talk to him frequently. I can't stress the impact he had on me as a young guy, driving him on recruiting trips, listening to him talk to recruits on the phone, talk to coaches.

The intangible things that you don't get sitting in a video room or working players out or rebounding, whatever the case, he taught me a different side, the human side, and really educated a young, naive, aspiring coach from small town southern Indiana.

So he taught me a lot about people. He just has a really neat way about him.

Q. You've had numerous experiences as an assistant coach. Can you tell me what you learned from those experiences, some major takeaways that helped you coach this team and make this amazing run?

COACH MAY: I learned a long time ago that everything is about the players. You do everything you can to help them be the absolute best they can be, and you're always preparing and thinking in advance.

And as an assistant coach, you're always thinking as a head coach without the pressure and responsibility that head coaches have. So fortunately I've worked for a lot of guys that encouraged me to think in their shoes even though I didn't have to wear those big shoes.

Q. With the success of Conference USA in the postseason, seeing North Texas and UAB in the NIT and even Charlotte with CBI, what does that say about Conference USA as a whole?

MICHAEL FORREST: It shows that the whole conference can compete with everybody. Everyone, the whole conference, the whole year has just been a dogfight. Every game has been competitive, down to the wire. So it just goes to show that Conference USA has a lot of great talent.

COACH MAY: It affirms what we already knew. 20-game slate in a very competitive environment every single night with great coaches and special players. So it's awesome to see our league do so well when the lights are bright.

Q. Michael, you study engineering at FAU. And it's no secret that being a student-athlete is a challenge in its own right. What have been your experiences or challenges you've faced both studying engineering and playing basketball at the highest level in college?

MICHAEL FORREST: There's definitely been a lot of nights where you really don't get enough sleep, but you've still got to wake up for practice the next day and perform at your highest level. So it really takes a lot of dedication to be able to do both. So I'm grateful to be able to have the mindset to do both.

Q. Michael, you're the elder statesman on this FAU team. Can you and Coach talk a little bit about what your leadership style has been in the locker room with some of the younger guys as you kind of navigate what's a new experience for you all? What do you say to them and how do you keep them engaged?

MICHAEL FORREST: I try to keep them engaged by leading by example. So whether it's diving on the floor to get a loose ball or conducting myself off the court, I just want the guys to look at me and be able to say that's how I should act 24/7.

COACH MAY: Mike's made it very simple on us. Typically when you want to show a certain behavior or trait, you've got to pull up an NBA player or another college player. Every day in practice if someone's not working hard enough, and a lot of times players don't realize they're not working hard enough, all have you to do is point to Mike Forrest: If you want to know what it looks like, there it is.

Because every single rep for five years he's been the exact same person, giving 100 percent every time, every single day. So it's made our jobs as coaches much easier. Then we don't have to talk too much. We just look at Mike and say that's what it looks like.

Q. Since you got to FAU in 2018, it's been a slow build kind of building this program almost from the ground up. What are the biggest steps and keys to building a program and getting one small program to where it is now?

COACH MAY: There's so many people in college programs. The most important thing is getting the right people together at the right time. And we think a big part of our success is we have a locker room full of like-minded guys that have very comparable work ethic, and they continue to push and challenge each other every single day.

So we improve in workouts and practice because of their consistency, their respect for each other. Their drive and determination is probably our separators.

Q. Being in a bigger spotlight than this team has really ever seen, how have you seen your team handle that spotlight?

COACH MAY: I couldn't be more impressed with a group of young people -- and we use the term "changeup" -- that haven't changed up one bit.

Walk out to practice today and they'll act the same way November 20th or December 13th, whatever the case. I watch closely. We won 20 games in a row, in a tough league, against great opponents, and they never switched up.

They worked harder. They were more focused. The scout -- their preparation was impeccable. I could go on and on for a group of 18- to 22-year-olds to not change a bit except for the better when they were showered with attention and accolades that we had never received before.

Q. Michael, you played in huge games in this tournament. Could you tell me, how you were able to keep your calm and just be relaxed in these moments and deliver the best for your team, and how have you been able to stay composed?

MICHAEL FORREST: Just having my teammates and my coaches always talking to me, just keeping me level-headed. That's really been the biggest thing for me. I owe it all to them.

Q. Coach May, in terms of talking about recruiting, how do you feel that this Final Four feature will launch your program's recruitment processes in the years to come?

COACH MAY: It exposes our program for all the good and all the things that go with it. And hopefully it, I guess, condenses the recruiting pool for the guys that are like us and want the things that we offer. So hopefully it just allows us to narrow our scope and focus on the guys that want to be a part of something that we have.

Q. Just throughout the years, you've seen Saint Peter's last year, and obviously you guys this year, and UMBC being the first 1 seed and FDU this year, why do you think these mid-major programs are starting to develop and go deeper and deeper into the tournament compared to 20 years ago? Do you think it's like the talent gap is decreasing, or what's your take on that?

COACH MAY: Well, first and foremost, there's so many good players playing this game at our level. The continuity is important. But I think the biggest factor is matchups.

You have Purdue. For example, we watched FDU beat Purdue. And on that given night Edey missed some hook shots. Purdue shooters were out of rhythm for this or that reason, and FDU had the quickness and the shooting ability and all those things that really just boiled down to good players with a very favorable matchup. And the determination is obviously a factor as well.

Q. You guys obviously played a very high-paced Kansas State team last round. I'm wondering, how are you preparing or practicing, if any differently, for obviously a much slower defensively minded team in SDSU?

COACH MAY: Our first practice we talked about if we're going to be a championship program, if we're going to win a conference championship, we need to play different styles and paces. So we've played North Texas, they limit possessions, and we played UAB, and there might be 30 more possessions in that game.

So we played all different styles. We obviously love the up-and-down game. But we're comfortable grinding it out figuring out ways to score enough points to win the lower-possession games as well.

Q. Your team is 29-0 on the year whenever winning on the glass, and you mentioned the defensive prowess of SDSU. How important is it going to be to win in that facet of the game?

COACH MAY: Most important. If we can take care of the basketball, we can rebound it, then we'll have a shot to beat San Diego State. It's been our focus all year. We know we're not as tall as the other teams or as long, may not be as physically imposing, but we do feel we're quick to the ball. We're physical. We're aggressive. And we really have a strong desire to rebound it. So I think that factors in as well.