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

March 31, 2023

Brian Dutcher

Adam Seiko

NRG Stadium

San Diego State Aztecs

Semi-Finals Pregame Media Conference

COACH DUTCHER: I was waiting until there were fewer people here so I could say something controversial. (Laughter.)

Thanks for being here, everybody. Obviously, part of this is the media. And excited for the opportunity to talk to you all. I had a good time with Dusty May yesterday. We sat impromptu before an interview. Got to visit with him. Great guy.

We share a lot of the same things in the past. He was a manager at Indiana. I was a manager for my dad at Minnesota. He worked at Eastern Michigan. My dad was a head coach at Eastern Michigan at one point in his career.

There truly is only six degrees of separation, especially in the coaching world. Great to spend time with Dusty. I love everything about him but his team. So hopefully we'll be ready to play them tomorrow.

Q. In this rapidly changing world of college athletics, what does a young man like Nathan Mensah represent in your program and in your life with his academics, the road he's traveled and the things he wants to accomplish in his native country?

COACH DUTCHER: Nathan is an incredible young man. Five-year starter. He was on the 30-2 team, only started nine games, then he had a lung issue that shut him down for the rest of the year.

The interesting thing, he was going to come back for the NCAA Tournament. He was timed out where he could do that, but it never happened. Nathan is in business school. He is getting his MBA. He did a meaningful internship this summer where he's getting ready for the professional world.

Whatever Nathan gets, he almost sends half back to Ghana. Whether it's a scholarship check whatever it is, he's a giver, still concerned about his family in Ghana. And just a wonderful young man that represents himself, his family and our program in the best way.

Q. Speaking about Nathan, talk about that matchup with Vlad [Goldin] tomorrow, a big one down low, really going to impact the game in my opinion.

COACH DUTCHER: It's going to be an incredible matchup. Thank goodness we went against Kalkbrenner. I mean, it's same guy. Maybe a little different skill set, but the same size, ability to score on the basket. Physical, strong.

It will be a challenge. They have really a two-headed monster. Rosado comes in, he plays different, he paces, spins, he's quick. They're going to be a real challenge guarding inside tomorrow.

Q. I wanted to ask about your team specifically and how close they are. What created that dynamic within the team? How has that helped you guys this season?

COACH DUTCHER: It's kind of fun. We have a lot of older guys, obviously, fifth-year guys. Sixth-year guy in Seiko, fifth-year Bradley, fifth-year Arop, and fifth-year Mensah.

We've got an older, older team. The fun thing is to watch them kind of integrate the freshmen in, have fun with the freshmen. And usually when there's that big of a age difference, they don't want to have a lot to do with each other. But they've bonded, have fun together. They're a tight group.

And I say player-driven teams are better than coach-driven teams. Our seniors have stepped up, Aguek Arop

in particular, Keshad Johnson doing a great job with leadership roles vocally. It's been fun to watch them all come together.

Q. What's been the experience being here in Houston for the team at such a big event like this?

COACH DUTCHER: It's great. I told them there's a lot of distractions, but a lot of great moments, embrace all of them. But when it's time to focus, focus. That's the same message every coach has given. It's no different than what Coach May is telling his team.

Embrace it. Enjoy it. It doesn't happen very often. But when it's time to lock in for practice or film session, have you to do that. I said today, this is going to feel like an All-Star practice, All-Star Weekend. But it's not an All-Star Weekend. We're playing a meaningful game. We're not putting on a show. Go out there, put a smile on your face, but get yourselves ready to play a game.

That's the difference. It has that festive feel, but at the same time we're ready to compete on the biggest stage for the biggest title there is in college athletics.

Q. Could you reflect a little bit on [Assistant to the Head Coach] Mark Fisher coming here to join you guys having him be at this Final Four, and obviously been an unbelievable battle at ALS. Could you reflect what that's been?

COACH DUTCHER: One thing is for certain, you never have a bad day. When you look at Mark and look at his decade-long battle with ALS, how can you say you had a bad day or losing a game was everything.

It's basketball. And what Mark deals with is life. And ALS is unforgiving. It's cruel. And we do the walk every year. I wear an ALS pin to every game to try to draw attention to the cause.

And so I've known Mark, obviously, I was at Michigan '88, '89, he was just a middle schooler back then. I've grown up with Mark. He's family. He's on the bench for every home game. Travel is hard for him now, but we got him out here to the Final Four because he's a part of all of this. Not just his father, but him, the son has been a part of Aztec basketball dating back to when we started all those years ago.

Q. You were part of one of the first freshmen-led teams in the country with the Fab Five. And obviously there was sort of a rising tide of that for a long time in college sports, but if you look at the teams around the Final Four today, it's not young players. It's older guys that have more experience. Do you think there's been a paradigm shift in what it takes to win in college basketball these days?

COACH DUTCHER: I mean, obviously when we won the national title in '88, '89, we had all seniors and juniors. The Fab Five, as good as they were, Juwan Howard and Jalen Rose stayed for three years of college. Webber stayed for two. Those guys, this day and age, aren't staying past one year. And if they change the rule again, they might not ever come to college.

The nature of the game changes. How long players stay has changed. And if you can't adapt in this business, you're not going to make it.

So we're adapting to NIL. We're adapting to the transfer portal. And you can't sit there and say, boy, I wish it was the way it used to be. It's the way it is. And so I think I've had an ability to adapt to whatever rules are thrown at us, change-wise, and we've been able to adapt and continue to be successful.

Q. With no top 30 recruits, no McDonald's All-Americans in this Final Four, is that a blip? Is that a start of a trend? Like, is there any less importance on those top freshmen in recruiting those players now than before?

COACH DUTCHER: I mean, you're not going to turn down a really good player. But they're not going to help you right away. It's going to take a while. I don't care who they are. It's going to take half a year minimal.

It's the same thing when you take a transfer. Sometimes the transfer has got a lot of experience, but before he gets comfortable -- like Darrion Trammell is playing his best basketball. He didn't do it all year. He's doing it now.

It takes a while to acclimate. Takes longer for freshmen to acclimate. And so to play the superstar freshman, it's going to take him a while. If you don't play well enough, you don't get a chance to get to the tournament with him. You haven't won enough to get there.

I always thought Coach K did a great job. He coached in all those eras. When he had all those senior teams, won all those titles. And then he did it with a freshman. The guys he brought here last year, a testament to him, how hard that is to do, to coach freshmen at that level.

And I'm sure if you were to ask him, he probably would rather coach a veteran team. Who wouldn't? You want experience coming back. You're not teaching something new every year. That's a testament to the job he did, taking both types of teams to the tournament.

Q. Dakarai Allen tweeted out [Assistant to the Head Coach Mark] Fish said when one team goes it will be like we all went. A lot of your former players are embracing this run as if it were them who were experiencing it. How rewarding is it that the entire SDSU community is embracing your team the way that it is?

COACH DUTCHER: I've said this, a lot of players come back to their schools. They come back to the place they played. But their coaching staffs are four or five removed by then. They don't know anybody left on the coaching staff. It's a whole new coaching staff. But they know the facilities. They know the school.

When they come back to San Diego State they are coming back to their coaches. Coach Fisher is still here. I'm here for 24 years. Dave Velasquez and Matt Soria have been in the program 20-plus years as students and worked their way up. It's truly coming back to your family. It's not just your university. It's the familiar faces you spend all that time with. And we all share that vision of when one does it, we all do it. And that is really exciting.

Q. Coach May was up here joking about glad they scheduled Tennessee when they did so they could get a chance to go up against the defense and the physicality. When you watch what they did against the Vols, what worked and what concerns you about going into tomorrow?

COACH DUTCHER: They did a great job. They're well-coached. They're talented. I mean, they shoot the ball at an elite level. We can't let them stand out there and make a ton of 3s. And if they do, they have to be contested. We can't do anything about a contested 3. If we're out there with a high hand and it goes in, you tip your hat.

Yeah, they're dangerous. They do a good job giving enough help in the low post, shrinking in there if you try to beat them inside, send a second defender in there halfway, and if you put it down, maybe all the way. They're well-coached and they're disciplined on the defensive end.

Q. I talked to you after the big win against Tennessee. What do you see against Florida Atlantic? What kind of offense do they run? Is this somebody similar in the Mountain West Conference you play? Because we don't see it a lot here on the East Coast?

COACH DUTCHER: We play some spread offenses. Jeff Linder does a good job at Wyoming spreading. Justin Hutson at Fresno plays four guards. So we play teams that spread the floor.

The thing we want to make sure we do is when a team plays four guards they take that many long shots. Sometimes if you turn and just run in to rebound it goes over your head. We make sure we do a good job of checking and not overpursuing the ball on a long shot.

Q. Your team is one of the more mature teams in this tournament, and the fact that they're able to keep their defense up and has probably allowed the least amount of points as any team in the Final Four up to this point. What keeps them so mature in that aspect of being able to hold the defense down even in games against one of the best teams in the tournament everyone was saying in Alabama?

COACH DUTCHER: Just our culture is such where early in the year we say we do a shooting drill, and if we don't make those numbers in the shooting drill, we might go down to the baseline and do defensive slides instead of running it down and back. And we'll just say there are going to be games where the shot doesn't go in as much as we're open. How are we going to win those games? We're going to win them with our defense. It's just setting a mindset.

If we don't hit a number offensively we'll do defensive drills. And say this is not a punishment. This is how we're going to win when no one else can. And so hopefully we can make some shots here where we won't put so much stress on our defense. But our defense, it travels. It plays 40 minutes every game.

Q. Speaking about that age that you have on your team, multiple of your players have said it takes years to be able to fully grasp all the defensive things that you teach. How much have you seen even these even these six-year guys grow in their defensive game and what you guys are trying to do just this year?

COACH DUTCHER: I mean, they're just connected. That's how you're good defensively. You play connected. If a guy gets beat on a drive, one guy will take him and the other guy will peel off. Very rarely do you see us with two guys on the ball. That's where you give up 3s.

Whether it's a ball screen, we want to guard it 2 on 2; we don't want to bring a third defender in. We want to stay extended to contest the 3. We rarely have two on the ball. Even on a drive, if someone comes to help you, I don't need two on the ball, you break off and go get his.

We work on it every day. We spend a lot of time on defense. And eventually they start making plays where you're like, wow, that was incredible what you two just did there, how you saw that, covered for one another yet got out on the shooter.

This is just the process that the more comfortable they get, the more connected they get, the better we are.

Q. Talking to some of the players about Nathan Mensah's impact and what it allows them to do because of what he's able to erase. I'm curious, as a coach what kind of luxury it is to have a rim protector like him who can also switch and do so many different things defensively.

COACH DUTCHER: We've always managed to have a rim protector in our program, whether it was Skylar Spencer who I think is still the all-time block leader in Mountain West history. We have always had shot blockers. And Nate does a great job blocking shots.

The problem with having an older team, at some point they played so much basketball and they've been in college for five years, they're a little tired of college and basketball -- college basketball. So they get disinterested. So that's the biggest task as a coach is to say I know you've played a lot, and you're looking at the guy you're playing. You still have to give the same effort every game.

And sometimes they win. And they just kind of get satisfied. And the key to us coaching them is to say you've been here a long time. You still have to put the same investment in, because they played a lot of basketball and sometimes they're, like, I'm ready to do something else in my life other than being in college and play basketball. And I know that seems interesting, but it's true.

Talk about a guy that's played a lot of basketball and I'm trying to keep interested, Adam Seiko.

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Adam Seiko.

Q. Adam, can you talk about Coach Dutch, his ability to be able to bring you guys together this season and just his impact for you guys?

ADAM SEIKO: He's been great, ever since I got here. This is our sixth year together. He got the job when I committed here. It's been a blessing to play for him. Been to a few NCAA Tournaments now. Come up short in those first round exits.

But his growth as a coach you could see from a player's standpoint every single year. He's a guy, with all our assistant coaches, very passionate and he keeps us level-headed and keeps us sane, and he just keeps us motivated to be better every single day.

Especially here and now, we love all this stuff going on, but we understand we have a task, a job to get done. And he embarks on that every single time we're in film or getting ready to practice. So it's been a blessing to play for him, and I couldn't ask for a better coach.

Q. What's it been like since you stepped off the bus at San Diego State until now?

ADAM SEIKO: It's been crazy. The city has been going crazy. It's been a blessing to win the Elite Eight, beat my little brother on the way to Final Four.

But this team is resilient. These guys, from August, from July, August, to the early practices, to now, our growth has been crazy.

But we've been preparing for FAU. They're a really good team. We're not looking past them at all. We got better in practice this week. Were able to get into the arena yesterday, get shots up, get our rhythm going, prepare for them more.

It's good to be here, blessing to be here, and we're just focused on the game Saturday.

Q. What's it been like to have a player like Darrion Trammell on your team and having him come in this year, just how has he done as a player and how does he just build the team up?

COACH DUTCHER: Darrion's like all players. He ran through a stretch where I think he lost his confidence a little bit, questioned how we were doing some things, probably, looking for more opportunities to have the ball in his hands like a lot of good players.

But he kind of played through that stretch, that frustration, and just said, I'm going to do me. I'm going to be the best player I can be regardless of what the coaches say.

And he did that. He stepped his game up. He's doing it within the system we have, and I'm proud of him.

Q. FAU's continued to talk about how they don't want to be seen as a typical Cinderella team. If you do see any differences, what are some of the things you've seen from FAU that separate them from kind of that typical normal Cinderella team?

COACH DUTCHER: Probably the fact that they're the winningest team in the country right now. They've got more wins than anybody. Sometimes a Cinderella team gets in their conference tournament, they're barely above .500, they make this run.

They've got more wins than anybody in the country. We're not looking at them as a Cinderella team, winningest team out there. And I just told our team their chip on their shoulder can't be bigger than the chip on our shoulder.

Q. So you were last here in the Final Four about 30 years ago with those great Michigan teams. Have you been calling on any of those past experiences to the team this week, or what has been your mindset of using some of that experience you've had in the past?

COACH DUTCHER: I think I've called upon the experience to help them through what this week is like: media responsibilities, when it's time to enjoy, when it's time to lock in. And just more experience from that regard.

You know, the demands are tremendous, and they're fun. We're loving every minute of it. But at some point we have to go to work. Like I said, today is not an All-Star game practice, even though it's going to feel like that, with fans in the crowd. They're going to want to dunk and do silly things.

I'm going to tell them enjoy it, like I did, but focus in. We have a game. We're trying to accomplish the greatest thing in the world, winning the national title. So be able to flip the switch and concentrate when it's required.

Q. You had some close losses in the beginning of the season to tournament teams like Saint Mary's, Arkansas, Arizona. What do you think your team learned from those losses that helped them get to this point?

COACH DUTCHER: You learn more from a loss than a win, as crazy as that may or may not sound. We learn winning and losing, but losses shock the system sometimes.

So change our offense a little bit after Arizona. We've always worked on our press O. And just didn't execute Arkansas. And just little moments that you say we have to fine tune this, we have to get better at this.

And all those give us an opportunity to do that. Ball screen defense against Saint Mary's, which we had great success in the past. Didn't have as much success this year. What do we have to do to get better at that? They teach you those small little lessons. Nothing major to tweak, but one or two things that can get you better, and we're willing to learn those lessons.

Q. What was it like playing against your brother on the big stage? How cool is it you'll have that one-up on him now?

ADAM SEIKO: It was amazing. It's something that not too many people can experience, if that. Playing him last year, losing in the first round, really hit us hard. Coming up that next summer, leading into this season, we were very motivated to make it back to the tournament and make a run.

But it's just a blessing for my family. Uganda, where we're from, everybody is supporting us. And he had a great season. Creighton had a great season. He played well.

So it felt good. Felt good to get revenge back, especially to make it to the Final Four and tell my family one of us is going to make the Final Four. I knew it was going to be me. And it's a blessing to be here, and I'm happy for him for the success he's had this season.

Q. Adam, being a vet of this San Diego team, what kind of pressure do you feel tomorrow leading these guys in hopefully the victory?

ADAM SEIKO: I don't think there's any pressure on us. We understand that we've been counted out all year long. It's not a surprise that we've been counted out. These guys are more motivated as ever to get a win.

And we have a great staff. Our coaches, they do a great job scouting. Our practices have been really good over the past few months. We're really focused on getting better in practice.

We're excited for this opportunity. We're not going to take it for granted. All our family's being here, all the fans being here. We've got the best fans in the world to support us and their energy helps us. It's just more of a blessing and excitement for us rather than pressure.

Q. Your fourth tournament appearance since starting at San Diego State, but your first tournament win here getting this far. How important was it to get over the hump of that round-of-64 game?

COACH DUTCHER: We want to win everyone we play. Obviously we lost a one-possession game to Houston my first year. Boeheim rolled over me that second trip. We lost an overtime game to Creighton. It's hard to win a game in the tournament.

I didn't look back and say, boy, you messed that up, you should have done this better. As a coach, you try to put your players in the best position to win. But I always say March is for players. That's not to excuse coaching, but if I put them in the right position, sometimes you live with the shot going in or ringing out. And that's March basketball.

Q. This is your sixth season. How have you been able to build the program up to where they were from where you were before? And what stands out to you most about your journey so far?

COACH DUTCHER: I knew I had to probably win right way, being I'm coaching on Steve Fisher Court, and that's the guy I replaced. A little pressure to do that.

But we had a culture. He left me a program that was in great shape. I just continued to build on the foundation he laid that I helped lay with him. And so we built on a strong foundation and we continue to climb as a basketball program.

Q. Obviously you have close connection with coach Steve Fisher and he's been at that type of level before, being in the Final Four, winning national championship. Have any other coaches reached out to you or have you received advice from any other coaches who have been at that type of level?

COACH DUTCHER: No, not really. Most coaches just call and congratulate. It's not a whole lot, here's what you need to expect. They know I've been to three of these in the past. Granted it was 30 years ago. They haven't changed a whole lot now that I'm sitting here.

The media responsibilities are the same. The practices are the same. I'm feeling pretty comfortable. Now I just have to get my team comfortable. That's the main thing.

Q. You've had some of these guys be with you for a long period of time now. They could have done four years, maybe more. Could you speak a little bit to what some of them -- Adam, Nathan Mensah -- what they mean to the program, how they've helped acclimate some of the new guys who have transferred in?

COACH DUTCHER: Adam and I have been together six years. I think when he leaves I might think leaving too, I'll go with him. We've had a heck of a run.

No, Nathan and A.G. have been with me five. And these guys are the backbone to my program, to my era at San Diego State. They mean everything to me. Jordan Schakel, Matt Mitchell, guys that came my first year, a lot of really good players make a coach look good. I've had great players that have made me look good in my six years.

Q. What experiences do you say you guess you had when you were younger, during your child that shaped you into the person you are today that made you into the player you are?

ADAM SEIKO: That's a great question. So many experiences with my family -- highs, lows. Man, I could name a lot. But the struggle we've been through, living in hotels, having to take care of my little brother alone. Having to take him to the gym. Having to get workouts when we didn't have a gym to work out in.

There's so much stuff that that's motivated me to be where I'm at today. Just a blessing from God, my mom and my dad have raised us, myself and my little brother and my little sisters into great kids and respected individuals. Shout out to them for raising us.

And shout to Coach Dutch for allowing me the opportunity to be here at this wonderful university. It's a blessing to be in the Final Four.

Q. FAU is a team that's 29-0 whenever winning the rebounding battle. That often leads to quick shots for them in transition. How much is it going to be important for your team to win that battle and control the pace of the game on that end of the floor?

COACH DUTCHER: We've watched a lot of tape on rebounding, obviously. When you have four guards and you shoot long shots, it's not like a lot of games where you're wrestling underneath the basket with other bigs. Although Goldin is big.

It's those long rebounds that he bats out or that you run in and go over your head, back to the guards. So we made a conscious effort to try to stay extended, just check. Instead of just running in, check, make sure our man isn't going and then secure the longer rebounds.

Q. Adam, you played against your brother last week in the Elite Eight. Is he going to be here in Houston watching you guys? What's his message been? How has it been having him along after playing against him just a few days ago?

ADAM SEIKO: He's going to be in Houston. He got in this morning. He's excited to be here. He's very happy for me. He said if he's going to lose to somebody, he's glad it was me and San Diego State.

But he's coming with a few of his teammates, so it's going to be a good experience for them as well. And I'm just happy that we got to play him, happy that he's happy for me, and he's going to learn a lot from last game leading on into his career. So it's good to have my family and him here.