MOUNTAIN WEST MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 14, 2024

Justin Hutson

Isaiah Hill

Isaiah Pope

Thomas & Mack Center

Fresno State Bulldogs

Postgame Press Conference

Utah State 87, Fresno State 75

THE MODERATOR: For Fresno State we have student-athletes Isaiah Hill, Isaiah Pope, Coach Justin Hutson.

Thoughts on today's game?

JUSTIN HUTSON: That was a heck of a game. Obviously it didn't finish how we wanted. Couldn't be more proud of the student-athletes that we have, of the fight that they gave, the togetherness.

They talk about teaching life lessons through sports, but it really is because you have to fight through that adversity and come out and keep playing, keep confidence in yourself. I'm very proud. I just want to express a lot of gratitude to our student-athletes first. They understand.

I'm glad I had a chance to sit and talk to them before we came out here. With that being said, I've coached my last game here at Fresno State. I've talked to the administration. It's a mutual decision. My contract is up in April. I want to express gratitude to them, the previous administration, to the community. It's the right time. It's the right time.

I'll finish off through April.

I also want to express gratitude that I plan on staying on in a consulting role for a while after my contract is up, on a new contract and do whatever they want me to do and help however they want help. We've talked about that.

I just think I wanted to make that clear now and express gratitude to everybody that I've been around during these six years. It was a lot of fun.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student-athletes.

Q. For both of you, what has it meant to play for Coach Hutson?

ISAIAH HILL: It's meant a lot. Coach will definitely go down as my favorite coach I've ever played for. He just brings so much to the table as far as becoming a man off the court. He's just helped lead all these guys from the players to the staff. It's meant a lot to be able to get under his wing, learn the game, and become a better man.

I just want to give my thanks to Coach Hut as well.

ISAIAH POPE: I'm real appreciative of Coach Hut. He put a lot of trust in me. I put a lot of trust in him transferring over here for my last year.

It wasn't the season we wanted, but I learned a lot of lessons from him, and he taught me a lot of things as well. Like Zay said about not just basketball but just being a man and how to just take life and the ups and downs and things like that. Very grateful for him, of course.

Q. What was kind of the mindset, the message going into this game given how it went a couple of weeks ago?

ISAIAH POPE: Why not us? We had lost by 39 to Wyoming last week, and we beat them yesterday. We figured, why not we go beat the No. 1 team?

I think every player believed in that. I think every coach believed in that, and I think it showed all the way until overtime.

Q. There was seven runs tonight from either team of seven or more points. Just what went into that last one where you sent it into overtime?

ISAIAH HILL: We just didn't want it to be our last game, so we was going to fight regardless. I wouldn't want to go down with any other team. So it is what it is. The outcome is what it is. We just went out there and fought, and that's why the run came.

Q. Coach Hut, it was a hard-fought battle from a lot of your players. Especially Leo Colimerio who was mismatched with a center on their team. Can you just talk a little bit about that?

JUSTIN HUTSON: Leo is an energy giver. He never has a bad day. So if somebody is up for a challenge that way against a player of the year and giving up all that weight and size, he would do it twice, right? He did it at home, and we came up a little short, and he did it again tonight. He's a tough guy.

Q. Closing out the season this way, just what are your thoughts on kind of Utah State and you guys going back and forth this time around same as last time?

JUSTIN HUTSON: Just a lot of gratitude to our guys. That was a heck of a ride. It was a close game. We had a shot. We gave ourselves a chance and moved forward.

Danny did a great job. His staff did a great job. They got a good team. Wish them well and move forward.

Q. Isaiah, talk to me about just the game as a whole. You came out after yesterday. I know you weren't happy with how you performed, and you were ready to go. I saw you before tip. You were just fired up for this game, and you went through and I thought you played an outstanding game. Just talk me through the game.

ISAIAH HILL: Yeah, you can't really think about yesterday. Today is a new day.

I knew when I was going to go out, if I went out today, I was going to go out with all I had. That was the mindset going in.

Q. Pope, talk to me about the small line-up. Because one thing that I like about the small line-up is you guys are actually a really good rebounding team out of the small line-up. You outscored them on second-chance points even though you are undersized at different positions. Talk about the battle in the post, because Hut had to switch it up when Leo picked up the fouls, and you had to guard the big kid.

ISAIAH POPE: It's a nice challenge, and I think the small line-up makes all of us go just an extra bit harder. Without Enoch or Eduardo in there, we don't have a real big in there. We all know it's a gang rebound, like Coach likes to call it, and we have to come in and help each other. I think in a small line-up we really focus on that. I think it elevates all of our intensity and our aggressiveness.

Unfortunately, what comes with that is fouls, but I also agree with what you are saying with the small line-up. I think we did a great job with that making those adjustments.

THE MODERATOR: We'll dismiss the student-athletes at this time. Thank you, men. Questions for the coach.

Q. I'll ask you the same thing, Coach. What has it meant to you to be able to coach this team and bring these guys up?

JUSTIN HUTSON: Man, you spend a lot of time with those guys. Again, the word is really -- and it sounds cliche, but it's gratitude. To be put in that position to spend that much time and try to influence the young men to play harder and to learn these life lessons. You're proud of them because there was a lot of opportunities in life where you point fingers or quit. We've had some tough games. We've never quit, but we've had some tough games where it didn't go our way, and our energy was down, and we were able to talk about that. I thought we had pretty good energy the last two days.

Q. I was going to ask you that question. I thought the last two games you guys have played has really shown what Fresno State basketball is all about and what you kind of represent. Sprinkle was just talking about how preparing for you guys he knows you're going to play hard, you're going to play good defense, and you're going to do all the things that you want to see. Just talk to me when you walk into a tournament and it's a new season, that you kind of wipe the slate clean, what was your mindset coming into the Mountain West Tournament?

JUSTIN HUTSON: It was all Wyoming, to tell you the truth. I think my experience -- this is my 18th Mountain West Tournament, I believe. You do know that players are going on have to make plays, and it was with Dono and Pope scoring yesterday, didn't even know Donavan was going to play. Did not know how much I would play him. It was kind of a look-in-the-eyes type of thing. Everything was on a feel.

Really coming into this play, we don't have a lot of mantras besides we're going to play better than we played last time. I'm going to coach better. We're going to prepare better. You're going to play better and start with the process and not a lot of other stuff.

Q. Talk to me about your staff because you come in, and you're saying that this was your final game, and you're going to be on, but talk to me what the staff has represented for you because they've been with you from get-go, and they don't see all the behind the scenes type stuff?

JUSTIN HUTSON: Your staff is like your basketball family. I've got a lot of friends. I've got a lot of friends on staff. We lost Tarvish and Tim. They're still friends, and they were friends then. We brought more friends on staff who know a lot of basketball.

One of my favorite is sitting right in front of me, Nate Leal where everybody told me how great he was. You didn't plan on hiring the ops that you didn't know, and he was probably my best hire.