NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST FOUR

March 20, 2024

Matt Logie

Robert Ford III

John Olmsted

Brian Goracke

UD Arena

Montana State Bobcats

Media Conference

Grambling State - 88, Montana State - 81 (OT)

Q. Coach, your thoughts on the season and tonight's game for the Bobcats?

MATT LOGIE: First, tip our hat to Grambling State. They're a fantastic group that really fought hard tonight and played a great second half to earn the victory.

As hard as it is to see our season come to an end, man, I count it as pure joy to have been on this journey with these guys to my right.

I've been doing this 21 years now in some form or fashion, and I've never coached a group that's overcome more during the course of one season, dating back to when we began late last spring.

The attitude that they showed in the midst of that process is an example for our program for years and years to come. The toughness and competitive spirit that this guy, Robert Ford, infused into our basketball family is something I hope we can capture in a bottle and continue to build off of.

The bottom line is nobody expected us to be here except for the guys in our room, in our locker room and our staff. And the way they stuck to the process and kept believing in what we could be at the end of the season was, again, a pure joy.

So the best is yet to come for this program. The foundation that Rob and John leave behind is something that I know that they will take great pride in, the future success of Montana State.

Q. Rob and John, as the two players up here who are out of eligibility now, what do you hope your teammates who will be returning take from this experience and use it as fuel for next year? And, Brian, as one of those returners, personally, how do you hope this experience fuels you and those remaining teammates?

ROBERT FORD III: I would just say I understand how hard it is to get here. There's a lot of great players in the league. There's a lot of great teams. The biggest part is understanding what it takes to get there and when you get there what it feels like.

I've been to this twice, making it and losing in the first game. It's tough. I think that's one of the things that fueled me last year. So coming back I think that will be great, the feeling of wanting to get back and wanting to get a win in the NCAA Tournament.

JOHN OLMSTED: I think the biggest thing they got this experience under their belt. They know what it feels like. They know what it took to get here, through the ups and downs of this year.

It wasn't a normal year for teams to get here like we did, but to be able to look back at this year and see everything we went through. And at the end of the day, if you still believe and still come out every day and work hard, you can still achieve whatever you want to do.

BRIAN GORACKE: Especially these two guys, they've been just incredible examples, incredible leaders for us all year. And their impact will last longer than they're here. So it's just important to honor their legacy and carry it on and keep building, keep pushing ourselves and remember that anything is possible.

Q. Rob, you put your name in the portal this offseason and you decided to come back. Now reflecting on this year and making it back to the tournament, being the guy, what's it meant to you? And what does Coach Logie and it all mean?

ROBERT FORD III: It means a lot to me. It's hard -- and I was talking to the guys in the locker room -- it's hard to come back -- Coach getting hired late, guys trying to put all the pieces together. But props to our team for getting it together, getting it under their belt right away.

For me, I appreciate them letting me come in and lead them. It's tough. It really is, but I'm just happy and proud of this team. It's not too many times you see a team with a first-year coach go to the championship.

Q. We all know that the legacy that you left with the Cats. What's the legacy that you hope you left?

ROBERT FORD III: I hope I just left grit. People out there, our team especially, that are hungry, coming in, the new recruits, whoever comes in, we're hungry. We're looking to win and we're looking to play as hard as we can. So I hope that's what I left behind.

Q. Were there times in this game, maybe specifically near the end of that first half, I think you hit them with a 15-4 run, where it felt kind of similar to the Big Sky Tournament, but your put-them-away run was just coming a little earlier?

MATT LOGIE: There were some definite momentum swings. I think obviously without watching the film back, the moment that stuck out, even in the moment, was early in the second half. We had kind of built double digit lead and couple transition opportunities, two wide-open 3-pointers, a couple of free throws, and really had an opportunity there to stretch it to maybe 20 or more and just didn't convert like we did last week.

And obviously I've been doing this long enough and part of the reason this team was able to stick to the process so well was we understand how percentages work, and we shot a lot of bullets last week. The shots just didn't fall tonight like they did in some of those momentous second half swings that we had last week in Boise, but we put ourselves in position to do it.

Q. That final play in regulation, was that a read-and-react play, what was it when you called the timeout, when you had a chance to potentially get a game-winning bucket?

MATT LOGIE: We had ran an action a few minutes prior where Brian got a pitch-back 3 from the top of the key coming from the side out of bounds, and we thought we would have an opportunity to use that as a decoy, get Brandon downhill where he'd convert at a high rate, 7-for-10 from the field. We just wanted to make sure we did something that was aggressive and didn't want to do something that was in the middle third of the floor. So we got to a good spot. Didn't turn out the way that we had hoped. But I think the plan was solid.

Q. Similar to a question that I asked the guys: How much do you hope that this kind of an experience fuels or is evidence of what is possible at this program, next year, and you're going to have 35 games now to look back on your first season as head coach here, what are you going to remember the most about this group?

MATT LOGIE: What I'll remember the most about this group is how they never let go of the rope for our culture and our standards. I came to Montana State to compete in the NCAA Tournament. This place has proven you can do that year in, year out.

Ultimately, knowing the way the cards are stacked against us, the priority that we placed in what we sometimes refer to as year 0, year 1, was the culture. And I think this group established that that culture is not going anywhere. The best for this program is definitely yet to come.

And now that we have a core group of guys that have a year under their belt with our new design and our new systems in place, I think we've got a tremendous opportunity here to continue to get back here in the future.

Q. It was John and Rob's last game as collegiate athletes. What have they meant to you this past year -- I know it's only been one year -- but I know the impact was big. What do they mean to you what do you hope they left with the program?

MATT LOGIE: I'll start with John. I think John's journey this year, I'm really glad it got the exposure that it did because the inspiration that he is to so many young people, if they're paying attention, is just incredible.

He's a young man that is all about the team, that waited his turn, that kept fighting, that had amazing attitude. And when we needed him the most, he rang the bell.

And that's life. You have to pick yourself up. You don't always get what you want when you want. And the example that he set in that regard is going to be echoed in our offices and in our locker room for years and years to come.

And then with Rob, Rob chose us, and he wouldn't let us fail. The perseverance that he built in our program through his example this year is going to again be echoed for years and years to come. Those guys have helped the team overcome more in one year than I've ever seen a team overcome, and I know they're very proud of that, and we'll continue to honor that legacy as we move forward.