PLAYERS ERA POWER COLLEGE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

November 27, 2024

Dana Altman

Brandon Angel

MGM Grand Garden Arena

Oregon Ducks

Postgame Press Conference

Oregon - 78, San Diego State - 68

Q. What did you learn about your team over this last couple of games, what you've seen so far?

DANA ALTMAN: Well, I do like the way that they are competing. Got down yesterday and I thought they fought their tails off to get back. I really liked the plus-17 on the boards today.

Other than some turnovers and some loose balls that we had, I thought our guys played really hard and pretty unselfish. So I like the direction we're going.

And we've got a lot of depth. We've got some young guys that can fill in and give us some more minutes. So it's only November, but I like the direction we're headed.

Q. You mentioned rebounding. San Diego State normally is a good rebounding team. What did you see out there, and what do you think the difference was on the boards?

DANA ALTMAN: Well, we looked at their numbers. They were just a plus-one for the season. And after getting our tails kicked yesterday on the boards, we were minus-six yesterday, but the second-chance points, A&M kind of put it on us.

We just felt that we could make that move today. We did a better job in the second half rebounding the ball against A&M. And we just thought the physicality of that game kind of prepared us for this one. So that was all I talked about pregame was just beat them on the boards. I think we can get them on the boards. Their activity defensively -- we're going to turn the ball over a few times. We've just got to get back, put our defense together when we do.

But we've got to beat them on the boards. And second-chance points, 18-4. It was 18-0 at the half. So (indiscernible) second half. Our conditioning must not be very good, but it was 18-0 in the half. That was the 10-point difference we had in the game.

Q. Could you speak a little bit more about TJ's performance and setting the tone with Nate early in the game?

DANA ALTMAN: I thought TJ, when he takes that ball to the basket it changes his game. The same thing with Brandon. When you're going at the basket, you just get a more aggressive mentality.

We (lost audio) stand on the perimeter too much. And we've got to take it -- I thought we were real selective with our 3s. 10-for-22 is by far the best we've shot it this year. First of all we had the right guys shooting it. But, second, I thought our patience was pretty good.

Q. What is the overall value of participating in an event like this, between the NIL exposure, the competition, what do you think the future of an event like this will be?

DANA ALTMAN: Well, they made a great first impression. They have treated us really well. We fly in, check in the hotel, everything's laid out. Everything's organized. Our meals have been great.

We had three top-level officials today. I mean, those are the things as a coach you look for in an event. You want your guys -- how do I say it, to be treated great. You want it to be a good experience for them.

I get to go to these tournaments every year, but they get three or four opportunities. And so you want them to enjoy it. You want their families to enjoy it.

And the MGM's been great. I've always liked this facility. I said that yesterday. We played the Pac-12 Tournament here four, five years. And we always had really good success. I think it's just a really good basketball arena. It's close. I think it's really set up good for basketball.

So, again, my first impression, it's been a very well run event. People have been outstanding to us. And so we're excited about it.

I'm happy for the players. We were able to bump everybody in their NIL. I mean, it is what it is, you know where we're at today with that. You cover basketball all the time, you know, that's just where it's at.

Guys want to come to your school. I want them to come to Oregon, first of all. I don't want them to come because we're paying them. I want them to be at Oregon, but once they get there, I like to take care of guys.

And so it enabled us to bump everybody when we finally got into this tournament. And so those are all positives. And I don't know what the future is of NIL and revenue sharing or distribution, whatever we're going to do here, but for this year it's a good thing for our players. It's been a great tournament.

When I talk to Seth (Berger) and he told me who was coming, or who he was trying to get, I'm like, okay, those are really good teams so it's going to be a really good tournament, and Vegas is close for us. So at least it's not cross country because we've got the Big Ten coming up and we're going to be going cross country enough. If our guys get this money, get paid like this, man, that's icing on the cake. Again, very well run. Officials, everything we've had, the food's been good. It's been a good experience.

Q. Brandon, you make the big 3-pointer to stop the 9-0 run that SDSU was on near the midway mark of the game. What did that do for the energy for the team considering the audience was majority SDSU fans, and what did you see on ensuing possession for you when you were able to respond for 2s with 3s?

BRANDON ANGEL: Basketball, at the end of the day, is a game of runs. And they were on their run. We just knew we had to keep plugging away, playing the basketball that got us to that point in the game.

You saw it on the defense end. That's where everything started today, when we were sitting down, playing tough on defense, that allowed us to get out in transition. But also it cuts the momentum of the crowd out.

If the other team is not scoring, it's hard for the fans to get involved. Shot like that, yeah, it's nice to stabilize the game, but we got into the media timeout, we said we've got to figure it out on the defensive end of the court.

Q. Obviously you're a San Diego guy and I know you considered San Diego State when you decided to transfer. What was behind the decision to go to Oregon and how much was NIL a factor?

BRANDON ANGEL: My whole process throughout the portal was I want to find a school that's the best fit for me and wins at the highest level.

And San Diego is absolutely a program that wins. My whole childhood they won a lot. But at the end of the day I just believed Oregon was the best situation, the best fit for me. And I believed in the staff, the pieces we had. Oregon was the best fit for me and my family.

Q. Dana, how do you get a San Diego guy, a kid out of San Diego to come to Oregon?

DANA ALTMAN: They kicked our tail at Stanford for a couple of years. I always respected his game, just his efficiency numbers, his IQ of the game. Today he's 5-for-11, I think it's the most shots he's taken all year. But like yesterday, everything, 4-of-5, 2-of-3, 4-for-4 from the line. He talks defensively. I've got to get him on the boards a little bit more. But he got six today.

So the other thing is when he makes a mistake, there's a maturity factor there. He nods his head and goes, yeah.

As a coach, it sinks in when they do that. But he's been great. Like I said, I respected his game at Stanford. I was just scared when I saw his transcript and saw all As but one B plus, I'm like, I'm not smart enough to coach this guy. So that was the only thing that scared me in the whole process.