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NCAA MEN'S FIRST FOUR: DAYTON

March 13, 2017

Mark Slessinger

Dayton, Ohio

THE MODERATOR: We're now joined by the head coach of the New Orleans Privateers, Mark Slessinger.

COACH SLESSINGER: It's an unbelievable honor to be in Dayton. In 2001, I was lucky enough to be an assistant coach at Northwestern State and play in the first-ever play-in game. Then it was a play-in game. It wasn't called an opening round game.

But it was one of the most special experiences that I've ever had in coaching, and that was because of the city of Dayton, the approach that University of Dayton took towards this event and made it something that our student-athletes -- I got three or four texts in the last 24 hours from guys that were on the team about how awesome and how great the experience was.

So in preparing our team for this trip and coming, that was a big piece of it is me telling them how great of an experience they were going to have in the city, in this storied arena. And it means a lot to me to be back here with a really phenomenal group of student-athletes that I think are very tough-minded, exciting team to watch play.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach?

Q. There's 68 teams who appreciate this. But given what you've come from, this program's come from, can anyone possibly appreciate this moment more than you can?
COACH SLESSINGER: It would be hard for me to believe that, that anybody could. When I arrived in that first year and we were kind of nomadic, I guess, to a certain extent because we didn't have a conference home or affiliation.

We were in flux in classification for what division we were going to be. Had three student-athletes committed that were staying in the program and they were at my press conference, didn't have an assistant, didn't have a lot of other things.

I knew I was in a great city. I knew I was at a great university with incredible people that were dynamic and had great bones and structure, I guess, to build a program around.

And we had an incredible history of what basketball was as a mid-major power in the '80s and '90s. But for us to come full circle and for this moment to be, for this moment to be real, I wish I could put it into words in the right way that could sound eloquent, but I don't think it's possible. Because I know the sacrifices that our kids have made, the sacrifices my staff has made to get us to this point and the people that have been behind us -- and once you live in New Orleans it's different. Your life is different, your perspective is different.

When you were there and you see -- I mean on my block alone, I mean I've got five empty lots still on my block. So things still are never going to be what they were in some ways.

But there's a lot of people that this means a lot to that has nothing to do with basketball. But it means a lot to them that we're back and we're a champion and the city feels like it's a champion and the people in the city feel like they're champions again.

Q. I guess it's been exactly 24 hours since you found out who you were going to play. And I'm sure you've been going over tapes, scouting, all of that stuff. What do you know about Mount St. Mary's and what do you see as some of your challenges, et cetera, et cetera?
COACH SLESSINGER: Well, you know, ironically I watched the championship game of the Northeast Conference. I watched them another time earlier a few weeks ago.

I had a feeling that if we were in this position that that would be one of the teams we'd play.

I think they've got a great team. I think they're dynamic. I think they can play a style that is probably as polar opposite as there is to ours. I think if the committee was making matchmaker scenarios, if it was a prize fight and they were putting styles against each other, I don't know if they do that in the opening-round games, and you could chuckle about it, but they did a great job, if they were matching up styles, because we're as different as can be.

And they're very, very good at what they do. And they can create tempo. They can score in a lot of different ways. And they've got some guys that in my day you would say they've got some motor scooters. They can move, man, they can get up and move. And we're going to have to defend at a high, high level to keep them from scoring. And we're going to have to have to not turn it over against them.

Q. Some teams maybe might not want the First Four, but one of the upsides of it it puts the 16th seed in excellent position to have a winning game. Can you talk about that aspect of it?
COACH SLESSINGER: Yeah, I want to be in this tournament. I mean, and our guys want to be in this tournament. We didn't care what seed we were.

And for us, I love the opportunity -- again, I don't mean to come back to it again, but I love the opportunity for me, selfishly, for my student-athletes, to experience this, because this is not what it's like at the other places.

The second time I was in the tournament, it was not as special as how people treated you and the environment as this is.

And so to be able to come, to play a like-level team that is also a conference champion and a tournament champion on a neutral court, on national TV and be the first game of this entire tournament, the world's greatest tournament, the world's greatest sporting event. No disrespect, World Cup, but this is the world's greatest sporting event, whew, it's pretty cool. It's pretty awesome. We couldn't be happier and be a part of it.

Q. Mark, bringing in Erik when you had three seniors that had been there, two years already, was there any worry about how he would mix chemistry-wise? Was he the final piece of the puzzle that brought you here?
COACH SLESSINGER: Yeah, I think, right away we knew that he was special. When it got a chance in the recruiting process to get to know his family, he was very grounded. He comes from a great basketball family. I knew right away that he was a team player, would sacrifice and do the things he needs to do. And I think that the guys that we had around him knew that and bought into it.

So they've been peanut butter and jelly ever since he got here and it's been fun to watch them all grow together.

Q. Erik probably didn't have one of his best games in the conference championship game, but when you look at stats and he finished with a double-double, made some huge plays, is that kind of what typifies him, if it's not flowing for him he doesn't force it, he still finds a way to be a huge factor?
COACH SLESSINGER: Yeah, he wants to win. He wants to win more than he wants to score. And I think that's why he was the Player of the Year in our league.

And the other night was a great example, where I mean they put a lot of focus on him and were double teaming and bluff double teaming him and he didn't force stuff. He made the extra pass and moved the ball around to get guys better shots.

And then he got in and rebounded and defended at a high, high level. And that's what you'll see tomorrow night as well. He's going to want to win more than he's going to want to score. He's not hung up on that.

And he made a clear decision when he was in the scoring race with Rashawn Thomas for the league scoring title. He said, Coach, I'm not hung up on that title, I want to win the league more than the scoring title. That all worked out for him.

Q. Coach, what kept you going when it's been three other coaches there since Katrina and they all left for assistant jobs someplace and you just kept staying. What did you see or what did you know?
COACH SLESSINGER: Well, there's some pieces of it. You have to love the community. I met my wife there. My daughter's name is Nola Ann. We're as attached and grounded in that community.

Once you're there and if you love it, it's awful hard to pry you out of it. And when you have administrators and a president that believes in you and gives you time and tells you to do it the right way and tells you not to take shortcuts on character and tells you not to shortcut on making great decision over a good decision in recruiting, I don't know why I would leave. Everybody dreams of having autonomy and how you're going run your shop. And me, my coaching ministry, I was blessed those people gave me that chance. And I was in it for the long haul.

I never wanted to be the guy that walked out just because it wasn't comfortable. There's a lot of people in our community and in our city and two of them sitting here in the front row that have lived very uncomfortably for a lot of years but they believe in the bigger picture of our city and what we're doing, and I think sometimes when you're uncomfortable a little bit you grow and you get a lot better.

And I think going through this process has made me a lot better coach and a lot better man and a lot better mentor for these guys, for sure. And so I wasn't going to cut and run.

Q. Have you heard from some of the other Northwestern State Mafia, coaches that have been through the tournament and your background guys?
COACH SLESSINGER: It's been great to hear from Coach McCarthy and some of the other people that were here in this experience with me in Dayton, but I've heard from a lot of UNO people too that guys, that were from going back to Tick Price to Tim Floyd and Wayne Cooper and Terry Gill and all those people that were the pillars of our program and just to hear their voice and hear their spring in their voice again about what's happened, I mean it's special, it's special.

But this has been -- it's been an unbelievable run. And I wish that there was more time -- I'm happy we're here but you wish you had one or two more days to process it and to really get more people involved and to experience it, be part of the ride with you. But it's a quick turnaround from pulling in on campus yesterday at 3:00 and getting changed and figuring out we're coming here at 4:30 and trying to get on a plane and having the guys in the locker room at 9:15 in the morning.

I still have a dirty suit I've got to figure out how to get a suit cleaned between now and tomorrow night. So at Dayton I'm going to need some help.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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