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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: SALT LAKE CITY

March 23, 2019

Salt Lake City, Utah

Gonzaga - 83, Baylor - 71

THE MODERATOR: We welcome Baylor representatives to the stage. In addition to Coach Drew we have King McClure and Makai Mason. We will take a brief opening statement from Coach followed by questions directed at the student-athletes.

SCOTT DREW: I think every year a coach doesn't like to see the last game come to an end, but some years are just a little harder than others. In the locker room we all had a really good cry because we genuinely liked one another and appreciated how each person contributed, starting with King, Makai, and Jake and how they led the team.

Gonzaga beat us today, but we didn't tap out and we did what we've done all year, and that's compete and fight hard to the end. And we're proud of them.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Baylor student-athletes.

Q. You guys were down 16 at the half and to come out on a 10-0 run. What did the coach tell you at the break?
MAKAI MASON: One of the biggest things was trying to win the 50/50 balls. We felt like we had a lot that they won in the first half, and we really pride ourselves on getting those. So that was the biggest thing, just the mentality of, you know, getting the loose balls, obviously not letting up transition threes also.

Q. This is for King. Obviously an offensive juggernaut you faced. How difficult was it to slow them down and keep them out of transition?
KING McCLURE: It was kind of tough. We felt lackadaisical and they had a lot of transition buckets. Credit to the guys, like Coach Drew said, all year we've never tapped out, we've never given up. When they hit the transition bucket and hit a big three, we come right back and we never ever give up.

That's one thing I can say about this group of guys is, we just have fight and we have heart. You can't measure a man's heart. I'm proud of all the guys. I love those guys. They did an amazing job tonight in not giving up.

Q. This is for Makai. Obviously, a tough time right now. How fun was it to play on this team, you know, overachieved in most people's eyes?
MAKAI MASON: Very thankful and grateful that I got the opportunity to play here. Yeah, being a part of the Baylor family, even for one year, has really meant a lot to me. I've really grown to love the coaching staff and the players as well.

Yeah, just being doubted all year, to see the fight that this team has, it's awesome. I can't say enough about them, about the guys, their spirit. So I'm thankful I made the decision to spend my last year here.

Q. King, I know there's a lot of offensive firepower on Gonzaga. Did you know that Clarke had that much going on?
KING McCLURE: He was playing good. Credit to him. He made tough plays, he made tough shots, he got rebounds. Like I said earlier, he had a great game.

But we didn't give up. We kept fighting. And that's one thing I'm proud of, I'm proud of the guys for doing that.

Q. King, you said when you guys made it into the tournament that it was such a good feeling because of how last year ended. For you to finish out your career on this stage in the way you played tonight, kind of reflecting back on this experience.
KING McCLURE: It's been a great experience. I think I can literally say I left it all on the court my very last game. It was a great year, an up-and-down year. At the end of the day, we didn't give up. And the guys made sure that I had the very best season I could have and they made sure that last year, we didn't have a repeat of last year.

We got to the tournament even when we lost Tristan and all the adversity that we dealt with. The guys made sure that they kept fighting and for that, I'm forever grateful.

Q. A quick follow-up for both of you. All season you have talked about your experience and leading these younger guys and getting them through all the obstacles that you have faced. Now that you're moving on, what do you hope that you have left with this group that they can carry on?
KING McCLURE: Me personally, I just, I feel bad for whoever has to play us next year because we're going to be pretty good. The guys following up, another year of growth, summer of work. And just we have a lot of hard workers. That is one thing I can say about this group. We work hard, we stay in the gym. The transfers we got coming in. I just feel bad for next year because I think we're going to be very talented and be very special. They just take the leadership traits that they learn from myself, Makai and Jake, we have a chance to be very, very special this year.

THE MODERATOR: Makai.

MAKAI MASON: This run is definitely going to help those guys next year. The biggest thing this team can take away is just our fight. So if you have that fight that this team has, coupled with the talent that they will have next year, I think it's going to be a scary team, and they will be fun to watch.

THE MODERATOR: We will dismiss the student-athletes. Once they have left the dais, we will go to questions for Coach Drew.

Q. Can you talk about how tough it is to see the senior class go and what it has meant to you in this program.
SCOTT DREW: You see a lot of senior classes come and go, and some of them they just mean a little more. I think seeing the emotion in the locker room tells you how much all the guys poured into this season.

It's kind of like when you have a great time with the relatives, they leave, and you're really going to miss them, and you cry a little bit more. And King's one of those guys that I'm so happy he had a great tournament because he really, really cares about Baylor basketball. Makai came in, and a lot of times people that are just here one year, it's really about themselves. And he never was like that. From day one he was a great teammate. He really loves the Baylor community and I know he will be a great supporter. And we'll be there for him for the rest of his life, too.

Q. Coach, did Clarke surprise you guys at all? Obviously, everyone talks about Rui and he goes for 36. Did that, what he was able to do?
SCOTT DREW: There's a reason he's on the draft board. (Laughter.) That's what makes Gonzaga really good. It's like plugging holes in a dam, you can plug three but that fourth one gets you. And the biggest stat line was that he drew nine fouls on people guarding him. When Tristan went down -- he was a top-five rim protector, a bigger body, and we chose to play smaller.

So they did a great job isolating him. They did a great job getting him the ball, getting us in foul trouble. And the thing that I was a little surprised, I thought we could block him out a little bit better and, I mean, he really has a quick jump, too.

Q. Was there one thing that stood out to you the most about his performance tonight?
SCOTT DREW: Could you repeat that, please?

Q. Was there one thing that stood out to you the most about his performance tonight?
SCOTT DREW: That would have been his offensive rebounding, just how quick. I mean, we couldn't keep him off the glass. I think he had four, but I think I remembered them all. But sometimes you think it's going to be one of those nights when they throw a pass and it goes in from three. And I know he had a shot, we're like, Man, that's great defense. He made some tough shots, him personally. I know he didn't shoot the three, but I thought us 4 for 21, at the end of the day we've lived and died by the three so much that really hurt us.

Credit them for playing good defense.

Q. Coach, it seemed as though you guys came out a completely different team in the second half. Can you just talk about what was said at half-time and how you got them to come out and really attack Gonzaga?
SCOTT DREW: Well, I think we settled down and played how we play. And then it always helps when you make a couple of shots. First half, we only had one assist, six turnovers. Second half, we had nine assists, four turnovers. So we shared the ball but we made shots then. And when you make shots, you keep them out of transition. And I thought second half was a lot more of how we play and I wish we'd have played two halves like that.

But credit to the team and the upperclassmen making sure that we came out and played Baylor basketball.

Q. Scott, it looked like Mark Vital really gave you a shot in the arm. Even though he was playing four fouls, he was very aggressive going to the hoop.
SCOTT DREW: Him getting in foul trouble hurt us. And block charge calls are always the toughest to make.

At the end of the day, when he got in foul trouble, he still competed until the end. I thought they did a good job picking on him and putting him in a position where he couldn't give much resistance. But again, Gonzaga's -- not only are they really talented and well coached, but they are experienced. We had a lot of guys, it was their first time playing on this stage and I thought we did a great job the first game. I thought our youth probably showed up a little bit in that first half.

Q. Scott, what made this team so unique is that they never stopped playing hard for you, you and the staff. They never really caved in or anything. Given the circumstances, everything they went through, from the beginning of the season to tonight.
SCOTT DREW: I think, first and foremost, their character and work ethic. When you get guys that really are high character and work hard, they're going to compete and they're going to try. The toughest thing as a coach is trying to always keep a team unselfish. And you watch a team on TV and you're like Man, they're great, they really share the ball. And the next game, everybody gets more selfish.

And for the most part this team never really did. And because of that, that's how we had to win as a team. So, we're better together. And because of that, we're able to achieve what we did. It always hurts the last game. But it also motivates you and gives experience to others that go through it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: SALT LAKE CITY

March 23, 2019

Scott Drew

King McClure

Makai Mason