PAC-12 CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 11, 2021

Timmy Allen

Utah Utes

Postgame Press Conference

USC - 91, Utah - 85

Q. I know it's still fresh, but the way that you guys fought in this game and with how many guys that fouled out, including yourself, but just the fact you guys never quit in this game, how proud are you of this team right now?

TIMMY ALLEN: Very. It's been a long, crazy year and what y'all just seen on that screen against USC just sums up what we are. We're not going to win the analytics or the eye test, but we're going to give you everything we got. I'm just proud to be part of it, to be honest. I was convinced we were going to win, but it obviously didn't end up that way. But I'm super proud of the way we approached it and fought and that's one of the craziest games I've ever been a part of. But a lot of respect to those guys. Evan Mobley is a problem and Isaiah is nice too, so you got to give respect where respect is due, but I'm just proud to be part of this team.

Q. You have obviously been here for a few years. Where would you put this season in kind of ranking it in terms of all your years and what was it like to kind of end this season on a game like that?

TIMMY ALLEN: I think this season is in a category of its own. It's been nothing like my past two. But every year's been so different from freshman year to now, the growth and just like the life experience of college, and college basketball has changed so dramatically. Freshman year was obviously super fresh and new and I was just trying to figure it out. Being around these past three years you just get to see how things change, and this year is nothing like the others, in good and bad ways. But it's something I'll never forget. There will probably never be nothing like it ever again. So, yeah, I'm just, I'm thankful.

Q. You obviously put your name in consideration for the NBA draft last year. I know it's still fresh, but are you expecting to probably give that consideration again or kind of have you had a chance to think about what your future holds, whether that be with Utah or the NBA?

TIMMY ALLEN: Yeah, I don't, I don't know. I'm not -- I've been trying to think about it as small amount as possible all year. As soon as your head gets somewhere else, you mess up your current situation and I'm just trying to be bought into this program and this team all year and the past three years. So I'll address that when I need to, but for now I'm just going to reflect, get some rest, relax a little bit and get back to it in a couple weeks and figure it out.

Q. Coach mentioned a few times within the last week or two that you've been playing with some nagging stuff. Are you able to share what that was and maybe how it hampered you with some of those things?

TIMMY ALLEN: I don't know. In a long season like this you're due to get banged up. I played a lot of minutes. I played 48 minutes tonight. I'm due for a couple good nicks and knacks, but, you know, this is stuff that everybody else deals with. I don't think mine stand out any different than anybody else's. But you got to get through it, got to figure it out, address those problems when the season's over. So, no, I won't tell you what exactly it is, but I'm all right.

Q. As that game is going into the first overtime and deep into the second overtime and you played 46 minutes and Fonz is playing 40-plus minutes, how difficult is it to kind of stay engaged when you played so long and you're presumably so tired after playing so much?

TIMMY ALLEN: I mean, that game is life or death. I was locked in. One of the players on the other team said, How are you not tired yet? You played the whole game. And I said, The elevation got me used to it. But, you know, like, I was tired, but I was, I wasn't tired, tired, I was locked in, I was ready for whatever. I was ready to go another five minutes if we had to to win. But playing minutes is something I'm used to and it's something I'll never complain about. No, it's not hard to stay locked in, you just got to get to the huddle, get your water up, and stay mentally locked.

Q. You guys finish with a record right around .500. Would you say this team was better than its record indicated and this game pretty much proved that?

TIMMY ALLEN: Yeah, for sure. I think y'all have seen us in our good spurts and obviously you've seen a couple of downsides we have had. But when you play like that, I mean, I think the past couple games have been some of the better basketball we played all year and this game reflects that. To know coming into this tournament I don't think a lot of teams really wanted to play us because we would be problems for a lot of teams matchup-wise and just the way we run and move the ball, move the rock. So I don't think our record reflects how good and together we were or are, but I'm happy with the guys. I mean, we just laid our heart out on that floor. So I can't ask for anything more than that.

Q. You've obviously been a freshman. You know how hard it is to jump into that mix, but what's it like to see somebody like Martinez get in there and just really kind of one it up this last part of the season and kind of start making his mark and where do you see his future?

TIMMY ALLEN: Man, he could be really special. There was a play in the game where he passed it to me and I threw that thing right back to him. I said Go, rock out. Because that's what he's capable of. I mean, I see it every day in practice. I think he has the opportunity to be special as long as he stays holding on what he needs to. His athletic ability, he can shoot it off the bounce, and his defense is very underrated, especially for our team. He does a lot for us on the defensive end. So, yeah, he can be special and I'm proud of that and I'm proud he's just bought in and continues to grind through a hard -- like, my freshman year was crazy, but I couldn't imagine it during a time like COVID and no fans and you can't see nobody and stuff like that. So much respect and love for him through this whole process.

Q. You mentioned obviously COVID. We know the struggles of COVID just as a regular person, but I mean, how difficult really is that, as an athlete, to do school, to make sure that you guys are eligible enough to not get COVID or whatever that may be, I mean, kind of what was that like this year and do you feel like you can kind of relax a little bit now that you don't necessarily have games?

TIMMY ALLEN: Oh, it's been crazy. I've had my nose violated so many times, all these things in my nose every day, nosebleeds and all that. I'm glad I don't have to do that anymore for right now. But it's been crazy. I've never seen or heard nothing like it. I'm not sure it will ever happen again. I pray to God it won't. But it's been hard, especially not being able to take yourself away from basketball at any point. You have no outlet, nobody to hang out with, nothing to do. It's gym and it's home and it's game and it's gym. So you got to love this game and I do, but it's been hard and I'm relieved that I don't have to do that anymore.