NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST FOUR

March 18, 2021

Johnny Jones

Texas Southern Tigers

Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall

Postgame Media Conference

Texas Southern 60, Mount St. Mary's 52

JOHNNY JONES: First off, I want to commend Mount St. Mary's on a tremendous and hard-fought battle. I thought our guys did a tremendous job of battling back there in the second half. I thought they did a great job of really controlling the tempo in the first half of the basketball game and even finishing with a big-time momentum lay-up there at the buzzer at halftime. Our guys did an excellent coming back out, extending the defense, trapping, trying to force them out of their offense, making them take quicker shots and getting them out of their rhythm, and we were fortunate to finish strong down the line, even after all the free throws we missed. At least we had a chance to close well at the free-throw line at the end of the game.

Q. What does it mean to get the second NCAA Tournament win in the history of the Texas Southern program?

JOHNNY JONES: We're excited. I think there's been great tradition in the program, several teams that have been to the NCAA Tournament, and we're very fortunate that our guys were able to play well enough in helping with the tradition of this program, so it certainly was met with excitement.

Q. What did you do, what was your message that changed the way the game -- the way y'all played because you were down 10, you scored 11 consecutive points to start the second half?

JOHNNY JONES: I didn't think we did a good job in the first half. I thought we really allowed them to control the tempo, both ends of the floor. We got in kind of a rhythm of walking the ball up. When they had the pace, that's what they wanted to do, walk the ball up. We were walking the ball up.

I thought defensively I thought for us we allowed them to dictate how we were playing. They got us into some rotation and made some early shots, then on the offensive end of the floor I thought they did a great job defensively being in the gaps not allowing us to get to the rim, and I thought we got a little impatient in not making the right passes, the right reads.

But the second half I thought was the exact opposite. I thought defensively we were very aggressive, forced them out of their offensive rhythm. We trapped, we didn't allow them to run anything. They were taking late shots into the clock, missing shots, and then we were able to go back on the other end and convert. We were much more aggressive on the offensive end than we were in the first half going toward the basket, getting downhill and also knocked down a few threes.

Q. You and I talked on Sunday about how thrilled you were for your players that they got an opportunity to experience the NCAA Tournament. How happy are you for them that they went out and played great basketball and can bring this win home to everybody at TSU?

JOHNNY JONES: It's certainly a whole 'nother level. You fight for the right to have an opportunity to represent your league and you play all season long to meet that challenge. We get to the conference tournament and we win. We get here, and this is certainly a whole 'nother level to win the game that you're in, and the good thing is a lot of times when you win a championship like that in the conference and the manner in which we did for a conference championship, sometimes you come out a little bit flat. You don't play as well and it costs you.

I thought our guys did a really tremendous job of remaining focused after winning the conference championship and getting in here and battling like we did today to really finish this game the way we needed to.

Q. What is that moment like in your locker room when you get to share it? What do you tell us about what was going on in there?

JOHNNY JONES: Well, it's definitely different from the conference tournament because we actually had to stay out on the floor after the championship. I never visited the locker room. We cut down the nets, we had interviews we had to take care of and we were on to the bus because we had to catch a flight. Tonight went in, met with the coaches for a moment, and as soon as I walked in the locker room the kids had the water out and they drenched me. I'm actually sitting here really soaking wet right now, but it's probably one of the best feelings I've had with cold water on me in a long, long time, and I'm really excited about it. The kids were excited, but they know we still have work to do in front of us. We've got another big game, a huge game really on Saturday against a great team in Michigan.

Q. What are your thoughts on the job John Walker did for you today?

JOHNNY JONES: John was incredible. He had 19 and 9. I thought he was exceptional, played well for us. John is very elusive. When he catches that ball inside he has a knack for scoring. He ended up hitting a big three for us today which was needed, as well, stretching the defense and getting nine big rebounds, four of those on the offensive glass. I thought he was the big difference. As hard as our guys played today, I thought he was a huge difference in the basketball game because I thought he was a matchup problem for our opponent today.

Q. Getting this win on such a huge stage, what does it mean for the Texas Southern program and also just HBCUs in general to get this win with kids watching all across the country?

JOHNNY JONES: Well, I just think it's a huge step for our team and our program, especially with the shutdown last year, not having a chance to play in the event and it being canceled, and coming back and really playing in the first game of the NCAA Tournament this year, I thought, one, it was going to put a spotlight on our program, and I thought it was important that our kids perform the right way, one, for our program, that we feel like we certainly have some tradition in, and for our conference. I think we've got a really good conference that's extremely strong. We've got really good teams and coaches in there, so I'm hopeful that we've played well enough that people will look and see the style and the pace in which we play and they can appreciate our team, our program and then the SWAC conference which we represented today.

Q. Looking ahead to Saturday against Michigan, they like to slow the pace down a little bit, and you guys obviously like to play a little bit faster as we saw in the second half. Do you think we could see any of that pressure defense that you used effectively today?

JOHNNY JONES: Well, we've got to be who we are. We can't change. We've been playing a certain way and a certain style all year long. We certainly know that Michigan is going to be a bigger, stronger team and probably can handle some of the things that we do, but we're still going to have to make sure that we defensively get ourselves in some type of a rhythm and see what it is that we can hopefully throw them off their rhythm because they're an excellent basketball team, and you're absolutely right, they're a pace team and they're going to try and control the pace, as well, and it may be a little bit tougher for us to get the game at the pace that we want it. That's something that we'll work on tonight in terms of our scouting report and preparation and getting ready for a great game on Saturday.

Q. Obviously one thing John Walker mentioned was the tough out-of-conference schedule that you guys played, and you guys this year played games against BYU and Oklahoma State who are in the tournament. How does that help you guys going into a game against a really good Michigan team?

JOHNNY JONES: Well, we've always played a very challenging schedule. Generally we're the No. 1 toughest schedule in the country, non-conference schedule because of the caliber teams that we play. Our guys look forward to those challenges. That's one of the reason they sign on the dotted line to come and be a part of the Texas Southern Tigers. When that happens, we've got to make sure that we put them in a position to compete at the highest level.

This game coming up with Michigan on Saturday obviously wasn't on our schedule, but we're glad that we've put ourselves in a situation and got an opportunity in the NCAA Tournament to play one of the top teams in the country, so it's not anything that our guys are not used to. It's a challenge that they certainly accept, and we know they're going to be a very tough basketball team, but that's what happens. When you're in the field of 68 and playing in the NCAA Tournament, everybody that you play are going to have an edge about them and they're going to be a very good basketball team.

Q. What do you think contributed to the spark your team had coming out of the first half?

JOHNNY JONES: I thought our pressure -- we extended our defense. We actually went more of a full-court type defense, a trapping style, creating some trap opportunities and trying to make them throw out of it. We wanted to try and really speed up the tempo against them, and when they were throwing it out, they were either going to take quick shots -- if we got steals we were going to have some easy scoring opportunities on the end of the floor because of our rotations. We were fortunate they wound up missing some shots there, open shots when we were trapping that led us to having more possessions. It became more of a possession game. For us we had more possessions there, and we really needed that. That was a big change in terms of the tempo was in our favor in the second half.

Q. You guys have probably played in venues without fans for a long time, but coming to Assembly Hall, it's this big giant venue, usually holds about 17,000 fans and you're in this almost kind of empty arena playing an NCAA Tournament game. How odd was it or do you just kind of almost forget that part once you're actually getting down to business because it is the NCAA Tournament?

JOHNNY JONES: Well, that's what this year has been about. It's something we had to get used to at the beginning, but we try to use our bench as a juice bar. Our guys sitting there on the bench all year long, they've done a tremendous job of giving our team juice from the sideline and making sure that they are cheering and staying active and staying into the basketball game. So this is kind of a natural environment and setting for us now.

Unfortunately a lot of fans can't be at the game, but this is something that we've become accustomed to because of the parameters set around us because of COVID.