NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - USC VS DRAKE

March 20, 2021

Evan Mobley

Bankers Life Fieldhouse

USC Trojans

Postgame Media Conference

USC - 72, Drake - 56

THE MODERATOR: Hi, everyone. Welcome to the NCAA March Madness postgame press conference, featuring the notorious USC Trojans. Coming up, we'll hear from head coach Andy Enfield, but as you see now freshman forward Evan Mobley with us after his 17 points, game-high 11 rebounds, for his 11th double double of the season. We will begin the press conference here, Evan. Thanks for joining us and congratulations.

Q. Evan, Drake missed 19 of its first 21 shots to start the second half. How did you guys ramp up the defensive intensity after halftime?

EVAN MOBLEY: We felt like we started the game out pretty good in the first half guarding him, and then Yesufu got hot, and we really wanted to lock in on him for the second half, and we did, and that's where the stat came from. We really locked in on defense.

Q. Evan, I know you guys said that you wanted to lock down Yesufu in the second half. What was the message from Coach Enfield, and what was kind of the vibe in the locker room at halftime?

EVAN MOBLEY: We were up three, so we were happy with where we were at, but we really wanted to lock in on defense because we knew our offense would come to us, but it was mainly a defensive focus.

Q. What was the key to locking down? Were you guys doing anything different in particular?

EVAN MOBLEY: No, we didn't really do anything different, but we just treated Yesufu as their main star player, so we like really -- anywhere he was, we called him out and really locked in on him.

Q. Evan, how important is it for you guys to make USC basketball a brand in Southern California? You grew up there. You know how it gets overshadowed by everything. How important is it for you to use this moment and this momentum to make yourselves known?

EVAN MOBLEY: I feel like it's very important. This year we've done great so far, so we're just going to keep taking it game by game and hopefully make it as far as possible.

Q. Evan, great game. What did it feel like coming out on the court for your first NCAA game knowing that you were going to be a focus of the Drake defense?

EVAN MOBLEY: I feel like I just took it as any other game, just tried to stay locked in because I'm usually the main focus of a lot of teams. So I just try to stay locked in, stick to our game plan that we talked about before the game, and just try to win the game.

Q. What was that game plan?

EVAN MOBLEY: Lock in on Yesufu, it starts on defense, and then our offense will come to us.

Q. Hey, Evan, Isaiah obviously has a big game for you guys, even though he didn't play a bunch with some foul trouble. What changes, from a defensive perspective going against you guys, when he's producing for you guys as well?

EVAN MOBLEY: It changes the game a lot. When other people, other players are a threat on our team, they've got to lock in on them more, which leaves other players open, such as me or anybody else. So when other players are doing well, it always just opens the floor up.

Q. What do you think about the matchup with Kansas, getting an opportunity to play against them?

EVAN MOBLEY: What did you say?

Q. What do you think about the matchup with Kansas in the next round, get to go play them?

EVAN MOBLEY: I think it's going to be a great game, great matchup. They're a great team. We're a great team. So we're just going to be locked in and try to get the win.

Q. Hey, Evan, just knowing that you've played with your brother all this season, what was -- was there a significance or a moment in which you can cherish this victory with your brother, knowing that it's your first season?

EVAN MOBLEY: Yeah, definitely. We both had great games, I feel like. I think he had 15. I had 17. Both put up pretty big numbers. So we're going to cherish this win, but we can't dwell on it too long because we've got other games coming up.

Q. Evan, how much have you learned this year about playing defense in the paint? Today in particular, you were able to challenge people and yet still keep your feet, not foul them, kind of play the angles, and it seemed to frustrate them. I know you've done that all year, but how much has this year been instrumental to you learning more about that?

EVAN MOBLEY: Yeah, in college there's a lot more details that goes into defense than in high school. So I really just used what the coach taught me. Stay down -- that was probably my biggest thing I learned because I get jumpy sometimes. But I just try to stay down and contest the shot, if not block it.

Q. Drew Peterson got you guys going on offense early in this game and then hit a big three to kind of stabilize after Yesufu got it down to seven. Like what did his impact have on this game?

EVAN MOBLEY: He also had a big impact on the game. Any time we needed a big bucket or a bucket, he came up big, hit that three, or he would drive to the lane and just shoot over the guards because they're smaller than him. So he played a big role in this game.

Q. Evan, you talked about how you guys locked down on Yesufu in the second half. What was maybe lacking in that first half, when he scored those 18 points?

EVAN MOBLEY: Probably attention to focus. We assumed he was going to be their main scorer, but we didn't really lock in on him the entire possession. And then second half, that's when we were pointing and talking and letting our teammates know where he was at so he couldn't score as much.

Q. Evan, what do you know about Kansas at this point? Have you looked at all or seen them play at all this year?

EVAN MOBLEY: Yeah, I know of a few players on the team. I think some of them have COVID right now, but I don't really know too much about the team so far. I'm sure we're going to go over film and talk about everybody pretty soon.

Q. What did you think of the offensive flow in the second half? You talked about how you knew it would come. I'm sure everybody was getting a little antsy waiting for it to come, but what was it like in the second half? What do you think the key to that was, in terms of the offense flowing a little better?

EVAN MOBLEY: I think we just ran our plays. Whenever the coaches called something, we ran them to a T, executed them, and that was the key to our offense tonight. Whenever there was a mismatch, big on a little or something like that, we would take advantage of that.

THE MODERATOR: With that, Evan, thanks for your time, congratulations, and best of luck against Kansas.