NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND -SAN FRANCISCO VS MURRAY ST.

March 16, 2022

Matt McMahon

Justice Hill

Tevin Brown

KJ Williams

Gainbridge Fieldhouse

Murray St. Racers

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by the Murray State Racers, Justice Hill, Tevin Brown and KJ Williams.

Q. Tevin, KJ, what do you remember most about your experiences the last time at the NCAA Tournament, and how much have you kind of relayed that this week specifically to the guys that haven't experienced this yet?

TEVIN BROWN: We haven't talked about that as much, but me remembering the environment we played in when we were at Connecticut and telling the guys it's going to be a lot of people in there. But I feel like, as a team, we're pretty mature and we live for the moment like that.

KJ WILLIAMS: Pretty much the same thing Tevin said, going out into big crowds like this, we live for those type of moments and playing in front of crowds like that.

Q. For Tevin and KJ you two as a scoring tandem. You two obviously have a pretty good playing relationship, but how has that kind of developed over the years, and how have y'all played off each other toward that end?

KJ WILLIAMS: Me and Tev, we're competitive with each other. We always picking each other up with either scoring or just playing with each other exceptionally. It's just us being -- having that relationship from our freshman year to now, and we just keep building it as the years go round.

TEVIN BROWN: It's a level of competition between us. We know how to -- like he said, we know how to pick each other up when we're down. We know when to talk trash to get the other one to play better.

And as far as us scoring and playing together, it just makes my job a lot easier when he is doing good, and his job a lot easier when I'm doing good.

Q. Tevin, how important is it or how much has it been discussed that you guys are just only focusing on one game at a time? People talk about potential match-ups down the road. Is it something that comes up that you all are trying to key in on, the first round match-up?

TEVIN BROWN: We see people talk about it on social media, but as far as in our program, we don't look ahead to playing any other teams. We just look ahead to what we have to do next.

Q. Justice, since you guys arrived last night, what has been your experience here, and how much have you talked to Tevin and KJ about how to handle this experience here?

JUSTICE HILL: We have been talking about it pretty much, probably not even just the past week leading up to this, we have been talking about obviously making the NCAA Tournament has been a goal of ours since the season started.

But having guys here with that experience has been helpful. They're telling me there's going to be a lot of people here, so know what to expect and just to focus on one game at a time.

Q. Justice, it's been called Point Guard U here at Murray for the last decade or so. And I know Coach McMahon has had his hands on a lot of great point guards. But in your mind, what makes a great point guard, especially for Matt McMahon?

JUSTICE HILL: In a situation like this, I feel like just knowing when to score when my opportunity and also when to give my other teammates shots. Definitely have two players beside me that can go for 30-plus points each and every night.

So knowing when to get them shots and where to get them, where they like to shoot the ball at, things like that, I think is what makes this Point Guard U.

Q. Tevin, talk about how your game has evolved from being more than just a shooter into what you are today.

TEVIN BROWN: I feel like coaches, as far as development, helped me out. When I first got here, I didn't do much dribbling. The only thing I did was stand in the corner and shoot the ball. But now they have given me the freedom, running off the screens, using ball screens, making reads on my own, I feel like I've gone from a 1 to a 10 as far as my player development standpoint.

Q. Now that you have seen game video or game film on San Francisco, what's the biggest thing that jumps out when you watch them? How similar are they compared to you guys?

TEVIN BROWN: I feel like what we do works. We don't really have to change anything. We just have to critique what we do as far as today goes and tomorrow before practice and just lock in on the key things that they do.

I feel like it should be a good game.

JUSTICE HILL: I will second that. I feel like Coach said we don't have to change anything we do, we just have to do what we do at a higher level. They have a really good team.

So, like you said, everybody is talking about second-round match-ups, but we're definitely looking forward to only this game because this is a really good team that I feel like it's going to be a hard game to win.

KJ WILLIAMS: Yeah, to follow what they said, just playing to our principles on the offensive and defensive end, and of course they have a really good team, from the point guard to the big position. We just have to go out and play our game.

Q. For all of you, what is it about the culture of the Murray State program that has been able to last for multiple years with players coming and going? What is it about it now that makes the culture so good at Murray State?

KJ WILLIAMS: It's a program where anybody would love to play for. I will start with the fans. It's the fans' support. Where we travel, they travel with us. And wherever we go, they go.

And then as a team, we try to build a relationship with each other on and off the court so we can talk to each other in bad situations and in good situations.

JUSTICE HILL: Yeah, like he said, the fan situation, definitely I feel like we have a high major fan support. I feel like the coaching staff here really takes the time and works with you individually and helps you grow not only on the court but teaches you how to be a man just in life, and helps you in situations that, you know, other bigger schools, where there are more things around, really you don't have the chance to focus on. And I feel like at Murray the basketball team is the focus point in the center of the city so I feel like the tradition that Murray State brings really helps the tradition that you asked about.

TEVIN BROWN: I feel like as far as our fans, they're a part of our culture as well. The entire program is family oriented, no matter where you come from or what you've been through. When you come here it's like having a second family away from your home. As far as the coaches go with the family part, they really are like, mentors and second, third, fourth dads to us when we are here and being away from our family.

Q. Guys, y'all been at Memphis and Auburn this year. Being in those atmospheres, do you think that prepares you for the big lights of tomorrow night?

KJ WILLIAMS: Like we said before, we look to moments like this, just come out and play our game and look up to the potential that we play, so we just come out and play regular basketball.

JUSTICE HILL: I definitely feel like moments like those prepared us for these. But I also wouldn't overlook our games at home. Sometimes they're just as exciting as those on the road, so I feel like we've been prepared for games like this throughout the entire season.

TEVIN BROWN: The environment of those games I feel like prepared us for this because as everyone in the country knows the Jungle is one of the hardest places to play in, and Memphis having so much talent and being such a hyped up game, I felt like that helped us as well.

Q. Tevin, twelve days between games, I know you needed a few days to rest up appear after a physical conference tournament. Has it been difficult to stay sharp with this much time between games?

TEVIN BROWN: With a coach like Coach McMahon, I don't feel like it is, because he's always on go no matter when it, whether it's the day before the game or two weeks before the game. He does a great job of keeping us locked in no matter how long it is between games for games. For us it was the matter of who we're playing and when and where we were going to be playing at. That was the only thing we were concerned about, but as far as us staying sharp, we weren't really worried about that.

THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, best of luck in the NCAA Tournament. Congratulations on a wonderful year.

We are joined by the head coach of the Murray State Racers, Matt McMahon.

Q. What kind of reset have you had to do with this team in the days since the conference tournament, or have you had to reinforce everything and keep them focused to get to this point?

COACH MCMAHON: I think for us, having that twelve days off, you're trying to walk a fine line. You want to stay in game condition. You want to stay sharp in your defensive and offensive execution.

But the ultimate goal is to arrive here in Indianapolis 100% healthy. So we have tried to strike that balance. Been proud of our guys. They have worked extremely hard. Looking forward to this opportunity tomorrow night.

Q. Having Tevin and KJ with experience in the NCAA Tournament, how beneficial is that for you as a head coach to use them to help prepare their teammates for this setting?

COACH MCMAHON: We're going to find out. I hope it's very beneficial. Those two guys scored 35 points combined in a win back in 2019.

I think both guys have done a terrific job all season long in leading the way, showing the way, not only how you work on a day-to-day basis, but how you stay committed to the process and stay focused on winning the next game, the toughness, both physically and mentally that that all requires.

So I expect more of the same from them going into tomorrow night's match-up.

Q. Matt, the guys were in here earlier, and they talked about and you just mentioned the experience. Has it been easy to tune out the noise, you know, with the people talking about potential match-ups here and there? Is it easy to not focus and talk about that?

COACH MCMAHON: I think that's part of it. There is a lot of noise out there. This is the greatest sporting event in the world. But at the end of the day, as a program, we treat it the same way we do any other tournament. All we focus on is getting better as a team and trying to find a way to win the next game.

So I think our players have shown great maturity there and are looking forward to it.

I think you can walk the balance here. You can be excited to be here and have the time of your life, and it should be a lot of fun, but you also have to stay committed to the hard work, the toughness, the discipline that winning requires that, quite frankly, got us to this point in the season.

Q. Matt, you have had your hands on some great point guards at Murray here in the last decade. Now Juice is the latest one. In your mind, what makes a great point guard for you?

COACH MCMAHON: That's a long answer. I'll work my way through it. I think speaking simply to Juice, the explosiveness, the change of speed, change of direction. You have to have some toughness to be an elite point guard. I think there has to be a certain level of basketball IQ and understanding.

I think you have to possess leadership qualities. You have to make the people around you better. You have to be able to communicate with your teammates. I think there needs to be a special relationship there between the elite point guard and the head coach.

Because oftentimes they see things out there on the floor that you as a coach may or may not see. So I think they can impact the game in other ways as well.

I love the ability to shoot the three-point shot, the ability to play in our ball screen offense. And at the end of the day, you're also the head of the defense. You're the one that has to apply pressure and set the tone on that end of the floor.

I think there are a lot of responsibilities that come with that position. We've been blessed to coach some of the best to ever play it. And Juice has had a terrific year, and can't wait to watch him play tomorrow night.

Q. Tevin Brown and KJ Williams have broken multiple records at Murray State. How have they impacted the program over there four years here?

COACH MCMAHON: They will end up going down as a legendary duo at some point. They're the first pairing of players in the great historic tradition at Murray State to go three straight years as First-team All-League players together.

I can go through each individually. Tevin, the numbers speak for themselves. He will soon go over 1,900 career points. He's the all-time leading three-point shooter in the history of our league. And on top of all that, he's going to be top five in steals. And he just moved past Cameron Payne into fifth place all time in assists at Murray State with 400.

So he does a little bit of everything well that impacts winning.

KJ, proud of him and his growth and development. Came in as a 6'9", 215-pound starting quarterback from Cleveland, Mississippi, and now he's one of the best front court players in all of college basketball at 6'10", 245. Player of the Year in our league. He's been dominant the last six, seven weeks of the season.

And then really proud of his development on the defensive end of the floor. There are not many guys in the country at 6'10", 245 who have finished second in their league in steals.

Both have been great. They've been foundational pieces of our program that embody what the Murray State culture is all about.

Q. You talk about KJ, particularly on the defensive end but the entire team. How much have you elevated that end of the floor this year, and then what's your challenge on that end of the floor against guys like Bouyea and Shabazz?

COACH MCMAHON: Well, I think the success that we have had this season has been the balance there. I believe we're 15th in the country on the offensive end from an efficiency standpoint and 11th on the defensive end. It's enabled us to win games on nights when we didn't shoot the ball very well. I think there has to be great buy-in.

We have some really good individual defenders, but more importantly I think they function well together as a connected unit on the defensive end. It's going to be a challenge tomorrow night. Elite backcourt play from San Francisco, great size up front. We do things a little bit differently, but a lot of the numbers are fairly similar from a balanced standpoint.

Q. Matt, you have talked about the culture that has been built at Murray State and the cornerstone of that is toughness. How do your teams play that way? How do you teach that? How do you coach that every day?

COACH MCMAHON: I think it starts with recruiting. Identifying players who love it. You have to have a passion for this game. If you want to become an elite player at this level. Then the toughness piece, the way we define it is the ability to move on and focus on the next most important thing. It's that simple. It's something we stress on a daily basis.

It's really more about the mental toughness than it is necessarily the physical.

We've been blessed to coach some great ones. And they all have that. All the great players have that.

Q. Obviously it's been an incredible season with 30 wins and there are expectations for people out there to win a game, maybe win two games. How do you balance -- do you embrace that when you talk to the team, that you have to do it, or is there a pressure that if you don't do it somehow 30 wins was all for not?

COACH MCMAHON: Steve, the way we do things, that's one of the fun things about coaching. There are a million ways to do it. Different styles, different outlooks, different philosophies. We prepare for every game the exact same way, doesn't matter who we are playing. We prepare in a consistent fashion with one simple goal, and that's to go 1-0 and win that game. I think that helps our players have a laser focus on what matters most as you prepare for the next opponent. They've shown the ability to do that all season long.

I expect nothing less this week as we get ready for this really good San Francisco team.

Q. Coach, obviously you had a great foundation with KJ and Tevin coming back. As you retooled the roster last spring around those guys, was there a common thread you were looking for to help build the winning culture you guys have had this year?

COACH MCMAHON: Kevin, thanks. Great question. I think we have really enjoyed the opportunity to recruit high school players for two and three years and build those relationships and then, for example, Tevin Brown, I have known for over seven years now and really enjoy that part of the job.

With the addition of the transfer portal, the one-time transfer exception, it's kind of an adapt or die philosophy. Whether you like it or not, you can complain about it all you want, you better embrace it. So for us, we wanted to get older, we wanted to get more experienced. We want to bring in guys who would impact winning in our program, and I really can't say enough about the guys we brought in.

Carter Collins came to us from Davidson where he had been a part of winning. He averaged double figures the last two years. Terrific player. And he really sacrificed a lot of individual stats, set aside any personal ego, agendas and just wants to win. He's been an elite defender for us. I think he averages .1 turnovers a game on the season.

He's had a tremendous impact from a leadership standpoint. Trae Hannibal came to us from South Carolina. He's like Ray Lewis playing guard out on the court, does a little bit of everything, scores it off the bounce. He's been an elite rebounder for us at the guard position and terrific for us defensively. And then DJ Burns. I love hard-playing dudes, and that's what he is. You know what you're going to get every day. He's passionate. He is going to play to his strengths, and again, he's another guy that just wants to win. Long answer, those are the things we were looking for as we built the roster around Tevin and KJ.

And I know it's been talked about from Jeff's question, but returning Murray State to elite guard play that we have been known for for a lot of years has been a huge part of that with Juice Hill and Trae Hannibal.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, congrats on a wonderful season, best of luck tomorrow and going forward.