NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: REGIONAL SEMIFINAL - PRINCETON VS CREIGHTON

March 23, 2023

Mitch Henderson

Ryan Langborg

Caden Pierce

Matt Allocco

Tosan Evbuomwan

Keeshawn Kellman

KFC Yum! Center

Princeton Tigers

Sweet 16 Pregame Media Conference

MITCH HENDERSON: This is such a pleasure to be here. I'm actually -- I'm from the Midwest. My family when I was 12, we moved from Vincennes, Indiana, to Lexington, Kentucky. I used to grow up going to Kentucky games, Louisville games.

So this is familiar for me, not for our guys, but I was so psyched to get a Louisville Slugger bat today with my name on it. My wife is like, Calm down. But I love that stuff.

We've had just a really special month at Princeton, Andre, NFL. Sondre, pole-vault national champion. We've had a national wrestling champion. Our women's basketball team has been terrific.

Our community is really tight-knit, 5,000 -- over 5,000 undergrads, but over 1,000 student-athletes. That's a large percentage of a school that is heavily involved in athletics, and everybody kind of -- the rising tide lifts all boats.

Everybody is really connected, and it's fun walking around our campus the last three or four days just seeing the smiles on other student-athletes, the reaction to our players.

There's stars galore at our university, economics professors, chemistry professors, and fun to see our guys be recognized as celebrities.

Q. Mitch, over the last week or two, as you made this run, what were some of the most poignant interactions you had with people? You had the Governor in on Tuesday. Anything that really jumped out at you as a "wow" moment?

MITCH HENDERSON: Visitors to practice and stuff? Or just anything? Yeah, so we FaceTimed with Senator Booker this morning from Washington D.C. He shared some really cool words with our guys.

I think the highlight was as we left campus about 1:30 yesterday, there were 1,000 people right outside of the Caldwell, right in friend of Jadwin. Just amazing the school spirit and support. We really just kind of put it out there, hey, this is the time we're leaving.

Jadwin is right next to Frick Chemistry Lab where I get my coffee daily, and I see an organic chemistry professor there. He is always like, Hey, Mitch. As I was getting on the bus, he is like, Come on! (Laughing.)

For us it's cool to be -- to feel connected to your school because that's what we're all about, the interaction amongst the students and the professors. That's what Princeton is. It's an undergraduate special institution.

CNN Good Morning and Good Morning America and Jim Rome Show and Dan Patrick, we've had an amazing week, but that to me has been the most special thing, is how our school and our university has felt.

Q. How many players have you maybe seen like Ryan Kalkbrenner on both sides of the ball, and I guess how different or difficult is it to plug him in when game-planning?

MITCH HENDERSON: I missed the first part of your question. How many players --

Q. Have you seen that are quite like Ryan Kalkbrenner on both sides of the ball.

MITCH HENDERSON: Haven't seen anyone like him this season. As we get further along in the tournament, that will be more and more true. The level of talent goes up. And he is a terrific player and influences the game in very unusual ways that are hard for us to prepare for. Nembhard too.

And they're so well-coached, and they have great continuity. So I think that highlights the talent of the team. We know that this is a great challenge.

Q. Like you, I'm a native Hoosier. What were your family's connections to Vincennes? And I also know you lived in Lexington. What were some of your fondest memories of being in Lexington?

MITCH HENDERSON: My dad was an electrical contractor. Worked for Miller Construction Company in Vincennes. That's where I learned how to play basketball. Went to Dan Sparks Basketball Camp right there at Vincennes Community College. My favorite thing in the world was Vincennes Lincoln Alices were state champs in 1981 and '84. I followed those guys around. I would draw them pictures before and after games.

We moved to Lexington because of work. My dad got transferred to Davis H. Elliot right there in Lexington when I was 12. You know, first time I had seen four lanes going in the same direction was on my visit to Princeton (laughing).

I loved growing up here. It's special. In Vincennes, it's the last -- sort of the last East Coast time zone, but you got light until 9:30, 10:00 at night. It's an incredible way to grow up. Small town that loves sports, and all the neighbors -- everybody in the neighborhood kind of watched your kid for you.

So I was outside all the time playing basketball, Wiffle ball, Hide-and-Go-Seek, Ghost in the Graveyard. It's an amazing way to grow up.

I forgot your question. I just got excited about talking about Midwest stuff. I can't talk about this stuff at home. Nobody knows what I'm talking about.

Q. (Indiscernible) Courtney Witte?

MITCH HENDERSON: Courtney Witte. Oh, man. Dean Dean the free-throw king. Remember Dean Tolbert? Every year the tough game was going through Bosse, Evansville. Incredible high school gym. I tell my staff all the time, maybe I have the stat wrong, but 16 of the biggest 20 high school gyms in the country are in Indiana and Kentucky.

This is an incredible place to grow up if you like basketball. Louisville, Lexington is obsessed. When we moved to Lexington, Pitino had just arrived, and that was Richie Farmer, Deron Feldhaus, Sean Woods, Pelphrey, and Mashburn got there in '90. I was on my visit to Princeton when Laettner hit that shot in '92. I hated Duke (laughing).

Now, no -- I mean, the staff at the time -- this was what's interesting. The staff at Kentucky at the time was Pitino, Herb Sendek, Ralph Willard, and Tubby Smith. My junior high basketball team was me, Kevin Willard, and G.G. Smith, who are all Division I head coaches, at Tates Creek Junior High. How about that?

Q. This is a time of year where a lot of coaches use what happens in March as a springboard to another job. I'm curious if you see yourself as the kind of guy who could stay at Princeton for not his entire career, sort of the way Pete Carril did for years and years and years?

MITCH HENDERSON: I mean, this is a wonderful place to be head coach. I pinch myself every day. The opportunity to be representing Princeton. I always felt like the luckiest guy in the world that got admitted.

You're the beneficiary of so many things at place like Princeton. You'll see tomorrow our fan base is just unbelievable. We were in Sacramento for first round games, second round games, and Coach Carril after he left Princeton was in Sac. Geoff Petrie, who was a great player at Princeton. UCLA was there, and announced the team that we beat in '96.

Coach's influence on the game has resonated for us, and we have brand recognition in terms of basketball because of Coach. But, you know, this is a special place to be associated with. I'm really -- we are just so thrilled to be here.

Q. Doug Crook as well, I think, Vincennes link.

MITCH HENDERSON: Yeah, Doug Crook. Oh, my gosh.

Q. Anyway, my question for you, look, you guys went through a season without playing basketball.

MITCH HENDERSON: Yeah.

Q. How did you keep the core of your team together through that?

MITCH HENDERSON: We got to August of 2021 -- 2020, excuse me, and it sort of became clear that we probably weren't going to play. So the first part of that was, you know, my guys had to decide whether or not to stay in school because you had to drop out. We don't have graduate school eligibility in the Ivy League.

Everybody stayed in school, including the current seniors. Matt Allocco, Mush, who is an incoming freshman, I remember talking to -- I was at the Jersey Shore, and I was talking to his family at FaceTime. Should we come to school? They decided to come. I didn't see him until February.

We resumed school, remote schooling, until February. So Zoom meetings for a basketball team is just what you think it is. It's terrible. We have lunch Zoom. We would have a lunch on Zoom, break it up into small groups. We tried everything we could.

This is what I would say. I think we're here because of it. You grow up. COVID has affected everybody in its own way, but for student-athletes there's a maturity that developed. Maybe we lost some fear of failure perhaps of what might happen. I mean, you had a season taken away at a young age. So then last year we won the league and didn't win the Ivy League Tournament. That was another big factor for us, motivational for us going into this season.

I don't think I'll know or we'll know until years from now how much we'll point to COVID and say that's what this run was about.

Q. You mentioned a couple of weeks ago I think after the first round that your seniors, which is a lot of your team, have no extensions on their theses. I'm curious how that's going? Is it crunch time? Are they done?

MITCH HENDERSON: I think we got some extensions. Sweet 16, here we go.

Q. I thought that wasn't Princeton policy.

MITCH HENDERSON: Well, the school has worked very close with us on thesis. That's a big part of your path at Princeton is the thesis your senior year.

You should ask the guys. They're doing some really cool things, what they're writing about. But I think we have an economics professor with us here. Tosan and Ryan are econ majors. So we're in good hands with the thesis.

Q. You talk about your time in Lexington and the brief stint you had with the guys you played around. Just how did those years kind of cultivate your love for basketball and kind of bring this coaching aspect around for you?

MITCH HENDERSON: You know, both Vincennes and Lexington are really great high school basketball areas. I went to Rick Pitino's basketball camp, when I was a freshman and sophomore. He would play one-on-one with all the campers and talk so much trash.

If you beat him -- he was really good. He was probably in his late 30s at the time. He had to score three points, and all you had to do was stop him and score once and then you got a shirt that says, "I beat Rick Pitino in one-on-one," and I got one of those shirts.

I tell you, we played Iona this year. I started to tell him, and he was, like, okay, good luck, and he walked away (laughing). I was, like, oh, my gosh, this guy.

But for me to end up here, I'm really fortunate that my parents entrusted me, entrusted the coaches at Princeton to say, hey, take care of our son. Again, I feel like the luckiest person, not knowing anything about Princeton.

Q. You mentioned you're a big fan of baseball, and you got to tour the Slugger Museum. Did you have anything that you saw that stood out to you that was your favorite thing, outside of the bat with your name on it?

MITCH HENDERSON: This. Everything is really cool. But seeing the joy in our guys' faces. And "New York Post" wrote a story I think maybe or NewJersey.com about Blake Peters being the most interesting man in the world. We love that.

I just think that when -- again, when families -- what we do at Princeton is we cast a really wide net recruiting, and we look for grades and character and really good players. Parents entrust me to develop and give them a first-class basketball experience and first-class academic experience. Then you get to place like this, and you guys get to learn more about what their days look like.

As fun as this all is, it's a life-changing moment for our group. Three weeks ago we were fighting for our life to make the Ivy League Tournament. So just appreciating being present here is really special.

Q. Can you speak a little bit to the uniqueness of Tosan and what he brings to the table for you guys and the matchup against their big guy, Ryan, and how unique that is? Obviously, he is what he is.

MITCH HENDERSON: Tosan is a very unique player. I call him a brilliant, blinding light from heaven for our program. He is like -- I often will say to him, and we've spent a lot of time together, like, I need you to influence the game physically early, right away. And he nods, and then he doesn't do it. He absorbs the game.

He is like -- it's like exquisite watching him play to me. He is like a nine or a ten in soccer. He slows the game down for himself, which then speeds the game up for those around him.

So Kalkbrenner is a very difficult kid in his own right, but Tosan is like Grant Hill. He faces the rim, really good in space. We won't see a passer like him at Princeton for a really long time after this. He is really, I think, a modern-day Princeton center, but facing -- point center facing the basket.

He is also a terrific student, humble. Loves -- he is at his best when his teammates are doing well. He is happiest. Really special human being.

Q. So, Coach, can you speak to what it's like being a mid-major team in this tournament and kind of representing the little guy when it comes to, you know, you being probably one of the smaller schools left in it?

MITCH HENDERSON: So at Princeton, I'll often hear from the guys that played in the '60s, '70s, Chris Thomforde, John Hummer, Ed Hummer, Geoff Petrie, Ryan Taylor. These are your first round picks. Armond Hill. Great players in the NBA. I hear from them a lot, and they come around a lot.

So we might be considered nationally as a mid-major, but our school thinks very highly of its basketball history, and we think that this team reflects that history very well. I love -- I would put this team up against any of them.

So, you know, we followed St. Peter's run last year very closely. I just think that each team has, like, a special life to live in the tournament. You're lucky and fortunate if you get a chance -- I've seen it on the other side as a coach and watched teams forever, but this is -- it's amazing and hard to put into words what it feels like on this end, but I'm glad -- I don't think seeds matter as much as they used to.

I think that it's a smaller world. Kalkbrenner and Zach Martini played together. These guys know each other. All the circuit things, everybody is more tightly-knit and together. There's less -- there's no fear.

THE MODERATOR: We'll start with questions for the student-athletes.

Q. I would love to hear from each of you on this question. How do you guys think about the labels of underdog and Cinderella? Do you like him, dislike them, and do you feel like they accurately describe this team?

RYAN LANGBORG: Personally, I love it. I think it allows us to play with a confidence not only amongst ourselves, but amongst fans and allows us to get the crowd involved, which I think always helps with momentum. Basketball is a game of runs, so I think any sport in those terms we can get I think is great.

TOSAN EVBUOMWAN: I think for me we know who we are and what we bring to the table. It's not -- it doesn't mean too much to me what everyone else calls us. I think we know who we are, like I said, so you guys can call us whatever you want.

KEESHAWN KELLMAN: I don't really mind the label of Cinderella, but personally I think that, if we just stick to our stuff, we can go out there and compete with anybody.

MATT ALLOCCO: These guys said it all. I think Borg said it best that at least the good thing that comes out of it is everyone in the arena supports you outside of the team you're playing against.

You know, I don't think we pay attention a lot to the labels and all that because we know we belong here, so, yeah, I don't know. Cade?

CADEN PIERCE: Not much left to say, but I think we embrace that and try to use that to get the fans on our side when we can.

Q. Tell me about a poignant interaction you've had over the last week or two during this run, whether it was the Governor or somebody random reaching out or somebody from your past, that sort of symbolized the excitement you have generated.

TOSAN EVBUOMWAN: I had a nice standing ovation at a restaurant back in Princeton, so that was a cool moment. That was really special. Got to interact with fans a little bit there.

KEESHAWN KELLMAN: One of my professors from last year emailed me, and we had a nice interaction there.

Q. What subject?

KEESHAWN KELLMAN: Sociology.

MATT ALLOCCO: Yeah, a lot of the same stuff. Students, professors around campus just kind of give us a shout, "Hey, congratulations," that type of stuff. We appreciate all the love. It's great to have that support.

CADEN PIERCE: Definitely like all these guys have said. We've seen and felt the love around campus. This morning we were lucky enough to be on a FaceTime with Senator Booker from New Jersey, so that was super cool. He was able to give us a few words and inspire us to go forward.

Q. Your coach just said there's a lot of cool senior theses going on. For any of you all, who are involved in that right now, what are your theses and how has it been trying to do that and have an NCAA Tournament?

RYAN LANGBORG: So I'm writing a thesis. I'm an economics major, so I'm writing a thesis about the effect of traveling over multiple time zones on NBA winning percentage and how Vegas money lines kind of assess that effect on the athletes. So it's been pretty fun.

TOSAN EVBUOMWAN: Also an econ major. I'm looking at how diversity among executive management in NBA teams affects the team performance. So, yeah, it's taken a bit of a hold obviously since the tournament has been going on, but it's going pretty well.

KEESHAWN KELLMAN: So I'm a sociology major, and my thesis is on how professional sports performance in a season can affect social behaviors in a community, like crime rates, voter turnout, things like that. It's been a lot trying to balance this along with the tournament, but we're going to get it done.

Q. A question for Tosan. Curious what you think about this Creighton basketball team. What kind of challenges you think you will see tomorrow night?

TOSAN EVBUOMWAN: It will be a big challenge. You know, everyone is good. We're in the Sweet 16 obviously, but, you know, they're a well-coached team. They're really balanced. They have a lot of nice players.

You know, they have a big who is a great rim protector and offensive force as well. They've got -- like I said, they're a well-balanced team. They have a lot of pieces. So do we, and we're looking forward to that matchup. It's going to be a battle I think, and we're excited about our style of play and how we play and being able to showcase again and hopefully more after this game. But it's a matchup we're looking forward to, definitely.

Q. Circling back to the theses for those of you that are writing them, I imagine that after the first round of the NCAA Tournament you're maybe thinking, oh, okay, I've got some time in March to work on this. What were your initial plans for crunch time of this of getting it done, and how spectacularly did those get blown up?

RYAN LANGBORG: Well, the original deadline for me and Tosan was April 13th, so coming up here pretty quickly. Fortunately we got an extension, and we have a little more wiggle room. But, yeah, it was going to be a lot of grinding and writing papers, which is not always the most fun, but a lot better playing basketball. I can tell you that much.

Q. Go ahead.

TOSAN EVBUOMWAN: I usually like to plan ahead a little better than Ryan, so I managed to get some done earlier in the year, you know, knowing that the end of the season is going to be a little bit hectic. Yeah.

Q. Just a small follow-up, Ryan. I know your thesis is about time zones and given that you guys flew all the way from Jersey to Sacramento, did you tell Coach anything of what you should maybe do to prepare?

RYAN LANGBORG: I don't think I did, but we actually left on Monday for I think it was a Thursday game, so it gave us a few days to adjust. I'm a California guy, so I like being out there anyway.

Q. For Ryan, Matt, and Caden, this is a pretty stout Creighton back court defensively. What's the key to finding success on offense against them?

RYAN LANGBORG: I think just finding a half step, making sure that we're helping each other out. It's a team game, so we don't have to guard them individually. Just being solid, being tough. That will get it done.

MATT ALLOCCO: I would agree with that. On the other end, offensively just taking care of the ball as always and, you know, not missing an opportunity to get a great shot.

CADEN PIERCE: I think on the offensive end it's just about doing what we do best. Being hard to guard, being fast, setting screens, and then working the shot clock a little bit and getting open shots.

Q. A couple of questions for Tosan, if I may, from New Castle, England, his hometown. I've just been to the Academy, talked to people there. Everybody is rooting for you. You've got audiences across both sides of the Atlantic. How are you feeling about it right now?

TOSAN EVBUOMWAN: Yeah, it's very special. I'm thankful and fortunate to have audiences from both sides. I've definitely felt the love since the tournament started and before that as well, obviously.

It's been great. Hopefully being able to have an impact on the younger generation back home with British basketball and then obviously in the Princeton community as well. So I appreciate your guys' support. It's meant a lot.

Q. How much could you say at a time like this about your early successes, down to the encouragement, the coaching, the general support you've got from the academy in your early days, what, from the age of 14, I think?

TOSAN EVBUOMWAN: Yeah, those guys were always great to me and gave me an opportunity with me just starting out. A really good opportunity to play for them.

Even more recently during the COVID year I had the opportunity to play and practice with the Eagles team, so, you know, everyone has always been very supportive from back home, and nothing has changed since I've come over. I hear from a lot of coaches and former teammates a lot. So it's been really nice.

Q. For anybody that wants to answer. What was the year without basketball and the year on Zoom like from your perspective?

MATT ALLOCCO: I think in the long run it ended up helping us out. Unfortunately, you know, Cade was too young. He wasn't there at the time, but, yeah, it was unfortunate we couldn't play. That was obviously the biggest thing that we missed, but I think we were able to connect a lot just because it was all about ball.

We were online for school a couple of hours a day, and then we would get together and practice. At the time, you know, you're thinking this isn't the best situation, but I think in the long run it helped us out just building that chemistry and competitive spirit together.

Q. Tosan, just to build on the question about England, was March Madness on the radar over there?

TOSAN EVBUOMWAN: You know, within the basketball community, yeah, I would say it is, but for me growing up, it definitely wasn't the majority of my life. Being in it now and being over here, I definitely missed out on a lot, I think, as a kid.

The culture is unbelievable here. You hear about kids missing school to watch games and all the brackets. I've never filled out a bracket even until this day, so I definitely missed out on a lot as a kid, I think.

Q. A follow-up. Your father was here for the Ivy League title and then for last weekend. What was that like to have him in from England for that?

TOSAN EVBUOMWAN: That was awesome. He is my biggest fan, biggest supporter. He is very vocal on Twitter on social media. So, you know, he was supportive of the guys, and it was great to have him there. I'm sure the guys felt the same way.

Q. This is just a fun question for all of you guys, and you have to be honest. Did you guys know what state and what city Creighton was in?

RYAN LANGBORG: So I think it's in Nebraska, right? Okay, yeah (laughing). I'm not familiar with all the cities in Nebraska, to be completely honest with you. Maybe Omaha, but, okay, go with that.

TOSAN EVBUOMWAN: I had no idea. I think I usually ask Zach Martini and Jacob O'Connell those type of questions in terms of U.S. geography, so yeah.

KEESHAWN KELLMAN: Honestly, I didn't really know until we found out we were playing Creighton.

MATT ALLOCCO: I did know. I knew where it was.

CADEN PIERCE: I also knew. Mush and I are both Midwesterners, so we know our way around the area.