2026 NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP

March 18, 2026

Tom Ryan

Josh Moore

David Taylor

Chris Pendleton

Rocket Arena

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by head coaches David Taylor, Tom Ryan, Chris Pendleton and Josh Moore. Coaches, could you share your thoughts on your team's season and your outlook heading into the championships?

TOM RYAN: It's great to be in Cleveland, a hot bed of wrestling as we know. The state of Ohio, the sport is deeply rooted in the culture of the state. There's four Division I programs. Obviously Coach Moore's coaching one of them in the state of Ohio.

We've got four native Buckeyes in our starting lineup. Of the 10 qualifiers, four of them wrestled in the state of Ohio. There's 491 high schools that offer wrestling in this state. I believe there's 36 student-athletes of the 330 that have qualified for the event that are Ohio native. It's deeply rooted in the state here.

We had a great year. We were 19-1, one of the best dual meet seasons we've had. Obviously as a staff, we value dual meets greatly. And couldn't be more excited that we're in Cleveland.

Our four starters are all from this region, grew up in this area. So kind of a childhood dream to be competing for the national championships and you're kind of in your backyard. So looking forward to the event.

DAVID TAYLOR: It's been a great season. We have a young team, and it's been really fun to see these guys progress throughout the season, starting with -- we had a tough start with the National Duals, and our guys faced some adversity.

It's been really cool to see them persevere through that and really have themselves prepared for the national tournament. The national tournament, this is most exciting tournament in the world. We're grateful to be here and excited to compete.

CHRIS PENDLETON: I think we're really excited to be here, like David said. I think we're probably the team that traveled the farthest. If we can get it on the West Coast once or twice every 10 years, I'd appreciate that.

Had a lot of uncertainties coming into the season. We weren't anticipating losing an All-American. But I'm very proud how the team responded and how they progressed through the year, and I think they're peaking at the right time.

JOSH MOORE: So just took over Kent State eight months ago. It was my mission and vision to kind of rebuild our program, really get connected with the community.

A lot of the guys know the story of Cleveland State. I was the head coach there seven years. Unfortunately, they decided to cut the program last year. I was lucky to land on my feet at Kent State where I coached before.

And we have a pretty good history, a top 25 program for four or five years straight, back when I was an assistant coach. We had a national champ in Dustin Kilgore. 2018, we had a gentleman, Kyle Conel, kind of shocked the world and took third in the country.

So we have got a really good history at Kent. Just our mission to build it back up by getting out in the community, getting people connected, getting people involved and telling our story.

Q. We hear so much with football and basketball about the impact that NIL, transfer portal, some of the bigger-picture things have had on those sports. How have you seen it impact your sport, specifically in terms of positively and negatively, if you could?

TOM RYAN: Prior to NIL beginning -- I've been at Ohio State now for 20 years, and there was a time when I was fighting for our student-athletes to be able to earn more pay at summer camps.

There was a time when it just didn't seem right that student-athletes could not earn much. If someone's willing to pay you $500 a day to learn, then you should be able to earn that.

So there was a time when I was certainly, this has to change. I think change is good. I think the change is good overall. But we need parameters on it. And right now there's probably not enough parameters on it.

But it's here. It's real. We picked up two guys for the first time in the portal this summer. Unfortunately, for Coach Pendleton, he was talking about one of the All-Americans, Stiles had a great experience under Coach but he wanted to get closer to home, so Stiles is home.

And Fishback at 184, when Rocco left for Penn State, Fishback came home to Ohio.

So it's here. It's real, I don't see it going away anytime soon. And it's just something as a head coach you've got to get your mind wrapped around and really decide how you're going to use it, right?

The goal for us is to not have them go into the portal. You recruit people out of high school and you nurture them all the way through.

I'll share, Jesse Mendez had tremendous NIL opportunities to leave Ohio State. Jesse had teams reaching out to him to make a lot more money than he was making, and Jesse stayed, so -- which makes him an incredible leader and very loyal person.

I don't behoove anybody leaving to take a lot of money. That's not my point.

But it's here. It's having a tremendous impact on the sport. And the teams and the organizations that understand that and work hard to raise money and build up their support base are going to have a better chance at winning those.

CHRIS PENDLETON: For me it helped define what you wanted to do as a coach.

I think a lot of times the stress of winning and performing and producing, appeasing donors, alumni, administration, it kind of has ripped bare what we're here to do. We're here to impact kids' lives, to give them better opportunities, to help them get their degrees and have a great experience.

DAVID TAYLOR: I think prior to coaching I was on the outside looking in, there was a time looking back to when I was recruited, schools had the 9.9 scholarships, and that's what it was.

I think as time has evolved, you have to evolve with the times, and this NIL space, where we're at and student-athletes, it's the space that we live in.

Like Coach said, would parameters be great? Yeah, but I think it's evolution. And as coaches, our job is to continue to mentor these kids and help them understand what's important and really keep it in perspective on life, staying grounded and what's really important.

What's really important is preparing them for this tournament and preparing them for life after wrestling, life after college. I think that's still a really important thing.

So it's that balance of gratitude and instant gratification and delayed gratification, and just constantly trying to give them a good path. That other stuff on the outside, it's going to come and go. It's part of the sport. It's part of college athletics. It's the life that we live.

It's exciting to try and navigate and figure things out. But it still comes back to helping these kids pursue excellence in their life and have a championship mentality. And I think that's what we're all really passionate about.

JOSH MOORE: I guess that really hasn't impacted me yet or the programs I've been involved with. But I have to say, we're all competitive as coaches. Nobody likes to lose. Everybody wants to find a way to win.

And that's the same thing with NIL and transfer portal. Some people go about it the right way. Some people don't. It's just being competitive.

These teams are competing for national titles as teams. I'm just competing to get my guys here and to give them a good experience to set them up for life, to build relationships and to put them in a better spot than when they arrived at my school.

So I think we're all competing for something different. We're all fighting for something different.

Last year, I was fighting to save a program at Cleveland State. This year I'm fighting and competing to build another program at Kent State.

So we're all working our butts off to do something special with our programs, with the guys on our team. And like I said, being competitive, I don't think any coach here at the national tournament is going to stop until they get what they want and they reach their goals to some extent.

Q. David, when you first talked with Jax about the possibility of enrolling for the second semester, could you envision this kind of success this quickly? I knew you were good, but to be a No. 1 seed going into the NCAA Tournament a couple months later?

DAVID TAYLOR: Jax is a special wrestler, he's a pretty special human. And I think hard to predict what things are going to happen down the road. You've just got to live in the moment.

But, yeah, I think in recruiting Jax, you start to realize, yeah, he's pretty special. And I think he can do what he sets his mind to. He set his mind to trying to be a great wrestler, and that's what we're trying to help him do.

Q. Josh, you talked about Cleveland State dropping, going to Kent State. In eight months, you've got two national qualifiers. The program's no longer a punch line. You guys are back here. It's at home. Max the host. How are you able to do it so fast, you're not paying guys. How is Kent State able to be relevant again in the Division I wrestling space?

JOSH MOORE: I think it's just having belief in your guys. It's like, the rest of the coaches up here, being behind them, staying positive, making sure they feel loved, supported, being in their corner. And then being the best coach you can be and put them in the right situations and opportunities to be successful.

Our two young men here are both Ohio guys, which makes it even more special.

But this is just the beginning for us. This is not where we want to be long term. But year one for Kent State, not having a national qualifier in three years, they've won a few matches, Division I matches in the last three or four years. And we've changed that just by really the culture, believing in my coaching staff.

Devin Schroder does an amazing job, and Fred Garcia, who my brother coached at Lock Haven is with me, and just support from the administration.

Q. Coach Moore, after you've all been through the past year, what does it mean to have [off microphone].

JOSH MOORE: It means a lot. Northeast Ohio should feel very grateful and blessed that the championships are back here. Last time was 2018. There's not too many places that host the NCAA Tournament twice in that kind of span.

That just proves that wrestling is huge in Northeast Ohio, obviously Western PA, surrounding states are good as well. But this area and these fans and supporters should really be grateful and blessed that wrestling is coming back here.

They can see the highest level of wrestling right here. So many great matches. So many great story lines. Some of the most -- three amazing days that anybody could ever want to be a part of.

As a coach, obviously I love coaching my guys, watching my guys, but I'm a fan of the sport. I love watching guys from other teams and other programs. I like to see the underdogs come through and get upsets.

I like to see just what goes into this sport and what comes out of it. And that's a lot of hard work, a lot of tears, a lot of blood, injuries and everything else. But that's what makes this sport the best sport out there.

Q. Coach Ryan, you mentioned really successful beginning of the year, winning National Duals. What have you done, maybe over the last month, to make sure that you're successful to end the season as well?

TOM RYAN: I mean, it's an annual lifestyle. It's not even -- the nationals fall the third weekend in March every year, but it started the day after nationals last year.

We give the guy a couple days off, and then you're back in the room. And all spring, all summer, all fall, our guys have worked incredibly hard. We've got a well-balanced team. I've got a lot of great people on my staff.

I have three Ohio legends, like this guy, on my staff in Stieber who came out when this guy was coming out, when David came out and Bo Jordan and Coach Jaggers.

So between the three of us -- me, Jaggers, Stieber -- well, four of us -- me, Jaggers, Stieber and Mendez, I think we've got eight national titles between the four of us. Jaggers two, Stieber four, Mendez two -- that's eight. I got none.

So it's just a great group of guys. It's a year-round thing, training. And we started off the way. I don't know if you'd ever plan that, wrestle the way we did, but at the National Duals, the team wrestled really well.

We wrestled well all year long. We got hit with a little bit of an injury bug at one point in the year. But we're excited about being here.

Q. Coach Moore and Coach Pendleton, after the conference championships, particularly Big Tens, saw a lot of discourse about reaction times and what can kind of happen in a low-scoring match where one score can really decide the outcome of an entire championship. I'm wondering, as coaches of two kind of smaller programs whose guys are facing really uphill battles, if that kind of thing, staying in a lower-scoring match, changes the way you guys approach these matches or changes the way you see other guys on the other side of the circle approaching these matches where the margins are so fine?

JOSH MOORE: I think in general, as coaches, you want your guys to go score points. Generally, if you're scoring points, you're going to win a lot more matches.

Ultimately, you've got to go out there believing you're going to win. I think what I tell our guys is, hey, if you pin the guy, there's no way to overturn that.

I think there's always something that's going on with the officials and referees and how they're calling things. And the reaction time thing has been interesting this year.

Officials will tell us, hey, we're going to award the offensive wrestlers. And then the next thing you know, it's like some kid has a takedown, and there's two or three seconds going by and some officials aren't calling anything.

Again, as coaches, we tell our guys, don't put it in the referee's hands. If you're on your butt and the guy has two legs and his hand's locked, it's probably a takedown. But you also can't stop wrestling either. You've got to continue to wrestle through positions, not worry about what referee or what officials are calling, just wrestle through the positions and let the cards kind of fall where they're at.

I mean, I know the review system is kind of -- at least at the conference championship that I was at -- got kind of annoying. Who knows what they got right, what they got wrong. It just takes so much time for the officials to go over, look at the video. By that time it's almost a fresh match for these guys.

Just trying to take it out of the official's hands, go out there, score points and set yourself apart from your opponent.

CHRIS PENDLETON: I think one of the unintended consequence of the 3-point takedown was we kind of created a little bit of a separation between scoring and being penalized for stalling. If you're up 3-1 with short time left, have you to get hit three times to lose that match with stalling. And the referees aren't calling it.

I think that we aren't doing a very good job of putting our referees in fair positions with the rules being created -- a lot of gray area rules. What's grounding? What's going out of bounds?

Having our conference tournament a couple days before the Big 12 and Big Ten, I get to step back and be a little bit of a fan and just watch wrestling, watch my alma mater, watch these great athletes competing.

And as a Division I coach, there's sometimes calls that happen that I'm scratching my head. If I'm scratching my head, what is the casual fan thinking? I think it's something that we need to look at and take a deep, hard look on how can we put our referees in positions to make easier calls.

Q. Coach Taylor, your second season. Last year your first NCAA Tournament. It's pretty special. Anything you learned maybe from last year's tournament that you're taking into this year?

DAVID TAYLOR: Just enjoying it. There's so much that goes into preparation for the national tournament. But once the national tournament is over, you're just getting ready for the next tournament, you know? I think as a competitor, you understand that.

I think one thing, I probably look back on my competitive career, is things just go by so fast. You're always so driven. You're looking for the next thing. And you look back, did you really enjoy the actual moments that you're in, because they go quick?

I think you enjoy those three days, the time you get to spend with the athletes, the ups and downs. There's things that happen that you think about all offseason. You wish, man, I wish this could have happened a little bit different. But then equally as much, there's some amazing things that you think about on the other side of it.

So it's just enjoying that time with these guys. It's special to be able to be on the road with them, to be able to spend time with them, to be working out with them, to be helping them.

And just seeing them make the adjustments within the tournament. I think that's probably what I look back and enjoyed last year the most and what I look forward to in this tournament and every tournament.

But just helping these guys, like this is setting them up for success. And this job, it's a pretty awesome thing to be able to help these kids.

Q. Coach Moore, you were talking about earlier building community and building good relationships with your community. Any of the other coaches, you guys want to talk about how you're investing in your communities and building that bridge within your local wrestling communities?

TOM RYAN: I'll share at Ohio State we're really blessed. Ohio State is a place that, there's a reverence for athletics. There's a reverence for coaches. There's a reverence for the university. And it's a special place. It's a special town. It's a special community.

People really find great joy in helping and making a difference. I would say when I left Hofstra 20 years ago, that was probably one thing that I underestimated is just how much people care and how much they look up to student-athletes.

Whether it's 2nd & 7, reading to underprivileged children, local hospitals, people in that community want student-athletes to be sharing.

That's really important. And it gives our guys a sense of -- it's hard to trick somebody into believing that what you do has a profound impact far greater than your low single or your swing single.

I think Columbus is a really special place, and it gives our guys an opportunity. So we're really grateful for that.

CHRIS PENDLETON: Union of the things that attracted me to the Oregon State job years ago was I knew that it was a wrestling state. I knew there was a deep culture. And I think it's reflected in a lot of our dual meets.

I definitely want to give these two guys to the left, kudos and a lot of praise. You see a lot of head coaches like Tom, like David, like Cael, traveling out west and helping us build our dual meet attendance. It goes so far with our donors, alumni and administration.

I don't think a lot of those head coaches get praise and the pats on the back that they do. But it's not easy taking your team all the way to the West Coast. But seeing what's happening with Cal Baptist and seeing how important it is, I hope they continue to do that.

DAVID TAYLOR: Stillwater is engrained with tradition, the success of the wrestling program. I think to be part of a rejuvenation, and our student-athletes being able to see that and what wrestling means to the town of Stillwater. It's pretty incredible.

You're talking about the community engagement, it's just they're enriched in the community. We're a pretty small town. And to think about the attendance that we get to our dual meets -- and I tell our kids, it's because they're excited to watch you wrestle. And beyond that, just the character of the kids.

So, yeah, Stillwater's a pretty amazing wrestling town and the kids that choose to come here are ingrained in the community in so many more ways than just the way that they go wrestle.

JOSH MOORE: Something we did this year, I mean every program has the Giving Tuesdays and the giving days, and I think those are awesome to support college programs. For us, we did do that.

Then we did a Giving Back Tuesday where we sent all 36 guys out to a youth program in Northeast Ohio. We hit up probably 18 youth clubs and got connected with their wrestlers, their coaches, their parents.

For us and for any program, really, how do you expect a community to support you if you're not out there supporting them?

Like Coach Taylor said, these guys, they don't understand how they're looked up to by youth wrestlers in the area. I think one of our wrestlers goes to a high school or a youth club, they're going to sign more autographs than if I go. So kids really look up to them. You've got to remember where you came from and remember your roots.

I think that also plays a big part in our guys, sending them out there and kind of getting them to remember, hey, like I was 7 years old, 8 years old when I started wrestling.

Now I get the opportunity to go to this youth club and give back and teach a few kids some simple things, talk to them about your experience and just being in front of them as a role model.

In Northeast Ohio, we've talked about this briefly already, but Northeast Ohio is huge for wrestling. There's so many great youth clubs, I think five or six nationally ranked high schools around this area. For us to build Kent State back to a top 20 program, we need these programs to be proud of their local school.

We need them to wear Kent State T-shirts. We've broke out some baby blue singlets that we saw a lot of guys wearing when we hosted a youth tournament with over 600 kids in our gym about a month ago. So we're out there doing our part. We want this area to be proud of Kent State.

And Tom said there's four Division I schools in Ohio. There's only three now with Cleveland State dropping. And there's a lot of really, really good wrestlers throughout the state of Ohio to go to those three schools. So we want to be in those conversations and on that short list of schools.

When kids get to that age, we want them to think that Kent State is a great place, a place where I can go and become an All-American, get a really great degree and have a good experience.

Q. Coach Ryan and Taylor, you were an all-time great race. In 2018 you guys were in an all-time great race, came down to the final match 184 pounds. You're chasing Penn State. You're in a war with Penn State at that point. David's right out of the Penn State system two years. You're chasing them with a young team. And you guys are just both going after that program. They've got seven No. 1 seeds. It's a historic things what they're doing. How do you guys run those guys down? How do you catch them? I know you both have a plan. How do you do it?

TOM RYAN: I think everyone in life needs something to chase and pursue. I think it's just part of the way we're wired, to chase and pursue.

And Penn State has provided something for every Division I program to chase and pursue. And that's really important.

But I think what's equally or more important is to make sure that every individual in your organization, every student-athlete is guided in a way to help them achieve the best version of what they're capable of.

And if that means that we chase down Penn State and beat them at some point, fantastic. If that means it's not going to happen, that's the way it goes. That's how I feel at this point about leading Ohio State. We want to beat them. The plan is to beat them.

But I don't consider not doing that anything less worthy. Right? I want to get the most out of my student-athletes. I want to see them attain the things they want to attain. I want to make sure that our program is run in the right way, in a fair manner, that we do things the right way.

You've got to get the right people. You've got to have, obviously with the NIL space, you've got to have donors that have the same vision that you have for what you want to accomplish. And you've got to work. You've got to work tirelessly.

Obviously Cael's done an amazing job at Penn State. And we're excited about the possibility, year in, year out, of getting back on top as we were in '15.

DAVID TAYLOR: I think what are we doing the sport for? We're trying to prepare for the national tournament. We're trying to have 10 national champions. You're trying to be national champions as a team. That's the pinnacle of what you're doing.

There's always going to be obstacles in the way. What are those obstacles going to be? They're going to change. It's a moving target. What we can focus on is helping our guys, like Coach said, be the best versions of themselves. That's the most important thing.

I'm not laser focused on one individual or one individual program, I'm focused on helping my guys be the best that they possibly can be, giving them the abilities to succeed.

I think the biggest thing is, when these kids come to school, hold them to a high standard. We as a staff hold these guys to a high standard, the standard that they set for themselves.

We sit down at the end of the year and they tell us what they want. In the recruiting process, these kids tell us what they want. Okay, well, then we're going to help you do those things.

And that's competition. We want to compete at the highest level. That's what we're signing up to do. We want to do something that's exciting, competing at the national tournament that's exciting. Competing in a competitive team race, that's exciting. That's what drives people to become better versions of themselves.

And I think that's what we're looking forward to. And it's what we can do. It's what we can control. It's our thoughts and emotions. That's the most important thing. And that's what we're focused on as a program.

Q. Coach Ryan, I'm from Wantagh. Went to Wantagh High School.

TOM RYAN: Where in Wantagh? What street?

Q. Beverly, Mandalay area.

TOM RYAN: Fantastic.

Q. Solid New York program. Then you coached at Hofstra. How have you used those past experiences and stops to help your team now prepare for a stage like this?

TOM RYAN: I mean, apprenticeship, discipleship, mentorship is critically important in all of our lives. A lot of us get in our homes. I had a fantastic father and mother, great siblings. Had a great high school coach. Had a great college coach.

I have a lot of great friends in the neighborhood that were great people that all participated in Division I sports. So you just pull from your experiences.

Of course, when you've had some hardships like I've had in life, you realize you can't do it alone. So what direction do you look? For me, I looked up. And that's when I realized the reality of life, that there's a greater being, there's a God that loves us. And I think the ultimate apprenticeship is to look up and be what God has intended us to be.

Growing up in Wantagh was a great place, and then being under Coach Gable and some of the mentors I've had in my life, been really fortunate. I'm really blessed.

And I don't say this lightly, because it's very clichéish thing now to say praise God, but there is nothing in my life that could convince me that God's not real and that he hasn't had his hand in my life every step of the way.

Q. Coach Moore, couple of your athletes at State College on Euclid ended up finding new homes, a couple with you. Ben Aranda found himself to be a Division II national qualifier at St. Cloud, and Douglas Terry won a national title two weeks ago at life. What's it been like for you to watch those athletes find success with you in other places after having that opportunity taken away from them?

JOSH MOORE: It makes me extremely proud just keeping in touch with those guys. Cleveland State was a tough place to recruit to. We had three scholarships. We recruited some really great kids and set them up for success. Some of them didn't have the success they wanted at Cleveland State, but at their next stop, they kind of found that with guys like Doug Terry, and Joey Lyons was an All-American at Gannon. Shane Cook was an All-American NAIA. Dylan Layton, national qualifier for Rider.

Just to see these guys continue to wrestle, that was my biggest concern, A, are these guys not going to be given another opportunity to compete and do what they love?

So, I mean, those guys are my guys. They came to a lot of the Kent State duals. We've kept in touch, and it's just great to see those guys be successful. As we knew they would be, just the toughest thing was them not wanting to leave their brothers and their teammates at Cleveland State.

Like I said, we didn't have much, but we had each other. We had a good coaching staff, good support system, and we had a lot of fun. And I think we did a lot with what we had.

To see them go on and come home with All-American titles and national titles -- whether it's Division I, Division II or NAIA -- it's still really impressive, this sports stuff at any level. And those guys proved they can overcome adversity and some heartbreak and continue to truck on, and that's what this sport is all about.

Q. Coach Pendleton, what is it like to leave the Pacific Northwest and come to a place with worse weather -- I saw Coach Tony Ramos talking about East Coast, obviously I'd like to see on it the West Coast, I just like being out there. But what's it mean to come here? The weather's terrible, it's rough. It's unpredictable. It's 70 degrees Sunday, 20 degrees today. What can we do to get it to the West Coast and get it to a warmer climate for the NCAA Championships for wrestling?

CHRIS PENDLETON: Tony's just gotten soft since we're here. I'm from Chicago. He's got to get a heavier jacket.

Wrestling, been all over the world -- (indiscernible). The arena is warm. We're excited here. It's a beautiful arena.

Like Tom and David said, this is one of the hotbeds of wrestling and we're excited about it. Would we like to get it other places on the West Coast? Sure, it would be great. We've got a lot of factors to consider.

But we tried really hard to get it at ASU. When we got to go down to the Suns Arena and really dive into everything, there's a lot more that goes into hosting a tournament than the casual fan or even coach would even guess at.

Hopefully, in the future, we can revisit some of the things. I'd love to see us go back to 2020 and that idea of the Superdome, revisiting that a little bit. But if it happened for us, I wouldn't complain.

Q. David, going back to the question about Jax. You said you could tell he was really special. Beyond the physical traits and everything, what was it that you saw in him, mental makeup, that sort of thing, that you could see that this is that special athlete?

DAVID TAYLOR: I think when you think about people and what drives them, I think you look at the trajectory of his career. Even to this point, he wants to be really good, but I think what he wants to be is he wants to be unique. He wants to be unique, and I think that's something that you've got to give him guardrails on that. You can't be so unique that you start trying to overthink things.

But I think what he's done and his path to this point has been unique, and that's awesome. There's something that comes with that. And just kind of helping remind him of the bigger picture and the bigger vision and how to help continue to guide him along this path, along this journey, and just gotta stay present along the way.

But he's a pretty special kid, and we're excited that he wrestles at Oklahoma State.

Q. David, how much have you studied the massive impact Chris Pendleton had on Oklahoma State's three championships, 2003, 2004, 2005?

DAVID TAYLOR: During that period of time, I would go down to Oklahoma and wrestle in those Tulsa Kickoffs and Tulsa Nationals.

In doing so, I'd go to the room and just watch practice. Chris was always really good to me. Practice was over and he'd be drenched sweat from going through really hard drills that Coach Smith put him through.

He would come over, and I just got to know him in those years. He would spend time with me. I actually remember there was a specific sequence. He taught me this an arm-on-the-back turn.

And I went out that whole tournament and did it to everybody. Right afterwards I was, this is awesome. You can learn one move, have that kind of success, this is going to be great. Got a little harder after that.

But I remember watching it -- it's actually funny, I was watching some matches this year and some of his popped up, and just he had an amazing career on the way he wrestled. He was very relentless and scored a lot of points and was a good message.

He actually lost in the Big 12 Tournament, turned around to win the NCAA Tournament the next week, in a pretty dominant way.

So no, he was instrumental in that time and a big part of Oklahoma State's history and tradition. I've known him for a long time. He's always been really good to me.