NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - HIGH POINT VS ARKANSAS

March 21, 2026

Flynn Clayman

Cam'Ron Fletcher

Rob Martin

Chase Johnston

Moda Center

High Point Panthers

Media Conference

Arkansas - 94, High Point - 88

THE MODERATOR: We'll go ahead and get started with an opening statement from Coach and then take questions for the student-athletes.

FLYNN CLAYMAN: Yeah, obviously a fantastic game. Arkansas, fantastic team. High Point, man, really proud of our guys. We competed, we competed, we competed with the SEC champs, lottery picks, guys who are the best of the best. Our university, our team showed out. We showed out. We packed the house, we had fun, we played with confidence. These guys, we were expected to be good but I don't think anybody expected to do what we did here, win 31 games, get to the Tournament, advance, push the SEC champs.

Just so happy for our university because I heard Coach Calipari say it yesterday about our program and his program, coaches, players can win games, but administrations win championships. And I'm talking about not just our administration but everybody that helps High Point University makes us special makes us competitive.

So ever since I set foot on High Point University's campus my life changed. I think these guys would say the same. We're sitting here before you today and we made history. And just couldn't be more proud of these guys and yeah, what a ride.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. With the different moments down the stretch, and there were so many of them for your team, the bounces on the three-pointer from Rob, do you feel like those moments added to your team's belief down the stretch?

FLYNN CLAYMAN: Oh, yeah. We definitely needed to knock down some tough shots to beat that team. But I also thought like, honestly, like it surprised me because I just wasn't sure where we stood against these teams physically and where how we hung with this team physically. On the glass, it was 36 rebounds to 37 rebounds against a bunch of -- so as we got going I was, like, man, like we got the athletes to hang with the SEC champs. We got the physicality to hang with the SEC champs.

So maybe looking back like we didn't need to pull as many of those crazy shots, but I think when you -- I went back and watched obviously our Wisconsin game and I remembered us not playing our best, that's just coach thought. Because when I look back, we played out of our mind. Today I thought we played really, really good. I don't know that we played out of our mind today. I don't think they played their best either. They can play better than that, obviously.

But I told our guys to come into this with an aggressive mindset, shoot your shot and if a few more of 'em dropped, then it would have been a different story.

Q. You all knew each other before you came to High Point. You grew up in St. Louis. You competed against each other in high school and now you're teammates, you shared the court this year. Talk about what it meant to be on the same team representing St. Louis and playing for High Point this whole time.

CAM'RON FLETCHER: I would say it meant a lot to me because I never soon myself playing with Rob because in high school we used to play each other so much, as kids we used to play each other so much.

So it was just a good feeling to have someone that close to me that I have known before going to High Point with me and he's the point guard. So, I mean the connection was there. But I'm very grateful to be able to play with him this year.

ROB MARTIN: I'm super grateful to play with him and love his journey, just how hard he work. He put the work in and it showed tonight. Like he said before, we played each other in high school and I'm super proud of him and what's next for him and, yeah.

Q. This has been one hell of an advertisement for your school and your campus and your program over the last few days. The transfer portal's going to open in a couple of weeks, what is your pitch to guys on why they should consider High Point?

CAM'RON FLETCHER: I would say because of what we did this year. I mean the campus is cool and all, but I really came for basketball, so I don't have much to say about that.

But as far as players coming to ask me about things about High Point, I would just tell 'em Coach Flynn's a great coach.

ROB MARTIN: Yeah, Coach Flynn, of course. The campus is amazing. Community shows out each and every day. But I would say anyone for sure, he's a main reason he trust in his players and he brings it each and every day.

CHASE JOHNSTON: Yeah, I would say High Point is the best decision I ever made in my life to go there. The Lord opened up so many opportunities. Coach Flynn is a great coach, if he rides with you, he trusts you and he's going to trust you not just in the highs but in the lows, and you're going to have an unbelievable support system around you from morning, noon and night from the day you start there until the day you finish, and it will be an experience like no other.

Q. You're getting matched up against Darius, who is going to be a lottery pick. How much did you relish that matchup and how do you feel about how you performed tonight?

ROB MARTIN: I wish we would have won the game but I feel pretty good on how I matched up against a lottery pick and just showing my talent, showing the world that I can compete at a high level. I put so much work in and I feel like it showed tonight.

He's a great player. He made great plays. I came back and tried to make plays for me and my teammates as well. But I'm super proud of myself and my journey. Put so much work in, all glory to God.

Q. This question is relevant to this game, but it's a broader question about the college basketball landscape. This season's been the highest three-point attempt rate we've ever seen in Division-I at about 39 and a half percent. Half of High Point's shot attempts tonight were from three and you also went 15-40 against Wisconsin. So what are your thoughts on how the college shot profile of layups is kind of evolving to something more closely like we see in the NBA?

FLYNN CLAYMAN: That's a great question. I think it's evolving that way because the numbers show that that's the best way to play offensively. It's really hard to beat the numbers with a bunch of pull-ups, mid-range shots, it's just the facts.

Our guys, we try to implement that with us. Now we shot way more threes in this tournament than we normally did. We tried to have a plan of attack. Obviously we're playing against bigger athletes and a more physical game. So during our conference season we're getting to the free-throw line a little more. But this was kind of our game plan was like, all right, let's mix it up a little bit. We know we got good shooters, let's shoot our shot, and it put us in a really good spot in the second round.

Q. You guys captured the heart of the country this weekend and you had a lot of people rooting for you to pull this out today. Knowing that this is, unfortunately, ended, what do you want college basketball fans or people that just heard about your story what do you want them to take from this group now that this journey's over?

FLYNN CLAYMAN: Yeah, I think the biggest thing for me was I just didn't want this group to be discredited as a nationally really good program. I felt like really when I've had time to digest -- like I was insane after the last game. That was the craziest day of my life. If you think about me being a first-year head coach and all that happening how it happened, I was on, you call Cloud 9, I was on like Cloud 1,000, all right. But when I digested it, you know, we've kind of had this chip on our shoulder like everybody's against us type mentality because we felt like we needed to have it. When I really look back it's the people who really mattered respected our team we got a 12 seed that was a goal of ours was to we were a 13 last year if we could get to a 12 we'll have a better chance of winning a game. But I think getting to this tournament, performing wait we did really certifies this team as a great basketball team not just a great basketball team for a certain level, a great college basketball team. So that's what these guys did out here and I'm really proud of them.

CAM'RON FLETCHER: Don't sleep on the Mid-Majors.

Q. Chase, you were part of obviously a special moment this last game and then coming into this game. Heading into this next stage of your life how much are you going to carry this moment with you and what can you take from it.

CHASE JOHNSTON: Yeah, it's a season I'll never forget. I'll take so much from it. It's a season I didn't think maybe was going to, I didn't think it was going to go the way it went in the beginning. Got my starting spot taken away, Flynn and I talked about it, like I mentioned before. And just took so much -- I'm just trusting the Lord. Trusting Him not just in the good, but in the bad. Understanding that suffering is so good for us as followers of Jesus. And taking that into my next, in my next route in ministry, and hopefully pursuing a pastoral ministry. Just leading people by example, being a servant like Jesus was, and just loving people. Loving people, going down to their level, right, I'm no better than nobody. I'm just so grateful that I've been able to finish off my career here at March Madness, here sitting here with these guys. I love every single person up in here, and that team over there in the locker room, my teammates, just a bunch of servants that find joy in other people's success, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

FLYNN CLAYMAN: With this being my first year, I had a lot of ups, downs. I was figuring out a lot of things. I really got to thank my staff. I really got to thank these players. It was a lot for me coming into a really, really good program, having to recruit a whole new team; and my staff had my back, and I just couldn't be more thankful for them. These players stuck with me through good days through bad days and I'm really thankful for them.