Players and coaches from all men's and women's 2025 NCAA Tournaments step to the media room for full March Madness press conferences before and after their NCAA tournaments games, including First Four, First and Second Round, Sweet 16, Elite Eight, the Final Four and 2025 NCAA national championship game.
Climate Pledge Arena - Seattle, WA
Climate Pledge Arena - Seattle, WA
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00All right, everybody, again, if you're going to ask a question, please raise your hand.
00:11We'll get started with Coach first with an opening statement, and then we'll open it
00:14up to questions for any of the people here up on the stage.
00:17So with that, we'll say congratulations, Coach, and if you'd start us out, please do.
00:21Man, this is what it's all about, you know, the biggest stage, and these guys finding
00:27a way to get the job done.
00:28And, you know, these guys will tell you, I really challenged ourselves at halftime,
00:32this group.
00:33I thought, you know, they were a lot tougher than we were that last seven minutes of the
00:37first half.
00:38And like this group always does, you know, you challenge them, they look at each other,
00:43we all respond as a group, and boy, did we respond in the second half.
00:46And I thought down the stretch in the last, you know, eight to ten minutes, you know,
00:50we were the team that was getting the loose balls and the 50-50 plays, and just a phenomenal
00:56effort, you know, all the way around.
00:58And again, just when I don't think this group can give us more, they just find another gear,
01:04and guys step up, and just, you know, tremendous performance, and man, survive in advance.
01:09All right, we'll open it up to questions, please raise a hand if you have a question,
01:13and you'll be given a microphone right down in front here, and then we'll go to you next.
01:17Tyler King with the Denver Gazette for Kyon, obviously, just a big night.
01:21When did you feel like you were in a groove with the threes?
01:24I think you were a five, a six, or maybe six, a seven at one point.
01:26Just kind of take us through how you were feeling during the game.
01:30I don't know, usually just when that first shot goes, and especially when it's kind of
01:35like just an all net first shot, and then you just start feeling good from there.
01:39We'll go down in front here first, and then we'll come back to you.
01:43Kevin Lytle, Colorado, and Kyon, can you just describe, you know, the feeling during that
01:48game, after the game, you know, when you have a performance like this?
01:53I mean, I'm not really thinking about myself too much, but just like this team, how far
01:57we came, and just to get a tournament win is just crazy for us.
02:01Hey, Coach, congratulations to all you men on the win tonight.
02:06Will you speak to, obviously, Kyon led the team in scoring today, but his pace of play,
02:13how he controlled the game, he didn't seem to get flustered out there.
02:16Will you speak to what he means to the team, other than just the points he put up?
02:21First of all, whatever Kyon was feeling tonight, I just want to feel that one time, because
02:25I hadn't felt like that.
02:28You know, Ky's just, he's one of those guys, you know, he's an unbelievable competitor.
02:33He's a live it, you know, hoops guy.
02:36You know, he learned a lot last year, you know, playing behind, you know, another great
02:39point guard, and just watching his development this year has just been special.
02:43He comes in every day, he soaks it up, and he just, he's aggressive.
02:48He really believes in himself and what he can do, and I agree.
02:51I thought, you know, he really controlled the game tonight, really brought us a swagger,
02:57and he just really had a special game, but he's really had a special conference season
03:00for us.
03:01You know, he's been one of our leaders, and, you know, he's playing at a high level right
03:06now, and he's just got a really, really bright future.
03:09Questions down front, please, again.
03:14Bright present, too.
03:17Tyler King, again.
03:18Neek, just kind of take us through your night, obviously, it seemed like they were really
03:22intent on trying to keep the ball out of your hands any time you crossed half court.
03:25Just kind of how did you manage the pressure, and how did you guys adjust to that in the
03:28second half?
03:29Yeah, I mean, I didn't have a great night, but, you know, I could care less.
03:34I'm just so happy, man.
03:35I'm so happy for my teammates, the guys who haven't been here before who get to experience
03:41a win, and like Bowen and Keyshawn, dudes like that.
03:45I'm so happy about that.
03:46So, like, yeah, they did a good job on me tonight.
03:49I didn't have my greatest game, but I'll adjust and be ready for the next game, but I'm just
03:54happy to get this win any way we can.
03:57My teammates stepped up big time.
04:00Susie Wardren, KOA in Denver, down here.
04:02Neek, you say you didn't have a great night, but you have that steal, and Bowen gets it
04:06in for the lay-in, which to me seems like the turning point in the game, then it becomes
04:10a four-point game in your favor.
04:12Do you think that was the case for you guys?
04:13I mean, then it seemed to really build up some steam after that.
04:16Yeah, I mean, I'll rephrase.
04:18Maybe not my best shooting night, but, you know, I just tried to find ways to do other
04:22things to impact the game when I'm not shooting well, and, you know, plays like that definitely
04:27get our team going, get us some momentum, and I feel like that was a big swing in the
04:32game, just giving us some energy.
04:34Lipsville CSU, Rams.com.
04:38This season has kind of been milestone after milestone.
04:41You haven't won, you haven't gone to the second round since 2013.
04:45What do you think the, like, how people will see this team in years to come as a CSU program?
04:51I mean, I just think it's the culture that all the coaching staff and everybody that
04:58they built here.
04:59I mean, we really take team together to heart, and it's awesome, and I just think this culture
05:05is only going to keep growing.
05:07We just have so many guys that step up in so many ways, and not only are these guys
05:11great basketball players on the court, but they're great people, and that's what it's
05:16all about.
05:17Down in the front, all the way on the right.
05:19This is for Coach Curtis Crabtree, Fox 13 Seattle here.
05:22What did you see defensively from you guys in the second half to kind of really frustrate
05:25them and keep them from getting to the game that they wanted to have?
05:28It seemed like they really struggled to find shots in the half court.
05:31Well, I thought in the first half, you know, our first shot defense wasn't bad.
05:36It was just, man, in those last 10 minutes, if there was one possession, they got three
05:40offensive rebounds, and they were beating us to loose balls.
05:43We had to finish possessions better.
05:45I thought we started with doing that better in the second half.
05:48Dane Danger's a load.
05:49I mean, he is really hard.
05:51I thought we did a little bit better job in the second half of kind of taking his real
05:55estate, not allowing him to catch it where he wanted, bringing a little bit of help earlier
05:59to him when he put it on the floor.
06:01So I thought those were the two biggest things for us.
06:04Hagerty is a load for them.
06:06I thought we did a pretty good job of staying in front of him, not, you know, putting him
06:09on the free throw line too much.
06:11So I think those three things, but in particular in the second half, it was really just the
06:15rebounding and just doing a little bit better job on Danger.
06:19Nico, along the same lines on Danger in the second half, how much of that was just making
06:25him work considering he didn't sit at all this game?
06:27Did you kind of expect that at halftime that just with the seven guys that were playing,
06:32your depth might went out in the end?
06:33I might've mentioned that at halftime, that, you know, not for him, but I thought give
06:38that kick.
06:39I mean, he played 20 minutes and I'm in the last part of the first half.
06:43He was just all over the place, you know, but so, you know, the guys that weren't playing
06:47as many minutes as him, we needed to try to exceed his energy.
06:50And maybe that happened, you know, down the stretch.
06:54Michael Hovey, the Rocky Mountain Collegian.
06:56Coach, in addition to Nick's spark in the second half, I mean, what can you say about
07:02Rashawn Memba, you know, taking a break, you know, in the, in the first half coming
07:05out, having a great sequence?
07:08He's just a warrior.
07:09I mean, he just, he just goes one speed.
07:12He just goes after it and, and I love him.
07:14I got on him for not setting a screen and he's yelling at Kyan for not waiting for the
07:19screen and I just, man, take a deep breath and he does, but he just, just brings so much
07:25spirit to our team and toughness and, and he's just a great teammate.
07:30And so, again, he just, one of these guys in a long line of guys who are a team who
07:36just plays all about the team, but he's really, you know, one of our emotional leaders.
07:40Over to the left there is Thurgo.
07:42Mike Benton, KJR Radio in Seattle.
07:45Coach, this being the first game out of the group here in Seattle, what were your observations
07:48of the building, the crowd as well, and how that may be fed to you guys too?
07:52What an awesome venue and awesome setup here.
07:55Just incredible.
07:56And boy, I really felt it fill in.
07:58You know, I thought this place was pretty packed.
08:00The energy was great in the, in the second half.
08:03And I'll say this, I mean, I know this, but this is a, this is a great basketball area.
08:08You know, people love basketball here.
08:10But again, great, great job.
08:12I love the atmosphere here.
08:14The crowds were terrific.
08:16Just a great venue.
08:17And so, yeah, what more can you ask for an NCAA tournament game?
08:21We'll go back here at the end.
08:23Jordan Leon, Sideline Sports Network.
08:25Coach, was there a conversation at half?
08:26It looked like coming out of the half.
08:28You guys were forcing the issue, kind of going inside and they were fouling a lot versus
08:32the first half.
08:33Was there a conversation about that?
08:34Yeah, you know, they, they decided, you know, they do a really, Penny does a great job,
08:38you know, coaching those guys.
08:39And, you know, they made the determination.
08:41You don't know what they're going to do.
08:42They just started switching everything.
08:44They were switching all balls to try to take away our ball movement.
08:46And we did, we made a concerted effort of, you know, trying to throw the ball inside
08:50a little bit more.
08:51We did on the first possession.
08:52And then we also thought we needed to spread them out a little bit more.
08:55And we put Kyle Jorgensen in, you know, who's a big, who can shoot the ball.
08:58And we kind of spaced the floor a little bit.
09:00And, you know, we kind of were able to drive it and get multiple paint touches.
09:03And I thought that that really, really helped us in the game.
09:06So, we made a couple adjustments offensively to kind of take advantage of what they were
09:10doing and our guys did a great job of it.
09:12Just a couple more right here.
09:13Eli Becker from Heat Check.
09:15Nico, compared to where this team was at in November and now culminating to this run that
09:20you guys are on right now, what has changed within the group and how they're maturing
09:24and developing?
09:25You know, these guys have said it, I mean, we've got character and, you know, we were
09:31five and five.
09:32We knew, we knew it would be hard early, maybe harder than we thought.
09:38But you know, they said it, over that Christmas break, that three to four week stretch, we
09:41were out of class and, you know, I just told the guys, I'm like, listen, the teams that
09:45can make the biggest jump here when, you know, we can watch extra film, be in the gym more,
09:49connect more as a group, are the ones who can make noise in conference season.
09:53And they really took that to heart and just went to work every day.
09:57Guys really found their roles and accepted their roles.
10:01We made a commitment to defense.
10:02I thought our defense really took a big jump and I thought that's what allowed us then
10:07to really build some offensive confidence.
10:09And then these young guys, you know, like Kyan, they just started to get confidence.
10:13So, all those things came together.
10:15And what's great about this team, we just keep getting better.
10:18You know, we're playing better these last three weeks than we were the three weeks before
10:22that.
10:23And that's what you want to see.
10:24And so, hopefully we can keep playing better because if you want to advance in this tournament,
10:27we'll have to play even better on Sunday.
10:29We'll take two more right here and then over here.
10:32Jalen, you guys obviously won a first four game last year.
10:37Obviously it's hard to do right at the moment, but how's this one feel in comparison, you
10:40know, winning in the full 64 bracket?
10:42I mean, it's awesome.
10:43I still have the same feeling as last year when we won in the first four.
10:48It's a March Madness win.
10:49So, like Coach said, we survive and we advance, and it's a great feeling.
10:53I mean, we just want to keep things rolling with our defense and keep clicking on offense
10:58and just keep our confidence up.
11:00I think that might be it.
11:01Unless we got one more.
11:02All right, we'll take one more.
11:05Nick, you could tell when the fans knew that you guys had won it, what is it kind of like
11:11to feel that energy all far away from home in a venue that you're not used to?
11:16I think Coach said it best.
11:17Like, the energy was crazy in there, and I saw a lot of green.
11:21So I knew our fans traveled, and it was super cool to see that, have them be able to experience
11:26this feeling with us.
11:27And, you know, we're going to need their support again on Sunday.
11:30So we're just happy that they made the trip and super grateful for them.
11:35Thank you very much.
11:36Good luck.