Heads up for everyone in the media workroom we are about 5 minutes away from our um press conference with Duke so five minutes out up the steps and to the left today’s press conference for each team um will consist of 40 minutes um coach and his student athletes will be
On stage and we will release the student athletes 20 minutes uh into the press conference to go to breakouts so that means Duke uh will be on stage uh from 250 to 310 the student athletes and then their breakouts will begin at 315 and go
To 3:30 right up the steps and to the left that’s where the breakout areas are in case you haven’t seen them how we doing right there with you for for C for for okay media in the work room Duke has arrived and we will start shortly please remember to silence your cell
Phone and again no video here in the interview room with a cell phone you can um obtain audio and video on the media hub of the NCAA I’m ready when they are well we meet again how yall doing good to see you guys hey coach okay we are now joined by the Blue
Devils of Duke University coach John Shire student athletes will be uh Jeremy roach Tyrese proor and Kyle filipowski again the student athletes will be dismissed at 3:10 to report to breakouts and we’ll keep coach here for the duration let’s go straight to questions who wants to go first
Okay I was starting to think we had a bashful group today all right here on the left side on the aisle yes Rob mcclam for inside pack Sports obviously playing a familiar opponent you don’t have the it’s kind of a different you don’t maybe need to scout as much how’s
The approach for this different than maybe it would be if it was an unfamiliar team and that’s for everyone I think the approach is the same I mean for every team um just a tournament you got to lock in uh it’s a quick turn turn around um you want to
Make sure you’re on top of your game uh just with the Scout um the the play call I mean just with even us just watching that game back um just making just finding finding stuff that we did wrong finding stuff that we did right um but I
Think just focusing on ourselves is the biggest thing uh going to this game um NC State is a great opponent um they’re playing their best basketball right now they won eight in a row so uh they’re here for a reason so we just got to um
Go out there and compete yeah I’d agree with J um not changing the Scout it’s good that we we got two games under our belt against them um at a neutral sight and at at away at at NC State so I think just getting familiar with with how they
Play and um you know DJ down low and how they have sort of two different teams when he goes out and when he’s in so uh I think it’s it’s been really good how we’ve how we’ve gotten to play him twice um and we get to play him a third time
Now yeah I mean it’s it’s great having that famili familiarity with them um and and already having a sense of of of their style but yeah just you know we’re doing a great job with with how things been going lately we’re going to keep the maintain the main thing and and
Uh keep doing what we’ve been doing you said everybody do you want coach to respond to that as well okay well it’s Unique obviously the fact you’ve played him twice in the last month um but but it’s the same preparation for us as a staff last night watching film watching our games back
Against them um clearly you don’t have to get familiar where it’s a new opponent you know CU for me I’m always whoever the first game is I’m all the way in the staff is getting ahead um so you’re very familiar but they’re famili familiar with us too so it’s Unique but
The preparation is still the same for us okay here on the left toward the front front yeah uh this is for Kyle what’s the biggest key to limiting DJ Burns in the post as well as Moab diara who’s really been a force on the glass in the last couple of games for State
Yeah I think the biggest thing for you know it’s it’s not just myself this it’s going to be a whole team effort on the defensive end with with controlling uh DJ and and limiting diar’s rebounding as well so it’s just it’s it’s going to be a whole team effort um just sticking to
The game plan you know listening to to what the coaches have say because you know we we’ve been doing this for for a long time now and uh we have all the Trust In in each other and um it’s just going to be that type of game let’s move
Toward the back now on the aisle um I’m Adam tyer from ESPN and this question’s for John just curious what changes you’ve seen in NC State since you played him at their place late in the regular season well um one they they continue to get better and better
You know I think you can see their their confidence and their togetherness has contined to grow uh they’re a really good defensive team uh they they become very disruptive they’ve always been disruptive but I think even more so in the half court creating turnovers uh they’ve been a better
Rebounding team and then offensively I think the the the biggest thing that you’ve seen is just the connectivity you know them uh horn is a dangerous player anytime he steps on the floor his ability to shoot from Beyond the three uh uh but really everybody’s playing
Their best basketball I can go down the list and uh you know it’s you’re uh they’re much different than the second time we than the first time we played them and I think they’re even better than the last time we played them uh at the ACCC tournament because you you your
Confidence grows through your experience on the court and when you win the ACC Championship the way they did five games in five days and then win three games in the tournament uh really inconen ing fashion obviously they had the W overtime game uh but uh I’ve been very impressed watching them on
Film okay now I’ll stay on the left up front John Wendell barous from loufield Sports um considering the team has gotten to this point is there any way of maybe explaining any differences or similarities this team has to maybe some past Duke teams you’ve been around as a
Player and the co and a coach just overall season there um yeah I mean absolutely there’s some similarities between other teams I think this team is unique with how they’ve done it um especially the fact you consider where we are in college basketball in 2024 and the the the fact
That these guys um you know we didn’t have any transfers this season you know we are younger uh and they’ve just continued to double down on the belief they have in each other and ultimately the tournament’s about competing you know I mean that’s really what it comes
Down to in the teams I’ve been fortunate to be on as a player or be a coach um be on staff with uh the teams have done the best have just competed the best in the tournament when it matters most and these guys have stepped up to that
Challenge um they’ve never been a group that makes excuses which is why I think they’ve gone better the last two seasons they’ve gone better through the course of the year they played their best basketball at the end uh last year was the same way and then this year has been
The same and it’s a credit to having the right people and having the right guys reminder we only have the student athletes for about 10 more minutes before they go to breakouts so if you have questions you might want to direct them to them here on the right Matt
Giles Blue Devil Country and this is for any of you guys um as a unit y’all really developed a strong personality maybe a stronger personality in Charisma than a lot of recent Duke teams maybe it kind of reminds me of maybe comparable to the 2019 team or something with Zion
And them um but how much do y’all credit Jared McCain for that and his from his Tik Tock dances to his everything to really get y’all maybe out of your uh element a little bit but grow in personality wise well I think that’s just him with the Tik toks I ain’t
Really been in too many I ain’t really been in too many Tik toks but uh wasn’t you one last night I wasn’t yeah I was in one last night but literally last night but that was my that was my only one but uh just his growth throughout the season I mean he
Started off kind of I mean as a freshman you got to go you got to go through those trials and tribulations then Tyrese goes down and um he had to step up him and Caleb had a step up and then kind of had to grow grow up fast um in
The in the Baylor game I think that’s really when he kind of took his stride and um and just played himself and I I I know his capabilities I mean we all know what jarro can do um and he’s he’s just been doing whatever takes to win I mean
He’s had four or five games where he has he’s had 10 rebounds in the game and uh he just plays just plays the win and that’s just someone you want as a freshman he’s always has that positive energy and just keeps that keeps keeps
Our spirits up too so um he’s just a joy to be around yeah I think I think his energy and confidence spreads throughout the team um through practice through games he puts so much work in um it it it reflects on court uh with his performances and you know we all have so
Much confidence in him uh he has so much confidence in himself and uh in terms of personality and stuff I feel like you know just his energy um I mean all around campus it just brings all of us up even if you know he’s not having the
Best shooting night or or he’s not playing playing the best I think that’s sort of where he’s improved this season just you know playing for for all of us and and um letting the game come to him instead of you know trying to force it Kyle you want to try that as well
Yeah I mean just backing up what they were saying Jared Jared’s one of one and uh even when he’s having a bad day or a bad game you won’t know it because he’s just so uplifting and and positive um and you know it’s really great to have on this team
Because it like they said it it it reflects on us as well and and it it helps us have each other’s backs through through the tough times too we’ll come back for questions here in the room let’s take a call from Zoom yes we have a call from Patrick
Patrick if you would unmute yourself and state your name and affiliation and then your question please yeah oh um yes my name is Patrick wearing from the NBS Sports hour a questions for Jeremy Jeremy uh of course being from the DMV I just wanted to kind of ask you I mean
Obviously you’ve experienced success at this level already but just can you kind of talk about how being from the area has prepared you uh for moments like this uh well it’s the best area in the country for basketball we just got to throw that out there right now I don’t
Care what anybody says West Coast New York New Jersey um DMV has the best the best basketball in the country um I think coach sh would would would say that too with his recruitment too well we keep going back there so something something about it um but I just I just
Think the the Competitive Edge and just um the leagues the leagues like the high school leagues that that we come from the wcac the IAC um all the Catholic leagues around I mean even even the public school leagues like the DC um Public School leagues I mean they just
Prepare you for these moments um you’re always playing in front of big crowds and people talking to you talking crazy and um it just it just keeps that competitive spirit and uh I think that’s where where I get my Competitive Edge from but just um just always playing
With great players too um just competing against great players uh just kind of prepare me for these moments okay here on the right kind of in the middle uh Chris Vini from the athletic for Jeremy and John a couple years ago you play un in the final four
Now NC State in the Elite 8 the biggest game in this rivalry what can you say about the Rivalry with NC State and what it means to Duke Jeremy uh well it’s a huge rivalry um 25 minutes from from Durham 20 minutes from Durham um played him played him twice I mean
The TR that that TR state that that that UNC Duke uh UNC is always a great matchup um just playing them um it’s always a competitive matchup um and it’s just fun playing against those guys uh we compete we compete at a high level um
But we also have the respect for for one another too well I would you say it’s you know it’s uh growing up as a player and as as a coach at Duke you learn very quickly it’s the best area in in college to for basketball you know when you have
Really the the triangle but then you add and wake Force you know all within an hour of each other I think that’s uh it’s Unique and uh so for me it’s it’s hasn’t gone into my mind at all about the fact of a rivalry about you know the
The battles in past years against NC State I think it’s just the respect level you know we’ve always had Big Time games against them uh very competitive uh they’ve had their style of playing so have we and uh you know it’s going to be a big Time battle regardless of whether
It’s in the NCAA tournament ACC tournament regular season game there’s there’s always a lot at stake and uh this is no exception toward the front on the left Tyrese wle barnhouse from learfield Sports um coming from Australia you obviously knew about Duke but when you got here to
Durham did anybody talk to you about how the you know everybody hates Duke I mean you play outside of camera and you guys are the team everybody wants to see lose did any anybody like Jeremy or anybody say hey look get ready for this because
It’s it’s really kind of tough yeah um I mean I knew about Duke uh obviously getting recruited and stuff like that but uh I didn’t realize how how hated we were until I actually got here and experienced it firsthand um you know guys prepared me for it and stuff
Like that but I mean going through it firsthand I mean you see it for yourself and uh I think it just gives us an edge and and gives us you know that edge throughout the whole season and um allows us to play play our best possible have about five minutes
Remaining in our time frame with student athletes here on the left now um runin jindel Duke Chronicle this is for any of the players but um you mentioned after the last time you played NC State you held a players only meeting um afterwards could you just talk about
Kind of the focus of that meeting and how much it helped you guys reset for for this tournament how about starting with Kyle uh we’re not really going to talk about that meeting like that as players only but I mean it was definitely a good meeting definitely a lot of
Uh a lot of words a meaningful words that came out of that meeting um we don’t want to get into all that but uh definely definitely just kind of just re-energized re-energized us uh refocused us and uh just got us to where got us to where we are where we’re at right
Now sounds good next question will be here on the right extreme right hey Glenn Gilbo from outkick.com uh Kyle and the other players if you have an opinion um do you get to watch much of the women’s game and what do you think of the women’s game particularly in the
Last year so as it’s on TV more and maybe some of the personalities yeah I mean I I I I think uh it’s been great what’s happening to to women’s basketball for for college and just them getting more of the the popularity and people giving them the respect they deserve has been
Great for basketball in general and just you know they’re they their playing the game they love just like we are and they deserve just as much as we do um so just seeing that finally start happening and them get more credit is is great to see Tyrese yeah I mean I’ve loved it
I’ve always watched uh having a younger sister I’ve always watched women’s B um and you know just just watching even last year the the uplift that the final four and stuff like that brought um I think they finally you know getting the stage that they deserve and and the
Respect that they deserve um and Shout Out Duke women’s possible good luck tonight 7 o’ watching you come um I mean it’s always enjoy watching a women’s basketball I grew up watching my sister play um my cousins play and then now I’m going to every Duke Duke women’s game um we’re all
We’re always supporting um I think it’s just like you said they’re getting the respect that they deserve um they they put our they put their shoes on and their their jerseys on the same way we do so I feel like they should um they should get they should pretty much get
Everything that we that we get um and it’s just a joy watching I mean the stars that they have I mean Angel Reese Caitlyn Clark we go we go to Duke team Reagan T like um Ashley like it’s it’s like the list goes on I mean they just
Got they got a lot of great players and I think they they should definitely get the recognition that they deserve um yeah approaching the end of our session with our student athletes anything else for the three guys okay here on the front Matt Giles Blue Devil country for
Any of you um talk about the support the Brotherhood has given you here especially since last night I mean a bunch of them were in the stands but then countless former players on Twitter uh have yall had a chance do you all have time to interact with any of them
Or just talk about the sport in general and have you have of them reached out to you personally why don’t we start with Jeremy yeah um I think for me just the support like you said the support that they give uh to us on a daily basis where they I mean
Duke is such a prominent uh school I mean you get a lot of hate and stuff like that but they’re always the ones saying like yo keep going keep going like we got your back and stuff like that so just knowing that we have the support of the older guys who came
Before us um it means a lot um it makes just want to play that much harder but I mean guys like P like Mark uh Trev Wendell like Matt Hur like those guys I still keep in contact with them like on a daily basis so uh their support means
So much to me um just their confidence that they that they give to me um and then guys like Quinn and Emil Jefferson who’s who’s been here too so um just there just those guys I mean they they they mean so much to us um and the
Support that they give us it means a lot yeah I agree I think just the support and you know it’s why we came to Duke um you know it’s outside of basketball and uh the networks and relationships that you form um while being at Duke at K
Academy and and events like that um something that you can you know cherish forever and and keep in contact and um you know everyone’s supporting everyone’s you know always reaching out um telling us what they see um I mean it’s just great cuz you know we trust
One another they’ve all been through the same road we we’re going through and um you know some advice uh will never will never hurt yeah I mean like they said uh they they’ve gone through this experience before and it’s great to get feedback and support from them as well uh just
Just them cheering us on cuz you know there are so many people rooting against us so just you know that that Brotherhood uh connection does Run Deep and it’s it’s great to have their support okay it’s 310 we will dismiss Jeremy Tyrese and Kyle to go to
Breakouts which for media is right up the steps and to the left that will go for 15 minutes thanks for coming guys and uh good luck tomorrow we’ll see you then let’s go to questions now for Coach shy and we have several hands up and
Where are we going first let’s go on the right side over here coach by the curtain KY boom with CBS Sports uh John you guys have obviously done a really good job recruiting particularly if you look at the recruiting rankings you get five stars McDonald’s all-americans uh
But this team is obviously more than just Talent seems like they’ve really clicked they like each other maybe that’s a little bit of social media that you see from from them dancing um how much do you consider personalities and and kind of team fit when you’re
Recruiting for D cuz you could just kind of go down the line and say I want this five star I want this five star how do you kind of consider that as you’re trying to build a team it’s uh it’s as important as anything just the the personality the makeup from a character
Standpoint obviously you know off the court but then the the competitiveness you have to have to succeed a Duke and the the mental toughness uh field has to be at a high level and so for us you know I learned very quickly coming on staff you have to
Say no more than you say yes and uh that’s uh um being a foreign player you know I feel even a a greater responsibility for the guys that we bring in uh talent’s never going to be enough you have to have chemistry you have to have uh guys
That want to unpack their bags and be all in for the time that they’re at Duke whether it’s a year whether it’s four years and uh so I’m fortunate you know when we recruit too it’s full disclosure and so we talk about who else we’re
Recruiting uh we put it all all out on the table because all of a sudden if there’s surprises along the way or you don’t have the the Buy in that you need to from the beginning and it gets harder to do that when you don’t know who’s
Coming back or who’s you know leaving and all that but we still do our best to be transparent and here here’s what the way it looks now and I think that that’s created a a great togetherness for our group just to stick with it and stay
Together okay Coach let’s go in the back now in front of the TV Camera hey John Luke deck from the news and observer um I know you said that there’s not a lot different about playing State here as opposed to other times but you guys did go through this
Two years ago you did play Carolina in the final four that is different I mean it’s it’s it’s a different venue it’s all different environment what can you and to a certain extent Jeremy sort of take from that experience of playing a team you know so well there’s such deep
Feelings on the national stage what what can you and him kind of take into Sunday that you learned from that well I’ll say two things with that one it it it feels different to me because there’s not such a long time in between you know and and
Two years ago there was so there’s a lot more you can think about there’s a lot more that can happen in between the two games that you play I’m talking about the the versus Arkansas in the Elite 8 to then when we play North Carolina this
This year you know so then the second thing for me um is just focusing on the prep and just focusing on what you can control it does It ultimately does not matter that it’s a team that we’ve played twice you know it matters are you getting back in transition defense are
You blocking out are you am I preparing the way that I need to like that that’s been my whole focus and uh um I mentioned earlier the the thing that’s makes a little bit different we just played these guys twice they just played us twice and so it’s not like
There’s a lot of Secrets you know out there between either one of us I think it’s pretty clear both ways you just have to execute it have to follow the game plan and you know you mentioned what can Jeremy and I do I think it’s setting the tone for the prep in the
Edge you have to have okay in the back on the right Nathan geese USA Today network uh with conference expansion you guys aren’t seeing teams like NC State nearly as much as you had in the past you get ACC is getting kind of a facelift after this
Year is there any significance to you to have this kind of game this kind of setting with two traditional ACC Powers playing with these kind of stakes haven’t thought about that as much um but you know in a world of uncertainty and not knowing what the the
Future holds uh you know you want to take advantage of every opportunity you have and uh you know look NC State I’ve had as many battles against those guys as a player as a coach almost against anybody and so the respect level is there uh the history between the two
Programs is clear to me uh but you have to put all that aside you know you really do you have to put it all aside and focus on what you need to do to win in Elite eight game uh but uh you want to take advantage of the opportunity when you’re
Here media listening and on Zoom if you have a question please raise your hand coach now on the back on the left side all right lane Higgins from The Wall Street Journal and uh you know your opponent last night with Houston you know is a team that’s been one in the
Rankings for most of the season and the team you’re about to play is one that’s sort of playing with house money and that you know you’re not even supposed to be here and it’s almost a little bit like UNC two years ago when they made that run to the championship game you
Know do you prepare your team differently when you are facing a team that sort of has these you know loose team of Destiny Vibes to it compared to a team that you know maybe has a little bit more expectations and pressure about you know where they expect to end the
Tournament you know I I think it’s important for our team to understand context and uh not just the the the X Ando scouting report of a team but also the the mental makeup and where they’re at uh the the thing I’ll say uh about NC State is they went into yesterday’s game
Every game they’ve played you know including ours when we played in the ACC tournament believeing they’re supposed to win like there there there’s no surprises with them like they’re they’re not leaving the the court celebrating they believe they’re supposed to win and so to me I know it’s an orthodox how
They’ve gone here winning the ACC tournament that way but you’re playing a team right now that is as confident as anybody will play including Houston so uh although it’s different how they’ve gone here to me it’s the same approach and doesn’t matter if you’re favored doesn’t matter what you’re seated uh
What matters is what you can what you control when the ball goes up and and the the further The Season’s gone along for us the more that’s been our talk and the more that’s what we focused on and um we’re not going to stop doing that now for this game inside aisle
Now no fleshman from the wolf Packer you know you talked about playing them twice and you saw them at I guess their lowest point in the regular season and then you know now in the tournament what does it say about Coach Keats and you as a coach
You know seeing how he’s been able to turn it around and get the team to really Buy in over these last eight games well it’s funny uh you know we actually spoke after uh they won the acz championship and uh I just reached out to congratulate him and he called me and
Uh I was just so impressed obviously I said I I wish it didn’t happen against us but that was a big- time run you guys went on and uh you know he’s done an amazing job and you know I think you learn a lot about yourself but also
About your your players your team and moments like that where your back is up against the wall and clearly his guys will do anything for them and uh the way they’ve played the way they’ve responded um the coaching job he’s done is clear to me like it’s uh a ton of
Respect for him um and uh he’s got his guys playing the best basketball of the season and that’s what you want to do as a coach if you can do that in March uh says a lot about you and and the job that you’ve done and he’s clearly done
That we will take another question here in the room and then go to zoom so now on the left Don finol with the Duke Chronicle obviously there’s three ACC teams in the elite a year after year seems like the ACC has success is there something unquantifiable about the ACC
That maybe metrics Overlook or what do you think the reason is that ACC teams seem to overperform year after year I um I think it’s uh I don’t know as a league I don’t think as a league right now we’ve figured out how to do our non-conference schedule you know like
That is if you look at a couple different leagues uh they’ve been better with that and ultimately you can say it’s not fair or whatever you have to do what is going to qualify you for the tournament and uh that’s something we need to get organized with and on the same page
With the position we put ourselves in once we start playing each other uh other leagues have less games against conference their conference teams we have 20 games uh but so that’s one thing and then the second thing is I’ve always felt with the ACC uh the diversity of
Opponent that you see uh prepares you to play anybody and uh you know we play uptempo uh we play some teams that are slower paced you see physicality you see athleticism you see shooting uh up until Syracuse this year you always saw zone you know you still see some Zone but you
Always knew you would see that you see switching uh defense uh so the Styles I think is what helps prepare different teams so I think the success of you know having almost half the teams in the elite a three out of eight last year really every year the success I think is
Based on uh playing different opponents through the ACC season let’s go to zoom okay we have another question from Patrick Patrick please unmute yourself and uh restate your name and affiliation followed by your question please hey coach uh Patrick wearing from the NBS Sports hour um I kind of wanted
To go back to you when I asked the question of Jeremy I heard you say we keep going back as far as the DMV um can you kind of share a little bit just just what you see in players from the DMV I mean Jeremy of course is there now
Trevor was there I mean even if we went years back before even before your time you know you had a guy named uh Kenneth Blakey that came from the area but can you just kind of talk about the the DMV yeah are you from the DMV by chance I
Feel like you’re yes sir yeah that’s I I respect that and uh look the the history of our program you can go all the way back you can go back to Johnny Dawkins and Tommy Amer you can go to to Grant Hill uh Brian Davis Nolan Smith um Kenny
Blatney uh obviously most recently uh Quinn cook you know Quinn would you know be so pissed at me if I didn’t mention him uh he’s the ultimate a DMV guy um but we’ve had a great tradition of guys from that area and uh you know Jeremy spoke about it but the level of
Competition uh how how guys are battle tested uh that’s always been something that’s important for us and most recently you have Jeremy you have Trevor kills we have two guys signed uh Darren Harris uh Patrick gangba who are just terrific players they’ve gone to pvi which is one of the Premier schools in
The country uh playing for Team Takeover so they see they’re in Big Time moments so by the time they get to us uh you know they’re not afraid of competition you know they’re not afraid of the the spotlight or the moment which is half the battle and so you know we’ll uh
We’ll continue to recruit that area and hopefully guys still see the picture and the vision at Duke but uh it’s definitely been one of the best places for us uh of anywhere okay back in the interview room up front Matt Giles Blue Devil country um coach the first three games here in
The NCAA tournament the points allow is very similar to 2010 and 2015 holding every opponent under 60 so the first part of this question is how does maybe this Duke defense stack up to those two or alltime great Duke defenses and then I’m curious how often you use as an
Inspirational tool past Duke game signature wins like the UNLV game in 91 is any of this requ re ired watching from your team or I mean do you require them to watch or learn some of this or is that healthy should they find their own identity yeah uh the to your first
Question about our defense you know I’m just proud of what we’ve done you know it’s been uh you have to you have to guard the ball first and foremost and our perimeter I think has done a great job uh our backline has really moved well you know helping each other so
That’s been great to see and to hold our three opponents to well below their season average uh it’s what your defense needs to do in the tournament it needs to be elevated and I don’t know where it Compares right now to 2010 or 2015 but I
Do know uh it’s at the level that it needs to be to have a chance to win in these moments and then each round you go it needs to take another step up and NC State is a heck of a challenge and we need to do that um and then I always
Bring up personal experiences or past history of our program because I think it’s important to understand the jersey that you’re wearing what it represents you know teams don’t just play you for individually who you are they play it for what Duke means and the success throughout the history of our program
Obviously coach Kay has taken it to a completely different level during his time and um so going into the tournament I brought up my first experiences you know playing as a freshman in buffalo against VCU you know I’ve brought up Great Moments too that I’ve seen that I’ve watched we
Just actually shared back there um with the guys my first memory was the 92 team and then 94 you know which is you look at the history of our program five national championships uh it can it can easily be more off one play and it can easily be
Less off of One play and so just using past moments uh to understand the the value of every possession you know like just being present in the moment and uh that’s been something I’ll always talk about as long as I’m the head coach here because I’m so proud of the history and
You you can’t take for granted where you come from what the guys before you have done uh to put Duke in the position it’s in now have about five minutes to go on this interview session let’s go in the back and then we will come up to the
Front hi coach fash tyur with Carolina Blitz leading up to I guess this entire NCAA tournament run it seems as if Duke was kind of playing an underdog role even nationally I people were picking JMU and then heading into Houston do you feel like your team has
Thrived in that in that space of Underdog and maybe even proving doubters wrong yeah I would uh I’d be lying to you if I said our guys don’t see that or if we don’t see that stuff right it’s impossible not to hear anything or or hear nothing um so I think that’s field
Of the fire for our guys and for our team but at the same time it’s it’s been it’s been a different kind of season you know like I mean the preseason you know people are saying you can’t lose and things like that and then
It it’s it’s so hot and cold you it just it’s incredibly hot and cold how it can be and you just have to stay steady you know you just you know I tell our guys all the time they probably get sick of me hearing it but you’re not as bad as
People say you’re you’re not as bad as people say you are right now after you lose and I tell them after wins you’re not as good as people say you are you know you just have to be really steady and so uh I told them right before we
Found out where we’re going I said look you’re going to hear predictions on air people are going to say what’s going to happen in our bracket it literally does not matter uh 2010 they said we’d be the first one seat out we won the whole thing uh
Last year I think a lot of people picked us to win it and uh we lost early uh I could go through each season it’s why nobody’s ever had a perfect bracket there’s lots of reasons but uh it’s you can’t predict you have to focus
On what you can control and uh so I don’t know about what our what what our players would say if they feel they’re the underdog or not uh but I do know they’re proud they’re competitive and so when people say they can’t do something I think that gets them more motivated uh
To prove people wrong but also to do it for themselves that they that they can win they can accomplish what they want here closing questions now for Coach our up front coach I was wondering what you might think of the some of the personalities of the of the women’s
Coaches including the men who coach the women seems like they’re not quite as careful as maybe as some as the some of the men coaches I have no idea yeah I I I can’t speak on that I have no idea I don’t I don’t pay attention to men’s coaches and
What they say you know so but uh I don’t know what you mean by that but I can’t I can’t speak on that okay um just a general what do you think of uh Caitlyn Clark’s deep shots and just her game in general yeah Caitlyn Clark is a killer
You know she’s she’s who I always want to be as a player you know to shoot with range and you know not afraid of any moment she’s uh off the charts and as a coach you want any of your players to have her competitive Spirit you know her
Shooting and scoring is Elite uh and special but to me it’s the heart that she plays with the competitive spirit that separates her and so uh you know I’ve I’ve loved watching her play they’ve had a terrific year she’s had a terrific career and uh she’s been a joy to watch
Coach you think we have one on the left inside aisle yes sir Rob mcclam from inside pack Sports State runs seven players primarily but they still find a way to kind of go two three deep one through five and then of course Burns and Horn are the key guys but the other
Five seem to find a way to contribute every game how unique is this NC State team from a coaching perspective to look at and how difficult is it to prepare for this version of what the Wolfpack are right now well I I think you have to start with they they’ve they’ve
Developed great rooll definition and uh you know horn and burns are they’re a lethal combo the two of them to score but then other guys do such a good job playing their role and they have good size good positional size they have good versatility and so they
Can go big if they need to you know midle Brooks and burns have played together they can go small you know with diara playing the five which they haven’t done but they can if they need to they can play Four guards on the court uh so you know like you mentioned it’s
Seven players primarily that play but the versatility allows them to put a lot of different lineups on the court and that’s why I think it’s challenging no matter what they can match down to you they can match up uh they can speed you up their athleticism uh so it’s uh but
But to me though it’s the role definition they’ve created and developed the last couple of weeks that has allowed for that to happen okay our 40-minute window is concluded thanks uh coach thank you and your and your student athletes for coming we’ll let you go to practice and look forward
To seeing you tomorrow thank you okay thank you good luck coach okay thank you thank you okay we will begin with NC State at uh 3:40 what that woman’s arm had been up forever you okay a lot for okay yeah DJ Burns next one I want is I don’t think it’s been up
Here we have for than come for e for e e e little dj bird for those of you in the uh media workroom we are scheduled to begin our news conference in 60 seconds or so so you want to wrap up and come in here if you’re going to cover NC State’s news
Conference uh this press conference for uh NC state coach is scheduled will be here for the duration 40 minutes and the uh student athletes will be released at uh 4:00 straight up to report two breakouts which are up the steps and to the left when you come out of the media workroom
So we will have the student athletes on stage for 20 minutes coach Keats on stage 440 or that’s the schedule time anyway what’s yeah uh will I think you’re okay hey what’s the story on on breakouts on uh taking video and breakouts that’s what I thought
Just receive word that uh NC State is heading this way so they have left their locker room and they have arrived guys I’m a junior myself oh that’s awesome hey coach abely how was practice it’s good very good all right we are ready to begin with the wolf pack of North Carolina
State uh coach Uh Kevin Keats student athletes Michael oconnell muhamad diara and DJ Burns Jr I’ve been leaving Junior off DJ I’m sorry so we’ll get that straight for the rest of the rest of the championship uh we will take a question for Coach to start things off and then
The student athletes will be released at 4:00 to report to breakouts so my advice you might want to um concentrate some of your questions toward the three guys and we’ll have plenty of time for Coach Keats after we release them okay first question for Coach I think we have one on your right
Toward the middle uh Chris V the athletic for uh coach and DJ the fact that this game is Duke the Rivalry what does that add to it’s already a monster game yeah I don’t I know it’s a I know it’s a rivalry and we’re down the street
For one another but when you get to this point you know I was sitting there I was sitting with a group of friends last night as we were watching the game and everybody you know of course everybody in the room wants to know who you want
To play and I just said hey when you get to this point you’re blessed to be here and you’ll take the opportunity to play whoever you get a chance to play um you know luckily we have played Duke a couple times so we are a little bit more
Familiar with those guys um but they playing really good basketball and they’re doing a great job with it but it’s not one of those things um where we were just you know rooting for one team over the other I know for um a lot of NC
State fans it was going to come down today were hoping that it would be very similar to 83 and playing Houston but unfortunately it didn’t work that way so we’re excited we just we know that you know when you get down to eight teams left in the entire country to play and
The entire basketball everybody’s good and do even though we played them 18 days ago it’s a different team and we’re a different team also who is it you said you wanted awesome okay DJ no I honestly feel the same way I don’t think that he left anything unset
It okay I think our next question will go on the left on the inside aisle yeah Rob mclan for inside pack Sports this is for all the players you play for a coach who started as a D3 player coach prep school and he’s grown in his his life to
The point where he’s a champion he provides for his family provides for y’all speak to that to playing for Coach Keats does that Inspire y’all and the impact he’s had on you guys let’s start with Michael on that one yeah I mean I would say that just speaks to his
Dedication throughout it all you know he never obviously started at a lower level s to speak but I mean he always had confidence in himself to he’s going to rise to the occasion and try to take the next step in life um so when you’re playing for a guy like that it always
Gives you the confidence that when you’re out there it doesn’t matter if you’re quote unquote playing a better team or better competition where you’re just going to go out there and fight and do what you got to do and you know it can work out Mohammed oh yeah that
Inspire me cuz like I got the same like same way that coach key like I’m com from nothing and he inspir me a lot and he never quit he got winner mentality and we got the same thing in us so appreciate you coach thank you Mo and DJ too
Also yeah um man yeah I feel like um it kind of plays into you know the way that our team was built you know a lot of us come from other schools you know not necessarily at the highest levels um and he’s the same way you know we all fought
To get here and I think that that’s why it’s so important to us and that’s why we have such a sense of urgency okay let’s go on the right thanks Brett friedlander Saturday Road um DJ which do you enjoy more backing a guy in and scoring or getting the double
Team firing out and having somebody else score because yesterday most of those assists the look that you were giving the crowd and everybody else kind of suggests that you had a lot of fun doing that um I would say um that’s part of the game I like them both equally I like
Um all plays that amount to winning so I don’t really have a favorite way to do things as long as we win I’m fine how much fun was that last night though oh man last night was it was really fun you know um if you’re going to double team
I’m going try my best to make you pay so I’m glad we were able to get that done yeah tied his career high and assists pretty good okay let’s swing back to the extreme left now for Michael and DJ Steph hog with the AP just talk about
How different you see your team from the time you played Duke in the regular season to the time in the tournament and then from then to now yeah I mean I think the whole season has kind of been grow I me from the beginning the season until now we’ve
Been changing as a team and growing and chemistry has been getting better and you know you learn more about each other and that helps you on the court so from the first time we played them obviously we didn’t do things the best but we learned from there we continue to grow
Played them the second time worked in our favor but from there we’ve still been growing as a team chemistry has still been growing our confidence has been growing in each other so um and probably the same as for them too obviously as they’ve been winning games and playing together they’re you know
You grow stronger together um yeah but for us it’s just been a journey of growth and it’s been great to this point DJ uh I would say I think it’s pretty obvious that you know both teams are playing really good basketball a lot better than the first time we played
Each other and especially to this point now um so I think it’ll be very interesting this even I think our next question will come on the right by the curtain Cory Smith with pack Pride on 247 Sports this is for Mo and DJ uh you know talking to
Flip outside he said one of the big things that led to them losing that second game was you guys creating those Second Chance opportunities and and being more physical down low how important is that going to be tomorrow against this Duke team again DJ uh I say it’s going to be very
Important um their a team who can really go at you and be aggressive as well so I think that that’ll be one of the key things is who is more aggressive in the post yeah I would say um we got to create the same opportunity like if you
Got to match up and we can crash the board and go out them we gonna do it and that’s why we played so great last game and we’re GNA do the same thing okay in the middle here on the left side hi Griffin Cunningham agromeck and technician this is kind of a two-parter
For coach and then the players um I know this might not be where your head’s at but how cool is it to uh be in the elite eight with the women’s team as well and then just for the players what kind of relationship do you guys have with the
Women’s team coach I think it’s I think it’s cool I mean I I think it’s what a unique story that you know you got two programs that’s um playing at the same and literally yesterday played at the same time and and both made the um Elite
Eight and you know Wes and I are really really close um when you think about our paths we kind of started in a similar path and you know obviously started at the D3 level and you know mid major when he was at chatt nuga and me at UNCW and
For us to be here and you know living a dream with the opportunity to coach um you know great ladies and great men and teach them the right way um it’s it’s it’s it’s great I mean it really is they players and our players um they’re
Connected like you know they come to our games and we go to their games and we celebrate with them and they celebrate with us and um it’s really like a family atair when you think about the the two basketball programs and not just that I think our whole athletic department is
Kind of you know bonded by you know the respect that each team has for one another but when you talk about you know they have a Common Thread we’re basketball players and coaches and it’s really a special deal like if you were you were able to be around our campus
And see the support and you know just that we give one another you would you would say it’s great it’s amazing didn’t you say you wanted all three guys to respond as well yeah okay Michael we’ll start with you yeah I think Co coach kind of you know hit it
On the head the idea that a whole athletic department and all the teams are pretty close and we all kind of support each other as a whole like no matter what sport is or who’s playing people always go out and support or just like viewing the games and stuff and
Whenever you see each other around campus always congratulate each other stop the talk so um I we’re definitely I think we’re pretty close to the women’s team um we’re pretty happy they’re winning the games and hopefully they can keep going and win it all and you know
We just support them along the way Mohammad oh yeah like the team is great the women team is great they play good all the time all year long and yeah I want to congrat them to show to the elite eight and play out the next level
DJ yeah I say um I love what the women’s team is doing you know they they just played you know a great stford team and took care of them and man they’ve been doing their thing all year um they did what we were trying to do in the regular
Season as well so you know they they’ve did their thing and you know we were just talking to them last night you know over the phone of course but um man we’re all close you know that’s what it’s all about it’s not just them it’s like the whole athletic department you
Know which is like a little family let’s go to zoom now for our next question okay we have a question from Roger Roger if you would unmute yourself and please state your name and affiliation followed by your question uh Roger Ruben from news day in New York it’s a question for all three
Players um sometimes we talk about March Madness and there’s this notion of a Cinderella do any of you have a strong reaction either positively or negatively to this idea that NC State is a Cinderella in this tournament and what’s the reason for your answer let’s begin with DJ and come back toward
Me uh if that’s what you want to call it that’s cool but um that’s not how we feel and I’ll just leave it at that honestly uh I don’t know what that means though I don’t think I bought it yeah uh I mean yeah I mean we’ll I guess
We go with whatever label but at the end of the day we we know we can win games we know we can compete with a lot of people so I don’t know necessarily if we just want to run with that title but it is what it
Is okay back in the room now let’s go on the back by the TV Camera hey there lean Higgins from The Wall Street Journal DJ this is for you as well as you coach um you know DJ you’ve been on this team you know this is your second year now and it
Seems like all of this you know national attention is finally swirling around you right now and yet you know you’ve been sort of doing your thing as a big guy musling your way through the paint like for a long time now so why do you think it’s taken this long and maybe this
Stage to really become sort of like this darling of the NCAA tournament in some ways I think honestly it’s because um they no one expected us to be here at this point but us so um yeah I guess you know and everyone else’s eyes it is a Cinderella story so you know they’re
They’re going to pay attention now that we’re winning but when we were losing it didn’t really matter so may no I think I think I I tell these guys all the time and uh March is for players I mean how many times have you went into March and you
Really didn’t know you know a player and you came out of March and said man good he’s pretty good um DJ Burns has been around for a long time but you know um his personality his play has really opened the eyes to a lot of folks across
The country and you know it March is not about the coaches at all I mean players make plays and March and and that’s what’s happening with this group and you know a lot of our guys from Michael to Mo uh to DJ you know the national audience may not have known who they
Were but they do now because obviously the way they’re playing and how far we have gone as a team we have five minutes remaining before we dismiss the stud athletes to go to breakouts next question on the right side toward the front hey Glenn Gilbo from outkick.com uh for the
Players um how much did you guys know about the 1983 team and coach valano before you got to NC State and and then what did you learn or hear as your stay at as you stayed at North Carolina State let’s begin with Michael and then move
Down the table yeah I mean coming into NC State I you know you know a little bit about but I didn’t know the whole like full in depth and details and everything but as I’ve been here throughout this whole year you kind of you learn more about it through you know
The basketball program itself are just people like the fans kind of giving you a little bit of insight so it’s been pretty cool to learn a lot more about it as Times Gone on uh before come in I don’t even know like the team so uh yeah but it was fun
To learn and we meet them uh several time this year and it was pretty cool they they sh The Experience everything and we love it yes yeah uh yeah um I known a little bit you know just being a basketball fan but um most of my knowledge prior to coming
Here and learning and you know meeting some of the guys myself would be the the 30 for 30 that’s probably the extent of my knowledge prior to okay let’s go on the back and then we’ll come up to the front David teal with the Richmond Times Dispatch Kevin
You didn’t grow up far from Greensboro just up Route 29 what would tomorrow be like in the Greensboro Coliseum if Duke and state were playing in the elite eight if it was in Greensboro yeah oh man you must have been you trying to take a dig at beay huh that’s what no
It listen Dallas is a great place and I’m not going to you know obviously we’re going to I think we’re going to have just as many fans here as we would have have Greensboro and you know my heart you know Greensboro is Greensboro I grew up you know in Lynchburg Virginia
Watching the tournament in Greensboro and it was such a special unique place um it’s funny I was thinking about it last night like man we both could have just flown home and played this game somewhere probably at the PNC would be a good idea um but it’s it’s um it it’s
Going to be a great you know opportunity whether we played in greensbor would it been great at greensbor absolutely um but they’re not hosting a region this time so we got to play it here and the folks of Dallas have been great um you know NC State I hope we’ve treating the
Uh treated the um the Dallas folks great and I hope they all come out and wear red because we will welcome them to do that tomorrow you say you want one of the student athletes as well or okay now up front right here Muhammad uh I believe now seven straight games with double
Figure rebounds I your average for the regular season was like half as many as you’ve been averaging in the tournament what has been the difference and and how have you managed to to know to maintain your stamina considering the fast and everything uh I just crou the ball all
The time like that’s who I am and my team know I’m a good rebounder and uh I’m go crash all the time but I don’t manage that like I just onc Bay then get a rebound out many like I can’t that’s it before we let them go do we have any
Questions um remaining questions for Michael Mohammad and DJ looking for hands I don’t think so so guys I think we’re done with your questions from the interview room we’ll excuse you to go back to um breakouts this time for about another 15 minutes but you’re going to
Stay with me coach you’re not going anywhere just playing with you thanks for coming good luck we will see you guys tomorrow okay Coach is going to stay with me questions for him and I think the first one will go on coach’s extreme rights Dan walk in USA Today Kevin how
Would you describe the challenge of differentiating your program you know at a time and in a location where so much of the attention goes to Duke and UNCC and yet you know you guys have a you know tremendous history tremendous fan base and tremendous expectations yeah I think
Like any place you have to carve out your own space you know um I’m into Shark Tank so I watch that all the time and we talk about having Chef space and how do you get you know your product on the shelf and everything else you know
Well the one thing I’ve always you know when I took this job I’ve never wanted to be compared to Duke or U Carolina just not who I am and we do things a little bit different and you know we want to you know obviously I try to be
And get our guys to be the best version of themsel our program to be the best version of those ourselves um but we’ve done a good job I mean you think about you know just over the you know last couple years in general you know we’re
One of three teams that have made the NCAA tournament Duke Us in Virginia in in the last two years by their s and you know now we’re on this you know nice run um because we’ve carved space out and we’re doing things our way and um not
Trying to be someone else uh we’re you know you know I thought about this we have two M stones that has not happened in at NC State a long time you know that um ACC Championship since um 87 the you know Elite 8 since 86 I think I’m right
When I say that um you know we’ve done a good job we’re Champions and you know that’s something that you want to strive to be and we still have an opportunity to win another championship in another tournament so doesen um this is great for our fan base because I know
Obviously they get involved with it as much as anybody but I love where we at and love what we’re doing as a program again on Extreme rights Kevin lucock from the news and observer John said earlier that he reached out to you after you guys won and that you actually
Called him back and you guys had a conversation what you get a lot of congratulatory texts and messages why did you call John back and what did you guys talk about about well I last night when I got to my phone I probably had 500 text messages and um I responded to
Each one um that’s just who I am but I have a lot of respect for the coaches in our league and you know and not I shouldn’t even say just our league just around the country if somebody’s going to take time to reach out to me then
That’s the least least thing I can do is reach out and talk and have a conversation and I thought it was great and and through this run um I’ve had Luke I’ve had plenty of our coaches in our league and Co coaches across the country reach out we’re small fraternity
I know there’s a lot of competition and on game day we’re going to everybody’s going to go at each other but throughout that you know I think it’s important that we do talk about our conference we do talk about different things that we go through and I thought it was you know
Great for John to reach out coach let’s move all the way to the extreme left now and then we will go to zoom Steph Hawkins with the AP I’m GNA ask you what I asked the players what do you sense really different from your team’s meeting against Duke the regular season
To the tournament to now yeah you know we we be we have become really a very stingy basketball team on the defensive end our defense and numbers are so great um you know you think about last night just in general four for 31 against a very good Marquette team who can shoot
The ball behind the three-point line um you know we our deflections are up I try to chart you know you know we try to get 40 deflections a game I try to chart them every game and our deflections are up uh we our ball screen coverage has become better you know I thought
Initially we established ourself against Marquette in the first 10 minutes on the defensive end and then we got going offensively I think it’s just our defense have improved and our guys are connected more on the defensive end than we’ve been you know during the regular season let’s go to zoom okay we have
Another question from Roger Roger please unmute yourself and then restate your name and affiliation and proceed with your question hey Roger Ruben from news day in New York uh coach it’s a question about Michael oconnell and uh the qualities that he brings to the team since uh since you guys have gotten onto
This winning streak I believe he’s played at least 30 minutes in every game can you describe what it is about his game that you think is so important to have on the court to win well he’s playing with so much confidence like Michael in the regular season would go through a game and
Didn’t care if he took two shots and and now you know going into this postseason we’ve asked him to do a little bit more he’s a great distri distributor but we’ve asked him to score the basketball and he’s done that I mean you look at his numbers you know I think
The two most three most important guys in the postseason that have added something to our team is mik Michael Mo and then Ben you know all of those guys have added something that they that we didn’t have regular season I also think he’s found his voice you know it takes a
Little bit time for transfers to come in and find their voice even though he’s an older guy and now he’s coaching on the floor everything that I Envision of him being a point guard is what’s happening he scores when we need a basket he passes it most of the time to get
Everybody involved and his leadership in the locker room and doing timeouts have been really huge for us and I think that’s the biggest steps okay front of the TV Camera now coach I was struck watching warm-ups yesterday just looking at the body language of your team versus Marquette
You guys look so loose and excited and you know obviously there’s a sense maybe of playing with house money and that you know this is a every game is sort of a bonus but at the same time you know as you get farther along in the tournament
The expectations do ramp up so you know how have you been addressing that you know aspect of this tournament run get weird we are loose I mean we we listen to a lot of music I mean we you know we were we were going um you know to to go
Through a walkth through this morning and I’ve learned so many and I I grew up in a era where they were great you know you know rappers and we we had great rap songs and I I know I’m I got a bunch of them but I’ve learned so many different
Songs different rap songs I’ve never seen here’s the other thing about it we just don’t listen to rap too on game day coming back from shoot around we we we put on gospel music and we’re blasting that is just as much as we are the rap
Songs and they they know every word to each one of them so we’re loose uh the the host money thing we don’t we don’t look at it at Host money we didn’t come here to say hey you’ve won enough and just goddamn play and you have nothing
To lose we do think we have something to lose we came to win and so we don’t count of that you know and and that’s I understand obviously that’s the way it looks when you you come in as a 11 seed and you’re in the elite eight but
Honestly these guys are here to win you know okay in the back now on the right Kevin Adam tyer from ESPN you said a couple minutes ago you thought Duke was a much different team than when you played him a few weeks ago why what do
You see different in them now than you didn’t maybe see a couple weeks ago I think the veterans um Philip you know I’m calling him a veteran because obviously he’s a you know second-year guy but he’s playing much more aggressive um I think more early in the year he was
More outside in now he’s more inside out and he’s scoring in so many different ways and playing great you look at the way Jeremy roach is playing you know he’s playing like a guy who’s been in the league who’s been around for a long time a guy who is you know obviously
Playing in the NCAA tournament at a high level um you know they the older guys are helping the young guys I mean they just are they’re doing a great job and um I think that’s the big biggest difference in those guys and and the other one as a team they’re better
Defensively um than I’ve seen even two weeks ago now toward the front Kevin obviously it works both ways but strictly from your standpoint how much of it an advantage with the quick turnaround is it to prepare for a team that you’ve already played twice in the last month
As opposed to somebody you’re seeing for the first time yeah that I I guess you’re you’re right it works both ways um it it probably helps both teams because we got such a short turnaround and you know just we’re familiar and you know John’s like me can we put in 20
Different plays today no um so we you know everybody at this point you’re going to be who you are I think it helps that we know each other but you think about what we had to go through in the ACC tournament we didn’t even have the
One day in between to prepare and so we just it’s almost weird because when we when we got to the NC a tournament and we won our our first game I’m thinking we’re going to play the next day because we’re so used to playing and then you
Realize you got a day in between so I it helps um but at this I told you guys before at the beginning of this at you know when it comes to March players make plays I mean we we going to as as a as coaches we pull a lot of strings and we
Substitute guys and we try to put them in great spots but you see so many story lines with guys who are just making plays okay now here on the inside aisle on coach’s left Rob mcclam with inside pack Sports if you don’t mind sir I have two questions my first I asked them
About your background D3 player the prep Louisville the national championship so much of this prepares you in life for this moment how much of it are you drawing from that and just how how meaningful has your past experience to helping you get where you are now well I want to be an
Inspiration I mean I don’t I you never want to hide from where you came from and you know I I spent you know um a lot of time at prep school at hard grade Military Academy and started off as a assistant for a couple years got the
Head job left went to college and then came back for eight years so I had a total of 12 years but during that time you know I didn’t have it wasn’t a national media thing I could call timeouts I could draw up plays I could you know practice um you know make
Practice plans and if I made a mistake nobody cared just wasn’t you know but I could lean on that because it helped me get better and then obviously you know my experience of going on to be assistant coach you know I was fortunate enough to be a part of the you know 2013
National Championship team in Louisville when we climbed on the top of the Nets and cut the Nets down I work for a guy a great coach in Rick patino that you know challenged you every day and we would do scouting reports and I couldn’t have any
Paper in my hand and I had to remember 30 plays and present it to the team that’s also helped me because now I can remember if if I’m in a in a huddle I can remember a play that back in the Big East when Pittsburg R ran a play you
Know five years ago and I want to present that play to my team I can do that stuff so my experiences at you know the high school grassroot level um being an assistant coach and then going to UNCW when I had my first job as a mid
Major has paid off so much uh I hope that I’m inspiring a lot of people because you don’t have to be just uh you know a power five player um to be you know a power five head coach there’s other ways to get there and you look
Across the country some of the the best coaches in the world have come from the same path that I I’ve traveled and I love it I I think it’s great I if I can share with any you know inspiring um young lady young man you
Know to to work hard and get where you are I’m the um you’re sitting here looking at hard work I drove the bus said hard grave I you know I pumped the gas I swept the floor I washed the clothes and uh man I did this the good
Lord put me in this spot so I’m glad to be herec I’m sorry so much of NC State is based on history and Heritage and that’s like an end all be all at Wolf Pack obviously you’re aligning yourself with the great teams in the past but are you
Sort of trying to find that balance where hey let’s create our own history let’s create our own Mark in this University you know I think history is great and you know we do have great history uh but what I’m learning is we’ve got great history but it’s been so
Long ago I mean you think about this when we won the championship and we’re reminded that it’s been 37 years and then obviously we go to the lead 8 it’s we we’re reminded of how long it’s been I hope that history gets a chance to repeat itself because um this team
Deserves it um I love this group and if you know they’ve already uh etched their um way into the history books by winning an ACC Championship we’re going to hang a banner and those those guys in that locker room are going to be the um you
Know the reason why that Banner has been hung hadn’t happened in 37 years where the elite eight they’re going to be remembered for that but as we move on I do hope history repeats itself because we got great history it’s just been a long time you know we’ll continue on
Coaches left and then move to the right hey Griffin Cunningham technician in agromech um before the ACC title run there was a lot of speculation about what would happen with the team next year whether you would be the head coach um how do you how did you dispel and
Confront those those speculations and how do you feel about Coach turnover at all levels in sports yeah I think I think if you I think if you watched us over the you know last seven years I don’t think that you would feel that way
And here’s why I say this is you when I took over this program um they were coming off of four wins and five wins in the conference and by the way when I did my first opening um right before practice I did my first um press conference uh it was mentioned that you
Know the FBI is investigating us so I went through four years of not getting a recruit losing recruits not knowing what the NCAA was going to do to us and and we did it and and our St and we walked through you know the program through it
As Champions and never complained um we started off our first year after taking over the program we went straight to the NCAA tournament should have went back the next year when we were 33 in the net and got left out then we had a year when they didn’t have the tournament so we’ve
Had some of those bad lucks and and it’s now it’s paying off at the end because at the end of the day we have built the program but year one two and three were not Year One two and three at normal years years because of the scrutiny that
We had uh anybody who has you know had a new program while they were going through that NCAA investigation if you remember uh the FBI agent came out and said we got your playbook anybody that was a new coach they had to go through that if you were a sitting coach doing
That you were able to keep your culture and everything else but we play musical chairs a lot because of that part of it so I know it’s a long answer but you know I I never worry about that um I poured everything I have into my program
Into my kids and um to be honest with you I just relied on my faith and I left everything in a good Lord’s hand and whatever was going to happen was going to happen but I was going to make sure that I did everything that I could and
Did everything right by those young men we have about five minutes left in this session we’ll try to squeeze in these three questions on the right now on the front coach uh is there anyone in the athletic department close to the program at the school or or at the school that
That was there in 83 that’s still at North Carolina state that that you’ve met or oh yeah you know Derek whittenberg is he’s on staff in the athletic department and um he’s for yeah dere Derek’s former other than them uh God that’s a tough one you know
Maybe Bobby pel who just you know he’s head of the whack Club he just retired a couple years ago um we got a great you know we got a you know some great you know guys who work around our buildings and do all of the Dirty Work and the
Great stuff to make sure that everything is fine for us who may have been there I don’t I don’t know if there’s anybody else but I I bring up Derek whittenberg because you know on that uh air ball that he shot he’s been getting nil since
He shot that airball he he says it’s the pass and so what we did not know is that nil started a long time Um I’m happy I joke with him at in DC I was like man you’re the last guy standing from the DMV at that point it was him and Amando Bok I was like whoever wins that game is going to win the DMV um and you you can explain to
Some of these guys later on what DMV means most of them won’t know that part of it but okay closing questions now for Coach streamr Kevin how much has it added to this experience of the last two weeks have your son in the locker
Room yeah it’s it’s a god it’s a it’s a wonderful deal and I never would have thought that you know I never coming up I was that Dad that would go to the high school games and I would sit by myself because fans are crazy at high school
Games parents are crazy and they would talk trash and then everybody would look at me when the referee would make a bad call because I was a coach and I wouldn’t respond I wouldn’t I just would look straight ahead and I never really try to coach him at the games because I
Knew all all eyes would be on me to figure out you know he cuz I could validate whether it’s a bad call or not and I did most of my coaching when he got home we would sit down and talk um but I love both of my kids and it was
It’s great you know we we talked about you know what was he going to do for college and you know uh he said I wanted to kind of go to n State and stay with you and um secretly that was a great deal because I was so pumped about that
I loved it and it’s great to have him around you know he does um you know I just it’s just great it’s it’s a it’s hard to describe uh unless you have a son who has played for you or a daughter who have played for you but um he brings
A lot of value he’s he’s smart I don’t know what path he’s going to take uh I’m going to do my best to convince him not to get into coaching I’m going tell him about that stuff but it’s special it’s really special and um I get to the
Problem with it is I get more time to see him uh than his mother and he lives in the same we you know he we right there in the same area he doesn’t come home and she complains to me and I said uh and who by the way he loves the death
But you know once those kids go to college I don’t care if they’re 10 minutes away or they’re five hours away they’re going to stay away unless they have to come home for the dirty clothes or something like that but it’s special it’s it’s it means everything to
Me hey coach thank you so much we out of time and thanks guys we appreciate you coming we’ll see you tomorrow good luck appreciate you thank you coach see you were at the vill I work Kentucky Derby every year oh yeah yeah good I’ll see you yeah yeah yeah DC Maryland Virginia
That’s right just called it DC Maryland Virginia and I’m moving to Maryland the bore see you coach thank you am
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