All-Access at the 1st/2nd rounds in San Diego: Notre Dame press conference

Posted on March 17, 2022 by Jon Teitel

The NCAA tournament is about basketball but also so much more: the fans, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The 1st/2nd rounds are taking place in 8 cities around the country and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is covering all of the angles so you can look forward to a cascade of coverage in the days ahead. Jon Teitel commences our coverage from San Diego with the Notre Dame press conference.


I asked SR G Prentiss Hubb about becoming the 1st player in the NCAA tourney since 2011 (maybe ever?!) to play at least 44 minutes and have at least 7 AST with no turnovers. He said the change really happened after he had 4 TO in the loss to Virginia Tech in the ACC tourney and wanting to prove that he is good at handling the ball. He wants to be the PG presence for his teammates and if he can hold onto the ball then they can just keep the offense flowing.


I asked Coach Brey where this ranks among the greatest St. Patrick’s Days in his career, and whether we will see anything special tomorrow like a green jacket or green uniforms. He said they will stay with their blue road uniforms tomorrow. There were so many great/fearless plays by his kids that he hopes it can get them over the hump in a close game. When you wake up after a few hours of sleep and open the window to some lovely 80-degree ocean views in San Diego it is a lot nicer than the lake-effect snow that is probably hitting South Bend tonight!

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All-Access at the 1st/2nd rounds in San Diego: Wright State press conference

Posted on March 17, 2022 by Jon Teitel

The NCAA tournament is about basketball but also so much more: the fans, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The 1st/2nd rounds are taking place in 8 cities around the country and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is covering all of the angles so you can look forward to a cascade of coverage in the days ahead. Jon Teitel commences our coverage from San Diego with the Wright State press conference.


I asked JR G Tanner Holden whether he learned any lessons from their prior game against a team with size last November at Purdue (7’4” Zach Edey/6’10” Trevion Williams) and how he can follow up arguably the best all-around game of his career in the win over Bryant (37 PTS/11 REB). He said that Purdue was definitely a tough matchup for them and that they were not very confident in ourselves. He had a great game against Bryant but it says a lot about his team. He happened to be the leading scorer but gave all the credit to his teammates/coaches for putting him in position to be successful.


I asked Coach Scott Nagy what kind of advantage he had due to the fact that he has over 500 more wins as a head coach then Tommy Lloyd does. He said the best advantage remains his players. He has coached a heck of a lot of good players, and Tommy has plenty of great players on his team. Being in his 5th tourney helps a little bit, as does playing last night, as his team should be a little calmer tomorrow. He told the team that while a lot of people think just getting to the NCAA tourney is nice, winning a game in the tourney last night was 1 of the greatest experiences of his life.

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All-Access at the 1st/2nd rounds in San Diego: Seton Hall press conference

Posted on March 17, 2022 by Jon Teitel

The NCAA tournament is about basketball but also so much more: the fans, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The 1st/2nd rounds are taking place in 8 cities around the country and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is covering all of the angles so you can look forward to a cascade of coverage in the days ahead. Jon Teitel commences our coverage from San Diego with the Seton Hall press conference.


I asked SR G Myles Cale what advice he had for his younger teammates in March since his 153 games played is the most in school history (including a few NCAA tourney games). He told them to treat it like a regular game, have fun, and enjoy the weather/fans. It is the same game that you have been playing since you were a kid so just treat it like that and you will excel.


I asked Coach Kevin Willard how big a factor FT shooting will be, as his opponents have made a ridiculous 77.3 FT% but TCU is only shooting 66.8 FT%. He said he has to be nicer to the referees! He does not know if it is a coincidence but said his team’s FT attempts have gone down since January. He would like them to get to the line more but at this time of the year you are stuck with who you are.

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All-Access at the 1st/2nd rounds in San Diego: Arizona press conference

Posted on March 17, 2022 by Jon Teitel

The NCAA tournament is about basketball but also so much more: the fans, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The 1st/2nd rounds are taking place in 8 cities around the country and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is covering all of the angles so you can look forward to a cascade of coverage in the days ahead. Jon Teitel commences our coverage from San Diego with the Arizona press conference.


I asked Dalen Terry whether his team has won 31 games because they are cocky or they are cocky because they have won 31 games. He said that if he waves to the opposing fans or if Kerr Kriisa sticks out his tongue then it is just their personality and gets them going. It is not anything intentional: just another edge for their team to use to keep winning.


I asked Coach Tommy Lloyd about facing an opponent with a great scorer like Tanner Holden (37 PTS vs. Bryant) and whether his defensive philosophy is to let anyone else BUT the great scorer try to beat him or to let that guy score as much as he wants because he is just 1 player. He said that they will play a normal defense to start because the Raiders have other good players like Grant Basile. In a single-elimination game you want to do your best to guard everyone well. Holden is a natural scorer who scores a lot of 2s and 1s, which is really impressive.


I saw 2001 national runner-up/current Arizona director of player relations Jason Gardner hanging out at open practice and asked him if any of his old teammates might be dropping by this weekend. He said that Justin Wessel should be here, and that the further the Wildcats go the more alumni might show up.


I finished up by taking a few photos of the team preparing to take the court for open practice:
Oumar Ballo:

Christian Koloko:

Kriisa and Lloyd taking in the view:

Bennedict Mathurin:

Terry looking RIGHT at me:

and Azuolas Tubelis:

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All-Access at the 1st/2nd rounds in San Diego: Alabama press conference

Posted on March 17, 2022 by Jon Teitel

The NCAA tournament is about basketball but also so much more: the fans, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The 1st/2nd rounds are taking place in 8 cities around the country and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is covering all of the angles so you can look forward to a cascade of coverage in the days ahead. Jon Teitel commences our coverage from San Diego with the Alabama press conference.


I asked anyone who played in the OT loss to UCLA in last year’s Sweet 16 what they learned from that game that will help them this time around. JR PG Jahvon Quinerly (2nd from right) said he knows that free throws are a big thing (the Tide shot 11-25 from the line vs. the Bruins) but that they have figured it out. It is a game of runs and you need to be able to answer your opponent’s run. Responding to adversity is also key because it gets crazy during March, which is why the older guys have to teach the younger guys how to do so.


I asked Coach Nate Oats if having the #1 strength of schedule in the nation is a happy accident, and if not then whether he did so specifically to succeed this week. He said it was not an accident, as it helped his team get into the NCAA tourney. The Tide beat 3 teams from last year’s Final 4 (Baylor/Gonzaga/Houston), 2 of which are #1 seeds again this year, as well as great mid-major teams like Davidson/South Dakota State. His team is battle-tested so hopefully it pays off this week.


Arizona fans must adore this team: Quinerly committed to Arizona in 2017 but reopened his recruitment after the Emanuel Richardson scandal, and Oats beat them by 21 PTS in the 1st round of the 2018 NCAA tourney as coach at Buffalo. At least the towels are ready for prime time!

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All-Access at the 1st/2nd rounds in San Diego: Texas Tech press conference

Posted on March 17, 2022 by Jon Teitel

The NCAA tournament is about basketball but also so much more: the fans, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The 1st/2nd rounds are taking place in 8 cities around the country and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is covering all of the angles so you can look forward to a cascade of coverage in the days ahead. Jon Teitel commences our coverage from San Diego with the Texas Tech press conference.


I asked Kevin McCullar how his health is after missing 8 games this year, and what he did after turning 21 on Tuesday. He said that his health is great and this his ankle is healed up, and that he has just been locked in on the tournament and will wait to celebrate afterward.


I asked Coach Mark Adams about the key to winning games in March (having won the 2010 NJCAA title as coach at Howard College), and if he wins tomorrow is there any chance that his former star Jae Crowder might pop in to check out his practice on Saturday before the Suns play in Sacramento on Sunday night. He said that he felt pretty good when he won the title but did not know at the time that he had a future NBA player on the team! Crowder was such a great team player and an unbelievable leader, and the Red Raiders have some guys like that on this team. It is such a great experience to cut down the nets but he said there is nothing better than being the best in the country.


I did not see any band/spirit squad member but did see the Westwood 1 radio of Dave Pasch/PJ Carlesimo walking into the arena.

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