afternoon fellas congrats welcome to the big room basketball hey coach good to see head coach Dan Hurley joins us with Tristan Newton and cam Spencer this is a 25-minute news conference with student athletes for the first 10 Coley will ask you to make an opening statement then we'll take questions for all three yeah um obviously you know deep into the uh you know the the prep for both of us uh you know just the uh you know basically you know a day and a half prep uh you know for each other here
so uh I think I said this about Marquette during the season um you know playing certain programs it's uh you know feels like a you know privilege because of uh you know what they stand for how they do it and and you know how good they are so uh you know to be able to play the national championship vers Purdue um you know and how good they are and how Matt runs things uh it's real privilege to play them for the championship questions for Coach Hurley Tristan and cam let's start in the middle of t
he room with Matt we're going to use the back left microphone Dan good afternoon congrats on winning I'm right here congrats on winning National coach of the year um I couldn't help but notice you sat down at the deis with a a little manila folder if you could take us into uh where you are with prep and is that just a typical Scouting Report genu genuinely curious about uh where you're at right now yeah so um you know immediately after the game um you know after the meeting was done you literall
y you know get that tablet as soon as you get on the bus and I was into uh you know you you're into you're into Purdue on the on the way back to the hotel we were able to you know probably you know I I was able to consume you know three games uh before I went to bed last night Luke Murray uh obviously was was prepping for the winner uh of that game so um you I've been able to you know catch you know six of their games already I'll imagine I'll watch you know maybe eight um and then that's all ki
nd of the the analytics uh Scouting Report uh some of that type of stuff we'll go up front on the left side Fanta John Fant of Fox Sports for Dan and the players can you guys reflect on on how great of a matchup this is for for men's college basketball this is one vers versus two throughout this season obviously Donovan versus Zach but there's so many other pieces to both these teams just what it's like knowing that you're going to step on the floor against this Purdue team tomorrow and and how
big this is how great this is for the sport that this is how we end what's been a remarkable season we'll ask cam to take them first then Tristan then Coach yeah I think it's a great matchup you know between two teams who have had two great years um obviously you know we have a lot of respect for them as a program you know they're in national championship for a reason and you know I'm sure people have been waiting to see this one for a while but you know we're locked in and we'll be ready to go
Tristan uh yeah we've been the two best programs the past two years uh as some Purdue and um it's a great match I we're looking forward to it you know the coaches are going to you know get us well prepared and ready to to have a good game tomorrow anything to add coach yeah I would just say I'm sure that uh you know cam endeared himself to their fans uh while he was in the Big 10 on the right side Brian Brian Hamilton from the athletic uh Dan when you look at the way you've constructed your rost
er this year last year way PR constructed the roster we go back to you know Kansas Baylor Virginia winning titles what have we learned about what wins or what should everyone know about what wins to get teams to this level I mean I think all of us should just shut up about and stop trying to help the people that don't know what they're [Music] doing um you know you got to be able to score obviously um you know to win a six-game tourn six game single elimination tournament um you know I think the
the days of of of of that kind of the The Rock fight style of play um in in modern basketball I think it's going to be tough to win that way um you know I think obviously balance Rost you know you know young players with with talent that are insulated by you know returning players to your program with uh that could uphold the the culture and then strategic you know portal um additions that could put you over the top um but I think it's you know the the roster construction skill you know you kno
w skilled players that can process the game and uh you know and balance in terms of veterans and Young players we'll go up front on the right side Jacobs Liga Arizona varc coach Hurley your team has done a very good job as a whole with your lineup in terms of crashing the glass as a unit playing in the Big East is uh going up against guys such as Joel Sorano uh caul brener ooso igoro how well did you think that attacking the glass as a team against those great post players are going to help prep
are you to go up against a guy like Ed who controls the post as well as he does yeah um he he's obviously you know you you may coach or play your whole career and never you know coach or play against somebody with his stature um you know TR truly you know a giant player so um yeah I mean we we're not you know we're a pretty physical team but you know we even more so would fly to the ball um you know and then I think you know we're dis disciplined like they are I mean they're they're an excellent
rebounding team we're an excellent rebounding team we both block out um and uh you know a lot of the time it just comes down to uh U you know tracing that ball and and uh you know who who's uh who's going to make that life or death pursuit to get it continuing up front Casey Bartley boiler upload Rivals Dan considering The Narrative of Purdue getting here for the first time since' 69 you guys are getting back are there differences between getting here the first time and doing it again um you kn
ow I I I think uh listen when you when you you when you break through that that euphoria that you feel when um you know when you when you punch your ticket to the final four and just you know the bigness of this event um uh just participating in it for as a as a as a coach or a player uh the experience um you know this setting uh you know the the the buses the police escorts the 70,000 people in the state I mean it's uh you know it's it's an incredible um it's an incredible experience um and it
doesn't uh you know uh the second time you make it feels just as good as the first moving over to the left second row second seat Kyle Tucker with the athletic Dan you've talked I think you talked in the Big E tournament about needing your jolly Jolly Green Giant to sort of get nasty how how good of a job has he done in this Tournament of doing that and how easy is it to get him in that mindset when the two-time national player of the year is on the other side yeah um you know the thing with Don
ovan is he just uh he just got he got healthy at the absolute you know right right time of the year and then you know in a similar way you know where like you know Steph castle at the end of his freshman year is now probably playing like a sophomore you know you've got you know Donovan now who has enough experience and enough experience in big spots um you know where where he's perfectly conditioned um he's healthy he's confident um and and he's playing more like a junior player and um you know
he understands the challenges you know that he's dealing with you know with with Zach Edy it's uh it's it's just a it's a unique matchup and he's played against some outstanding centers and Sorano and cul brener um but this is a different animal and um and and and and they use him in a much much different way so uh it's going to be a heck of a challenge for our front court for our guards for our whole team because it's going to have to take a team effort to to try to slow him down a little bit s
econd row Zack Zach brazila New York Post Dan what you reflect on just what it's like been like to coach your son and what like you remember when he was at finishing High School like kind of the thought process like you know about you know probably could you know obviously his decision to want to play for you even though he probably knew he wasn't really going to play yeah yeah I mean he he was good enough to would have been a you know division two division three player um he could dunk you know
I could never dunk I got short arms um and I couldn't jump that that High um he humanizes me a little bit I don't know what he does in the locker room when I'm like when I'm on like a heater and I'm being completely it's a complete brutal ass to everybody like I don't know if he goes in the locker room and you know endear himself to these guys by crushing me and say yeah he's the worst or if he or if he goes in there and says youo hey guys he loves you he just cares I don't really know what's g
oing on back there um I don't if these guys will tell me either uh before it's over but you know as a coach you you miss um you sacrifice a lot especially at the college level or the NBA level um and often times your wife and your kids um you know suffer um with that time lost so to be able to get that time back and be together 11 months a year and see each other every day multiple times a day you know the highs the lows of everything we go through um made up for a lot of time we lost Dom is you
r question for a coach or for the players for a coach okay well we like to thank Tristan and cam for joining us they're going to be part of the breakout session that starts at 205 thanks [Music] guys oh yeah they'll take their place cards to the breakout sessions as well this is the front left microphone question from Dom for Coach Dom and mor Hartford current uh Dan you you've talked quite a bit about how much pressure there is in that first round game and uh you know you guys kind of went thro
ugh it and came back won a championship the next year can you imagine what they went through losing a 116 game and doing what they've done what does it tell you about them and the character that you're going to be facing tomorrow I mean I we could relate um and everyone's motivations are different uh but you know it was very relatable for again the the the co NCAA tournament um you know I i' like to throw that one out for me um you know I'll accept responsibility to a degree for that uh brutal p
erformance but you know that New Mexico State loss and then the Iona game I mean we we felt the heat I know um you know I know that what what that felt like and you know for them it probably was even even more so uh than that but um you know they're such a classy program their their culture is as good as anyone um you know they're as well coached as anyone you know they uh you you could see they they had a uh an attitude about him going into this tournament um throughout the season where I don't
think anyone thought that this would be a uh a similar situation for them but we I could certainly relate to the pressure they felt centor the room toward the right go early Kobe Mosley usbwa um my question is about nonan clean um we talked earlier about this week about TR Newton and how he's kind of uh grown as a leader how do you think Donovan is grown as a leader especially after you guys winning a championship and all those seniors leaving after last year you just you you learned so much in
coaching and just um just when you see how different personalities affect um you know just the team Vibe especially when you're going into these big high leverage moments um you know I think my experience with Donovan and some of the folks we brought in the last couple of years the Joey California and um the Andre Jackson and the just you just realize how important it is to have people that are alive and um you know they're they're they're not zombie like creatures you know they're just like um
they bring a life to the locker room they they they they they've got passion you the're people that you can lose with um and still be able to pick the pieces up because they're just they're good people they're charismatic um and they're they're they're just great in the locker room because this it's it'sit a grind left side AP right there Dan uh David Brandt from the AP you talked a little bit about Steph Castle a couple minutes ago but it it seems like for a five-star McDonald's All-American g
uy he's remarkably low maintenance and and just wondered how why he's been able to fit in so well with your roster and how he's grown over these last couple months I think he told on himself um well I mean he's got the great parents and uh Stacy and Quan They they keep they've kept him humble all the way through um in a sport where we we put these kids on a pedestal you know what way before they should be um and we we treat them like they've arrived way before arrival um and they didn't allow th
at to happen with him um the way he handled the recruiting process it didn't turn into a fiasco it didn't go from a a list of uh narrowed my list to 20 now I've narrowed it to 18 now I've now 12 now nine you know like he was decisive he watched us practice he saw our culture uh he wanted to be coached hard um they wanted an old school environment for him to be challenged in and to be held accountable and um it's uh it's just been the perfect situation for him because his draft stock uh is right
where they want it to be right now and he's one big you you can still do both um and everyone could win center of the room Amanda christovich front office Sports uh just from a big picture perspective do you feel like Yukon could have reached this level of dominance if you hadn't rejoined the Big East a few years ago oh yeah uh absolutely um we were well out our way you know in a similar similar way to what coach Samson was doing in the AAC um obviously going to the big 12 is you know everything
's bigger you know tougher league but you know we we were recruiting at a very very high level um and and we would be where we were regardless I got the best staff in the country got one of the biggest brands in college basketball uh it has certainly helped um but we we've also uh had a had a big impact on on the Big East as well left side of the aisle all the way left Killian Johnson Sports Illustrated Kids coach as reigning Champions uh how you've had a Target on your back all year how has tha
t motivated you I mean well number one my my biggest motivation really for the last two three weeks is um I just don't want to deal with the portal and uh I mean that's why we're trying to win so hard right now is I'm seeing what other people are doing it's it's chaos and I could hide behind hey my season's still going on um um but yeah you know I think we we've used that like for a lot of the year we've used the external slights the perceived slights um all all those things the world's against
us mentality I I think that gets you through like the the regular season Big East grind January February where where the team's tired and you've got to create these different things you know where we really use that motivation external everyone's trying to get us they want what we got we're the Champs somebody's going to have to somebody's going to have to rip this out of our hands I mean we we use that a lot um but once you get to this time of year everything is just you are who your identity i
s the way you play it's very automatic and it just comes down to you know hoping that it's uh hoping that your night Dana on the left side toward the back uh Dana O'Neal with the athletic Dan you and Matt come at it maybe differently but you're both pretty strong in your convictions about how you want to do things both have taken some heat for it sometimes perhaps how do you kind of maintain the courage of that conviction um as you go through this and the world kind of Scrolls around you yeah um
you know I I think we do have a lot of similarities in terms of you know the the the the culture and um and and the old school you know values that we have in terms of the type of people that we recruit and the type of teams we have uh um you know so maybe the personalities are a little bit different on the sideline I wish I had his composure at times um and um you know I just think that you know we're we've been involved in the game our whole lives we were both players we both played for incre
dible coaches um throughout our careers and I think those coaches that we played for have made us um stubborn and strong in what we believe and I think we're both very confident people that uh that are authentic and aren't trying to put on a show I don't think there's anything fake about either one of us we just we are who we are third row on the left uh Dan what do you what is having a enormous back court like you have and like you had last year what strategic Advantage does that give you parti
cularly against a smaller back court like Purdue has yeah just to size at guard just to you know to have a a 65 Tristan Newton um you know Steph Castle who's 66 to be able to put him on on a point guard um or on a wing scorer either one of those guys it just affects passing Windows uh I think for guards whether it's the ball screen game or postfeeding um obviously it shrinks the court for the opponent as well um allows you to contest the three-point line at those spots um and even cariban who's
you know 68 69 uh but he's got really really you know uh he's got great length at at his position as well Yukon locker room is now open and breakouts are beginning with players we'll continue with Coach question from Wayne Norman all the way on the right hi Dan you're a very good three-point shooting team and Donovan kingan plays a big role in that Purdue is the second best three-point shooting team in the country is it a similar formula with Edie in the middle to open their three-point Shooters
yeah you got to pick um you know you got to pick your poison uh I think you got to mix things up um you know single coverage for Zak EDI is uh it's a scary proposition um even with Donovan because you know he's a he he's a game changer uh you know for us at both ends of the Court um and on the backboard so I just think that we you know we can't give them one look you know they're they're they're too good um in a lot of ways we just we mirr each other you know they're two or three in offense in
the country and they're 12th in defense um there's just not a lot of holes in in either team it's NBA level Talent up and down each roster um and and teams that are just well-rounded without a lot of vulnerabilities we're going to go to Matt then Brendan then Billy and then my guesses we're going to have to wrap this up let's get a microphone for Matt he's got the blue shirt right there holding his arm out he has a microphone Matt norlander CBS Sports I'm going to ask you to extend that thought
because um Ed is combining for close to about 44 points in rebounds a game uh are you anticipating the necessity to double team him some or are you as a competitor Dan and how you're going to prepare for this are you preparing for Edy to just go Edy again and then whatever we can do to shut everyone else down we're just going to win that way obviously other teams have tried that approach most have failed when they faced Purdue yeah um it's a unique challenge um he's a unique player I don't think
that that one thing is going to work in the game I I think you've got to you know try to try to keep him off balance you know Matt unfortunately for us you know really constructed a great roster around such a unique player um obviously the you know the blind spot for them last year was you know was subpar three-point shooting which allowed you to to surround him um whereas now if you put two on the ball with him um you're now turning loose team that's shooting 40% from three um if you single co
verage him even with Donovan a player of his caliber he obviously gets fouled a lot or he's at the free throw line a lot um so now we're putting maybe our most impactful player in position to maybe get in fou trouble uh you which would cause big problems for us at both ends and on the backboard I just think that um even though it's a short prep we've played a lot of games this year and um you know I think there there's a number of different things we're going to have to try to do and and mix up
and see what's effective brenon Dan uh brenon Quinn from the athletic when you deal with alums of a certain era um you know dudes who played in the Yankee conference and stuff like what's been your experience like seeing them process what this place has become the um you know I'd say yukon's unique because uh I mean we've got um we're yukon's the pro sports franchise of the state um and uh obviously it it it's it's two things the the impact that basketball at Yukon has had on the University and
and the growth of the university and what it was like in the 80s and 90s the small agricultural college that uh you know you you I think when I drove through campus in the early to mid90s I I thought I I missed the campus and and as I arrived at GLE so the explosion of basketball what it's meant to the state what it's meant to uh you know the you know the campus becoming a world world class University the impact has been great um and it's uh you know what what what what drow and and Coach Calhou
n and Gino um and and the former players that want to be around and not just for the final four or when the cameras are around but the uh the amount of folks that come through to watch a practice to talk to the boys um you know it's it's a unique relationship special we'll wrap things up with Billy uh Billy witz with the New York Times Dan this era with there's so much um you know with conference realignment and the portal and nil it it feels like it should be harder to win back-to-back champion
ships which is obviously history's proven is rare to to begin with what is it I wonder if you can identify a couple things that maybe about your program that have uh allowed you to be in this position yeah I think um we at this point I think um you know we we understand that we could as Teddy Atlas would say like you know pass on uh some of the neon talents uh you know to to get our type of people um obviously there's you know there's a there's a baseline that you need in terms of size athletic
ability you know just ability with the basketball to to do things but we really hold out uh to to get our type of people um the staff continuity you know we've made it you know so so good I think um for guys like kamani and Luke um to to not take a low or or mid- major jobs uh so I've been able to keep my staff intact um you know by by making sure they're they're taken care of um you know that way but we we just haven't changed a lot you know like I I you we we don't kiss the kids uh you know as
k their in recruiting we don't kiss it while they're on campus um you we we bring tremendous value to our players because we're old school and we push them to get better and to become better people and we teach them what you know how to become successful I just you know I I I think we we we truly have I think we try to play Modern basketball with the use of analytics as I've bought more into that but have really held on to like old school values the way you know coaches you know maybe used to be
more uh where um you know we're in charge and um and we hold people accountable but we we play a modern style of ball I want to thank coach Earley for joining us here in the main interview room thank you coach good luck tomorrow thank you guys see you
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