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00:00 I know there are a thousand directions we can go with you
00:02 because things have twisted and turned a lot.
00:05 But start with your path to West Virginia to begin with.
00:10 And we know it, but give us some of the details
00:12 why you decided what you decided.
00:16 I mean, it was a pretty easy decision.
00:19 Coach Jay came to me in the summertime,
00:22 recruited me throughout the summer.
00:27 And they made me feel at home, especially
00:29 the coaching staff, young staff, very relatable.
00:32 And it was pretty easy for the transition and my decision.
00:36 Just picking people that are basketball guys,
00:39 people that have been around the game for years
00:41 and know what they're talking about,
00:43 have an ear for the game.
00:44 So it made my job pretty easy to make the decision.
00:48 When you first decided to transfer and leave,
00:51 you thought you were going to have to sit out.
00:53 Did that make you pause at all?
00:58 I mean, I feel like any athlete that goes day to day
01:03 and lives their life around basketball
01:05 has come to a pause.
01:07 It's a very tough decision.
01:08 But I knew that going into the transfer portal
01:11 that if I had transferred anywhere,
01:12 I would have to sit out regardless.
01:14 So yeah, I said it was either here or another school.
01:22 And I was like, I'd rather be out here, especially
01:25 with people like fans like you and guys around here
01:28 that supports.
01:29 So yeah.
01:31 So then you get to last week, and all of a sudden
01:33 you get the news that, oh my gosh, I don't have to sit out.
01:37 What went through your mind?
01:38 And you could have redshirted.
01:39 And what was the thought process on--
01:44 what was your emotions on getting to play and then
01:47 deciding, yeah, I'm going to play and I'm redshirt?
01:51 I mean, when I seen that my teammate was pretty much going
01:55 to war for everybody that was around--
01:58 my teammate was going to war for everybody that was pretty much
02:01 around the country that's trying to play basketball.
02:04 And seeing that, it kind of motivated me.
02:08 He's sticking his self out there.
02:09 And I just wanted to be behind him, of course.
02:12 And it pretty much was like a shock.
02:18 I didn't think the NCAA was going to overturn or give us
02:22 the grant to play these three games, I believe.
02:25 So it was shocking.
02:27 But it was a dream come true, of course.
02:31 And it was easy, pretty much a no-brainer for me.
02:35 So I wanted to be out there with my teammates, help them win.
02:39 So yeah.
02:41 I'm kind of curious.
02:42 On Saturday night, watching you play, how much of that
02:46 was just instinct?
02:48 And how much of that was, OK, this
02:50 is what I've kind of learned from watching?
02:54 I mean, a lot of it was instinct.
02:58 I'm a senior, so I've been playing basketball
03:00 for counts of years, counts of training,
03:05 counts of hours in the gym.
03:06 But it was pretty much just instinct.
03:10 And watching the players throughout the nine or eight
03:16 games before, watching them, seeing the mistakes
03:19 or what needs to be brought to the table at the time being,
03:25 I pretty much took that and just pretty much monetized
03:31 the game around it.
03:32 And went in there and took action.
03:35 Because like I said, I've been playing basketball
03:37 for as long as I can remember.
03:39 So it pretty much came natural.
03:43 I mean, situations like calling out different sets,
03:48 are you familiar with all of the--
03:51 Yeah.
03:51 The playbook, I guess.
03:52 Yeah.
03:53 Definitely familiar since day one.
03:56 I've been learning the playbook every day.
03:58 And we implement new plays every day.
04:00 It's not like I'm just watching practice.
04:02 So I'm still out there interacting.
04:05 Even when I wasn't suiting up playing,
04:08 I was still out there with the guys interacting,
04:10 learning everything day by day like they was learning.
04:13 So yeah, it was pretty easy, I feel.
04:18 Most guys before a game get themselves ready to play,
04:21 I mean, in their mind.
04:23 Whether it's get--
04:24 go through whatever nervousness they have.
04:26 I mean, you-- that morning, you didn't
04:30 think there was any chance you were going to be playing.
04:32 And maybe even when you were running through layup drills,
04:35 as far as I know.
04:37 How did you do it?
04:38 How did you transition so fast from,
04:41 yo, I'm getting in there to, I got to do something,
04:44 and I got to do it now?
04:45 Yeah.
04:48 That's just to say what you said earlier,
04:51 when you asked me earlier.
04:52 I pretty much-- it's like instincts.
04:54 When you play the game for so long,
04:56 and when you approach it with confidence,
04:58 I feel like a lot of things come--
05:01 they come at you easy.
05:02 But decision making, that just comes with experience,
05:05 knowing what to do, knowing what not to do.
05:07 Knowing pace.
05:10 We're trying to play a fast pace here.
05:12 So I know that coach wants to put us to tempo,
05:14 wants to score more points to transition.
05:16 I know that's when my talents come into action.
05:20 I'm a very fast guard.
05:21 I like to put to pace.
05:22 I like to get downhill.
05:23 So just putting pressure on the defense
05:25 and getting my teammates involved,
05:27 I knew that's one thing I had to bring to the table.
05:30 And that's what I felt like I did.
05:31 You're not knowing, I mean, and not worrying about it.
05:35 Well, it's good to get you already--
05:36 Yeah.
05:37 I mean, definitely.
05:37 --the word is up your neck now.
05:38 You can score more and get out.
05:40 Yeah, definitely.
05:41 It was definitely nerve wracking,
05:43 and seeing it with everything that's going on.
05:47 But I just knew what I do every day.
05:52 I go in the gym.
05:53 I work out.
05:54 I know what I do.
05:54 I know what I do with my teammates.
05:56 I knew that it was time to show.
06:00 I'm sure you guys have watched the film of the game
06:03 since playing in it.
06:05 Watching it again, watching yourself,
06:07 anything surprise you, jump off the page or anything
06:11 catch your eye?
06:14 No.
06:15 One thing that jumps the table, we got out-rebounded.
06:18 So I feel like it's more of a we got to just lock in more
06:23 as a team, gel more.
06:25 It's new rotations, new faces on the court.
06:28 So we have practice gel time, but not
06:34 on court.
06:35 So it's in such a midway season about to start conference.
06:40 So it's a challenging situation.
06:43 But we're all grown men, and I feel like we can handle it.
06:48 For your own individual game, though,
06:49 anything surprise you at all?
06:51 No, not really.
06:54 That was the old Noah out there, maybe?
06:56 Yeah, I felt like that was the old me, definitely, for sure.
07:00 But that's just having teammates like Kirk, Hugh, Cook, Ray
07:07 Kwan, the list goes on.
07:09 They just put that--
07:14 I don't know what's the word I'm looking for.
07:16 But they put that spark in you.
07:19 And they give you the motivation.
07:21 And then seeing them light up, and like, nah, man,
07:24 you're doing you.
07:24 And I'm like, all right, you feel that energy?
07:27 So it just trickles down.
07:29 And so I pretty much felt good out there with them.
07:32 Going back to this gel time thing you're talking about,
07:35 you, Kirk, and Ray Kwan practice together, right?
07:38 Yep, yep.
07:38 So you and Kirk obviously had some sort of connection
07:41 there on Saturday.
07:42 Is that an advantage that the three of you
07:44 will have now that all three of you
07:46 are back on the court together?
07:47 I believe so.
07:51 I mean, we've been on the scout team
07:54 for pretty much the first half of the season.
07:56 So playing with them, it's been electrifying to practice them.
08:01 And we get to know where we're going to be at on the court.
08:07 I know where Ray's at.
08:08 Kirk knows where I'm at.
08:11 By the way, it's one of the most unbelievable PGs
08:13 I ever played with.
08:15 But yeah, alongside that, I feel like the connection
08:18 is going to be very, very electrifying, very fast-paced.
08:23 And yeah, just more points in transition,
08:26 I feel like, that we're going to be adding more of that tempo
08:31 flair.
08:31 So definitely.
08:33 What was your sense of the team when you found out
08:35 that it was Kirk not going to be able to play for a moment?
08:38 That hurt us pretty bad.
08:43 Jess is a huge, huge impact to our team.
08:46 He's a leader of our team.
08:47 He's a captain.
08:48 And taking that loss, it's detrimental.
08:53 But at the same time, I feel like coach believes in us,
08:57 believes in his next players up in that position.
09:00 And we believe in whoever's up to bat
09:03 is ready for sure for that step and that challenge.
09:08 Noah, this past week, we just got different levels
09:11 because there was that order that said
09:12 the guys could play for 14 days.
09:15 Or is that really confusing?
09:16 However, the NCAA said, yeah, they
09:18 won't count it, and then, yeah, they would count it.
09:20 Once you get clear, sure, you come back.
09:22 But in between, there's that kind of cloudy period.
09:24 Yeah.
09:25 Can you explain the tug of war there
09:27 between what you wanted to and what you had to think about?
09:31 I know going into the year, I was probably not going to play.
09:35 So I knew I had two years, two years of eligibility left.
09:40 With that being said, I seen how the year was going,
09:45 how we didn't pretty much-- we had no subs.
09:47 We didn't have people to come in right away.
09:50 Our guys were playing long, long minutes, 35 to 38 minutes
09:53 a game.
09:54 And I just knew that I can help in a way
10:00 because I have another year left.
10:02 And I wasn't really planning on using that extra year.
10:06 So it was going to be that graduate year probably just
10:09 to come back and get my graduate degree.
10:11 But other than that, I was like, it's pretty much a no-brainer
10:14 just to--
10:16 if things go left and I can't finish that year,
10:19 at least I got a chance to be out there with my guys,
10:22 get to experience with them, learn how to gel with them
10:25 this year.
10:25 So next year will be easier for me to come right in with them.
10:28 So three games would have been enough for you?
10:30 Well, no, never enough.
10:32 I mean, that was the repercussion, I guess.
10:33 Oh, yeah, definitely.
10:34 Yeah, that was the repercussions.
10:36 But I felt like with Ray going to bat for us
10:41 and him taking things head on, I feel
10:44 like I was right behind him, especially in this situation
10:48 with his situation.
10:49 And then just last season for you guys,
10:51 the different team, I understand that.
10:53 But you had a really talented player
10:54 who seemed like everything went around.
10:56 That was just a really strange experience,
10:58 I guess, for what seemed like your career, right?
11:01 Kind of a bunch of different moves and everything.
11:03 Yeah, definitely.
11:05 Last year was a pretty up and down season.
11:07 I'll take it more of as a learning experience
11:10 than how the season turned out.
11:13 But I feel like it pretty much turned me
11:16 to the player I am today.
11:18 I love Coach Stan Heath, love the coaching staff over there.
11:21 I love the guys, the players that's over there.
11:24 It was a very talented group.
11:25 Just couldn't find the right piece of the right connection
11:30 throughout the season, just up and down.
11:33 But like I said, learning experience.
11:36 And it pretty much molded me for who I am today.
11:41 I can't remember, when you first signed with West Virginia,
11:44 was it late or was it early?
11:46 No, it was late.
11:47 It was late.
11:47 OK, so like Josh had already been--
11:50 No, it was Jay Kuntz.
11:52 And I talked to Josh the following day.
11:55 OK.
11:55 Mm-hmm.
11:56 Yeah.
11:58 I'm just kind of interested in your take,
12:00 when Greg was asking about obviously the latest news
12:03 is Jesse, but it's the news story that's
12:07 kind of piled on to like 100 others, it seems like.
12:11 Swings up and down.
12:13 You guys as a team, as a unit, how have you guys
12:16 handled all the swings between a new coach and a guy going down
12:22 with a medical condition, and guys going to court
12:25 to fight for eligibility, and guys getting hurt?
12:28 I mean, that's a lot for one team to take.
12:32 Definitely.
12:33 I feel like everybody faces challenges,
12:41 and our mentality over here is next man up, next guy up.
12:46 So I feel like with the situation happening early
12:50 on in the year, guys being out, it's pretty much--
12:54 it's giving us that story.
12:56 You know what I'm saying?
12:57 So I feel like this team has a very, very high chance
13:02 of turning things around.
13:03 And I feel like it was--
13:09 sometimes-- my apologies.
13:11 My phone keeps going off.
13:13 Talking to a guy who stays--
13:14 Nah, I'm sorry.
13:15 I'm so sorry.
13:16 It's a new phone.
13:17 I'm trying to get the hold of things.
13:21 But yeah, just trying to stay up court.
13:25 That's really it.
13:26 And I know it's challenges.
13:28 Challenges come at you every day, and that's life,
13:30 I feel like.
13:31 So just take things head on, take it step by step,
13:33 day by day.
13:35 Everything will work out and play it.
13:37 There's not supposed to be this many challenges in one season,
13:40 right?
13:41 I mean--
13:41 Yeah, definitely.
13:42 But sometimes things get stacked against you.
13:45 So just being perseverance and staying the course.
13:50 So I feel like that's what everybody--
13:54 what our teams have been doing.
13:56 You moved around a lot.
13:58 How old were you when you left home?
14:00 I know IMG East Carolina.
14:02 I just had this conversation with one of my friends.
14:06 But yeah, I've been probably home
14:10 since my sophomore year of high school, away from home.
14:15 Yeah, I mean, I've always been an independent person.
14:18 So the transition's always been easy.
14:21 My parents are very supportive and very loving people.
14:24 And I feel like they raised me in a certain way
14:27 to go to certain areas.
14:30 So I can carry myself, handle myself well.
14:32 And it's been an exciting experience,
14:37 getting a chance to see the world,
14:38 getting a chance to travel all over with this game,
14:41 how this game presents itself.
14:44 So it's been very, very interesting but exciting
14:49 journey.
14:50 Original high school?
14:51 My original high school?
14:53 Like back home in Jersey?
14:54 Yeah.
14:55 It's called Union High School.
14:56 OK.
14:57 Yeah, yeah.
14:59 It's-- all my friends went there.
15:01 Everybody I grew up with went there.
15:04 It's right in Union, New Jersey.
15:07 But yeah.
15:09 Was it hard to leave at that age?
15:10 Friends, family?
15:12 You were off on a new path at that point?
15:14 Definitely was, because this is everybody you grew up
15:21 with along the way.
15:23 So just leaving them in such an early stage of my life
15:28 and not really getting a chance to--
15:29 not really getting a chance to see what their experience was
15:39 like through them, because those are your friends.
15:41 Those are your day ones.
15:42 So not really getting a chance to grow with them.
15:44 It was pretty tough.
15:45 But at the same time, when you have a goal, you have a dream,
15:49 and you have aspirations for doing big things in life,
15:52 it pretty much took over.
15:54 And I was like, this is what I have to do to get to this step.
15:57 And this is what I-- so that's always been my motivation
16:02 behind things.
16:02 Just--
16:03 You mentioned instinct being a big part of the debut Saturday.
16:07 Do you feel at this point that you're
16:10 further along in the transition offensively or defensively?
16:14 No, I'm still taking it step by step.
16:16 I'm still catching up.
16:18 I feel like more so catching up, because the pace of the game--
16:21 practice is practice.
16:22 But in game, the pace is a lot more faster.
16:25 People are touching you.
16:26 So it's more like--
16:29 just getting back in rhythm.
16:31 But as far as instincts, yeah, the me reading the defense,
16:36 the me, as far as defense, being instinctive on defense,
16:43 that just comes from years of closing out,
16:46 years of repeating drills after drills, and just repetition.
16:51 So I feel like that's pretty much took over.
16:53 But as far as getting back in rhythm and shape
16:56 and I feel like one more game would do me just so.
17:00 And I feel like everything would be back into normal.
17:05 You paired New Jersey notes with Deshaun.
17:08 Is he too old that his reputation is already over
17:11 there?
17:12 Had you ever heard of him prior?
17:13 No, of course.
17:14 Deshaun is a-- he's a legend.
17:16 He's a legend back home.
17:17 Everybody knows Deshaun.
17:19 Great coach, very, very expressive, very--
17:25 a guy that you would love to be around all day,
17:27 gain knowledge from.
17:30 Yeah, overall, just outstanding coach.
17:33 Knows what he's talking about.
17:34 He's been around the game for years.
17:36 And he comes from where I come from, so it's very relatable.
17:40 And same type of stories growing up.
17:42 So just learning from a guy like that, it's been a pretty--
17:46 a gem, a very good gem.
17:48 Noah, thank you.