Players and coaches from all men's and women's 2025 NCAA Tournaments step to the media room for full March Madness press conferences before and after their NCAA tournaments games, including First Four, First and Second Round, Sweet 16, Elite Eight, the Final Four and 2025 NCAA national championship game.
Climate Pledge Arena - Seattle, WA
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00:00All right, we'll go ahead and get started, Coach, if you wouldn't mind opening up with
00:20a statement, and then we'll take questions.
00:22Yeah, again, I give God all the praise, you know, getting this far, didn't end the way
00:26we wanted it to end, but I'm proud of this group.
00:29All right, we'll take questions down here to the right.
00:33Coach, just talk about kind of some things you did well and some things that I could
00:37work on a little bit out there regarding today's game.
00:43Things we did well earlier, we got the ball inside, kind of pounded it inside.
00:50The things we could have did better, we shot the ball better, could have knocked down some
00:53shots to help the inside.
00:54When they packed the paint on Dane in the second half, we just didn't make enough shots
00:59to kind of help open it back up.
01:02Okay, we'll take one from the red hat there.
01:08This is for Dane, Tim Booth from the Seattle Times.
01:13You had a nice run there in the first half, early second half, and then I think you went
01:18scoreless the last 12-ish minutes of the game.
01:22Did Colorado State change anything on you over that last stretch in how they were defending
01:27you?
01:28Yeah, it just impacted in, just like Coach said.
01:32So I was really just looking for my teammates.
01:37We got some open looks, we just couldn't knock them down.
01:43Jeff Conkins from the Daily Memphian.
01:44Penny, I know you don't want to make excuses, but you obviously missed Tyrese.
01:48How much of an impact did that have on today, and then I guess your thoughts on the season
01:53now that it's over?
01:55Yeah, obviously we missed our leader.
01:57That's our vocal leader, our best defensive guard, the guy that gets after people and
02:03understand in his leadership and his experience, we definitely missed that.
02:08The season we did is not a failure, obviously, because we did well and won the regular season
02:14and the conference championship.
02:15It's unfortunate how it ended here.
02:19Questions?
02:20Lindsey Schnell of the Athletic.
02:31Lindsey Schnell of the Athletic.
02:33Penny, what can you say in a post-game locker room like that?
02:37Your point, the season isn't a failure, but obviously you guys are really frustrated.
02:42This is a program that has a history of long NCAA tournament runs, but it's been a long
02:47time since Memphis has had one.
02:48Yeah, as you tell this group, unfortunately the way it ended, it's not how we wanted it
02:55to end.
02:56We had an opportunity to do some special things and just couldn't get it done.
03:02I still told that group that I was proud of them and that they should hold their heads
03:06high.
03:07We could have gone a little further, obviously, but everything wasn't in our favor today.
03:13Yeah, for the student-athletes, anything different coming into a game where it's all on the line?
03:20Anything different in that preparation?
03:24I wouldn't say anything different, just more attention to detail, be more desperate.
03:31It's win or go home, so I don't look at it as pressure, but more of a great opportunity.
03:39I wouldn't say anything different, but just more excitement, more desperate to win.
03:48Coach, Max Gross, Spirit 105.3.
03:50You've been really outspoken in your faith.
03:52How does that help you after a setback, a loss like this today?
03:55Yes, I mean, it's life, and you've got to handle adversity.
03:59This is adversity, and I trust God in every situation, no matter what.
04:05I'm an ultimate competitor, and when things go bad, you have to rely on that.
04:09I rely on that.
04:13This is for Dane, Jeff Calkins for the Daily Memphian.
04:17Second half obviously didn't go for the team the way you wanted it to.
04:20You had a monster first half.
04:21How would you describe this season and the progress in your game, the experience you've
04:25had at Memphis, Dane?
04:27Yeah, I feel like it's been well for me.
04:29I've learned a lot of things, created good relationships with the coaches, with my teammates.
04:36I learned a lot this year, starting off from the first game.
04:42I feel like I've grown so much, even off the court, even just as a man.
04:47I feel like Coach here has helped me out with a lot of things, just the small details of
04:52things and just being a pro.
04:54Lindsey?
04:56Lindsey Schnell, The Athletic.
04:57Penny, kind of a big picture question for you.
05:00When you were hired, you came in, you had a ton of AAU connections, and thought this
05:04guy's going to be a great recruiter, and obviously you're a relationally based person, but in
05:09the era of NIL, do you think that being a great recruiter matters anymore, or is it
05:14just about who's going to write the biggest check?
05:16I think a little bit it matters, because you try to build a relationship, but in the overall
05:22scheme of things, it's about the money, to be very honest with you.
05:26I still try to have some relationship with the guys, but in this era, it's more about
05:31who can give you the most money.
05:33Reminder, if you have any questions from the Zoom, please raise your hand.
05:36Any questions in the room?
05:38Lindsey, go ahead.
05:41I have a follow-up to that, Penny.
05:43How do you win in this era?
05:46Do you think that if you can't write the biggest check, is it about we better have
05:51a killer strategy every game?
05:53Obviously, you have talent.
05:54You guys seem to have a decent NIL pool, compared to a lot of other schools across the country.
05:59Yeah, you've got to have the chemistry.
06:02You've got to have the guys that have the care factor right, that want to play for the
06:06name on the front, and not just the name on the back, or more for it on the front.
06:10The NIL is important, but you also have to be lucky as well, and not have injuries.
06:16When you have injuries, sometimes that derails everything.
06:18We're going to take two from the Zoom here.
06:20First, Jason Munns.
06:21Go ahead, Jason.
06:24Jason Munns, Commercial Appeal.
06:26Penny, it's probably not easy in this moment to compare the way this season has ended to
06:37the way previous seasons have ended, but when you do look at it like that, is the way
06:47this season ended, is it any more difficult to swallow than, say, the way last season
06:53ended?
06:54I would say yes, because of Tyrese going down in the conference semifinal game.
06:58It's the same way Caleb went down last year.
07:01You've got to have some luck.
07:04When Tyrese went down, we knew it was going to hurt because he's a guy that's been here
07:09before.
07:10You need as much experience as you can.
07:12That team went to the NCAA last year, beat Virginia the first round, and then lost to
07:17Texas the next round.
07:19Tyrese was the one that was in that game that guarded Stevens the entire game.
07:24It makes a big difference.
07:26Yeah, to me it's different in some ways because Tyrese being down and the guy that we really
07:33relied on the most for all the experience.
07:35Excuse me.
07:36We'll take a follow-up from Jason.
07:37Go ahead.
07:40Yeah, quick follow-up.
07:44Some of the stuff that gets said at this time of year, times like these, it just keeps getting
07:52pointed out, the lack of success in the NCAA tournament.
08:00Do you think about that in a time like this, or do you think that that's going to stick
08:08with you as you go into this offseason?
08:13If it does, it comes along with the job.
08:15We want to make deep runs in March, and we haven't done that yet.
08:19It doesn't matter what happened in either of those games.
08:21I haven't gotten it done yet.
08:22It's just got to get better.
08:24I understand that's going to be the subject.
08:26You just have to grow from it and just keep getting better, and that's what I'm doing.
08:30All right.
08:31We'll take one from Roman Cleary on the Zoom, and then one more from the room, and then
08:34we'll call it.
08:35Go ahead, Roman.
08:36Hi, Penny.
08:37Roman Cleary, Bluff City Media.
08:39You've overcome a lot of different hurdles this year from finally winning the regular
08:44season conference title and winning a lot of games in the regular season, single-digit
08:49losses in the regular season for, I believe, the first time in your tenure, or second time.
08:54But the one thing that still has yet to be overcome with the loss today is how can you
09:01get to the second weekend of the tournament moving forward?
09:03What do you think is it going to take for you to kind of get past that after this?
09:09You've just got to keep recruiting.
09:11You've got to get the guys here that care.
09:13You've got to have luck of not having any injuries.
09:15You've just got to keep getting better.
09:17I mean, I understand that that goes along with this.
09:20I fully understand what the postseason is all about, and it's just really unfortunate
09:26for us that we haven't been able to get over the hump for various reasons.
09:32If you've watched our NCAA runs the last three years, the first year didn't finish the game
09:39against Gonzaga.
09:41The second year, lost at the buzzer.
09:43And then this year, you lose, and then you don't have Tyrese.
09:46So I know how it's viewed, and I just have to continue to get better and keep growing.
09:52One last one from in the room.
09:53Go ahead.
09:54Hi, man.
09:55Congratulations on the season and getting here, nonetheless.
10:00Cameron Buford, Voice of the Fans.
10:01For the players, coming off the NIL question, and you're hearing your coach say it's all
10:05about the money, what else is it that would attract you to a program that gets you guys
10:10to get there and stay and perform the best you can?
10:15Well, I think for me it was just having a chance to play in March.
10:20I never had a chance, never was close to it.
10:23So that was kind of a big thing in my decision.
10:26And then, you know, having a platform of playing, like our non-conference schedule,
10:31playing against the best competition, and then just trying to, you know,
10:35better myself professionally.
10:37Being around guys like Dane, PJ, and being around Coach Penny, you know,
10:41future pros and a pro himself, I just felt like that was the best thing,
10:46best decision for me, being around that, soaking up that knowledge,
10:49and then playing on this stage.
10:51So that's kind of what goes into it.
10:53Yeah.
10:54For me it was just, for me I feel like my biggest thing was development
10:58and just being around a pro.
11:00You know, I sacrificed and I turned out in a lot of schools just to come here
11:04and just being able to play in games like this.
11:08You know, I wanted to win.
11:09I wanted to go to the team that wanted to win.
11:13You know, I talked to multiple guys.
11:15I talked to Tyrese, Musa, PJ before I even committed here.
11:20And, you know, we all just bought in.
11:22We all just wanted to win at the end of the day.
11:23It was never about the money or anything.
11:25We just wanted to play in games like this.
11:28For me it was just, like I said, just being under a pro
11:32and just somebody who you look up to.
11:34All right.
11:35Thank you very much, everybody.
11:36Thank you, gentlemen.