Texas Tech University Athletics
Spotlight shines on Red Raiders at NCAA Tournament
March 20, 2024 | Men's Basketball
PITTSBURGH – The day before the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament begins is by no means as exhaustive as media day before the season starts, but for an hour or so between preparing for the games, it can seem that way. On Wednesday afternoon, in the halls of the PPG Paint Arena where the Pittsburgh Penguins play hockey, Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland and his players were moved from locker rooms to a dais to side offices to talk with media about being back in the national tournament and their 2024 NCAA Tournament First Round matchup against NC State which is set for 8:40 p.m. (CST) on Thursday. McCasland had a press conference, recorded an interview with national radio, and met with CBS which will broadcast the game. Along with the Red Raider coach, the NCAA spotlight shined on the players who had an open practice for about 40 minutes on the court and directly on Kerwin Walton, Darrion Williams and Chance McMillian who represented the program during a press conference.
Below are some of the highlights of what the players and McCasland had to say the day before playing the Wolfpack. Â
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On playing against NC State on Thursday
Walton: "They've done things that most people will say are very tough. Everybody that's in this tournament is here for a reason, so to me, every team in this tournament is good. We've got to be prepared. We've been doing a whole lot of practicing and a whole lot of preparation."
Williams: "Just approach it like any other game. They're going to come in excited. They're not going to come in and just let us win the game. We're going to have to come in and beat them."
McMillian: "What Darrion said."
Walton: "I remember playing these guys a few times the first couple years at Carolina. It's always been animosity between the two schools. But it's a whole new environment for me so it's going to be a little different game, different feeling, but at the end of the day we're going to show up and show up to win."
McCasland: "What a match-up problem. I mean, DJ Burns is one of those guys that I don't think there's an answer for. I think over the course of the game, you just have to learn what gives you the best opportunity that night. There's no way to replicate what he's doing. You just got to rely on your team defense and activity to find ways to disrupt it enough to where you hope that you can create an advantage at some point. I'll tell you what, I mean NC State, you can start with Burns. He's obviously such a load because he can pass and he can score, but I love what they're doing with the whole roster. Middlebrooks has really made some big impacts on them with his activity level and his movement and then D.R. has been a problem with his rebounding and ability to make threes and he's defending multiple positions switching. I just think that whole combination, group of forwards is really a great set of problems, and they all present something different."
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On how the team uses past NCAA Tournament experiences for this season.
McMillian: "I would say we just have to stay together, because the past few games I've been up here, I would say the biggest difference is the team staying together. Our togetherness should help us."
Williams: "For me just making sure everybody is coming in being ready to play. Last year I got blown out from the beginning. I think it's just being ready to go from the jump."
Walton: "They said it best. We've done a lot to be here. I think for us we have to make sure we play hard and play smart and play together."
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On what they like about the way the team is playing
Walton: For us, I think it's just the tenacity and grit that we play with. We've had a lot of games that we came down big and we kept clawing and fighting back to get into it. We play for each other. That's like one of our biggest strengths is just us being able to claw out of anything and I think that's going to take us very far in this tournament.
Williams: "I think just the togetherness we play with each other for. We play for each other the whole time. Nobody is worried about themselves. Everybody is trying to win, and no matter the situation in the game, we feel like we can come back and win."
McMillian: "I would agree with Darrion because we do play for each other and we do care about each other a lot, which will help us on the court too. Because we mess with each other off the court, too. On the court, it's just natural. Like, we all are one."
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On what McCasland has brought to the Texas Tech program
McMillian: "He means everything to me. He continues to give us lessons off the court. I really do appreciate that."
Williams: "He's more of a life coach than a basketball coach sometimes. He teaches you a lot about how you should move throughout your life. He means a lot to me. Me and him have a pretty good relationship. We talk. He asks me a lot about how I'm doing outside of basketball. It means a lot to me."
Walton: "He values the well-being of us more than anything outside really. To us we're like his extended family. And we all share a common goal, is winning. That's all he talks about every practice, before and after every single game. Even in the summer before the first time I met him, the main topic of discussion is how we're going to find a way to win a national title. I think that's kind of what's made him such a great coach and a great person."
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On playing in the 2024 NCAA Tournament
Walton: "It's the most exciting time for the year for us. This is what we prepare for all season long. Everything we've done in practices and all the games we've played has led us up to tomorrow's first game. We're all excited to be here."
McCasland: "I've told several people this, and I'm going to try to be as clear as I can. College basketball is beautiful because there's such great interest on your college campuses. We had students lined up in tents all through our campus for one of our home games. Just the opportunity to be a part of this experience really is something that you have to be grateful for. But what makes it special with all the pressure that these guys have on them to perform every day is who you get to do life with. I can tell you, there's nobody I'd rather be a part of this journey with than our group of guys and our staff. And I just -- when you love the people you're with, when you come in to practice and you come into the building, you can do hard things together when you love the people you're with. That's what I love about this group, genuinely. Before we came over here for practice, there's two tables full of guys. It was after lunch. We were finished. They could leave any time they wanted to. None of them had their phones out. They were all laughing and hanging out. If you can tell me, like, this is what it's about, I would point -- of all this, the great arenas, the venues, the games on TV. If I could just video that table and those two tables of our teams sitting there all talking without their phones out, I would tell you this is what it's about. Their opportunity to do life together and to realize that their relationships will carry them forward through some more difficult things than what this tournament brings. I'm so thankful that they love each other and that they love this journey, and I do think it teaches a lot about life more than just basketball."
Below are some of the highlights of what the players and McCasland had to say the day before playing the Wolfpack. Â
Â
On playing against NC State on Thursday
Walton: "They've done things that most people will say are very tough. Everybody that's in this tournament is here for a reason, so to me, every team in this tournament is good. We've got to be prepared. We've been doing a whole lot of practicing and a whole lot of preparation."
Williams: "Just approach it like any other game. They're going to come in excited. They're not going to come in and just let us win the game. We're going to have to come in and beat them."
McMillian: "What Darrion said."
Walton: "I remember playing these guys a few times the first couple years at Carolina. It's always been animosity between the two schools. But it's a whole new environment for me so it's going to be a little different game, different feeling, but at the end of the day we're going to show up and show up to win."
McCasland: "What a match-up problem. I mean, DJ Burns is one of those guys that I don't think there's an answer for. I think over the course of the game, you just have to learn what gives you the best opportunity that night. There's no way to replicate what he's doing. You just got to rely on your team defense and activity to find ways to disrupt it enough to where you hope that you can create an advantage at some point. I'll tell you what, I mean NC State, you can start with Burns. He's obviously such a load because he can pass and he can score, but I love what they're doing with the whole roster. Middlebrooks has really made some big impacts on them with his activity level and his movement and then D.R. has been a problem with his rebounding and ability to make threes and he's defending multiple positions switching. I just think that whole combination, group of forwards is really a great set of problems, and they all present something different."
Â
On how the team uses past NCAA Tournament experiences for this season.
McMillian: "I would say we just have to stay together, because the past few games I've been up here, I would say the biggest difference is the team staying together. Our togetherness should help us."
Williams: "For me just making sure everybody is coming in being ready to play. Last year I got blown out from the beginning. I think it's just being ready to go from the jump."
Walton: "They said it best. We've done a lot to be here. I think for us we have to make sure we play hard and play smart and play together."
Â
On what they like about the way the team is playing
Walton: For us, I think it's just the tenacity and grit that we play with. We've had a lot of games that we came down big and we kept clawing and fighting back to get into it. We play for each other. That's like one of our biggest strengths is just us being able to claw out of anything and I think that's going to take us very far in this tournament.
Williams: "I think just the togetherness we play with each other for. We play for each other the whole time. Nobody is worried about themselves. Everybody is trying to win, and no matter the situation in the game, we feel like we can come back and win."
McMillian: "I would agree with Darrion because we do play for each other and we do care about each other a lot, which will help us on the court too. Because we mess with each other off the court, too. On the court, it's just natural. Like, we all are one."
Â
On what McCasland has brought to the Texas Tech program
McMillian: "He means everything to me. He continues to give us lessons off the court. I really do appreciate that."
Williams: "He's more of a life coach than a basketball coach sometimes. He teaches you a lot about how you should move throughout your life. He means a lot to me. Me and him have a pretty good relationship. We talk. He asks me a lot about how I'm doing outside of basketball. It means a lot to me."
Walton: "He values the well-being of us more than anything outside really. To us we're like his extended family. And we all share a common goal, is winning. That's all he talks about every practice, before and after every single game. Even in the summer before the first time I met him, the main topic of discussion is how we're going to find a way to win a national title. I think that's kind of what's made him such a great coach and a great person."
Â
On playing in the 2024 NCAA Tournament
Walton: "It's the most exciting time for the year for us. This is what we prepare for all season long. Everything we've done in practices and all the games we've played has led us up to tomorrow's first game. We're all excited to be here."
McCasland: "I've told several people this, and I'm going to try to be as clear as I can. College basketball is beautiful because there's such great interest on your college campuses. We had students lined up in tents all through our campus for one of our home games. Just the opportunity to be a part of this experience really is something that you have to be grateful for. But what makes it special with all the pressure that these guys have on them to perform every day is who you get to do life with. I can tell you, there's nobody I'd rather be a part of this journey with than our group of guys and our staff. And I just -- when you love the people you're with, when you come in to practice and you come into the building, you can do hard things together when you love the people you're with. That's what I love about this group, genuinely. Before we came over here for practice, there's two tables full of guys. It was after lunch. We were finished. They could leave any time they wanted to. None of them had their phones out. They were all laughing and hanging out. If you can tell me, like, this is what it's about, I would point -- of all this, the great arenas, the venues, the games on TV. If I could just video that table and those two tables of our teams sitting there all talking without their phones out, I would tell you this is what it's about. Their opportunity to do life together and to realize that their relationships will carry them forward through some more difficult things than what this tournament brings. I'm so thankful that they love each other and that they love this journey, and I do think it teaches a lot about life more than just basketball."
Â?? @CoachGrantMac
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) March 20, 2024
"College basketball is beautiful."#TTW | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/sWnx15hzL0
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