Gonzaga assistant coach Brian Michaelson breaks down the Bulldogs' matchup with the Cowboys in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Gonzaga Nation Coaches Show with Brian Michelson,
00:10 assistant coach of Gonzaga.
00:12 So first off, Brian, thanks for joining us,
00:14 busy time of year.
00:15 - Well, thanks for having me.
00:16 I'm glad we're still playing.
00:17 - Yeah, well, you know, for you to carve out 12,
00:20 15 minutes today with selection Sunday being yesterday,
00:24 just about to get to the office and start all the prep,
00:27 we really appreciate it.
00:29 So walk us through the expectation yesterday
00:33 before knowing you were a five seed
00:35 about to play McNeese State,
00:38 the excitement of being a five,
00:41 and then the prep that starts literally
00:43 once you know who you play.
00:45 - Yeah, you know, the biggest thing is you're grateful
00:47 to still be playing.
00:48 And some years, especially in recent years,
00:52 we've been pretty fortunate
00:53 to be one of those protected seeds.
00:54 We had a pretty good feel what seed we'd be,
00:57 pretty good feel where we'd be playing.
00:58 This year was much more wide open.
01:01 So obviously knew that there was a regional in Salt Lake,
01:04 knew we wouldn't be in Spokane,
01:06 but thought Salt Lake was probably one of three
01:09 or four places we could end up.
01:11 So to be there location-wise is awesome.
01:14 You know, grateful that we got the five seed,
01:17 probably a little higher than most of the Mocs had,
01:20 as we seemed pretty locked in to kind of that seven area.
01:23 Again, just kind of reading that stuff.
01:26 So five was obviously a little higher,
01:28 but once the bracket comes out,
01:31 especially if you're not a one or maybe a two seed,
01:35 you're playing really, really good teams.
01:37 And we've experienced that,
01:38 'cause we've been everywhere from a one seed on.
01:41 And then again, some of those 15s are really good too.
01:44 So it's gonna be a challenge.
01:47 And once the bracket comes out,
01:49 those numbers next to your name really don't mean anything.
01:52 - Yeah, every year people get excited
01:54 picking a five-12 matchup,
01:56 and they'll go for the upset of the 12th.
01:57 Gonzaga, we've been a 12 before knocking off a five.
02:00 Obviously this year we're a five.
02:02 This 12 seed, McNeese State is pretty darn good.
02:05 Out of the Southland Conference, 30 and three,
02:07 three of those losses were on the road.
02:10 But watched a little bit of them yesterday.
02:12 They play a unique style.
02:13 They can really shoot the heck out of it.
02:14 Defensively, they're really good.
02:17 What have you learned about them
02:20 in your first initial dive on prep?
02:22 - Yeah, I mean, I think you touched on it right there.
02:24 There's three teams in the country that have 30 wins,
02:27 and UConn and Houston speak for themselves.
02:29 And obviously McNeese is the 30th.
02:31 I mean, and we've had some great teams here.
02:34 We know how hard it is to win 30 games,
02:37 especially how hard it is to win 30 games
02:39 before the NCAA tournament.
02:41 So if you've done that, you're really, really good.
02:44 They have a lot of experienced guards.
02:46 We played Wells last year in the NCAA tournament at TCU,
02:49 which was obviously a really good team.
02:51 And their perimeter players are really good.
02:56 They create a ton of turnovers,
02:57 which is obviously a concern,
02:58 especially in a one-game environment
03:00 where if you turn the ball over,
03:02 you're gonna be in big trouble.
03:03 A lot of those turnovers are generated through steals.
03:06 And then you touched on it.
03:07 I mean, multiple guys that shoot over 40%,
03:10 they shoot almost 40% as a team from three,
03:13 which again is really, really scary,
03:15 especially in a one-game deal.
03:17 So very, very good team.
03:19 - So you guys hit your stride when Ben Gregg
03:21 was inserted in the starting lineup.
03:22 So essentially you could say you guys have a big lineup.
03:25 They play a lot of guards.
03:27 Without giving away too much of game planning,
03:31 what does the prep look like in regards
03:33 to trying to figure out matchups?
03:35 Do you look at tendencies that players have
03:37 on the other team and who you would match up with them?
03:40 Or do you look at team tendencies
03:41 in things that you wanna emphasize conceptually?
03:45 - Yeah, really being Monday morning,
03:48 haven't gotten that far into it yet.
03:50 But yeah, like any scout, you're gonna look
03:53 at what we do and what our strengths are
03:55 and kind of what helps us function the best
03:59 on both ends of the court.
04:00 And then you gotta cross that
04:01 with what do their lineups look like?
04:04 What are their players' individual strengths
04:07 and who matches up best for those?
04:10 But it's definitely, there's a contrast in styles
04:13 in a team that's gonna play multiple guards
04:15 and us who are starting three bigs.
04:19 - When you see a Salt Lake City as the site,
04:24 that had to have brought a lot of excitement
04:28 simply 'cause Gonzaga fans travel so well.
04:31 There was Omaha as an option.
04:32 There was Brooklyn, I think, as an option.
04:34 There was Charlotte as an option.
04:36 Places where you can't drive to.
04:39 Salt Lake City, someone could get in the car,
04:41 morning of, get to the game night.
04:43 What's that gonna be like?
04:44 Or what does that add to help the environment
04:48 for the program?
04:49 - Yeah, I think, obviously, outside of Spokane,
04:52 which would have been incredible,
04:54 that was obviously the next closest geographically,
04:58 really the only one you got really, really far
05:00 this year after Salt Lake.
05:03 So I do think we'll have a good fan turnout.
05:06 It's much easier for our fan base
05:08 that's in the Western region.
05:09 So that'll be really nice.
05:11 And then for us, just it's a place
05:14 with a lot of familiarity in the NCAA tournament
05:16 and obviously not necessarily for our players,
05:19 but at least as a staff and as a program,
05:22 it's a place that we've been
05:23 and we've had really good fan turnout.
05:25 So I was happy for that.
05:27 I was happy for our players' families
05:28 that we got the second best location that we could
05:33 'cause it was gonna be really difficult
05:34 to get to those other places, really difficult.
05:37 - It's human nature for fans, players,
05:40 and I'm sure even coaches,
05:41 to just look at the overall bracket
05:43 and see what matchups could be out there.
05:45 Without obviously, with staying true
05:48 to respecting your opponent of McNeese State,
05:51 you see a possible second round matchup with Kansas,
05:54 although they have to play a good Samford team.
05:56 Kansas is banged up right now.
05:58 Without kind of really saying you're gonna play Kansas,
06:02 how do you prepare for that second
06:04 or possible second round game?
06:06 Because it's short prep and you wanna start
06:09 at least having something built out
06:11 where the framework of what you wanna do
06:12 in a second round game.
06:14 - Yeah, and you touched on it.
06:16 And I've been through enough of these
06:18 that obviously McNeese is getting all your attention,
06:21 but you do wanna look at it as a four-team pod,
06:24 basically a two-game tournament.
06:25 After that, I literally couldn't even tell you
06:27 what region we're in.
06:28 I don't even know what happens after those four teams.
06:31 I'm just concerned about those four teams in Salt Lake.
06:34 And like you touched on,
06:36 the McNeese needs to get all of our attention.
06:39 It's a one-game elimination tournament,
06:41 so you gotta be ready for everyone.
06:44 So we'll have the staff preparing for that,
06:47 and then we'll have other staff members
06:49 preparing for both Samford and Kansas
06:52 so that you do have the scouting reports built out,
06:54 you have a basic idea of what your game plan would be,
06:59 you have film clips ready for both those other opponents,
07:03 again, whether that's Samford or Kansas,
07:05 so that you can get to work right away
07:07 and get the team familiar with that opponent
07:09 on what is a fairly short turnaround
07:12 since we have a Thursday night game.
07:14 - Your network as a coach grows over time,
07:18 so you've got friends, colleagues,
07:21 all across the country, I'm sure.
07:24 So you've been able probably to kind of sit back
07:27 for four or five days since the WCC tournament is over
07:30 and watch friends and colleagues go through the grinder
07:33 of in, out, in, out, and then the bracket pops up.
07:37 Is there one or two coaches maybe that are in your network
07:40 that you really are excited for an opportunity for them,
07:44 or you're disappointed that unfortunately they got left out?
07:48 - You know, I think we were pretty fortunate this year
07:50 that kind of our Gonzaga tree had a good run.
07:54 Obviously, Tommy was a no-brainer.
07:55 He was pretty locked into that two, even battling for a one.
07:59 So he felt pretty good about that.
08:00 Obviously, Coach Rice down at Boise was a lock,
08:03 maybe not quite as much as we all thought.
08:07 I mean, I thought they would have probably
08:08 been seated ahead of us,
08:09 and obviously they ended up in the play-in game,
08:12 but the Coach Munson story was really cool.
08:15 And obviously he was before my time here,
08:17 but a guy that I've gotten to know a lot
08:19 over the last 15, 16 years I've been back on staff,
08:22 'cause he comes back to the area
08:23 and is obviously close to the rest of the,
08:26 Coach Few and the rest of those guys.
08:27 So to see Long Beach let him go on Monday
08:31 and then to make a three-game run
08:33 and make the tournament is really, really cool.
08:36 And just really happy for those guys.
08:38 I've gotten to know a couple of their assistants.
08:40 So to finish in the middle of that league
08:42 and then to make the NCAA tournament in a one-bid league
08:44 is a really, really cool story.
08:46 And yeah, it's great to see so many guys in that.
08:48 Obviously, Jacobs was with us and Baylor was a lock,
08:52 but to see their name pop up,
08:54 it's always great when you see those guys succeed.
08:56 - Yeah, that Long Beach State story is unique
09:00 and it's awesome for us Gonzaga people
09:02 who are tied in with Coach Munson.
09:05 I actually committed to Coach Munson
09:08 with Coach Few not being the head coach at that time.
09:10 So that's my tie in with Long Beach State.
09:12 And the other one, their assistant Senkiu Carey,
09:15 we were teammates at UW.
09:16 And a lot of people say I transferred from UW
09:18 'cause he was gonna be the point guard.
09:20 You can make your own decision on that one.
09:21 But yeah, lots of little ties.
09:23 If I'm correct, they and Arizona match up
09:27 in Salt Lake City as well.
09:28 So that's gonna be literally a coaching reunion
09:32 for a lot of guys.
09:33 - How will you balance,
09:36 because you have task at hand, getting ready for the game,
09:38 but you also wanna support your friends
09:41 and be there to offer a word of support
09:45 or an idea or two that might help.
09:48 What's that dynamic like
09:49 because you guys are all gonna be in Salt Lake?
09:51 - Yeah, I hope to bump into those guys,
09:55 but there's not a lot of time.
09:57 I was looking at the game times,
09:59 their game Thursday is gonna be right in the heart
10:01 of all of our game prep.
10:03 So hopefully everybody's gotta get down there Tuesday
10:07 with the NCAA tournament.
10:08 There's the open practices
10:10 and the mandatory media at the arena.
10:11 So hopefully there'll be some crossover
10:13 where you can run into those guys
10:15 and get a quick chance to say hello.
10:16 And obviously the Arizona staff
10:18 obviously includes a bunch of guys
10:19 that I've worked with here or even guys that I've coached.
10:22 So it'd be great to get to see those guys and wish them well.
10:26 But yeah, not a lot of time with the prep.
10:29 And then again, the way the game times worked out.
10:31 - Awesome. Well, I appreciate you joining.
10:33 I know when the selection show comes out,
10:37 you guys have more prep than anybody can imagine.
10:40 Sunday night, short amount of sleep.
10:42 I'm sure you're heading to the office right now on Monday
10:44 to fully get entrenched and ready for practice
10:47 before you guys fly out tomorrow.
10:48 So anything last you wanna add
10:50 in regards to the NCAA tournament, how special it is?
10:54 - Just really grateful to be there again.
10:55 I mean, to never miss one in my time at Gonzaga
11:01 and with the COVID year that we would have qualified,
11:03 I mean, to have it be 26 in a row is really, really special.
11:06 And it's not easy to get there.
11:08 You have to earn it.
11:10 And I think this year was a good reminder
11:13 for a lot of people, but definitely for me
11:15 of how hard that can be and that it's not easy every year.
11:19 And I'm just so proud of how our guys battled
11:21 and overcame some bumps in the road to get this far
11:25 and to earn themselves a chance to play
11:28 in what I think is the greatest sporting event there is.
11:31 - Well, the fellows are playing some great basketball
11:33 at the right time of year.
11:34 You're exactly right on that.
11:35 So best of luck, appreciate you joining.
11:37 And I'm sure we'll be talking again next week.
11:40 - Thank you.
11:42 - For Gonzaga Nation, assistant coach, Brian Michelson,
11:45 alongside myself, Dan Dickow.
11:48 (upbeat music)
11:50 (upbeat music)