NCAA Men's 1st and 2nd Rounds: Columbia Thursday, March 21, 2019 Columbia, South Carolina Are you guys concerned that you don't have any? Breein, why don't you start? BREEIN TYREE: I do feel like experience is a big thing in anything you do. We're experienced guards, and we played a lot of college , but this is our first Terence Davis time in the tournament. This will be a new experience Ole Miss Rebels for us, but on the other side of it, we'll be just as excited as any other person would be for this major THE MODERATOR: We have the student-athletes from opportunity. Ole Miss. We'll introduce the players -- Terence Davis, Devontae Shuler, and Breein Tyree. DEVONTAE SHULER: Definitely for me, too. We definitely got to have a great experience. Of course, Q. Devontae, when you saw the draw and you saw I've never been here, but us going against a D-I team, we're going to treat it as if it's an SEC Columbia pop up next to your team's name, just regular season game. what was your first thought? DEVONTAE SHULER: It was just an opportunity for me TERENCE DAVIS: And just to go along with them, we to come back home and play in front of my family and three guys who have been playing with each other for friends and also for me to have a better chance to play quite some time. We have no experience in the NCAA better in my home state. Tournament, but we do have experience together with this team. So we'll be okay along the road. Q. Devontae, what's it been like to talk to your sister earlier this week, ticket requests and Q. T.D., this is what you came back for to play in everything. How many people do you expect to this. Now that you're here, what's the feeling for have here, and just, last time you guys were here you? last month, didn't go so well. What needs to TERENCE DAVIS: It's unbelievable. To get to share happen to have a better performance? this moment with some of the guys you've been around DEVONTAE SHULER: I have plenty of family and forever, and just to be here, man, is just special. But friends coming, of course. This is like right in the we're not satisfied. middle of where I'm from. For the most part, for me just to come back and stay focused and just for me to Q. Terence, the last couple of games, you've had a come back and get the win, that's the main part of me hard time scoring, getting buckets. Have you kind coming back home and playing in this. That's really it. of flushed that, or do you feel like you need to see a couple go in to get some confidence going Q. I'll continue the line of questions for Devontae. I tomorrow? believe you were teammates in high school with TERENCE DAVIS: Once it's the game, that's flushed. Braxton Key from Virginia. What do you remember The great thing about it, we have another opportunity about him, and have you guys maintained a to play tomorrow, and that's the good thing about it. friendship? DEVONTAE SHULER: Definitely. I won a National Q. Breein, from your scout of Oklahoma so far, Championship with him, so we always stay in contact. what stands out about what they do well and what Braxton is not just a friend of mine on the court. Off kind of challenges might there be in this game? the court, he's a great person. We always say in BREEIN TYREE: They shoot the ball really well. They contact. He's always in contact with my sister, so it's a also exploit mismatches very well. All their players long relationship. from one to five can bring down the ball and dribble the ball. They do a lot of isolation. We just need to guard Q. Breein and Terence and Devontae, if you'd like, the ball, stay in front of our men, stay second in the air, you can chip in on this, too. Experience is always be physical with them and the ball, and I think considered a big thing in the NCAA Tournament. we should be fine.

Rev #1 by #181 at 2019-03-21 16:18:00 GMT page 1 of 4 Q. Breein, a big reason why you all were able to do THE MODERATOR: Any more questions for the the turnaround was because Devontae got moved student-athletes? Thank you, gentlemen. to and you got to be moved off the ball. What kind of growth have you seen in Devontae, We'll go ahead and get started with Ole Miss head what he's been able to do at that position coach Kermit Davis and SID Adam Kuffner. specifically? BREEIN TYREE: Tremendous growth. Even from his KERMIT DAVIS: First of all, probably been one of the freshman year, when I was playing point and he was most rewarding years of my 37 years of coaching to playing the two guard, he grew tremendously in that come to Ole Miss, which is back home for me and my year. But just from freshman year into his sophomore state and to be involved and connect with the Ole Miss year, just leadership qualities has grown tremendously, spirit. You take a team that finished last, picked last, to handling the ball, making better decisions, getting and for the improvement that they've made, I have so the team in the right sets. I don't want to say taking a much respect for our players. backseat to me and T.D., but not taking as many shots and maybe not even getting the spotlight at all times, And then to see the connection with our fan base that but he just keeps it going, and he's a major part of our we probably grew nearly 25 percent increase in team. Without him, this train doesn't go. His growth attendance in SEC games, which was the most of any has been tremendous, and he's still not done yet. league team. So that part has been great. We've got a long way to go as a team. Then to play a really good Oklahoma team in the Q. Breein, along those lines, what specifically has NCAA Tournament, known Lon for a long time. He's that freed you up to do on the wing as opposed to had so much success in this tournament. He's got you having to play point last year? another really, really good team, and I think it will be BREEIN TYREE: It's freed me up to just be a lot more another really, really good 8-9 matchups. aggressive offensively. That's what Coach wants me to do, assert myself on the offensive end and take better Q. Kermit, Devontae Shuler's move to point guard shots than I did last year, and Devontae's helped me was so big as far as the turnaround was do that a lot this year. Just getting me open because concerned. How far has he come at that position he's such an aggressive guard. A lot of help will come specifically, and what have you seen as far as what and kick outs to me and T.D. on the wings, and then it's he's been able to do, ball handling and all that time for us to make a play and try and get the ball in stuff? the basket. KERMIT DAVIS: He's probably been the key to our team. He got nicked up for five or six games after the Q. Devontae, as a younger -- as a young person, Mississippi State game, and he's now back healthy. He how many times did you come to this gym as a fan, didn't even play point guard at Oak Hill for Steve Smith. and did you play here? He kind of played off the ball all the time and played off DEVONTAE SHULER: I didn't really come to many the ball as a freshman. We really met in the spring, games, but my sister was a big fan of the basketball and I really think he understood. team and my brother. So they'd always tell me, like, come into USC and get a good feel for how Coach The biggest thing he's done, he's valued the ball. He's Frank Martin is, just me being around and the a tough, competitive guard on the ball defending. He environment of me getting a feel for a college really has -- Breein and T.D. have had these great All- basketball stadium has been great. SEC years, but Devontae Shuler has been maybe our most valuable player on the floor. Q. T.D., Devontae is a guy that you took under your wing really, really early in his career. It was Q. You mentioned this team finished last, picked important in getting him here actually. What have last. What point did you realize they had the you seen from him, and how far he's come as a potential to be an NCAA Tournament team and player and just all around in terms of his game? exceed all these expectations? TERENCE DAVIS: Like Breein touched on, Devontae, KERMIT DAVIS: We took a trip to Canada that really just a tremendous player. To be a freshman and play helped us. As I said before, we left a lot of bad key roles last year and then to play a whole 'nother basketball in Canada. It gave us time to really get role, point guard, never played the position ever, it just extra practices. An NCAA Tournament team, probably tells you how good of a player you are. Just to play a when we beat Auburn at home and they were ranked. whole different position and be good at it, get his team Then three days later, we go to Mississippi State and to March Madness just tells you everything. beat another ranked team. Probably at that particular

Rev #1 by #181 at 2019-03-21 16:18:00 GMT page 2 of 4 time that we got ranked ourselves that we started kind clocks. of thinking that maybe you have a chance. Didn't talk about it to our team -- but to play in the NCAA Q. Kermit, coming off that Alabama game, how has Tournament and be a postseason team. been the focus and the recovery in practice after a loss like that? Q. Kermit, you and Lon Kruger are two of the most KERMIT DAVIS: We got after them pretty good just experienced coaches in the field. Do you have any after we got back. The next day, on Friday, we watched familiarity with him or crossed paths with him at the tape before we left from Nashville to go back to any stops? Oxford, and then on Saturday and Sunday we had two KERMIT DAVIS: You know, I've just known Lon forever. really physical practices, not very long, an hour and 20 This is the first time I've ever coached against Lon's minutes, but got back to trying to rebound and defend. team in any game, but I guess I've just always admired And then as the week -- you know, we got selected to Lon and followed him when he was at Florida and come to the regional, we've kind of backed off. It's Illinois and obviously at Oklahoma. We both had the been really good. I wanted to get that out of our same assistant, a guy named Greg Grensing that I system and back playing. We needed to go up and hired when Lon was at Vegas fixing to go to Oklahoma down some. and Greg was a great assistant of mine at Middle Tennessee. Just as a coach and one of his peers, I've So I think our attitude and energy level has been really admired him for what he's done. The main thing is how good this week. he's gone about his business for so long in his career. Q. Kermit, this seems to be like a pretty good Q. Kermit, it seems like Bruce has really put it guard-oriented matchup, especially with your together in the last month. How much of what group. But what do you see on the other side, you've gotten from him has kind of changed the specifically with Jamal Bieniemy, the freshman dynamic of y'all's team? point guard? KERMIT DAVIS: He's a critical matchup tomorrow, he KERMIT DAVIS: I just told Lon, I saw him in the hall. I and Don both. Obviously, number one, Doolittle is an said, God, Lon, I watched him probably ten games ago undersized -- he's really a four man, but he plays the and watched him until now, and he's got to be one of five and so he gets good matchups. Can you guard the most improved players in the Big 12. You can tell Doolittle, and Bruce and Don, especially Bruce? Can he's just kind of grown up as a freshman, great size, you guard him at 17-feet isolations that Lon puts him great pace. The biggest thing, he just takes care of the in? So that's a big critical key. Then can we throw the ball. And obviously, James is a real physical kind of a ball to Bruce, pick up fouls, and make guys guard him celebrated guy that's played in the Final Four. I like around the goal? We know he can pick-and-pop and them. And the other guys are real physical, driving shoot goals. If us going forward, if we're going to have guards. So you're right, our three guards are going to some success in this tournament, he's going to have to have to play really well tomorrow. be a big part of it. Q. Kermit, a lot is made of experience in this Q. Kermit, you've had so many close games just go tournament. You have some, but your players down right to the wire. Is that something you think don't. How do you think that factors in? you've talked to your team a lot about, you know, KERMIT DAVIS: I think because you've got Oklahoma, finishing at the end of it? But do you think that's you've got some guys that have played in the Final kind of fueling them as you head into a game with Four. You've got a team that played in it last year in the such pomp and circumstance? tournament. I just think that, when you play in leagues KERMIT DAVIS: We have. We played a hard late year like ours, when you've played in those kinds of games schedule. We were up one, and Grant Williams makes every night. I told our team yesterday, I said, guys, a shot with four seconds to go to beat us at home, one- you've been tested in every way possible a college possession game with Kentucky. We go to Arkansas team can get tested by what you went through in an and have the ball at one, they hit a last second shot to 18-game schedule in this league. So they've been in beat us. Obviously, Alabama, we were up 16 and get these big environments and big arenas. Do you have a beat at the end. So it's a concern. little nerves, probably a little jitters first when the ball's tipped and you get it going? Sure. But I think some of those games we've been really, really competitive and played good in parts of those But the biggest thing is just stay true to yourself, do games, and that's something to draw on. But you're what you do, don't try to go out of character, and just right, we've got to do a better job of closing games out be who we are, the best version of our team, and and just making basketball plays at the end of those hopefully they'll do that tomorrow.

Rev #1 by #181 at 2019-03-21 16:18:00 GMT page 3 of 4 Q. Transition defense has been something that your guys normally do very well. How important is transition "D" just going to be in a team against Oklahoma? KERMIT DAVIS: Any time you play Oklahoma or Lon's team, transition defense is always big because Doolittle can get the ball off the defensive boards and bring it up as a center, a so-called center. So it makes your adjusting, getting back defensively some different matchups. And obviously, the way that they shoot the ball on the perimeter, the stretch four is so good. He's as good a stretch four shooter as there is in college basketball.

So you're right, that's something that's been kind of a staple of ours for many, many years, wherever we've coached, and we're just going to have to be true to form tomorrow.

Q. Kermit, how helpful has it been to have the -- I guess as of tomorrow, the eight days off? Did your team kind of need that rest after pretty much of a grind? KERMIT DAVIS: You know, I think mentally, nobody wants to get beat in their conference tournament by any means. Obviously, we were disappointed, but probably in the end, I think mentally, it's been really good for our team, a team that, like I said, went to Canada, had extra days of practice. So we have really stuck to about an hour, hour and ten minutes this week at most. So I do think -- I saw it with Breein and even T.D. the last couple days, a little fresher legs and fresh minds. Hope it does help.

Q. Kermit, Lon said he had an awareness of you. Have you guys coached against one another? KERMIT DAVIS: No, we haven't. We've just known each other for a long time. Just through recruiting and different basketball, as you cross paths, and like I said, it's just been a great respect on my part for Lon.

Q. What would you say is kind of a staple, I guess, of his teams and how you have seen them through the years, I guess? KERMIT DAVIS: They've guarded at a high level, and just the way the ball moves offensively, I think he's just always had great spacing. He was one of really the first guys. I mean, I know the dribble drive, the spacing and driving balls, and I just think their best players shoot it. He puts them in spots to catch and score, and he's done that his whole career.

THE MODERATOR: Anything else for Coach? Thank you.

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