NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Regional Final: USC vs Gonzaga Tuesday, March 30, 2021 Indianapolis, Indiana, USA Lucas Oil Stadium - Equality Court (North) Q. How exactly did you finagle that net around your Gonzaga Bulldogs neck?

Jalen Suggs JALEN SUGGS: Coach Few gave it to me. I thought he Elite 8 Postgame Media Conference was going to give it to me for a second, and he said, no, you keep it. I didn't want to carry it, so I kind of just threw it on my neck. Gonzaga - 85, USC - 66 Q. Just on Nembhard, what does it mean to you that a guy comes in two days before your first game, tries to Q. Congratulations on the win, Jalen. I was just make himself a part of the team, tries to build a wondering, you guys are one of the best offensive relationship, comes off the bench, and now is starting teams -- of course, you guys know that. How much in the tournament, plays great against Creighton. has Coach emphasized defense, the importance of What's it mean to you to see how he's progressed defense, in this tournament? throughout the year? JALEN SUGGS: A lot. That's a piece we've been working JALEN SUGGS: From the day Andrew came in, we all on, and I feel like we've gotten better every day. It's embraced him with open arms. Me especially, I was showing now. We started to crack the top ten in D around extremely excited to have him. Playing with another guard the country late in the season, and it's continuing to get who can handle it. Andrew's one of the best point guards better every night. When we lock in on that end, we can be in the nation. I don't think he gets talked about enough. excellent. Man, he's good. I've seen it with my own eyes all year long. That's a piece we've really tried to improve on, and I think that's helping us a lot in some of the wins we've gotten in So this is no surprise to me. I don't think it's any surprise to the past couple games. anyone in our locker room. Andrew's a great player. He's a great basketball mind and is a big piece in what we've Q. I think the guys are the third team since 1976 to get got going on right now. Seeing other guys play like that, it to the Final Four undefeated. Can you just describe makes me better and makes the whole team better. what this year has been like and what this accomplishment has been like to know you're in such Q. Talk about attacking the USC zone. Their select company? reputation, statistic ally and otherwise, was to stop points in the paint, two-point percentage. How did you JALEN SUGGS: It's been challenging, but this group of guys attack that zone, and what was so successful? guys here have made it a lot easier. And us being away from family for a majority of the year, I didn't get to see JALEN SUGGS: We just tried to stay moving. The more them or have fans at our games until the last couple of stagnant we got, the more the ball started to stick, and the games of the regular season. easier it was for them to defend us. When we were moving and guys flash in the high post and didn't get it, they're It's been really challenging, but through it all, we've done a popping up. We had somebody else come in and flash, it great job of staying together. Our team chemistry and our was just a lot for them to deal with. We were getting really brotherhood really helped pass the time and make it all a open floaters, good cuts on the baseline, vertical cuts off lot easier. Just getting to this point is extremely special. the wings. We want to celebrate, but we have two more we need to get done, and we're taking it one game at a time. Again, we were really moving in unison. Drew did a good

106240-1-1222 2021-03-31 02:10:00 GMT Page 1 of 3 job ducking in Evan on a lot of those that kind of took the how much he grew as a player after coming here. He was shot blocker out of the way so we could have easy lanes. already great, but I think that over the years the coaches We were working together all night, not letting the ball get have done a great job of developing their guys and getting too sticky. We really did a good job, especially in the first them better. half, in breaking that zone down. That's exactly what they've done with me. Looking back on Q. I know you just talked about how you guys it, this is the best decision I ever made. I miss football manipulated their zone a little bit, but you putting up a every day, but I couldn't see myself anywhere but here stat like you did tonight, where you almost had a triple right now. double, what did you see in the zone? How were you able to work on that on the offensive side and get your Q. I wanted to ask if you watched the women's game teammates involved? Everybody on your team had a last night between UConn and Baylor and if you had fingerprint in today's win. It wasn't just a single stat by texted Paige a little bit and you were wondering if her you or Drew. You got everyone involved. I know exploding on the court motivated you at all tonight? you're not concerned about it, but how did you manage to pull off the numbers and get the team JALEN SUGGS: Of course. I was extremely nervous all going? game. I was pacing back and forth. I couldn't sit down. Yeah, I had it on, and then I texted her after, and we JALEN SUGGS: Just trying to play basketball, just trying FaceTimed and talked for a little bit. to make the simple right play. A lot of the guys ended up finishing a lot of the threes and cuts and layups and things Last night, she said some things that really helped me. I've like that to help me get that. You can't have assist been kind of struggling, trying to get my footing in these numbers like that or really open looks that I got a lot of the tournament games. Of course, seeing her go out there game without the rest of the guys on the court. and play great like she did and then talking afterwards, she kind of said some words, it kind of got me uplifted. It got So, again, like I said, just playing together, not letting the me going. Definitely helped tonight. Yeah, it's a great ball get too sticky, everybody moving around. Whoever game last night. She's the GOAT for a reason. Yeah, I gets the assist, gets the assist. Whoever gets the bucket, was definitely tuned in. gets the bucket. When we get back, get a defensive stop, and come do it again. Q. What was it like you guys being undefeated and being part of history, I think you're part of like Indiana Q. Hey, Jalen, I know the job's not done here. You and Kentucky and all that? What's it like being part of guys have two more games to win, but just kind of as that? I know you guys have two games left. So I you reflect -- obviously, you guys have had a lot of guess that's what's exciting. time on your hands. As you reflect on your own decision to come to Gonzaga, kind of break JALEN SUGGS: It's great. It's hard not to think about it. convention for a really highly rated guy like you, what We try to keep our minds off of it and keep focused on the stands out to you about that choice? Is it what you task at hand. It's a great accomplishment to be mentioned imagined? with those teams because they're amazing. Again, we just come in every day to play to the Gonzaga standard and for JALEN SUGGS: Yeah. I mean, coming here, I knew that each other. I mean, this is the result that we get from that. we were going to win. Gonzaga historically has always won and gotten to the tournament and has been a great So we're not chasing anybody or anything. We're just team in the tournament. So that was one of the main coming in and trying to get better every day and have fun things, but also, again, I always talk about it. It's the family with each other out here on the court. piece. I didn't want to come and be another piece of the puzzle just so they could use me for these six, seven Q. How much of a tone does Drew Timme set for you months, get wins, and kind of ship me off to the next part of guys when he's performing like at both ends like he my journey. did tonight?

From the day these guys started recruiting me, they were JALEN SUGGS: Man, he gets us all going. He gets us all straight. They were up front. They treated me like I was fired up. He gets us going. That's my best impression of one of their own honestly. Like I was part of their family the mustache celebration, and we all feed off of it. We all from day one. I saw Geno come in, and he told me how run with him. much he loved it. I saw how much fun he was having and

106240-1-1222 2021-03-31 02:10:00 GMT Page 2 of 3 He was dominant today, especially early, man. He came out and set the tone, attacking Evan on the inside, and on the defensive end, man, with the steal to start the game off. Like, what, Drew with the pickpocket? No, he was great tonight. He was spectacular like always. His impact is massive. We all feed off of one another, and that's what gets us going every night.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you for your time, Jalen.

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