13-seed Liberty and 4-seed Oklahoma State are both Indianapolis preparing for their first round game in the NCAA Tournament on Friday at 6:25 pm Eastern from Indiana Farmers Coliseum. The game will be televised on TBS with Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner, and Dana Jacobson on the call.
Ahead of Friday’s game, Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay met with the various members of the media on Wednesday afternoon to help preview the game. Here’s everything he had to say during the press conference.
THIS GAME WILL BE A CONTRAST OF STYLES, HAVE YOU PLAYED A TEAM THIS SEASON THAT GETS UP AND DOWN THE COURT LIKE OKLAHOMA STATE?
“They present a lot of challenges. If you watched them, they have some kid named Cunningham who is a really special player. Coach Boynton has done a terrific job with that basketball team. I think, although Cade gets a ton of credit which is well deserved, I think you would be remiss if you didn’t pay attention to some of the other members of that squad because they are really talented, really athletic. They have a great downhill tempo to their offense. Have we played anyone like them? I’m not sure we’ve played anyone as good as them, but we try to test ourselves in the non-conference with our schedule. We will see on Friday if it prepared us well enough.”
MIKE BOYNTON SAID IT WILL BE A SHAME 2 OF THE 13 AFRICAN-AMERICAN HEAD COACHES WILL FACE IN THE FIRST ROUND, HOW IS THE RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM AND YOUR RESPECT FOR HIM?
“My relationship with Mike is mostly from a distance, from a far, but we have talked on the phone before and seen each other on the road. I think he is one of the bright, young coaches in the country, black or white, he’s really good. I think anytime you have a coach that knows the game and is relationship oriented, I think you’ve got someone who has the formula for success. Another undervalued thing about Oklahoma State basketball is the assistant coaching staff that he’s assembled. I root for Mike whenever I can. I won’t root for him Friday, but neither will he I. I do think it’s a testament to what he and his staff have done to have Oklahoma State in this position. They are really, legitimately one of the best teams in the country.”
YOU’VE PLAYED A TRADITIONAL STRONG NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE, DO YOU THINK THE GUYS ON YOUR ROSTER ARE SEASONED ENOUGH TO NOT BE OVERWHELMED FRIDAY?
“We’re at a stage or a point in our program where we want to test ourselves against the best. With the little bit of success we’ve had, it becomes harder and harder to schedule in the non-conference. We actually benefited from the change in scheduling that the pandemic necessitated and were able to get in the Space Coast Challenge and ended up having three NCAA teams in there, if I’m not mistaken. Mississippi State is in the NIT, so all four of those teams went to postseason play. In Kansas City, which we only had a day in between travel, we played South Carolina, TCU, and then at Missouri and Columbia is a tough place to win. I don’t think our guys will be afraid of the moment or whatever jersey name it would have been on our line against us. I just think we’ve got to focus on how difficult of a task it is to defend Oklahoma State and then try and get a shot on the other end. This is the NCAA Tournament, you’re going to play someone good.”
YOUR TEAM HAS NCAA TOURNAMENT AND CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE WHERE OKLAHOMA STATE DOESN’T, HOW MUCH COULD THAT EXPERIENCE HELP FRIDAY?
“I think they are like 10-6 in Quad 1 games, they play in the Big 12, I don’t think the stage, especially with Cade Cunningham, he just seems to have a maturity about him that warrants a fearlessness in the moment. You look at all of his big shots at the end of games. I just think they’ve got a group that really believes in themselves. Because I’m not with them on a daily basis, I’m not sure how they will react to the newness of the NCAA Tournament. I do think there’s a different dynamic. There’s essentially 25% capacity in the arena. When you are in a normal year when it’s an NCAA Tournament and there are four games that day, if you are the underdog and the game goes long enough, usually the fans in the stands that are neutral and waiting for another team to play, they usually jump on the underdog’s bandwagon. With such a small number, I think Farmers (Coliseum) has a capacity of 6,300 or something, so 25% of that, I don’t think it will be a loud or boisterous atmosphere, but I do think our experience will be a benefit but their lack of I don’t think that will have an impact in the game.”
HOW MUCH COULD A WIN HELP BOOST YOUR PROGRAM ON A NATIONAL STAGE?
“Our barometer of success is in the young man that we invest in and developing his whole person, I like to not base it all on the scoreboard, but I get that’s societal in terms of its measurement. I think winning in the Tournament against Mississippi State two years ago was good, last year’s team we had a team that was old and probably since they had been there, probably would have had a decent seed and a great chance. Every team is different, so I’m not quite sure how this one will react, but a win against the 11th ranked team in the country will be good any time of year, but especially when the stage or platform is so big. Obviously, it would help build the brand, but we’re an every day program. We’re trying to grow every single day. Although the task is arduous, I think our guys will be really invested int he 40 minutes of opportunity that we do have.”
WITH OSU’S HAVING SUCH ATHLETIC GUARDS, WHAT ARE THE DIFFICULT THINGS TO PLAN FOR THAT?
“We’ve seen athletic guards throughout the year, it just so happens that one of their guards is about 6’7″ and can see over people. He is one of the best passers in college basketball. I don’t know why Bryce Williams and Avery Anderson and (Isaac) Likekele, I don’t know why they don’t get as much credit for how good they are, maybe because there’s so much attention Cade gets because of his prowess and his NBA draft prospect. And (Rondel) Walker, I don’t mean to leave out him. They’ve got a great guard line. They put a lot of pressure on you because they get downhill and in transition they are spectacular. They present a lot of problems, but we are who we are and can’t claim anyone off waivers at this late juncture of the year.”
LIBERTY AND UPSET HAS BEEN MENTIONED THIS WEEK, WHAT SHOULD PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT YOUR TEAM?
“It’s probably, ‘Coach McKay was really upset Oklahoma State got a four-seed,’ you’re right about that. What people should know about us, is we are really the sum of our parts. We try and play both ends of the floor equally as well. We spend a ton of time and attention on being sound defensively and taking care of the ball. Big stars or household names, that doesn’t happen at the mid-level unless you do something on a really large stage. We will see if this is our year.”
HOW IS LIFE IN THE BUBBLE?
“I’ve seen a couple of things on the Internet about what a struggle it is. We’ve been fine. We got here Saturday, had to quarantine, I think it was 20-some odd hours and get the testing. I thought the staff that Mr. Gavitt has and all of those other individuals who have labored so hard to make this a safe environment for the players and for the travel party, I think it’s been incredible. The food that was left at the door, was good to me. I’m a little finicky eater, but I haven’t heard one complaint from our guys. That is congruent with who they are. We haven’t had a chance to get outside much because of the controlled environment that we are in, but we did get out to Victory Field some yesterday, played a little badminton, a little soccer. I realized how un-athletic I am in this old age. I think there are some sacrifices that you have to make in order for this opportunity to present itself to actually play the game we love and spend so much time with. Some of those sacrifices are the conveniences that we have outside of the playing season that the COVID protocols are in place. That being said, I think operating in the lane of gratitude is the way to go. You can focus on what you don’t have all you want, or all the inconveniences, but your day goes so much better and life is so much brighter when you have an appreciation for what you do have. I think, Liberty, at least, I’ll speak for our program, we are really happy to be here.”
HOW DOES YOUR TEAM’S EQ THIS YEAR GRADE?
“EQ, it stands for Emotional Quotient. For us, it’s imperative we have a group that isn’t swayed by the adversity that the day presents, whether that’s in practice or a game. We like to make sure that we respond rightly to our emotions. This group has been fabulous. The leadership that Elijah Cuffee, Kyle Rode, Blake Preston have provided for our group has been tremendous, and even Keegan McDowell in his return. I think one of the separators for us, what differentiates us from some of the other programs, and I don’t see them all obviously I don’t coach them on a daily basis, is the character and the unity that this bunch has. It’s really a privilege to coach them.”
FOR YOU PERSONALLY, COMING BACK TO LIBERTY, YOUR FEELING ABOUT HAVING THIS TEAM BACK IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT AND ALMOST BEING A REGULAR PARTICIPANT, AND A LOT OF COACHES HAVE SAID IT’S NOT ABOUT THE SEEDING, IT’S ABOUT THE MATCHUPS.
“We’re privileged to be a part of it. It’s really true. I don’t think the number by your name matters once the ball goes up. It’s the game at hand. When you are in a mid-major conference you’re probably not going to get the same opportunity to be a higher seed that others get because you don’t play the number of Quad 1, Quad 2 games, you don’t have the national exposure. That being said, I think our group feels the sense of privilege that we get to play and we get to play against a really, really good team on a really big stage.”
“I think it’s a collaborative effort. When you are the head coach, you get way too much credit and sometimes too much blame. We have phenomenal assistant coaches. Our support staff is elite and that goes for Henry Barrera our strength coach, Aaron Schreiner our trainer, and Chelsea Mangino our Ops, I’m around people that are elite in their profession and their vocation. I learn from them. I grow in a family that I think is really healthy. I’m the benefactor. Where our program goes from here, we really just want to be every day dudes. We just want to try and pursue the best version of ourselves today. I think when you do that, I think you’ve got a chance, even when you have a bad day, you’ve got a chance to turn it around and find it a way to make it a positive.”
HOW IMPORTANT WILL IT BE TO MAKE 3-POINTERS FRIDAY?
“Yeah, I’d rather make them than miss them. We measure the quality of our shot, not by the result, but was it a good shot within our offense. Our guys know, they are empowered, if they’ve got an open three point shot, it doesn’t matter time, score, they have the freedom to shoot it. We believe that is a big part of our arsenal, but we’ve also shot poorly in some wins from behind the arc. This group is fairly balanced, so it can be a different player on a different night that leads us in scoring or has one of those games, but Oklahoma State is really good. Obviously, the closer we can get to the best version of ourselves will give us a greater opportunity. I don’t mean to sound facetious when I say, I hope they go in, but we don’t control that. We have guys that are really good shooters that work a ton on their trade, but some nights the ball doesn’t go in.”
HOW IMPORTANT IS BLAKE PRESTON TO YOUR TEAM?
“Blake Preston is mired in invisibility. People never talk about him, but he just does an unbelievable job of starring in his role. He is really physical, very efficient around the basket, he stays in his lane. He’s had some games where he has saved us from defeat. I love his growth and improvement. We’ve said all along we saw it coming a little bit with the way he was playing in practice with Scottie James and Myo Baxter-Bell. Not surprised at where he is, but really optimistic about the future that is ahead for Blake Preston.”
