Everything Kevin Willard, Maryland Basketball Said Following Loss to Alabama

Terrapins head coach Kevin Willard met with reporters alongside guard Jahmir Young and forward Julian Reese.

© Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Following the 8-seed Maryland Terrapins' 73-51 loss at the hands of 1-seed Alabama in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament, head coach Kevin Willard met with reporters alongside guard Jahmir Young and forward Julian Reese.

Here's everything the Terrapins said following their elimination from March Madness:

Maryland Basketball Transcript - March 18, 2023

Q. For Jahmir. Can you take us through that moment at the end of the game obviously you shared a moment with Coach and embraced the other guys on the bench. What was going through your mind at that point?

JAHMIR YOUNG: Really just reflecting on the year. I feel like we had a great year and proud of this group overall. Just reflect on it. It was a lot of emotions at the time, but I was just reflecting on the moment and the year that we had.

Q. Juju, a lot of development that we've seen from you throughout the year. Can you take us through what this year meant for you in terms of building for the future?

JULIAN REESE: Yes. I feel like this year was a stepping stone for me and the organization overall. A lot of new guys. The new staffing coming in and players is a good building block to build. Just grateful to have a group like this to start off with and be a part of.

Q. I know that this is a tough feeling right now for you. But just what you could say about the success of the season and how you pushed the No. 1 overall seed through a good portion of this game. And, Coach, I would love to get your thoughts on that as well.

JAHMIR YOUNG: I would just say they just got the best of us tonight. I feel like we fought hard. I feel like the score doesn't really reflect on how hard we played tonight. I feel like -- I'm just proud of this. I wouldn't want to go to war with anybody else. I'm just proud of the guys and, you know, I love them.

Q. I'm sorry for the tough loss tonight, guys. Julian, you were in foul trouble really early in the game. What did you do with your mindset in that game to keep yourself focused?

JULIAN REESE: Early in the year I had the same issues on foul trouble. Mindset I try to go into when I'm in the game is keep the same energy. Don't lose any focus and don't get down on myself and keep playing my game. And I feel like if I don't shy away from contact or physicality and I'll be good. I feel like when I get fouls, I got to keep the same physicality and just keep playing. I understand that just comes with it. And just leave some plays alone. Like over the back call and like, just don't gamble, don't swipe down on some things. Just got to learn from that and build up.

Q. Jahmir, you made the decision after last season to come play for your hometown school. What are you going to remember most about putting on that Maryland jersey this season?

JAHMIR YOUNG: You know, just representing Maryland, you know, just a great university. And our fan base has been, you know, rocking with us all year. So I wouldn't want to go to war with anybody else. I feel like it was a great decision. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Q. Jahmir, how frustrating can it be to drag inside and kind of get caught up in the length that Alabama has on defense?

JAHMIR YOUNG: They are very athletic. And very just, you know, something to work on, something to learn on. Just playing on two feet and, you know, just making better decisions in the lane. But they are very talented. They are very athletic. And they challenge every shot, so I feel like they did a good job of protecting the rim.

Q. For Julian. You were not the most popular guy out there tonight with all the Alabama fans in attendance. What was that like for you knowing that you were getting booed heavily every time you touched the ball? Does that kind of fire you up, or was it just like another road game for you?

JULIAN REESE: It's pretty much like another road game. Playing in the Big 10, I'm kind of used to stuff that like. Just focus on the win.

Q. Coach, kind of a cliche question. What was the message to the team after the game tonight?

COACH WILLARD: It was simple. I told these guys, you know -- I think today is March 18th. I got hired on March 21st. I told them that these guys have really done an unbelievable job of coming together and turning this program into -- getting it going in the right direction. And it was done with an unbelievable attitude. It was done with an unbelievable work ethic. And I was just extremely proud of them. They have made this by far my best coaching job I've ever had. It's very difficult to move your family. It's very difficult to leave some place you love very much and come to a new place, and these guys made this year absolutely phenomenal. I told them I was proud of them, I loved them, I said thank you.

Q. Off that point, how did this year kind of shape with your expectations from when you first accepted the job and now that you're here a year later? What would your thoughts be on where Maryland basketball is compared to where you thought it was when you came in?

COACH WILLARD: We're in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament in 363 days. It's a good first step. I mean, we have a lot more steps that we need to take as a program, and we will get there. But like I said, if you had told me I would be playing in the Second Round inheriting five guys on the roster, I would have told you you're nuts, especially you since you're from Long Island.

Q. Kevin, just how difficult was it to get a good shot -- you were playing good half-court defense, but it was very difficult to get a good shot against those guys, their length. How tough was that?

COACH WILLARD: There's a reason why they were second in 3-point field-goal defense. I think they are first or third in overall field-goal defense. They have a very simple game plan, which works. They just funnel everything into the big guy and, you know, they take away the strong side and the kicks, and they do a great job of it. They use their length tremendously. You know, we didn't get them moving side to side enough. We tried to slow it down. And we just -- we're not built to slow it down yet. That kind of hurt us a little bit. 28-23 at halftime and we didn't play overly well. And not having Juju out there, you know -- some of those foul calls, you know, will make you wonder. I don't think if he doesn't get in foul trouble and they don't take him out of the game, then I think the game is different.

Q. Kevin, coming into this game, you talked about being very familiar with Jahvon Quinerly. What kind of growth did you see from him from you played against him, and what made him so challenging to stop tonight?

COACH WILLARD: I've known Jahvon since he was in ninth grade. I've watched him every second of the way. I probably watch more high school games of Jahvon Quinerly than I have anybody else. To see him turn into the player he's turning into and to see what he went through early in his college career and now seeing him blossoming and having confidence. He has the swagger he had in high school tonight back. To be honest with you, he killed us tonight. I'm really happy for Jahvon Quinerly. He's a terrific young man. If you know him and you know his family, you know his background, to see him blossom into this player, I'm proud of him. I really am. I think it's phenomenal.

Q. Kevin, can you maybe elaborate on Reese's absence in the first half and just it felt like when you have a post player that Bediako has to defend, it changes their defense a little bit.

COACH WILLARD: The second foul call was mysterious and even the third one. I played him with two fouls all year. You know, you can't call that second foul. Not in an NCAA Tournament game. That's just my feeling on it. I thought it was a horrible call and it changed the outcome of the game. I can elaborate a lot on but I will probably get in a lot of trouble. I can go in that much trouble or do you want me going in this much trouble? The second call was a terrible foul call. You can't take our best player out of the game when the game was as physical as it was. It was a horrible call. It changed our whole game plan. We were going to pound it inside, pound it inside. That's what we have been doing for the last two months of the season. We played through Julian. We played at the high post through Julian. We played down low through Julian. He draws fouls. He draws double teams. I mean, he plays -- I don't know where minutes are on this stat sheet. This might be worse than the foul call. So he plays 21 minutes and he's minus 4. So that just tells you how valuable he was to this game. So, you know, I will continue to play him with two fouls because I trust him. But even the third foul was like, you know, I was thinking, you got to be looking at him and put him on the bench. That's how I feel.

Q. Kevin, I think it was a 31-possession game in the first half, which I felt pretty good about. On pace for 62. I'm not sure what it ended up as. How difficult is it to do that for 40 minutes against that group when they kind of come in waves?

COACH WILLARD: To be honest with you, I think you're going to have to play that way to beat them. I watched Houston. I think Houston's got the defense that they can get up and down. They have the one on one players -- did UCLA win? I think Nate has the talent that can run up and down with them a little bit. I just -- they have, you know, their coming off the bench, you know, with 7'1", 6'11", 6'8". Jaden Bradley is an All-American; he's coming off the bench. We knew we had to slow it up. It's 28-23 -- I think if we had Julian on the court, I would have liked where we were. I think we could have played that way the whole time if he hadn't gotten in foul trouble.

Q. Coach, what are you going to remember most about your first season at Maryland? And is there a moment this season that kind of sticks out to you among the rest?

COACH WILLARD: I'm going to take away that this was by far the best team that I've ever had to coach. Again, moving the family -- your family going through stuff is unbelievably hard. Leaving a place that you loved and you help build. This team for me made coaching really fun, and I enjoy this. And, you know, it sucks to lose, and I hate losing. But I'm proud of these guys. I'm proud of their effort. I'm proud of what they did. I'm proud of -- we had 3,000 people at our first game against Niagara. And we sold out eight straight consecutive games. I mean, I'm proud of the way people look at Maryland Basketball right now. It's because of these young men and the work that they have done. That's what I'll take about it. It's now 1 o'clock in the morning. I don't know what we're doing here. You guys are like crazy, man. I'm getting on a plane and going home.