Alabama, Michigan players preview Sweet 16 matchup in Chicago

CHICAGO — Players for both Alabama and Michigan spoke to reporters at the United Center on Thursday, previewing Friday evening’s Sweet 16 matchup. Here’s everything Alabama’s Labaron Philon, Houston Mallette and Latrell Wrightsell and Michigan’s Trey McKenney, Roddy Gayle Jr. and Yaxel Lendeborg said on the eve of the March Madness matchup.

*** ALABAMA PLAYERS

Q. Houston, after that win against Tech, you said you would die for Alabama. What has made your experience here so positive, and if you guys could say what it’s like to have Houston as a teammate.

HOUSTON MALLETTE: Yeah, I love this place. It’s the best place I’ve ever been. I love my teammates. I just love it. I don’t want this thing to end. Bama has treated me and my teammates in a way that’s changed the rest of our lives. It’s changed my life through relationships, through the bonds with my brothers. And I don’t know, there’s this verse in John where Jesus talks about greater love has no one than this than to lay one’s life down for his friend. And that’s a verse I take to heart. I would lay my life down for these two guys and for anybody in our program. I love this school so much. Yeah, I love it, man.

LABARON PHILON: Just having him as a teammate, it means everything. Just seeing him walk in the gym early, getting up shots, greeting everybody, putting a smile on everybody’s face. Really when he’s around, there’s no possible way to have a bad day. He can uplift anybody, and I’ve seen it hands-on and stuff like that.

Like I said, he’s a great person, great leader, and he gets all the guys just together, just like with anything. Just talking to guys about Christ and stuff like that. That’s really important to him.

I feel like all the guys really just love him. Like he said, we don’t want it to end. Just been playing so hard for this university and program.

Q. Labaron, we’ve seen some significant improvements in your shooting percentages in this season from last year. Would you attribute that to what you learned when you went through the testing the waters in the NBA Draft and the exploratory process?

LABARON PHILON: I would just say in the off-season, having a lot of time to just work on your game was really the biggest thing for me. Like I said before, it really wasn’t anything that I had to change. It was just about the type of shots that I was getting and the confidence level.

I feel like when I was working in the summer, my confidence just grew so much that every shot that I shot, I thought it was going in. That’s how I play the game of basketball now. I didn’t really have to change anything in my shot mechanics or anything like that. Just getting extra reps in and building that confidence.

Q. For all three of you, what does it mean to be a massive underdog in this game? How do you embrace that?

LATRELL WRIGHTSELL JR.: I mean, we’re not really opposed to it. We know that Michigan is a really good team, and they’ve proven that multiple times throughout the season and stuff like that. We have the ultimate respect.

But we also know what we can do, too. And we know if we put in the work and we play our best and we play hard and we play for each other and have fun out there, we can compete with anybody in the country.

We know that they have a really good size and they have really good bigs and really good guard play, and they’re a full team. But we put in the work to be here, too. We lace our shoes the exact same way. We know we have the talent. We have the coaching staff. We have the game plan, and we have everything we need to be successful as well.

HOUSTON MALLETTE: Yeah, we’ve embraced adversity all year long. We’ve had 14 different starting lineups. We’ve had probably a million different lineups, who’s been available, who’s been out with injury.

We embrace it. Like Trel said, it’s a basketball game. We prepare. I think we’ve had our best two weeks of preparation. Like our practices last week were phenomenal and then our practice the past three days has been incredible. We love each other. We’ve got real Mudita. All respect to Michigan, they’ve got a really good program like Trel said. They’re really good all around. They’re well-coached. But we’re just excited for the opportunity.

LABARON PHILON: For me, just seeing the coaches get real riled up for this game. Coach Oats, all the coaches, they’re just ready to play. For a player just to see that, that just gives you more confidence that we’re going to be out there ready to play just like they are. They’re a great team, but we’ve also been finding our way here. I feel like we’ve progressed a lot. Just seeing that as a team that’s coming in really hot and playing against a great team is going to be a really good game.

Q. Labaron, you’ve tallied 19 assists in the first two games of the tournament. How do you feel like that side of the game has grown for you, and how do you expect that to be a factor tomorrow night?

LABARON PHILON: Just finding a balance of knowing when I have to get off the ball. Some teams have aggressive coverages and some teams like to play drop coverage, some teams like to get up there and switch. Just being able to balance it, like I said, being able to get in the lane, being able to play outside, being able to find guys in tight windows.

Like I said, it’s the balance of the game. Really I can’t explain. Just as a point guard you always have to have a little bit of in between of just doing everything, and for me, I’ve been trying to get rebounds, push the ball, and just get the ball movement for the guys and trusting that the ball is going to find the right person.

Q. For Labaron, what do you like about playing in March Madness and just kind of the stage of the Sweet 16 and the opportunity it provides?

LABARON PHILON: Just playing in March Madness in general. It’s one of the biggest basketball outlets for college and just around the world. Everybody watches college basketball, but it’s a lot more people tuning in when it’s March.

For the guys that’s out there trying to get their name known or teams that want to prove something, it means more in March. Everybody’s season is on the line and nobody wants to go home. For seniors, nobody wants to play their last game I’m pretty sure. So just putting it all on the line really.

Q. Houston, you guys are preparing for your third game without Aden. How has that team rallied in his absence, and how are you guys preparing?

HOUSTON MALLETTE: Yeah, we love Biz. Our prayers are with him, and that’s our brother for life. I think we’ve prepared the same way we’ve prepared all season. We’ve had, like I said earlier, a bunch of different starting lineups, a bunch of guys in and out of the rotation.

We have like a superpower, and that’s our Mudita. We love each other. We have vicarious joy for each other’s success as if it was our own. That’s our superpower. I think that’s what makes difference within our team.

Guys have stepped up in his absence, like Taylor Bol Bowen is playing some of his best basketball. Jalil, the way he’s been practicing, you guys will see, he’s been really good. Noah Williamson, he’s having a phenomenal tournament. Guys have stepped up left and right.

Like I said, that’s our brother. But we’re ready to play. We’re ready to prepare, and we love each other.

Q. Labaron, you mentioned that being able to see the coaches riled up for the game gives you confidence. In what ways have you seen the coaches give it their all in preparation this week?

LABARON PHILON: I mean, Coach Oats, he’s so into it. These guys can explain it. He’s just ready. You can see the look in his eyes, just going through the game plan, the way he’s talking about the game. You can tell he’s been losing sleep and just putting in the extra hours of just wanting to win this game. I see the look in his eye. He really wants to win this game.

As a player, that means everything. Just that confidence right there can give you just a little more of an edge to go make the plays that we need to make or plays that can flip the game. And he kind of talked about that, just being ready to play for 40 minutes. I think that’s going to be the special thing for this group to do in this game, just be ready to be out there for 40 minutes or even 50 if it goes that long.

Just putting in all on the line, like I said.

*** MICHIGAN PLAYERS

Q. Roddy, I think you said early on that when Trey first got here, he wasn’t talking much and you weren’t even sure that he liked you. Does he like you now, and can you talk about how he has developed as a person and as a player since he’s gotten here?

RODDY GAYLE JR.: I think he likes me. Me and my relationship with Trey has definitely progressed over the year. He’s become one heck of a player, especially with his maturity level throughout the year, and his ability to adapt in any situation, especially defensively, and being more of a play maker.

Q. This topic is still staying with Trey. Since L.J. got injured, you’ve had a combo job role and you’ve really extended your skill set. When you self-evaluate how you’ve performed the last six games, can you gauge where Trey McKenney is in his game?

TREY McKENNEY: I think I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable with playing point guard. Coach Dusty has done a good job making sure I’m comfortable with the players and different concepts to get in during the game when I’m in that position. Give a lot of credit to him and the staff, they gave me the opportunity, and I think I’m at a point where I’m very comfortable doing it.

Q. The last time you were here, things obviously had a rough ending. I’m wondering how much that’s lingering on your mind, and how does it feel to be back here so soon?

YAXEL LENDEBORG: Yeah, definitely left a bad taste in our mouth. As soon as we walked in the locker room — they gave us the same one as last time, so we had to try to switch something up, see if it’ll give us a little more luck. We want to make sure this time we don’t leave with any losses. We’re going to handle business. So we’re going to come in with a better mindset and do the best we can to dominate.

Q. Yaxel, how did you switch it up? Did you take different lockers, put your bags in different directions, places?

YAXEL LENDEBORG: Yeah, we switched it up. We tried to switch the whole vibe in the locker room in general. Everybody is sitting in different places, acting differently. We’re just trying to change everything completely.

Q. Trey, as a freshman, your first taste of the NCAA Tournament. You’ve obviously played in big venues, arenas, all that stuff, tough places. How is it different for you encountering this for the first time, the crowd, the craziness? How different is it and how has your adjustment been to that higher stage?

TREY McKENNEY: Obviously the stakes are way higher at this level and I’m playing with a really talented team. It’s not like anyone on the team really has to do too much out of their role. Just being here with these guys, I’ve built a really good relationship with these guys throughout the season. It’s much more than basketball when you’re playing with them.

Q. When you guys look at the six Big Ten teams left in the Sweet 16, how prepared do you feel for this moment right now, having played in a conference that has so many teams remaining?

RODDY GAYLE JR.: Yeah, I mean, it’s very important, especially I feel like we went through a gauntlet of a schedule this year. Playing against these guys throughout the course of the year, we beat up on each other, and I think that makes us better.

I think the Big Ten conference is the best conference in the world. So just seeing the success — obviously we want everybody in the Big Ten to be successful. But just kind of seeing the success that the conference has had in the tournament is really good. And I think it speaks to how good we were in the season to be able to finish first.

Q. Yaxel, you had sort of an unusual path to Michigan based on how little organized basketball you played growing up. Now that you’re with a coach who is a total film junkie and rather a savant of the game, what are some of the biggest areas that he encouraged you to work on when you initially came to Michigan, and if you’d reflect on the biggest areas of growth that you’ve had?

YAXEL LENDEBORG: I would say my approach toward the game of basketball has gotten a lot better. Just being able to slow the game down, as well. He’s been telling me and teaching me a lot of reads that I didn’t think were there. Early on in the year, we would watch film and he’ll just help me fix my reads, fix ways where I can be more impactful, even in a role where I’m not being as aggressive as a scorer anymore. It definitely helped me out a lot. It helped me mature more in the game of basketball.

Honestly, I’m really grateful I was coached by him. And, man, he’s just given me a lot more to play for, like more will to just go out there and try to be the best I can be regardless of how it’s going. He’s definitely helped me work on my mental. When things are going bad, I lean more on my teammates instead of beating myself up so much now.

Q. For Roddy and Yaxel both, how would you describe what Dusty May’s system on the basketball court looks like to someone who’s never seen it? How would you describe what it means to be playing for him?

RODDY GAYLE JR.: I mean, it’s pretty simple. He’s very positionless. I think the kind of things we run and the kind of way we play is super free. It translates to the next level as best as you can possibly do it. Just his ability to create and find different things and just make something out of nothing.

Honestly, whenever we mess up plays, he likes it. He’d rather our offense be chaotic. But we also are trying to play for each other as far as not really trying to play selfish basketball or kind of by ourselves. He’d rather us play for each other and run actions for each other.

YAXEL LENDEBORG: On top of that, I would probably say he has a pro type of style. He does a lot of free-flow offense. He has certain sets, but the sets aren’t necessarily for shots. It’s just for movement, just to get the defense out of their shell, and then attack off those mistakes. It’s a pretty free-flowing offense.

Q. Yaxel, Dusty seems to have a connection with almost every coach you guys face. Really close with Schertz, history with Nate Oats. How much intel or insight do you think he gave you in the film study? Did it seem familiar or do you feel like he gave you a lot more insight on what their game plan might be?

YAXEL LENDEBORG: Honestly, I would say it was pretty much the same way we attacked the film session with Saint Louis. Because of all the similarities in our game, it’s pretty much like an easy cover. We’ve just got to be physical. We’ve got to be physical, we’ve got to play — we’ve got to do things that we don’t like that teams do to us to them pretty much. That’s what we’re learning and trying to imply.

Q. Yax, you were at UAB for a couple years. How did that time prepare you for this moment? I know you’ve been really complimentary of Dusty once you got to Michigan. Then also as a former UAB Blazer, do you feel anything differently playing against Alabama?

YAXEL LENDEBORG: Yeah, once I entered the transfer portal out of UAB, I was hoping to get recruited by Alabama. And when I didn’t, it kind of hurt me a little bit. Not in a way with I can say I hate them and all that. It’s just it bothered me a little bit.

But I was very proud of the moments that I had in Birmingham. I definitely learned to be more aggressive, get out of my shell a lot more. And in situations where I feel like I need to step up in a way, I’m not afraid of those moments anymore. And that definitely happened because of how much pressure Coach Kennedy put on me and how much he wanted me to be an aggressive scorer.

Those two things really helped me out. But I’m super excited for Alabama and just pretty much like a second home, I guess you could say.

Q. There’s something behind the smile, obviously, but how much extra juice is this going to have where obviously you were dissed by Alabama in the recruiting process?

YAXEL LENDEBORG: There’s going to be a lot of extra juice for sure. I know I’m going to try my best to be the best player on the floor tomorrow. All it is is extra motivation, just not in the sense where I’m like, this is what you guys missed out on, but like, you guys could have at least called or something like that. Something like that.

But yeah, there’s no bad blood. Maybe I didn’t fit the system or anything like that. But I’m excited to see him.

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