BLACKSBURG – Leading up to the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Virginia Tech men's basketball head coach Mike Young, guard Stormy Murphy and forward Justyn Mutts met with the media for a press conference on Monday. Read what they had to say below.
HEAD COACH MIKE YOUNG
On Storm Murphy playing at home in his last NCAA Tournament:
" I think it's fitting. He comes from a very close-knit family, he's very close with his folks and his mother's mom and dad, the Storm family. It was a real leap of faith for that kid to come to South Carolina. He wanted to play Division I basketball and we were the first school to offer him. And then last year when he wanted to explore doing a fifth year, it wasn't a 'Hey, I want you to come to Virginia Tech.' 'Alright, I'm coming.' He had several from the Big10 and that allure was concerning for me. I don't know who in that league, but I know he had several closer to home that he could have chosen from. He ultimately decided to come here. For him to go back to that great tournament in Milwaukee closer to family and friends, I know it will be very special for him. They always wanted me to come back. Greg Gard is a friend, and they wouldn't do it, and I don't blame them when we were together at Wofford. To take him back to Milwaukee to play the Longhorns on Friday is pretty cool.
On how he has learned from past tournaments and what will be different this year:
"I think this year's team is playing a lot better than last year's team, and I thought last year's team was playing pretty good. We were coming off yet another pause. We played poorly against Georgia Tech who was outstanding, and they fanned our tail here in Cassell. And I think we finished with Wake Forest at home and played good basketball again going into the ACC Tournament. It was a real positive that I didn't have to play North Carolina in Greensboro, their home away from home this year in the ACC Tournament. We had to play North Carolina again, but it was in Brooklyn. I think this team is playing better basketball than last year's team. Again, I thought we were playing pretty well last year. We treat this week properly. We took yesterday off, obviously, in getting home. We're not going to do a lot today because of those four games in four days. But they're in here now. They're doing yoga and lifting, and we'll shoot around a bunch. We'll have three solid days to prepare for the Longhorns, we'll have them ready to go."
GUARD STORM MURPHY
On what the past 24 hours have been like for him and the team:
"It's been fun, you know, to be around the team in that celebratory environment and that atmosphere and spirit. Then to get back to campus and have so many students and people a part of Hokie nation be there to welcome us back was really cool, really special and I know it meant a lot to me and a lot to every guy in the program."
On being the 11th seed and watching the selection:
"We actually just landed, and we were picked within a few minutes, I'm pretty sure. We all were together when we saw it and I think it's great. Any chance to play in the NCAA Tournament is huge and going back for me, it will be cool to go back to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I like the matchup with Texas. It's another place I've watched a lot of games, know some of their players. Yeah, I'm excited for it."
FORWARD JUSTYN MUTTS
On his play and how he's improved in college:
"Just do whatever it takes to win. Someone's got to do the dirty work, the stuff that no one else wants to do. I feel like every team needs that one guy who's a little bit crazy and that one guy who will do all the other stuff, and I have absolutely no problem doing that stuff. I take pride in doing that stuff and I'll continue doing it. It's helped us up to this point. We've got a lot of really good scorers on our team. I just don't feel as though I need to try and shoot 20, 30 shots every game for us to have a chance because we have such a versatile team."
On coming home to Blacksburg after the win on Saturday:
"That was one of the craziest experiences I've had. Seeing the confetti fall, all of that is a once in a lifetime kind of thing. Where else in life will you ever experience something like that, where you get off the bus and people just want to be close to you. People just want to come up, shake your hand, take a picture with you, stuff like that. It's all a blessing to me. It seemed like thousands of people there all huddled around and everyone just wanted to share in our victory. It's almost like a victory for the city; everyone feels like they won and we're just grateful we were able to do that for the city."