Kennedy Brown, Reigan Richardson | 2024 NCAA Tournament First Round
Q. Talk about the season you guys have had to this point and the opportunity now that you have in front of you in the NCAA Tournament.
REIGAN RICHARDSON: Throughout the whole season I feel like we've grown together as a team. I feel like we've gotten closer, like chemistry wise. Going into the tournament I feel like it'll be a first for a lot of us and it'll be our last for a lot of us, so I feel like we're just really hungry and excited to compete with each other.
KENNEDY BROWN: Yeah, I feel like growth is the word for this season for us. Started out with a very young team, very new team, but have seen tremendous growth in every single person and as a collective. I think that's what I'm most excited for is just to see how we put it all together and compete at the end of the season.
Q. You've put together a lot of new pieces in the off-season. What has the journey been like and what's it like to hit this stride towards the end of the year and get prepared for the tournament?
KENNEDY BROWN: Yeah, I mean, I'd say it was difficult for me at the beginning of the season just kind of taking on a new role with this team, being one of the only -- us being one of the only vets left. It was challenging. With any new team there's ups and downs, I think, but I think we've definitely seen, like you said, we've kind of hit our stride and we're playing our best basketball now, which is what you want ultimately. I think just coming out and competing every night is our goal.
REIGAN RICHARDSON: Yeah, to jump off that, I feel like
we have grown a lot since the beginning of the season. It was tough at first just because, like Kennedy said, I am having to step into a new role being one of the veterans on the team, and that comes with a lot of responsibility, which I feel like I've stepped into pretty well coming now since the beginning of the season.
I don't know, I guess we're just really excited to compete.
Q. You guys had a little over a week off after the season ended. What did you do during that time to help prep for the NCAA Tournament?
KENNEDY BROWN: Yeah, I think it was nice just to kind of have that time to focus on ourselves and what individually we each needed to work on and then collectively as a whole some things we needed to clean up, whether that was execution on the offensive end or just staying connected on the defensive end, cleaning up some of that, some scheme stuff, different looks we might try and implement during the tournament, and then also just kind of working on situational stuff that -- anything can happen in March.
REIGAN RICHARDSON: Kennedy Brown said it all. I have no comment.
Q. We played Richmond earlier in the season, in the season opener. We're a completely different team now, they're a completely different team. What do you anticipate will be different about this matchup and what kind of -- what are you looking forward to for this matchup at this time?
REIGAN RICHARDSON: Like you said, they are a completely different team now, we are a completely different team now. I feel like Richmond is a great team, and I feel like we've just got to go in there, be able to compete with each other and not settle going into the game.
KENNEDY BROWN: I think it was kind of funny to watch film from that game because we were like, wow, who are these people. Yeah, just a lot of growth I think has taken place on both ends for both teams. I think it'll be a competitive game for sure and a fun environment.
Q. You're both veterans on the team. What do you learn from last year versus Colorado that helps you for this year's run?
REIGAN RICHARDSON: I feel like for this year you've really got to give it all you've got. With an NCAA Tournament, it's survive and advance. You win or go home. We're not trying to go home.
KENNEDY BROWN: Yeah, I think last year that was my first NCAA Tournament actually getting to play, and so just kind of getting used to that sort of environment and the mindset you have to come into each game. Like Reigan said, it's win or go home. Knowing that now and just kind of the way you have to start every game, you can't wait until the last five minutes to really push the pace or play with that kind of urgent mindset.
Q. You guys play in one of the best conferences in the country. Night in and night out you're playing great teams. How do you think the ACC has prepared you for the NCAA Tournament?
KENNEDY BROWN: I mean, like you said, it's one of the most competitive conferences in the country, and I think there's a lot of great teams. We get to see a lot of different types of talented players. I think there's a lot of versatility in our conference, and so we're kind of ready for anything, anything that anybody can throw at us. We've kind of done everything, scheme-wise, personnel-wise. I think it's really prepared us well.