Opening Statement
It was a tough night for the guys in blue. It was a very hard fought game by both teams. Both teams. Both teams, I felt, had a sense of urgency, but their sense of urgency was a little better than ours. In the 2nd half, they shoot 53% and we could never get the ball to go in the basket for us. Biggest part of the game for me, was every little possession was extremely important and they played really tough, loose balls, 50/50 balls, they seemed to get more of those than we did. They had 17 points off offensive rebounds compared to our 7. Needless to say, we didn’t shoot the ball very well, especially in the 1st half. I thought we had some better looks than the results were. I liked the way we kept playing and we got it to a one possession game, if Joel
Berry’s three goes in; I think it was a four point game at that time. It didn’t go in and we got two or three tips at it and we didn’t put the ball in the basket. Their zone, they went man to man a few times, but their zone made it difficult for us to get it inside. We didn’t move as well as we needed to inside and that’s something that I think was very important as well. We’re a pretty good passing team and had two assists in the first half. That’s not the way we play. When I look down there and see fast break points and I see six; I don’t think we had any at halftime. If you would have told me at halftime that we’d shoot 29% and be out rebounded, have no fast break baskets and be down one, I’d have taken that. We didn’t play as well as we needed too in the 2nd half either. But I thought for those guys, Lee was really huge. Four out of seven from the three point line. I thought they would shoot the ball better than they did Saturday, but Virginia guarded them better than we did. That usually has a lot to do with how well you shoot the basketball.
On the two assists in the first half and you mentioned the misses. How much of that was something they were doing and what were they doing.
Well, they’re good defensively. They had a little more fire in their belly. I imagined their practices have been very focused the last couple of days, maybe it’s just one day of practice, I guess. The last play of the game, I’ve never loved a player more than I did Marcus, but when the ball gets tipped out, he’s goes after it with one hand and their guy grabs it with two and gets the rebound. Kennedy goes up to get a rebound and Trey Lewis, one of their guards, goes over his back and got the ball and knocked it out. I thought it was our ball, but the referee’s thought different. Kennedy’s gotta get that rebound. Every game, it’s a little bit your team and a little bit the other team. I thought Marcus, for example, had some good looks in the 1st half and it didn’t go in. But they do a good job of flying at you with their athleticism too.
On your level of concern about the play of your team over the last several games shooting less than 40%
It’s part of the game. Give credit to the other team. Fourth time in five games, we won the other four. So you gotta find something else that’s gotta be important about the game. But we haven’t shot the ball well. I told some of you guys, some of you play golf, when you get the yips and you go to the long putter, hell, there’s no long putter in basketball. You gotta knock the ball in the damn basket. You gotta take good shots and make good shots. It’s not for the coach to go out there and think that there’s some kind of secret potion or anything.
On his concern level about Marcus Paige’s shooting issues
Guys, I’m no getting on you but damn, he hasn’t shot it worth a frankity-frank for four or five games, am I supposed to put him out and send him to Siberia? He is one of the greatest kids I’ve ever coached, I’m going to stick with him. I’m going to coach him, he’s going to try and take shots. I don’t have any potion that I can rub on people. You gotta keep shooting and knock one in.
On when Marcus isn’t shooting well, do you have enough other perimeter shooters to make up for it
We have at times this year, but it wasn’t tonight. When you look at Joel Berry, he’s been shooting it pretty doggone well and he was 1 for 10 tonight, 1 for 5 from three, we need a little bit better than that. If you get more balance by getting more scoring out of your big guys, when Kennedy had 4 shots and Brice had 6, their big guys challenged the ball around the rim. They didn’t allow us to get the ball as easily inside as we allowed them to get the ball inside.
It was a tough night for the guys in blue. It was a very hard fought game by both teams. Both teams. Both teams, I felt, had a sense of urgency, but their sense of urgency was a little better than ours. In the 2nd half, they shoot 53% and we could never get the ball to go in the basket for us. Biggest part of the game for me, was every little possession was extremely important and they played really tough, loose balls, 50/50 balls, they seemed to get more of those than we did. They had 17 points off offensive rebounds compared to our 7. Needless to say, we didn’t shoot the ball very well, especially in the 1st half. I thought we had some better looks than the results were. I liked the way we kept playing and we got it to a one possession game, if Joel
Berry’s three goes in; I think it was a four point game at that time. It didn’t go in and we got two or three tips at it and we didn’t put the ball in the basket. Their zone, they went man to man a few times, but their zone made it difficult for us to get it inside. We didn’t move as well as we needed to inside and that’s something that I think was very important as well. We’re a pretty good passing team and had two assists in the first half. That’s not the way we play. When I look down there and see fast break points and I see six; I don’t think we had any at halftime. If you would have told me at halftime that we’d shoot 29% and be out rebounded, have no fast break baskets and be down one, I’d have taken that. We didn’t play as well as we needed too in the 2nd half either. But I thought for those guys, Lee was really huge. Four out of seven from the three point line. I thought they would shoot the ball better than they did Saturday, but Virginia guarded them better than we did. That usually has a lot to do with how well you shoot the basketball.
On the two assists in the first half and you mentioned the misses. How much of that was something they were doing and what were they doing.
Well, they’re good defensively. They had a little more fire in their belly. I imagined their practices have been very focused the last couple of days, maybe it’s just one day of practice, I guess. The last play of the game, I’ve never loved a player more than I did Marcus, but when the ball gets tipped out, he’s goes after it with one hand and their guy grabs it with two and gets the rebound. Kennedy goes up to get a rebound and Trey Lewis, one of their guards, goes over his back and got the ball and knocked it out. I thought it was our ball, but the referee’s thought different. Kennedy’s gotta get that rebound. Every game, it’s a little bit your team and a little bit the other team. I thought Marcus, for example, had some good looks in the 1st half and it didn’t go in. But they do a good job of flying at you with their athleticism too.
On your level of concern about the play of your team over the last several games shooting less than 40%
It’s part of the game. Give credit to the other team. Fourth time in five games, we won the other four. So you gotta find something else that’s gotta be important about the game. But we haven’t shot the ball well. I told some of you guys, some of you play golf, when you get the yips and you go to the long putter, hell, there’s no long putter in basketball. You gotta knock the ball in the damn basket. You gotta take good shots and make good shots. It’s not for the coach to go out there and think that there’s some kind of secret potion or anything.
On his concern level about Marcus Paige’s shooting issues
Guys, I’m no getting on you but damn, he hasn’t shot it worth a frankity-frank for four or five games, am I supposed to put him out and send him to Siberia? He is one of the greatest kids I’ve ever coached, I’m going to stick with him. I’m going to coach him, he’s going to try and take shots. I don’t have any potion that I can rub on people. You gotta keep shooting and knock one in.
On when Marcus isn’t shooting well, do you have enough other perimeter shooters to make up for it
We have at times this year, but it wasn’t tonight. When you look at Joel Berry, he’s been shooting it pretty doggone well and he was 1 for 10 tonight, 1 for 5 from three, we need a little bit better than that. If you get more balance by getting more scoring out of your big guys, when Kennedy had 4 shots and Brice had 6, their big guys challenged the ball around the rim. They didn’t allow us to get the ball as easily inside as we allowed them to get the ball inside.
