Opening Statement
Congratulations to Notre Dame, their coach did a heck of a lot better job of getting those guys to play with a great deal of intensity than I did. Nineteen points off turnovers for them and zero for us. 23 second-chance points for them, 13 for us, 38 foul shots for them 21 for us. I’ve got to do a lot better job of getting my club to play with a lot more intensity than we did. Simple and easy, you reach in and foul somebody cause you didn’t get down in a stance, the head coach has got to do a lot better job of getting them to do that.
On shooting 51 percent in the first half, if the intensity was also in the backcourt with the team shooting much worse in the second half
I have no idea, I’ll look at it on tape. It was easy early, and I’ve got a wonderful bunch of kids, but we’ve got to decide that we want to compete when it’s tough, not just when it’s easy.
On what the primary issue was
Intensity level: 19 points off turnovers, 23 points off second-chance shots, then you get fouled because you work, they had 38 (free throw attempts) and we had 21.
On the defensive approach
We tried to guard, which we tried all year long, by staying in front of the basketball. Demetrious (Jackson) is really tough to stay in front of because they penetrate so well. But today, (Zach) Auguste drive us to the basket in the first half.
On Marcus Paige’s play
First half, he really shot it well, second half he was really good, he took one bad shot right in front of our bench, pressed it a little bit. Other than that, I thought he did some good things.
On how he talked Friday about needing to get up and fight after what happened Monday
Well, you know, the thing is we can get up but this is a tough league, it’s not just about us. Notre Dame got up as well. Just like Louisville, we played them at their place and we played Notre Dame at their place. The world’s not going to come to an end, but right now I am extremely frustrated.
On what the difference was between the two halves
The only difference was the first 7 or 8 or 10 minutes of the first half, the last 10 minutes of the half they dominated the effort up, too. And I think that’s what happened. They didn’t make but 2 or 3 3s but they made 2 that were really big plays. We go to zone on one play and the guy doesn’t get out to cover the shooter and it’s the only place he’s got to cover. This head coach didn’t do a very good job, that’s the bottom line.
Congratulations to Notre Dame, their coach did a heck of a lot better job of getting those guys to play with a great deal of intensity than I did. Nineteen points off turnovers for them and zero for us. 23 second-chance points for them, 13 for us, 38 foul shots for them 21 for us. I’ve got to do a lot better job of getting my club to play with a lot more intensity than we did. Simple and easy, you reach in and foul somebody cause you didn’t get down in a stance, the head coach has got to do a lot better job of getting them to do that.
On shooting 51 percent in the first half, if the intensity was also in the backcourt with the team shooting much worse in the second half
I have no idea, I’ll look at it on tape. It was easy early, and I’ve got a wonderful bunch of kids, but we’ve got to decide that we want to compete when it’s tough, not just when it’s easy.
On what the primary issue was
Intensity level: 19 points off turnovers, 23 points off second-chance shots, then you get fouled because you work, they had 38 (free throw attempts) and we had 21.
On the defensive approach
We tried to guard, which we tried all year long, by staying in front of the basketball. Demetrious (Jackson) is really tough to stay in front of because they penetrate so well. But today, (Zach) Auguste drive us to the basket in the first half.
On Marcus Paige’s play
First half, he really shot it well, second half he was really good, he took one bad shot right in front of our bench, pressed it a little bit. Other than that, I thought he did some good things.
On how he talked Friday about needing to get up and fight after what happened Monday
Well, you know, the thing is we can get up but this is a tough league, it’s not just about us. Notre Dame got up as well. Just like Louisville, we played them at their place and we played Notre Dame at their place. The world’s not going to come to an end, but right now I am extremely frustrated.
On what the difference was between the two halves
The only difference was the first 7 or 8 or 10 minutes of the first half, the last 10 minutes of the half they dominated the effort up, too. And I think that’s what happened. They didn’t make but 2 or 3 3s but they made 2 that were really big plays. We go to zone on one play and the guy doesn’t get out to cover the shooter and it’s the only place he’s got to cover. This head coach didn’t do a very good job, that’s the bottom line.
