Opening statement
You have to give Boston College credit. They played a tremendous game. They played hard, they made shots, they competed, they were excited into the game, and our players, we picked it up in the second half, and we competed a lot better than we did in the first half and did a great job. Our coaching staff, we work for a great guy, and he has us prepared, and I’ve always said I’m going into each and every game that I should always be prepared that if he gets sick or he gets tossed in a game, that I can just step right in and manage the team. But I thought our staff did a great job of managing the team, managing the game down the stretch. You just have to give the players confidence that everything’s gonna be okay, and we’ve just got to play. Like I tell them, I said it’s not my first rodeo. Things just kind of worked out for us at the end. We battled. We battled. We had guys step up and make plays and Theo hit some free throws. Justin Jackson, we decided not to start him today, and he responded the way you’d like a guy to respond. He competed, he played hard, he was involved, he got his shot to go. Marcus hits a big 3 for our team. We had a lot of guys make a lot of big plays. Kennedy had a big steal on the defensive end of the floor. So a lot of guys contributed, and that’s what it’s about. I think that was a big part. We certainly rallied around the fact that coach was down, and you’ve got to have somebody to just kind of pick us up, and I think that’s what our team did. It wasn’t one individual, but our team all contributed and all tried to pick things up with coach out. I just tried to give them confidence that fellas, we can do this. Just get stops, play hard, and I think we’ll be okay.
On what I was like when Williams collapsed
I didn’t know anything else other than after they got him up and they took him off the floor, it wasn’t the first time that he’s had a vertigo attack because of a sudden movement or jerk and had to go down. That’s why I said I’ve always told myself that if something like that happens, you’ve got to step right in and it’s your job. Go in and manage the team, give those kids confidence, and we’re gonna be okay. Just do what I say. We’re prepared. All we’re going do, and C.B. and Hubert, they did a great job of just helping me manage things. It’s a little different when you’re sitting over there giving all of these suggestions, and all of a sudden, in the middle of the storm, you’ve got to have the answer, so to speak. I was excited about it, but I know I just had to keep our guys playing, and keep their confidence up, and just hopefully we could weather the storm and get closer and closer. We kept talking about just get stops. Just get stops and then we’ll work on the offensive end as we go, but first of all we had to get stops in order to get back into the game.
On if he had to massage what concerns the players may have had
Never addressed it one time with them. I just said ‘He’s gonna be okay, let’s go.’ They know. They saw him stand up and walk off the floor, so they were aware. They just—The heat of the battle and the game and everything that’s going on at that time, you don’t have time, especially the guys that were playing that were on the court, I don’t think they were over there looking over their shoulder. In the back of their mind, maybe, but action is happening, and they’ve got to be focused on what we’re doing on the court at that time and trying to get stops. Trying to get a rebound, chasing (Eli) Carter around all those screens. Just trying to make plays on the offensive end.
On if he sensed an uptick in intensity right after Williams collapsed.
I think it was growing. I think we were starting to understand we had to play with more urgency on the defensive end of the floor. We kept getting it close, and then all of a sudden they hit a 3, or they’d make another play, and then when coach went down, it just, you know, human nature. You’ve got to rally. You’ve got two options: You can either just be totally immersed and concerned about his well-being, which I know all of them were. But we also had a game to play. Coach wouldn’t want it any other way. He would want our guys to focus on the game and do the job that they’re supposed to do. Then at the end of the game, we evaluate everything that’s going on with his self, and we have confidence in our medical staff that they’re going to take care of him, and we were able to just play the game.
On what was trying to be accomplished with the lineup change.
Shake things up. We’ve got to shake things up. Just because you lose two games in a row, and everything’s not hunky dorey. You wanna shake things up and say ‘Okay fellas, we have to play better.’ And I think that was a big thing for us, just trying to shake it up a little bit and just try to get us going. We didn’t quite work in the first half, but it did motivate some other guys in a different way to play a little harder, give a little bit more, and I think some guys responded that way.
On when the decision made to shake things up
We talked about it probably on our flight back from Notre Dame. We’ve had discussion over the last couple of days in practice, what to do, how to do it. Coach made a final decision right before game time.
On what Williams was like in the locker room after the game
Big smile. Big smile on our face. He talked to the team after the game was over with, so I was just happy that we won the basketball game, and I think I just happen to be the oldest assistant coach, so that’s probably why I’m up here. But the suggestions that C.B. McGrath and Hubert Davis gave throughout the course of the game, I think all of us, we kind of came together a lot more as a staff. It’s different. It’s different for everybody involved. In the middle of the game, all of a sudden, the role is changed a great deal in terms of as the game’s going on. We just kind of adjusted and just tried to keep the ship moving, and give the kids confidence that they could do it. We have good players and we have good senior leadership, and those guys stepped forward and responded in a critical situation like that.
You have to give Boston College credit. They played a tremendous game. They played hard, they made shots, they competed, they were excited into the game, and our players, we picked it up in the second half, and we competed a lot better than we did in the first half and did a great job. Our coaching staff, we work for a great guy, and he has us prepared, and I’ve always said I’m going into each and every game that I should always be prepared that if he gets sick or he gets tossed in a game, that I can just step right in and manage the team. But I thought our staff did a great job of managing the team, managing the game down the stretch. You just have to give the players confidence that everything’s gonna be okay, and we’ve just got to play. Like I tell them, I said it’s not my first rodeo. Things just kind of worked out for us at the end. We battled. We battled. We had guys step up and make plays and Theo hit some free throws. Justin Jackson, we decided not to start him today, and he responded the way you’d like a guy to respond. He competed, he played hard, he was involved, he got his shot to go. Marcus hits a big 3 for our team. We had a lot of guys make a lot of big plays. Kennedy had a big steal on the defensive end of the floor. So a lot of guys contributed, and that’s what it’s about. I think that was a big part. We certainly rallied around the fact that coach was down, and you’ve got to have somebody to just kind of pick us up, and I think that’s what our team did. It wasn’t one individual, but our team all contributed and all tried to pick things up with coach out. I just tried to give them confidence that fellas, we can do this. Just get stops, play hard, and I think we’ll be okay.
On what I was like when Williams collapsed
I didn’t know anything else other than after they got him up and they took him off the floor, it wasn’t the first time that he’s had a vertigo attack because of a sudden movement or jerk and had to go down. That’s why I said I’ve always told myself that if something like that happens, you’ve got to step right in and it’s your job. Go in and manage the team, give those kids confidence, and we’re gonna be okay. Just do what I say. We’re prepared. All we’re going do, and C.B. and Hubert, they did a great job of just helping me manage things. It’s a little different when you’re sitting over there giving all of these suggestions, and all of a sudden, in the middle of the storm, you’ve got to have the answer, so to speak. I was excited about it, but I know I just had to keep our guys playing, and keep their confidence up, and just hopefully we could weather the storm and get closer and closer. We kept talking about just get stops. Just get stops and then we’ll work on the offensive end as we go, but first of all we had to get stops in order to get back into the game.
On if he had to massage what concerns the players may have had
Never addressed it one time with them. I just said ‘He’s gonna be okay, let’s go.’ They know. They saw him stand up and walk off the floor, so they were aware. They just—The heat of the battle and the game and everything that’s going on at that time, you don’t have time, especially the guys that were playing that were on the court, I don’t think they were over there looking over their shoulder. In the back of their mind, maybe, but action is happening, and they’ve got to be focused on what we’re doing on the court at that time and trying to get stops. Trying to get a rebound, chasing (Eli) Carter around all those screens. Just trying to make plays on the offensive end.
On if he sensed an uptick in intensity right after Williams collapsed.
I think it was growing. I think we were starting to understand we had to play with more urgency on the defensive end of the floor. We kept getting it close, and then all of a sudden they hit a 3, or they’d make another play, and then when coach went down, it just, you know, human nature. You’ve got to rally. You’ve got two options: You can either just be totally immersed and concerned about his well-being, which I know all of them were. But we also had a game to play. Coach wouldn’t want it any other way. He would want our guys to focus on the game and do the job that they’re supposed to do. Then at the end of the game, we evaluate everything that’s going on with his self, and we have confidence in our medical staff that they’re going to take care of him, and we were able to just play the game.
On what was trying to be accomplished with the lineup change.
Shake things up. We’ve got to shake things up. Just because you lose two games in a row, and everything’s not hunky dorey. You wanna shake things up and say ‘Okay fellas, we have to play better.’ And I think that was a big thing for us, just trying to shake it up a little bit and just try to get us going. We didn’t quite work in the first half, but it did motivate some other guys in a different way to play a little harder, give a little bit more, and I think some guys responded that way.
On when the decision made to shake things up
We talked about it probably on our flight back from Notre Dame. We’ve had discussion over the last couple of days in practice, what to do, how to do it. Coach made a final decision right before game time.
On what Williams was like in the locker room after the game
Big smile. Big smile on our face. He talked to the team after the game was over with, so I was just happy that we won the basketball game, and I think I just happen to be the oldest assistant coach, so that’s probably why I’m up here. But the suggestions that C.B. McGrath and Hubert Davis gave throughout the course of the game, I think all of us, we kind of came together a lot more as a staff. It’s different. It’s different for everybody involved. In the middle of the game, all of a sudden, the role is changed a great deal in terms of as the game’s going on. We just kind of adjusted and just tried to keep the ship moving, and give the kids confidence that they could do it. We have good players and we have good senior leadership, and those guys stepped forward and responded in a critical situation like that.
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