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00:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]
00:02 >> First of all, I'd like to thank the fans for coming out tonight on a Friday
00:07 night and giving us all the support.
00:09 We're going through some challenges here and like I said on the radio,
00:14 I don't wanna make excuses, but we got a lot of, we got a short bench and
00:19 we're trying to manage that as best we can to try to figure out how to win with
00:24 all these challenges and certainly this team has faced a lot of adversity and
00:29 challenges thus far and this is one that we're gonna try to dissect and
00:34 figure out and move on and try to learn from this.
00:38 I mean, that's all you can do with loss.
00:41 I told the guys, I'm just as guilty as everybody else.
00:45 I gotta figure out what I can do better, what I can do better for them.
00:49 And we need to all have a heart to heart and
00:54 start figuring out how we, I said, I questioned whether they liked each other.
00:59 Sometimes in transition, we're not pushing it ahead and I think they do.
01:04 It's just on the basketball floor at times, it doesn't look like they do.
01:09 So we gotta figure this thing out and we will.
01:13 >> Questions?
01:13 [BLANK_AUDIO]
01:20 >> Coach,
01:21 [BLANK_AUDIO]
01:24 It seemed like it was a lot more difficult and
01:27 I kind of asked you about this after the first one, getting Jesse looks,
01:32 especially in the second half, more difficult than it was in the first half.
01:37 I'm guessing their zone probably had a lot to do with that.
01:39 >> Yeah, they knew in half court man to man,
01:42 we were gonna try to get him as many touches as possible.
01:45 And they saw the weakness in that part of the strategy, so
01:49 they went zone early and often.
01:52 I don't think we necessarily got bad shots, but we didn't knock him down.
01:59 And credit to them, credit to Coach Rice and their preparation and their squad.
02:03 They came in with an extreme amount of confidence and
02:07 they continue to chip and chip and chip and to the point where we finally broke.
02:14 And credit to them and their program and hats off.
02:19 >> Josh, what effect did you think they're changing a defense's head?
02:24 Quinn was saying too often you guys didn't get into sets quick enough and
02:27 the shot clock starts winding down.
02:29 People are kind of looking around at each other wondering what to do.
02:32 >> Yeah, and I keep telling the guys that each and
02:35 every day we gotta figure out how to play it off each other.
02:39 In basketball, nothing's ever perfect in terms of the way you draw.
02:43 So a defense can take you out of something and
02:45 then you gotta read off each other and get the right look or a good look.
02:50 And trying to figure out how we get that cohesive synergy,
02:56 so to speak, is something we've struggled with at times.
03:01 And where we're gonna have to figure it out sooner than later.
03:06 Cuz I guarantee you we're probably gonna see a lot more two, three zone.
03:08 [BLANK_AUDIO]
03:14 >> Josh, they played 12, I think, in both halves.
03:17 The second half, they really tried to speed things up on offense and
03:20 make you guys move, really hit the boards hard.
03:22 I don't know if that's their style or
03:24 is that something that's maybe particular to your situation that they were at?
03:29 >> No, that's the type of play that, I mean, we knew coming into it that their
03:32 bread and butter is turning people over and getting out in the open floor.
03:36 And they did exactly that.
03:38 And they knew our rotational situation and
03:44 they took advantage of it and it's just smart coaching.
03:47 So they got downhill, they put pressure on us, they moved us.
03:51 And I went two, three zone at one time and we couldn't get a rebound.
03:57 And as you could see on several of those possessions,
04:00 we would continue to struggle with defensive rebounding.
04:04 I mean, I think there was two free throw line box outs that we missed twice in a row
04:10 that's demoralizing for a coach and demoralizing for a team.
04:14 And not to mention, every time we thought we were turning the game a little bit and
04:18 going down to tie it, we'd turn it over.
04:20 We'd turn it over and it would just kill our momentum whatsoever.
04:25 Any momentum that we had, it would just stymie it.
04:31 >> Coach, the game that Xander had, I mean, sometimes guys have nights like that.
04:37 I get that and there was a lot of times where guys were in good position and
04:42 the shots just went in.
04:43 But there's other moments where he's just making good plays and
04:49 just what did you guys do or not do against him?
04:56 >> No, I mean, I thought we had a good game plan against him,
05:01 but maybe we didn't work on trapping any ball screens or anything like that.
05:07 And maybe we should have, but you gotta be careful with that,
05:09 with getting Jesse in foul trouble, because they're always gonna put him in
05:12 the ball screen.
05:13 So he had 30 points, but he also had six assists and one turnover.
05:19 So he got other people involved too.
05:21 So he wasn't taking every shot and so he was fairly efficient.
05:25 He shot 50% from the field, 50% from three and nine for ten from the line.
05:31 And I hate, and I've said this before, I don't really coach free throws, but
05:36 you could tell that the legs weren't there and we weren't making those free throws.
05:40 And then when you miss two front ends of one and one, I mean,
05:44 that's a dagger in so many ways.
05:47 You work hard to score and we're struggling to score and
05:51 you miss those front ends and then you go to line for two and you miss two.
05:55 So we gotta take advantage of every opportunity we can get and
05:59 we have a very, very small margin for error.
06:04 And somehow we gotta figure out how we shrink that margin for error.
06:08 >> The other thing I wanted to ask, hustle plays, 50/50 balls.
06:12 Late in the game there where they missed a couple front ends and
06:15 then got the offensive rebound.
06:17 A lot of that's hustle kind of stuff.
06:20 I'm sure there's probably a great amount of disappointment.
06:23 >> Yeah, I'm disappointed and they're disappointed.
06:27 And I told them in the locker room, we had a heart to heart and
06:31 everybody spoke their piece and that's healthy.
06:35 That's healthy conversations that we're having and
06:38 we gotta figure out how to get on the same page.
06:39 And there's gonna be a lot of voices and there's gonna be a lot of critics and
06:45 those people can voice their opinion and try to break us.
06:49 But we gotta stay together and figure out how we get better as a coaching staff,
06:55 get better as a program, be better teammates and all the way down the line.
07:00 So we're gonna keep working, it's a long season, dropped one and
07:06 now we gotta figure out how we learn from it and move on.
07:08 >> Last game you experienced a win, the first win.
07:15 You knew you weren't gonna go undefeated.
07:17 >> Yeah. >> You got this one as a loss.
07:18 Now, what's in your stomach now?
07:21 What is it like?
07:21 I mean, cuz in a lot of ways, as you know,
07:25 talking about playing with eight players, you've got one hand tied behind your back.
07:29 >> Yeah, I don't wanna look at it that way.
07:32 I mean, every challenge presents an opportunity and
07:37 we're certainly saddled with a lot of challenges.
07:39 So I'm not one to make excuses, I'm one to figure out a solution.
07:45 So right now we're gonna go back and figure out a solution.
07:49 Yeah, it's gonna eat at me.
07:52 It's gonna eat at me all night and probably for the next two or
07:54 three till we can line up and play again.
07:56 But there's a lot to be done between now and then.
07:58 >> Coach, you say you coach free throws, what do you mean by that?
08:04 >> In a lot of ways, the free throws are mental.
08:09 And I felt like a lot of it had to do with fatigue.
08:13 So you can put a huge emphasis on free throws and practice and all that.
08:23 But sometimes you do yourself a disservice, and I've always kind of believed that.
08:27 So you either step up to the plate and
08:32 you accept the challenge of the free throw line and get over the rim.
08:36 And sometimes it's fatigue, sometimes it's in your head.
08:38 So I don't wanna push that button too hard.
08:41 >> Coach, you were kind of talking about this yesterday with us and
08:45 then kind of saw it out there again tonight.
08:48 Where teams are backing off, sagging down, just basically daring you guys to shoot.
08:54 And second half, obviously, it didn't happen.
08:59 What do you tell your shooters after having kind of seen this kind of defense?
09:04 >> Just step into it and shoot it with confidence.
09:07 When you see them hit the front of the rim,
09:09 that's a pretty telling sign, what you got going on.
09:14 And I told them in there, I said,
09:18 I don't know if I'm doing a disservice by being too light on you sometimes.
09:23 I don't know if I'm being too hard on you in terms of practice,
09:26 especially with the short rotation.
09:29 So I can second guess that all night while I stare at the ceiling.
09:34 But at the end of the day, we just gotta figure out how we buy in and
09:38 figure out a way to win.
09:38 >> Coach, thank you.
09:41 >> Thank you.
09:41 (gunshot)