Cincinnati Head Coach Wes Miller Georgia Tech Postgame
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00:00 I told the guys in the locker room
00:01 that that was really fun there in the second half.
00:06 I thought they did some things in the first half
00:07 to just kind of stagnate the game
00:09 and, you know, frustrate us a little bit,
00:11 and I thought we handled it good.
00:13 I did. I mean, they were playing way back and way off of us.
00:16 We had a scrimmage against Indiana State
00:18 early in the preseason,
00:20 and they kind of played us like that,
00:22 and we struggled with it,
00:23 and we kind of addressed it after that,
00:25 and that's why those closed-door scrimmages are so valuable.
00:28 And I thought we were much more prepared,
00:30 even though we didn't know
00:31 that's exactly how they were going to play us.
00:34 We were much more prepared for how to deal with it
00:36 because we had been through that once this year
00:38 and dealt with it already.
00:40 And so I thought we handled it pretty well.
00:42 And some of those early wide-open shots don't go in,
00:44 and sometimes when you get guarded like that,
00:47 it can kind of snowball.
00:48 It didn't tonight.
00:49 And then all of a sudden, the lid comes off the basket,
00:53 and we made some shots.
00:55 But I did. I thought that run in the second half was fun.
00:58 It was good to see our defense fuel our running game
01:01 and sustain itself for the first time.
01:03 That was what was noticeable to me.
01:06 If I start singling guys out,
01:08 I'll just keep - I'll talk about the whole roster,
01:10 so I won't do that tonight.
01:11 But obviously, Victor shooting,
01:13 you guys all thought I was lying about it, you know,
01:16 when I was talking about how well
01:18 he's been shooting the ball.
01:19 I think people really saw it for the first time tonight,
01:21 not just that he can make one,
01:23 but he is pretty effective back there.
01:27 Certainly, I know you're going to ask me
01:28 a lot of questions about his ease,
01:29 but it's going to take us some time
01:33 to assimilate him offensively and some other stuff.
01:36 But, man, I thought his presence defensively
01:38 was very noticeable tonight.
01:40 I thought it impacted the game.
01:42 And then I thought it was good to see C.J.
01:43 Frederick make some plays there,
01:46 you know, in the second half to get us going, too.
01:48 Yeah.
01:50 The energy when he came in.
01:55 I know you've talked about kind of temporary expectations,
01:58 but it's very obvious this fan base has gotten behind him.
02:03 Was it pretty cool to see when you checked him in,
02:06 you know, the recognition that he got
02:08 and then he follows it up with a block in the lob?
02:12 Yeah, you know, I appreciate so much how -
02:17 and he does, you know, and I was actually listening to him.
02:19 I got to walk in after my radio, and it's really neat.
02:22 He did a great job up here talking.
02:24 But I appreciate so much how people here in our community
02:29 have supported him through this
02:30 and how I know we're going to continue to support Jamil.
02:34 So it's meant a lot to me.
02:36 It's meant a lot to both of them.
02:38 And it was neat for him to have that moment,
02:42 and you could sense the energy, right, building up to it.
02:44 My biggest concern -
02:46 and these are the champagne problems, right -
02:48 my biggest concern once he got cleared
02:50 was that we would make it too much about Aziz tonight
02:53 because our team is so excited.
02:54 He's so excited.
02:56 Our fan base - I wanted to make sure -
02:57 we made it about Cincinnati basketball, too.
03:00 And I thought our team and him, they handled it beautifully.
03:03 But our fans, our support, it was awesome, guys.
03:06 It meant a lot to our program.
03:07 It meant a lot to him. It meant a lot to me.
03:10 You mentioned Dede Thomas,
03:11 and you mentioned a lot about the offseason.
03:14 Two turnovers, 17 points, seven wins.
03:18 How much has that played into you guys
03:20 as a five-time winning team?
03:23 Yeah, I thought - gosh, the two -
03:27 you saw it is a point guard to the two turnovers.
03:29 I can think of them pretty clearly right now.
03:30 So you remember those. But I thought they were great.
03:33 I thought Dede to start the second half, among other guys.
03:37 But Dede and John defensively
03:39 to start the second half set a tone.
03:41 Cody, I mean, those three of them set a tone.
03:44 And I thought they were - in the first half,
03:46 I thought Gisle's minutes really mattered.
03:48 I thought we were at our best
03:49 when he was in the game in the first half.
03:51 And I thought that was Gisle's best game as a Bearcat.
03:54 Best game in college so far.
03:56 He's got a lot of great games ahead of him.
03:57 But I thought he settled us down.
03:59 He made some really nice plays at ball screens.
04:01 He was solid defensively.
04:03 Like, I was pretty proud of him tonight.
04:05 He did a nice job.
04:07 What's it like as a coach, a guy like CJ?
04:09 You get hot, I guess, for on consecutive seasons.
04:12 And do you remember fifth-third arena being that loud
04:15 and that kind of -
04:19 Yeah, again, that was fun.
04:21 Our guys that we talked about in the locker room, it was fun.
04:24 The second half was fun, guys.
04:26 Especially that first 12 minutes or 10 minutes.
04:28 It was fun.
04:30 You know, comparisons, I don't know,
04:31 is pretty loud for the cross-down shootout last year.
04:34 You know, we came back in the second half,
04:35 even though we couldn't get over the hump.
04:37 But, you know, this place, when it's electric,
04:41 is as good as anywhere in the country.
04:43 I've said it all along.
04:45 We have to do our part to give people a reason to be like that.
04:49 We need this place to be like that all the time.
04:53 That'll lift us.
04:54 Hopefully we can give people a reason
04:55 to be like that consistently.
04:57 So, yeah, that was really neat.
04:58 But we're going to need a lot of that this year.
05:00 And hopefully we'll give you a reason to keep doing it.
05:04 Russ, defense in the paint, perimeter shooting.
05:07 Tonight, Mike, can I give you a coaching?
05:12 You know, I think, I said it to the guys in the locker room,
05:16 you know, I try not to play mind games with kids, right,
05:20 or young people.
05:21 I try to just be very honest with them.
05:23 And the first thing that I said to them is,
05:25 that should make you feel like you have a chance
05:27 to be a really good basketball team.
05:29 We put some things together tonight.
05:31 And so I think, number one, get some confidence for that.
05:34 And then, number two, let's realize
05:36 that we have a long way to go,
05:38 and we have a lot of room to improve.
05:40 Let's enjoy this until midnight.
05:42 And when we wake up tomorrow, let's double down
05:45 because we can get even better and better and better.
05:47 And with what's ahead of us, we know there's going to be
05:50 some really, really tough days and tough roads.
05:52 And we're going to be competing against the best programs
05:54 in the country.
05:55 So I think let's understand and get some confidence
05:58 in the things we did well.
05:59 Let's double down on the things that we've been working on
06:01 to continue to improve.
06:04 Seamoz goes ball screen with Aziz for the lob,
06:07 and then shortly after goes ball screen,
06:10 and they go under, and he gets the open three.
06:12 Is that the type of impact that Aziz can make
06:16 because teams have to ultimately make a decision
06:20 on what they're going to do with him,
06:22 whether they're going to leave the shooter open
06:24 or leave him open?
06:25 Yes.
06:27 I haven't even had a chance to really study the stat sheet,
06:31 but Aziz is three for four, eight points.
06:36 You know, nine rebounds is pretty good in 21 minutes,
06:38 but he's three for four with eight points,
06:40 and that doesn't even begin to tell you
06:42 what he probably did on offensive possessions,
06:44 like how many baskets he accounted for,
06:47 you know, because of his role presence or because he does --
06:49 He's a really smart player and does his job well.
06:52 And, again, we're going to find ways to give the ball more
06:55 as we go, but, yes, he has a --
06:58 If you're trying to kind of make people understand a jab,
07:02 which is what I think you're trying to say,
07:03 it's like his impact on a possession
07:06 is so much greater than a stat sheet.
07:10 We learned that when we coached against him, you know,
07:12 so I understand being on the other side of it, for sure.
07:15 When you look at the two big lineups,
07:17 defensively with Nick and Aziz out there,
07:19 and, you know, he's, well, those guys, all three of them,
07:22 the best defensive ratings on the team tonight,
07:24 what kind of --
07:25 Who's three have you seen in practice?
07:27 What defensive rating are you looking at?
07:29 For 100 possessions, they have the best --
07:31 Just points per possession?
07:32 Yeah. Okay. Like lineup rating.
07:34 Yeah, like Van Dego, 57.1 points per 100 possessions.
07:37 Okay. I was just curious.
07:39 We might have to hire you to do some analytics
07:40 and get that information quicker than I am with my staff.
07:44 But what kind of chemistry have those guys shown,
07:47 the ability to pass off on just defense
07:49 and then the ability to just kind of trust each other
07:51 that somebody's going to be there to get the rim shot?
07:54 They're allowed to kind of run a little bit.
07:56 Listen, guys, you got to start talking points per possession
07:59 and all that kind of stuff with statistics.
08:02 You guys are way ahead of the curve
08:03 with anybody else in the media I've seen
08:05 around basketball or college basketball.
08:07 So we're doing good in the media here locally at Cincinnati.
08:10 I'm impressed with that.
08:13 Yeah, I think when you have a front court with,
08:18 you know, versatility physically,
08:22 and all three of those guys are physically versatile.
08:25 They can guard different positions,
08:27 and then they have athleticism and length,
08:30 and then they're all experienced players.
08:32 So, like, Odie, Vic, and Aziz are all experienced.
08:35 They're not young.
08:37 Like, you looked at Indogo tonight for Georgia Tech.
08:38 He's going to be a really good player.
08:40 I was pretty impressed with him during the game.
08:43 But he's a freshman. So, you know, those three on our team
08:46 right now on the front court that played tonight,
08:49 they have all the ability, but they also have experience.
08:52 So, yeah, that's going to really --
08:55 It doesn't surprise me that our efficiency
08:57 defensively with them in the game is at its best
09:00 because, you know, like when you put three guys
09:03 with length, versatility,
09:05 instincts, experience out there,
09:07 it's going to impact possessions for sure.
09:09 So I'm going to point out efficiency,
09:11 but I'll point out turnovers.
09:12 You guys forced 19.
09:15 Is that kind of in line with having the front court
09:18 available to pressure on the outside as well?
09:22 Yeah. It's like this isn't rocket science.
09:24 It's very common sense, right?
09:26 When you have rim protection, you have guys down there
09:29 that can make guys miss or come block.
09:31 Then it gives the guys on the perimeter, you know,
09:34 the ability to pressure harder and have confidence behind --
09:38 you know, that they're going to have rotations behind them.
09:40 And everybody in basketball knows that.
09:42 That's why it's really hard in recruiting
09:45 to get multiple guys that have that ability.
09:48 We're fortunate to have those three.
09:49 And then we got another one right now in Jameel Reynolds.
09:52 You know, we have another guy there.
09:54 So that's important for the way that we're trying to play
09:56 on both offense and defense.
09:58 Sunday you mentioned you had to issue
10:02 a couple of Confederate Army days.
10:04 How about you, Andrews?
10:06 You didn't have much better ways than what you have,
10:09 Jameel, with so many weapons out there tonight.
10:13 Yeah, well, you know, coaches don't sleep during the year.
10:17 I'm not alone.
10:18 Every Division I coach in the country
10:20 doesn't sleep as much during the season.
10:22 But I am pleased, Scott.
10:24 Like, I'm pleased that he's out there.
10:27 I'm pleased that he's not fighting this process.
10:29 I'm sure when you guys asked him a question,
10:32 it's not just what he said.
10:33 Genuinely, you can see how difficult it is
10:35 when he answers the question.
10:36 It was heartbreaking as a coach.
10:39 And, again, we have another guy in the same situation,
10:42 Jameel Reynolds, and, you know, so, yeah, I'm still --
10:46 If we're going to use that analogy --
10:48 I mean, I'll never sleep good during the season.
10:49 But if we're going to use the analogy of sleeping good,
10:52 like, I'm not sleeping good yet
10:54 because we still got Jameel Reynolds.
10:55 And I'm so pleased the disease is with us now
11:00 when he's out there on the court,
11:01 and I'm so pleased we're past that hurdle.
11:04 But my heart still breaks for Jameel Reynolds,
11:06 and we're not going to forget about that.
11:08 You know, I told Jameel today, we're not going anywhere.
11:11 We're going to fight for him.
11:13 Thirty-two runs there in the second half.
11:15 Obviously, it's an eight-point game in the half.
11:17 What was your perspective on the offensively-dialogued
11:19 that they wanted to notice in the second half?
11:23 Well, I think, you know, again,
11:25 they packed it in in the first half.
11:27 And we got --
11:29 We had some really good defensive possessions
11:30 in the first half,
11:32 but some of them ended in shot clock violations
11:34 so you don't get a chance to run, right?
11:36 And then some of them, we didn't finish the possession
11:38 because we have a silly foul or --
11:40 You know, we don't box out and finish the possession
11:43 with the defensive rebounds, so you don't get to run.
11:46 I thought in the second half, we finished defensive possessions
11:49 and they were live ball stops,
11:51 meaning we get a turnover or we get a defensive rebound,
11:54 and it fueled our running game.
11:57 And then I'll have to look at the tape,
11:58 but I had a feeling that, you know,
12:01 as the second half kept going,
12:02 our depth was a factor in the game.
12:04 It was harder for them to keep getting back,
12:05 and you saw the quality of shot in transition was really high.
12:09 That dunk, wide-open threes, things like that.
12:11 Two more. I don't know if rewarding
12:14 would be the right word to violate this correctly.
12:16 It's a versus quote.
12:17 How rewarding was it for you to be able to go over
12:20 and have disease on the guard and stay going
12:23 after everything that you all did in the regular play?
12:26 Yeah, guys, it's the stuff in coaching that's fun,
12:30 moments like that, for sure.
12:33 I'm not somebody that's unaware of that
12:34 or doesn't have soft spots for all that.
12:37 It was pretty neat, and as you guys said here earlier,
12:40 you know, to hear the reception for him,
12:43 because there has been that support, he's felt that,
12:45 but to hear it and feel it tonight was really special.
12:50 And I think Aziz and our team would tell you it was special,
12:53 and they'd tell you, "Keep doing it,"
12:54 because they liked it, you know,
12:55 so keep coming out here and cheering for us
12:57 because it does impact us.
13:00 I think I saw you jumped up to 35 and 10 pounds after tonight.
13:05 We got more analytical guys in the media in Cincinnati
13:10 than anywhere in the country. I kind of like it. It's good.
13:12 I think you're still seventh in the Big 12 at 35.
13:16 How important is it to play?
13:18 You're talking about the overall Ken Palm?
13:20 Yeah, overall Ken Palm.
13:21 I just sit here and think about my college coach,
13:23 Roy Williams, and if you'd asked him a question
13:25 in a press conference about Ken Palm,
13:27 he wouldn't know what Ken Palm was.
13:29 He was a pretty damn good coach, so I do know what Ken Palm is.
13:33 We do look at it, but, yeah, it's too early.
13:37 If you want to know the truth,
13:38 and you guys know I'm pretty wide open,
13:40 the truth about Ken Palm is --
13:42 and Mike Roberts was so good with this.
13:44 He said, "Don't look at it until you've played nine or 10 games
13:46 because you just need -- there's not enough data yet."
13:49 So where we are, where everybody else is,
13:51 shoot, I don't know. I'll look at it
13:53 as we get closer to the end of non-conference,
13:55 and it gives us a better data.
13:57 But as you said, and I think this was your point, Chad,
14:00 you get to a high place in some kind of national ranking,
14:04 and you look up, and it ain't high in the Big 12,
14:06 and I think that shows you what's ahead.
14:09 That's why I do want kids to enjoy moments and have fun.
14:13 They work really hard.
14:14 When we wake up tomorrow, we're not sitting here going,
14:16 "We're a good team" or anything.
14:17 We got a lot of work to do for where we're going.
14:20 The point being, playing a team like Georgia Tech,
14:22 high-major talent, how important is that
14:25 as you go through the non-conference
14:27 to prepare for the Big 12?
14:29 Really important.
14:30 It's really important to --
14:33 These games against the top-tier teams,
14:35 it's really important because that's what every night
14:37 in the Big 12 is,
14:38 and it's on the road in hostile environments.