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00:00 the coach on the other side tomorrow night,
00:01 somebody you know.
00:04 Pressure on you, do you put pressure on yourself
00:07 to do something maybe more than you should?
00:11 How do you handle tomorrow night?
00:13 It's funny you said that, you using the word pressure.
00:17 The man we played tonight actually
00:18 taught me that pressure is one of the greatest
00:21 gifts an athlete can receive.
00:24 It's when life calls upon you to step up in the moment.
00:28 And this is a game that I've circled
00:30 for a long time on my calendar.
00:33 I'm excited to see some old friends, some old teammates.
00:35 And I'm looking at this as no other game.
00:38 Obviously, I'm going to be probably a little more amped up
00:41 to play, and that's just natural.
00:44 But the main objective is to win.
00:45 I'm not here to play one on one versus Rick Pitino.
00:48 I'm here to beat St. John's.
00:51 How many familiar faces are there?
00:55 Whole coaching staff and about four or five players
00:58 from Iona.
01:01 It's going to be good to see them.
01:02 Obviously, they have a great player,
01:03 Danis Jenkins, who was our starting point guard.
01:05 And I'm trying to look at film, see some of the stuff
01:09 they ran when I was there.
01:10 And hopefully, I've played Danis enough in practice
01:13 to know some of his tendencies.
01:16 I forget his name.
01:18 They have a kid from Huntington Press.
01:20 Yeah, Cruz Davis.
01:22 Yes, yes, from Texas.
01:25 Kind of a younger brother of mine.
01:27 I was always in his ear.
01:28 It's tough playing for his coach.
01:30 So when he would be down on himself,
01:32 I'd always try to give him encouraging words and just
01:34 amp him up to play.
01:36 He's an amazing talent.
01:37 And when he gets the opportunity,
01:38 he's going to play really well.
01:39 So you're obviously familiar with the family.
01:41 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:42 Really close.
01:43 Siddiqui also, a kid on their team.
01:45 But yeah, trainers.
01:47 I mean, they brought everyone-- trainers, assistant coaches,
01:49 to everyone.
01:50 I'm going to see if their trainer can take my ankles
01:52 before the game.
01:54 So when you talk to the Mountaineer coaches,
01:58 I mean, obviously they're watching tape.
01:59 They get a scout.
02:00 But do you go in there and say, this kid doesn't go left?
02:04 I mean, do you give any tips?
02:05 Or do they know it all already?
02:07 Yeah, they're obviously doing a great job
02:09 of doing a scout for the game.
02:11 But a couple of pointers helps for me.
02:13 I kind of know what some of their players like to do.
02:16 Because to even go any further, I
02:18 was watching some of their practices this summer.
02:21 So the opportunity for me to kind of help, just be a voice,
02:27 and kind of understand what they're looking for.
02:29 Coach Patino, he kind of runs an offense into a pick and roll,
02:33 high pick and roll, with going back
02:35 into the point guard's hands.
02:36 And he would say every day in practice,
02:38 this is what we're looking for on this play.
02:40 So some of the stuff I remember, and just
02:42 trying to relate it to my team.
02:47 Season for you, is this--
02:49 I mean, just individually.
02:51 You've been doing what you thought
02:52 you would be able to do, what you
02:54 wanted to be able to do through these first six games?
02:57 Yeah.
02:58 Call me crazy, but if you've shared a locker room with me
03:01 in the past or something, I've always
03:02 been spilling with confidence.
03:04 And this is something I know I could
03:06 have been doing for the past couple years.
03:08 Not saying it in an arrogant way,
03:09 but I've just worked my butt off my whole life.
03:12 And this opportunity I'm giving, this is just God.
03:16 This is just God handing it, letting me be able to play,
03:20 and kind of showcase what I've been working
03:23 for really my whole life.
03:24 I've given a lot to the game.
03:26 I've left home at 15.
03:27 I've been bouncing around to a couple schools.
03:30 And for me to be able to find a home here, my fifth year,
03:33 where I can play comfortably and play my game,
03:36 it's truly a blessing from God.
03:39 I mean, if you look out through the history of the game,
03:42 there's been millions and millions
03:43 of college basketball players.
03:46 Not very many of them can say that they
03:47 were coached by Rick Pitino.
03:49 I'm just kind of wondering, what is that experience like?
03:53 And is it any different than being
03:56 coached by someone who isn't a Hall of Famer
04:01 and maybe isn't as well known?
04:04 I just think one of the great things
04:07 that a coach like him can give to his players is experience.
04:11 Sometimes in the game, he'd say, oh, in 1992,
04:14 when we were playing in New Mexico, this is what they ran,
04:16 and this is what--
04:17 and I'm just-- he would do a lot of those,
04:21 which was pretty helpful, kind of seeing how coaches playing
04:23 styles are.
04:26 But the scariest man in the room is someone--
04:29 is a person that nobody knows.
04:30 That's the scariest man in the room.
04:33 So for us to come through, play a team like them on Friday
04:37 night, it's going to be really exciting for us
04:40 to get out there and really compete.
04:43 You seem to play with a fire, an edge.
04:45 I'm not saying a bad way, but just--
04:47 have you always had that?
04:48 Do you have to play that way to be who you are?
04:52 I think it's one of my greatest attributes.
04:54 Obviously, some coaches wouldn't like people playing this way.
04:59 I made the joke.
05:00 We played Tony Bennett, and I don't
05:02 think Tony Bennett would be too fond of the way I play.
05:05 And that's OK.
05:06 That doesn't mean there's a wrong way or a right way.
05:08 You just have to find your home.
05:11 I've been playing with a lot of emotion, really,
05:13 my whole life, not only for the love of the game.
05:17 And I don't want to sound ungrateful,
05:18 but I just feel like I haven't got out of the game all
05:23 that I want.
05:25 And I'm kind of playing with that mad--
05:28 kind of mad how things went at Louisville, kind of mad how
05:30 things went at Iona, just kind of playing with anger.
05:33 And you're channeling in the right direction
05:36 that can really turn a player and really give him
05:38 superpowers.
05:39 And that's how I like to view that competitive edge.
05:43 And if you don't mind, it's not that you just
05:45 played for Iona, but you were at St. John's for a little bit.
05:48 Yeah, I was finishing classes at Iona.
05:50 I couldn't work out with the team or practice
05:52 with the team or anything like that.
05:54 But I would be around, just kind of see the facilities and stuff
05:56 like that.
05:57 But I couldn't really participate in practice.
06:00 You are one of those things where
06:02 every school has different transcripts and transfer
06:04 requirements.
06:04 Was the timing weird?
06:05 Was there some other--
06:07 or just like the--
06:07 Why I went here?
06:08 Yeah, like how'd you end up here when you're
06:10 somewhere else in between?
06:12 Well, looking at their roster, having 14 guys that
06:17 played over 20 minutes a game, it wasn't like a thing like,
06:20 hey, we couldn't use Quinn.
06:23 Patina was well aware of my goals
06:25 and what I wanted in my career.
06:27 And this was just like a thing where
06:29 they got another guy late, the 15th player late,
06:32 and who played my position.
06:34 And it's tough playing-- getting yelled at like that
06:38 and also playing--
06:39 splitting minutes with someone.
06:41 And I was going to play for him my fifth year
06:43 if that meant having a huge opportunity, because that was
06:46 just a way to--
06:47 I feel like me mentally would be able to play for him.
06:51 But with that being said, it's not--
06:53 obviously, everyone's saying, hey,
06:54 this is what happened to the kid.
06:56 And all I can do is sit back and laugh.
06:57 And I'm not here to say this thing.
07:00 But it's completely wrong what people think about it.
07:03 It was my decision to be able to come here and have
07:07 the opportunity that I had.
07:09 When the time I committed to West Virginia,
07:11 they were missing 3-4.
07:14 And it was just a no--
07:15 it was a no-brainer.
07:16 Best of luck.
07:17 Good luck to St. John's the rest of the year.
07:19 But then again, there's definitely some fire there.
07:23 And then your comfort level here is pretty apparent.
07:25 But you're calling timeouts during the game too.
07:28 No, no.
07:29 I wasn't calling a timeout for the team.
07:31 I think one of the coaches screamed, get one.
07:34 And that's kind of what I had.
07:36 I wouldn't say I'm calling for the timeouts for the team.
07:38 One of the things Josh talked about, though,
07:39 and this is just kind of an extension of that,
07:41 is have it be really mindful of just the numbers.
07:43 But also the pace you play on offense, right?
07:45 And then I think it'd be weird to be up to have momentum
07:48 and feel really good, especially at home.
07:50 Then to kind of throttle it back and play slow and play smart
07:52 too.
07:53 What's the tug of war like there?
07:54 Well, like I said this before, it's
07:57 throwing the coaches different looks.
07:58 St. John's, they're going to come here.
08:00 They're going to press us from the start.
08:02 We've come up with a plan and been
08:04 studying it all week of how to release that pressure
08:06 and break that pressure.
08:09 Their thing is trying to not let you get the ball past half
08:11 court.
08:12 And we threw in a couple new offenses, just the ability.
08:16 This is a big game.
08:18 And it's important to just kind of learn from our past,
08:22 just kind of like how experienced coaches does.
08:24 We were up 11 at SMU.
08:25 And they sped us up in the second half.
08:27 So it was good for us to come and create a plan,
08:29 because we knew St. John's going to be the same way.
08:32 Quinn, you were talking about your passion and energy,
08:35 how you've had this game circled.
08:38 Coach earlier was talking about the conversations
08:40 he's had with you, just trying to make sure everything's
08:43 channeled and the right.
08:45 Will that be difficult in this game for you?
08:48 I mean, with all the circumstances surrounding it.
08:51 It's probably an unfortunate time for me to say this,
08:54 because I did receive a tech against the Virginia game.
08:57 But it was the first one of my career.
09:00 He wanted to push a freshman of mine.
09:01 So it was just me being a captain, looking out for him.
09:05 And it's one of those things that a basketball
09:07 player has to go through.
09:08 You know, you see these videos of--
09:10 you've been playing basketball for 18 years.
09:12 You know what a dirty play is.
09:13 So when someone takes a kid out the air, do you start something?
09:17 Do you let it slide?
09:19 Then you have NBA players tweeting, hey,
09:21 I would have done this, or I would have done that.
09:23 It's an unfortunate spot.
09:25 But I think my emotions are very, very helpful
09:29 for this team.
09:30 In terms of the small amount of bodies we have,
09:34 my voice is super important to the practice, the team success,
09:39 and just the ability to get guys going.
09:42 I have so much trust in my teammates.
09:44 And I don't want to sound like that,
09:47 but I had Virginia people tweeting at me about my--
09:51 the only people that matter are my teammates, my coaches.
09:54 And if my energy gets my teammates going,
09:57 then it's a no-brainer.
09:59 That's what I'm going to do.
10:00 Getting closer and closer to Kerr coming back,
10:03 has his team changed style-wise when he gets on the court?
10:06 Yeah.
10:07 Well, Kerr's ability to create on his own is unbelievable.
10:09 I mean, not to talk about too much,
10:12 because he always laughs at me when I do.
10:13 But he is a program-changing player.
10:16 Like, you are bringing in the number one point guard
10:18 in the country.
10:20 Obviously, everyone's head's on fire right now,
10:22 because of all the things that are going on.
10:24 But 100%, if hopefully we can get Raekwon battle back, too.
10:27 But I mean, 100%, we will be adding the number one point
10:31 guard in the country to our team.
10:32 And I mean, that's going to get-- we
10:34 talk about getting Jesse more looks.
10:35 I mean, Jesse's going to be able to catch more lobs.
10:38 Some of my points may not be as hard.
10:40 I don't have to dribble, dribble, spin.
10:41 I'll be able to just catch and shoot in the corner.
10:45 And that can go back to relieving some stress off
10:48 our legs, not having to fight for buckets just because
10:51 of the amazing playmaker.
10:52 And that's not a bash on any of the team we're playing with now.
10:56 It's just he's coming with a special talent that's
10:58 God-gifted and something I've never seen before.
11:02 What kind of-- I mean, when you look at the bigs,
11:06 Jesse and Soriano, it's got to be a situation where they're
11:11 probably not going to have to double like everyone else has
11:14 had to double against you guys.
11:16 So does that switch things up for everyone else?
11:19 Because usually, obviously, when the double comes,
11:21 Jesse would kick it out.
11:23 But now he's one on one.
11:24 So that kind of changes philosophies, doesn't it?
11:27 Yeah.
11:28 Yeah, which is good.
11:29 We'll be able to run our offense.
11:32 The throwing into Jesse, the main objective
11:34 is to create an advantage for us, five on four,
11:38 the ability to swing the ball.
11:39 A couple of kids on our team, their shooting percentages
11:41 aren't probably where they liked.
11:43 But I see these guys every day in practice hitting shots.
11:45 And I've been that player before.
11:47 My sophomore year, I shot like 20-something percent
11:50 from three.
11:51 And I'm telling them, and that's just me being a fifth-year,
11:53 like I've been in your spot before.
11:56 It takes one game to settle in, lock in,
11:58 and then you just kiss the rest goodbye.
12:01 Are you interested to see how those two bigs, what they're
12:05 going to look like against each other?
12:06 Yeah, it's going to be a great battle.
12:08 I was able to watch them both pretty closely, just
12:10 from your eyes, too, you guys being
12:12 able to see St. John's games.
12:13 And it's going to be a great battle.
12:16 Obviously, we're in Western Virginia, I bet on my side,
12:20 not every day, and twice on Sunday.
12:22 But yeah, it's going to be a great matchup.
12:25 These kids are gritty from New York.
12:26 But let's not forget who we have in our locker room, too.
12:30 Difficult is it to play 36, 37 minutes a game?
12:34 I mean, basketball player wants to play, but at some point,
12:36 what's the exhaustion level like?
12:38 When I look at stuff like that, they're like, man,
12:40 you must be tired out there.
12:42 I remember sitting in my room thinking my life was over
12:45 last year because I couldn't play,
12:46 because my foot was broke.
12:48 So when I think of, like, there's no tire,
12:52 there's no I need to be playing less,
12:54 I'm so thankful that God was allowing me to be
12:56 able to play basketball again.
12:58 And every second I'm out there, I
13:00 want to try to give it my all and never really look at it
13:03 as I'm tired.
13:05 You know, since I became 22 years old,
13:08 I'm getting a little older, you start
13:10 to kind of like try to group things up from life
13:12 and the game of basketball.
13:15 Playing a couple minutes more in a game of basketball
13:17 should be nothing but fun.
13:19 And when you think about tough or hard,
13:22 that's for later in life.
13:24 You know, that's for when real trouble comes in your life.
13:26 And the ability that I can try to bring to the table
13:30 is just me thankful.
13:31 It's never really hard or something I really
13:33 have to think about.
13:34 You mentioned Quinn Kerr's return,
13:37 kind of easing things potentially offensively.
13:39 Can you just evaluate where you guys
13:41 are from a shot selection perspective
13:42 and what he may be able to do to, I guess,
13:45 improve that overall?
13:46 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
13:47 Shot selection's fine.
13:48 I think we're doing a good job.
13:49 Obviously, there are some young kid mistakes,
13:51 you know, driving into three people, just the ability
13:54 to kick.
13:55 And you know, you can be in the gym the whole summer
13:58 and your whole life.
13:59 But the greatest way to get better at basketball
14:01 is by playing basketball.
14:02 And you're looking at kids that are giving their effort
14:05 and their all.
14:06 And I've seen them where they're playing,
14:07 where they need to be.
14:08 And it's nothing but confidence I have in them for me
14:12 and something I'm really excited about.
14:13 Because I know when they get going
14:15 to where they're supposed to be, this team's
14:17 going to be really dangerous.
14:18 From your experiences with Coach Patino,
14:21 they're getting ready to play their first true road
14:23 game of the year.
14:24 And it's basically December now.
14:27 Just from your experience, what's he telling his guys?
14:30 You know, this is their first time coming on the road.
14:33 It's going to be a big atmosphere and everything.
14:35 So what do you think Coach Patino is telling his guys
14:38 in this situation?
14:39 You know, I think honestly, the elephant in the room,
14:45 kind of how I'm viewing this game,
14:47 I'm sure he's telling his team just kind of the--
14:52 we've kind of had trouble this year kind
14:53 of playing to competition, which is what young teams do,
14:56 which is something we need to get out of.
14:59 Losing to Monmouth at home and then going down
15:01 to the wire to a top 20 team in Virginia
15:03 who just beat Texas A&M.
15:05 So you're looking at our team up 11 at SMU,
15:08 have an ability to win that tournament.
15:10 You don't lose the game at Monmouth.
15:11 This whole season, what people are saying
15:13 is just completely different.
15:14 And we've been in these games, and we've
15:16 showed really spots of great, great basketball.
15:20 And it's getting better and better and better every game.
15:24 In a game like this, it's amped up.
15:27 People are going to shoot better than they've ever shot.
15:29 People are going to jump higher than they ever jump.
15:31 It's just kind of like one of those games like in March.
15:33 It's one of those games that you're up for and ready.
15:35 And we attack every game the same,
15:37 but it's just natural.
15:38 It's just natural to be able to play a little better
15:41 in these games.
15:42 Are your parents still in Texas?
15:44 Do they get up much for games?
15:46 So thankfully, when I left the house, my little sister left.
15:50 They're empty nesters, so they flew back and moved
15:53 into the middle of Michigan, kind of where they grew up.
15:56 So it's about a five-hour drive from here,
15:58 so them being at games and stuff like that was really important.
16:01 And I'm just so thankful that my family can come watch me play.
16:05 It was pretty hard in New York.
16:07 I don't know if you guys have ever been in New York,
16:09 but it's a whole day fiasco, just flying in
16:12 and the two-hour airplane rides.
16:14 And just them coming in, hopping on, easy ride,
16:18 I'm really blessed and thankful.
16:20 Obviously, I have a lot of family and friends at this game.
16:22 My dad's bringing a lot of his buddies
16:24 from Grand Valley State football team, 1986.
16:27 He told me to shout them out.
16:29 But it's going to be good.
16:32 I know what this game means to me and the team,
16:34 and it would be such a big win for the people
16:37 repping blue and gold.
16:39 He was a strong safety.
16:41 And from what he told me, he used
16:42 to knock people's helmets off.
16:44 But there was no tape back then.
16:46 You were saying that New York just wasn't for you.
16:55 You were there for, what, a couple weeks or a month?
16:58 Well, I was at Iona, too, so that the two years.
17:01 So it was 2 and 1/2 years.
17:02 And I grew up in Texas.
17:03 You say hi and bye to your neighbors.
17:05 And you see someone walking their dog, you say, what's up,
17:08 and start a conversation for them.
17:10 No one had the slightest interest
17:12 in talking to anybody in New York.
17:14 And from what I've seen on the subways and how people act--
17:18 and I was in Jamaica, Queens, and just no disrespect,
17:21 but it was pretty tough.
17:25 Very blessed and happy that I'm in Morgantown,
17:26 where people are nice and I get to have
17:29 human interactions with people.
17:31 Yeah, it's two different sides of the coin.
17:33 More me.
17:34 Yeah.
17:35 Well, your dad must not be as big as you, then,
17:37 if he's a strong safety.
17:39 I mean, he's not--
17:40 Yeah, we're looking at Division II.
17:44 He was a late grower.
17:45 He was like 5'10" in high school.
17:47 Then he jumps to 6'3" in college.
17:48 And who knows back then?
17:50 He was probably running a 5'4", 40, and stuff like that.
17:55 But no, he claims that the toughness and stuff was from
17:59 him, and my mom claims it was from her.
18:01 But I don't know.
18:02 I'm going to have to find some tapes.
18:04 His defensive back coach was Brian Kelly,
18:06 which is a cool, fun fact.
18:08 So he's repping Notre Dame, watching Notre Dame games,
18:11 and now I guess he thinks he's an LSU fan.
18:13 He's like, dad, he doesn't know you.
18:15 He's like, no, I'd say what's up to him if I saw him.
18:19 It wasn't Flintstone era.
18:20 It wasn't Flintstone era.
18:21 He's probably hiding them.
18:22 That's actually a good point.
18:24 He probably didn't say the number of interceptions
18:26 was correct.
18:27 He said--
18:30 Next question.