Wes Miller FGCU Postgame
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00:00 (mumbles)
00:02 - Yeah, listen, I feel a lot better about the way
00:08 that we approached the game and played today
00:11 than I did after the Howard game.
00:14 I thought we had got a little complacent
00:17 after we played well against Georgia Tech.
00:19 And not, this group's such a good group of guys
00:24 that are about, they wanna be about the right stuff
00:26 that it wasn't like they were, you know,
00:29 didn't wanna practice or anything,
00:30 but I think they kinda felt like we got it now, we're good.
00:33 And I think that's the kinda attitude in basketball,
00:38 that when you get that attitude,
00:39 you're not gonna be any good.
00:40 And we learned that lesson,
00:42 I hope we learned that lesson in DC last week.
00:46 So I wanted us to really respond.
00:48 We had a, it probably felt like a loss around here this week
00:52 after we got back from DC,
00:53 'cause to me, if you missed an opportunity to learn
00:59 after, you know, like most people,
01:00 most teams, it's very normal to not adjust
01:04 and learn until you lose.
01:07 But really good teams and good organizations
01:09 can still find a way to win,
01:11 but learn from it and grow from it.
01:13 And that was the approach.
01:14 And I thought we carried that over into this game,
01:17 and I thought our approach was much better.
01:20 I thought our play was good at times tonight.
01:22 So I'm pleased overall with that.
01:25 There's a lot of stuff that we gotta clean up defensively,
01:29 like a lot of little breakdowns and principles,
01:32 stuff that's just not okay.
01:33 But the effort and attitude to try to do it
01:36 was there for the most part tonight.
01:38 I like that there's 23 assists.
01:41 I don't like the 10 turnovers,
01:43 and I felt like a couple of them were just really careless.
01:45 Like, I can live with the aggressive turnovers,
01:47 but we had a couple of careless ones.
01:50 I thought Aziz, Odie, and Vic up front
01:52 were pretty dang good tonight.
01:53 We're able to kind of utilize our size in a positive way,
01:57 which is gonna be important
01:58 when you're trying to play big.
01:59 You look at the rebounding numbers.
02:02 Now the kid Kelman for them was phenomenal.
02:05 And Tom's looked like he was the best big on the court.
02:08 I like all three of mine that can play right now.
02:11 And so, you know, we gotta do a better job there.
02:13 But I thought our front court, for the most part,
02:15 other than dealing with Kelman, was good at times.
02:19 And then I thought CJ Frederick
02:20 was really good tonight, guys.
02:22 I've been challenging him to be more aggressive,
02:26 not pass up shots.
02:28 It is important for our team that he's aggressive.
02:30 Our team needs him to be aggressive,
02:32 and I thought he was pretty dang good there tonight.
02:35 So I could talk about others.
02:36 You know, it wasn't Dan's night,
02:39 but you look down and he gets 12 rebounds.
02:41 That's pretty dang good there.
02:42 But I didn't think it was his best game.
02:44 He had a couple of careless turnovers.
02:46 He passed up shots that he should have taken.
02:48 He took a couple maybe he shouldn't.
02:49 And so it wasn't his night.
02:51 He's had a great week of practice,
02:52 but you look down, he's got 12 rebounds.
02:53 That's pretty neat to find ways to impact it
02:56 even when it's not going your way.
02:58 And then Day Day and Giz will continue to improve.
03:01 You know, I didn't think Day Day had his best week, Howard.
03:05 And it was good to see him kind of have some good moments
03:06 and bounce back tonight.
03:09 Four guys with at least four assists.
03:11 Vic leads the way with six.
03:14 Is that just this thing starting to look
03:17 like how you want it to look,
03:19 where it looked like a ball popped pretty well today?
03:22 Yeah, we moved the ball well.
03:23 23 assists.
03:25 Sometimes you can move the ball well,
03:26 and the assist numbers don't show it
03:27 because you don't make shots.
03:29 You know, but we moved it well tonight,
03:30 and we were able to make some shots.
03:32 So I thought the ball popped.
03:34 I don't look at it maybe the way you do.
03:39 I like it.
03:40 Been encouraging ball movement.
03:41 It's got to be a strength of this team.
03:43 We did some nice things there tonight.
03:44 It's not where it needs to be yet.
03:46 We're, again, a little too careless,
03:48 and it can continue to get better.
03:50 But there were some good moments with ball movement for sure.
03:53 I think remounting performance team-wise,
03:56 there's probably going to be very few games
03:57 that a team like this has won remounts.
03:59 Obviously, you've got a lot of other things out there.
04:02 Yeah, you know, I mean, I think as exciting as it was
04:06 to get him into, you know,
04:09 into the games and into the lineup,
04:11 I think we got to remember, I mean, he missed.
04:14 He didn't just miss the first five games
04:16 that there were four games of the year.
04:17 Is it four or five? I can't -
04:18 He didn't just miss the first four games.
04:20 He missed the two outside competitions in the preseason.
04:24 You know, as much as we were trying,
04:26 and we're still doing this with Jameel,
04:28 trying to make sure that they're ready for games,
04:31 I mean, you can only do so much to get somebody ready
04:35 when they can't play, and they're not a part
04:37 of your preparation the same way because they can't play.
04:40 It's going to take him some time to get where we need him to get,
04:43 and it's going to take our team some time
04:44 to adjust to putting him into our team,
04:46 you know, figuring out rotations
04:48 and, you know, the right stuff to run
04:50 when certain rotations or groups are in the game
04:53 and how our defense works.
04:54 I mean, it's almost like you're starting over,
04:57 you know, from the preseason again
04:59 when you add a player like him,
05:01 and so it's going to take a little time,
05:03 and I think to try to look too far
05:06 into how good or bad he's playing right now
05:08 would be unfair.
05:10 I think let's look at where he is in the middle of January,
05:12 and we'll have it figured out by then.
05:15 You guys have a free-stream, a full 40-minute game.
05:19 You were talking to your hall and then you got one out at Howard.
05:22 Has there been something that's contributed to that?
05:25 Several dramas?
05:28 Oh, I don't think we're playing 40 minutes.
05:31 Gosh, I hope they don't think we're playing 40 minutes.
05:33 I mean, again, I actually think Florida
05:36 Gulf Coast has some real talent,
05:38 and I think they got a heck of a coach, guys.
05:42 I've watched Coach Chambers coach for years.
05:45 He's had a ton of success.
05:46 I really watched his teams at Penn State,
05:48 and they did great stuff there.
05:51 Like, that's a really good team
05:52 that will win a bunch of games in their league.
05:54 They're just in that scheduling gauntlet right now
05:56 that sometimes you go through in mid-major basketball.
06:00 But I'm saying that because, obviously,
06:02 we win a game by this kind of a margin.
06:05 We had to play well because I have respect for their team,
06:08 but, I mean, they shoot 50-something percent
06:11 in the second half, 50-something from three.
06:13 I haven't even looked at it yet, but it ain't good.
06:16 You know, they had their way in transition a couple times.
06:19 Some threes, 55 really got going.
06:21 You know, like the big kid was kicking our butts.
06:24 I didn't think we put it together at all for 40,
06:27 but we're trying to, and we're going to keep working to do that.
06:29 And if we ever do put it together for 40,
06:31 we're going to try to keep working to do it again.
06:33 So, we'll never arrive.
06:35 You win day-to-day minus the cons,
06:38 but it'll be okay, et cetera.
06:41 Yes, I don't know. We got hit by a car, you know.
06:43 And I appreciate --
06:45 You know, I was late to my radio show
06:48 because I'm in the locker room after practice,
06:51 and I get a call from Bob Mangino, our trainer,
06:54 saying, "CeMOS got hit by a car."
06:56 You know, like, your world stops when you hear that.
06:59 And so, I mean, literally, our coaching staff
07:01 ran up to the corner up here by campus,
07:04 and he was standing up, and he was pretty dang shook.
07:06 I mean, imagine.
07:08 The windshield was broken on the car.
07:11 And so, you know, it's not serious.
07:14 I mean, the doctors have said it's not serious,
07:16 but he's hurting.
07:17 Like, his body hurts.
07:19 He tried to practice the last two days, couldn't do it.
07:21 You know, we told him, "Let us know how you feel today."
07:24 He didn't feel any better today.
07:25 So, I don't know is the answer.
07:28 I don't think that he's out for any significant amount of time,
07:32 but it's a day-to-day thing or week-to-week thing.
07:34 I don't really know, but, I mean, that's a pretty wild deal,
07:37 a guy gets hit by a car.
07:39 It's not just the physical but the mental toll there.
07:42 So, I'm just really glad that it wasn't more serious.
07:46 You only, the Florida Gold Coast only shot three free throws.
07:50 The team you play next relies on getting to the line.
07:55 Where is your team at in terms of not fouling,
07:58 not giving away free opportunities?
08:01 You know, obviously only three, but that's a good thing.
08:05 Yeah, I haven't had a chance to watch Xavier yet.
08:08 You know, I mean, I've obviously seen some games here and there,
08:10 but I haven't had a chance to dive into the scouting report.
08:12 I mean, they're asking about it on the radio.
08:14 Gives me a little hard time.
08:16 Gosh, we just finished the game.
08:20 I haven't finished media yet.
08:21 I have not focused on the Xavier game.
08:23 I'll give you the scouting report.
08:24 You're going to set us.
08:25 They're going to shoot locker room.
08:28 So, as I told the guys in the locker room, it's really neat.
08:32 The Crosstown shootout's really neat.
08:34 I've been fortunate to experience it for two years.
08:38 The week, you can feel it in this community.
08:40 I mean, the community gets into the game.
08:43 It builds up all week. It's really cool.
08:45 We got to make sure that we just keep getting better every day
08:49 and that we don't get complacent.
08:50 And when Saturday gets here,
08:51 that'll be a great opportunity for our team.
08:54 As far as defending, yeah, like,
08:56 we're trying to defend aggressively without fouling
09:00 and have good defensive discipline around the basket.
09:03 That was a major emphasis against this Florida
09:05 Gulf Coast team.
09:06 They had a couple guys that could really shoot the ball,
09:08 so we knew we'd be getting them off the line.
09:11 And then all of their big guys
09:12 really try to get angles around the basket.
09:14 So, it was a big emphasis to try to stay down and not foul.
09:18 And you look at the numbers tonight,
09:19 and it looks like we did a decent job of that.
09:21 We also made them make a bunch of, I thought,
09:24 five to ten-footers over the top,
09:26 which they made more than I wanted them to.
09:29 But I think that was a goal in tonight's game.
09:33 So, I haven't had a chance to dive into Xavier's team yet
09:37 and how we're going to defend them,
09:38 but that is important pretty much every night we play,
09:42 to play aggressive defense without fouling.
09:44 First 55 fouls, right?
09:48 At their last game.
09:49 Well, we'll get through grading this one,
09:51 and we'll start preparing for the next one.
09:54 Looks like we saw a few possessions of zone.
09:57 Is that something that's just added to the mix
10:00 now that Aziz is in the fold, or is it kind of a matchup?
10:04 We always have a zone in.
10:07 I would imagine every team in the country has a zone in.
10:10 My assistants give me a hard time.
10:12 We work on it in the preseason that I'll never play it.
10:15 So, part of it, I just wanted to prove to them
10:17 I'll damn play it, I'm not afraid to play it,
10:20 because they think I hate zone.
10:21 I don't hate zone. I really don't.
10:24 What I hate is losing, so whatever we got to do
10:26 to find a way to win, we'll do.
10:29 I just really believe in a man-to-man mentality
10:35 and approach, and that's how you teach how to play defense.
10:38 But we have curveballs defensively
10:40 that we work on all the time.
10:42 We just haven't felt like there's been a lot of reasons
10:44 to throw them out there in the first part of the season.
10:47 But, yeah, we have some zones,
10:48 and we have some other things we can do defensively.
10:50 We just haven't done a lot to date.
10:52 But I imagine with what's ahead of us on our schedule,
10:55 we're going to have to do some different things
10:56 defensively for sure.
10:58 Jordan, career-high six assists for Vic tonight.
11:01 That part of his game really blossomed in practice
11:04 over the last three months that he's developed.
11:07 And what does that give you guys when you can find that outlet
11:10 on the other side of the court for an open corner three
11:12 and be able to get a third or fourth playmaker on the floor?
11:16 His line was terrific, right? I thought he was great.
11:19 You know, and I thought defensively
11:22 he was really good guarding the four position a lot tonight,
11:25 which is going to be a key to our team,
11:27 that him and Odie can guard both positions in the front court,
11:30 which Odie's done that consistently.
11:33 Vic has done that at times but not consistently.
11:36 And he worked pretty hard the last two days in practice.
11:39 And I thought he had some good defensive possessions.
11:41 But his ability to make the right decision with the ball,
11:44 I think, is what you're talking about.
11:46 He's always had a really natural feel
11:48 for where the ball should go and how offense should work.
11:52 I think the fundamentals of how to deliver it
11:55 have been the thing he's had to improve.
11:56 He's worked really hard on that the last two years,
11:59 and it's kind of continually gotten better.
12:01 It's not kind of like an "aha" thing.
12:03 But he's always kind of known that guy's open.
12:06 He knows when the ball's supposed to get there.
12:08 He has good feel offensively and timing.
12:10 Sometimes his fundamentals kept him from delivering the pass.
12:13 Now he's starting to get a little more fundamentally sound.
12:17 You guys beat the Linden Tech by 35.
12:19 I mean, the Linden Tech is...
12:21 Did that show you what you guys can be,
12:23 or is that just kind of showing how much you carry?
12:27 Yeah, you can't play that game, right?
12:29 Gosh, you start playing that game in college basketball
12:31 this time, you go crazy.
12:33 I just think it just shows you that there's two things.
12:36 There's a ton of parity.
12:37 You got the transfer portal and so many older players.
12:41 Coaching is great everywhere.
12:43 It's hard to get a Division I job.
12:45 So the guys that have usually know what the heck they're doing.
12:49 And then the other thing is the way the game is played now
12:52 with the three-point shot,
12:54 not just that we have the three-point shot,
12:55 but the emphasis on it and all the analytics.
12:58 It's such an equalizer.
13:00 So you're going to see --
13:01 I've said this to our staff for years --
13:03 you're going to see crazy swings
13:04 over the course of the college basketball season
13:07 now that you would never have seen 15 years ago
13:10 because of all those factors combined.
13:12 But style of play really has changed that.
13:15 So, listen, Georgia Tech, we played really well.
13:17 They didn't shoot it well.
13:19 You know, we shot the eyes out of it.
13:20 So you're going to see some --
13:21 Now, they have a good team with good players.
13:24 Damon's really good.
13:26 And so you're not surprised to see them
13:27 step up and win a big game.
13:29 It's going to be like that all throughout college basketball.