Josh Eilert Pitt Preview
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00:00 Good morning. First of all, I'd like to reach out to Coach Stratford and men's soccer team and congratulate them on getting to the College Cup and good luck to them on Friday versus Clemson.
00:13 So really excited for them and hopefully advance.
00:17 And secondly, I'd like to tell you know the women's program and Coach Kellogg what a fabulous win they had last night against the top 25 team in Penn State and got a chance to go over there and see him play in the fourth quarter after the radio show.
00:31 And I was very complimentary of them and those girls and how hard they play and they just really, really compete and congratulations to them on a big win in their home.
00:42 So moving on to looking back at St. John's on Friday and our schedule Saturday we had to take off.
00:52 Sunday we came in here and took a little different approach on Sunday and even yesterday in terms of how we approach the build up to the game.
01:02 And we probably started the scouting one day earlier than we typically did. So we worked on pit on Sunday and I took a different approach in terms of splitting our teams and practice and really mixing match.
01:16 So it was a really, really competitive two days.
01:18 So, you know, leading up to that point, you know, you want to get all those reps for those top six, seven guys and keep those guys on the same team and build that chemistry.
01:29 I think I got that done and I wanted to take a different approach and really make it as competitive as possible for two days building up.
01:38 And then today I'll back off a little bit and try to save some legs knowing it's a game tomorrow. It's a late game.
01:45 So excited about the 190th backyard brawl and excited to be a part of it and know exactly how much it means to our people in West Virginia.
01:55 And we're going to go out there and compete.
01:58 So in terms of what they do, any different than the last few years or is this same style? Obviously, everybody's got roster turnover.
02:07 So, you know, I didn't look back a lot of what they did last year.
02:12 I mean, I, you know, I didn't look at that film.
02:15 I remember it pretty vividly and they they zoned us quite a bit and we did a pretty good job of handling it.
02:23 But yeah, they've the biggest carry over from last year's Henson.
02:28 You know, Henson is he's a matchup problem for, you know, almost any team that he's going to go against.
02:34 So his size and strength and and the ability to shoot the ball as well as he can and how easy he can get it off,
02:42 regardless of who it is in front of him. He's a he's a big matchup problem for for anybody, including us.
02:48 So. Yeah. Yeah. So is it similar to what he's normally?
02:54 Well, he's he's they're they're heavy guard play. I mean, you look at, you know,
02:59 between the three scores, main scores, Henson, Leggett and Carrington, they score 50 of their 82 points.
03:06 And two of those two of those are guards. So. They're not the type of team that's going to pound it down low.
03:15 And they don't have that type of structure. And their offensive attack really comes from those three guys in a lot of ways.
03:22 And but yeah, they have they have two point guards that are freshmen and Carrington is he's special.
03:28 He's a special freshman. So he's he's very talented and very, you know, he's he's a matchup issue for us as well.
03:36 So they got some really talented guys and a solid roster and they rebounded extremely well.
03:44 That's some, you know, obviously we've had our deficiencies there in the defensive rebounding perspective.
03:49 So it's something that it'll be a key to our game for sure.
03:53 And it'll be key to any game we play. So, you know, St. John's kind of had their way physicality wise down the paint.
04:01 Pitt, they're going to rebound as well as St. John's, but they're more of a perimeter shooting team, not as much of a pounding down low.
04:10 Yeah. Yeah. Coach, you were talking about matchup problems and with Henson, you know, he's 6'8", you know, 230, 240, whatever he is.
04:19 He's our leading three point shooter, which kind of unique. Legged, you know, the shooting of the two guard is our leading rebounder.
04:28 So, I mean, it seems like there's some uniqueness there with their lineup.
04:32 No, they rebounded really well at all positions.
04:34 And when you see guards that rebound with that type of numbers, it's very concerning.
04:40 And even going into the St. John's game, I said, guys, you got to understand one through five's got to check out.
04:46 I'm not worried about running out. I'm not worried about getting I'd love to get easy buckets of transition, but we're not there right now.
04:54 We have to be more concerned about finishing possessions than we are running out and having a numbers advantage on the offensive end.
05:01 And, you know, for the most part, you know, we kept them out of transition, but, you know, we just disciplined down the stretch.
05:09 We just couldn't come up with a big play, a big rebound.
05:12 You look back at the one play, you know, it's a two point game with two minutes to go.
05:17 And, you know, the ball just bounced a little bit the wrong way.
05:20 And we're trying to save it, you know, inbounds underneath our basket.
05:23 And everybody's kind of thought we had it under control and kind of going the other direction.
05:27 And Kobe's throw it in to, I believe, Pat.
05:31 And they just end up with an easy bucket.
05:33 And that puts you down four with two minutes to go.
05:35 That's a heck of a difference.
05:36 So instead of me, you know, coming down, calling timeout and getting a really good set and putting us in a position to win, you know, we're up, you know, behind eight ball again.
05:46 So it's our margin.
05:49 I tell our guys all the time our margin of error is so slim, so slim.
05:53 Those small things, it's a game of inches in a lot of ways.
05:57 If we don't come up with those 50/50 balls and do everything the appropriate way, it's going to be hard down the stretch.
06:04 Obviously, when you came to West Virginia and started, you know, working your way up, some of those years were in the old Big East days.
06:13 I'm just kind of wondering, like, over the years, what has your thoughts been about the WV-Pitt rivalry and if you have any good stories or memories?
06:23 The one that just sticks out vividly to me is that three-overtime game up there.
06:29 That was an instant classic.
06:32 And we came up, you know, on the wrong end of that one.
06:35 But it was such a battle.
06:38 You know, and almost every Pitt-West Virginia game is a complete battle, knock down, drag out.
06:44 But that one seemed like to be one of the most iconic games we've probably played here.
06:49 You know, we didn't come up with a win, but it was an instant classic in my mind.
06:55 I assume with your roster, you do not want to see a three-overtime game.
06:58 No.
06:59 But you're probably going to see a battle.
07:01 If we play a 20-minute game, I'll sign up for that right now.
07:05 20-minute game must be good for you.
07:07 Yeah, they've been good.
07:08 I mean, you look at our scoring production and I think the stats, what does it say?
07:14 We're plus 22 for the seven games in the first half and minus 25 in the second half.
07:23 So, you know, that's pretty indicative of what we've got going on with our roster trying to manage everything.
07:30 When you walk off the court at halftime, I mean, you can do this for all seven games.
07:34 And you're thinking, okay, how do I steal minutes?
07:37 How do I manage my roster?
07:38 How do I manage time to try to get through that?
07:41 Because you know you're going to get worn down.
07:44 It seems like that's happened in every game.
07:46 Yeah, it goes through my mind 24/7.
07:49 It keeps me up at night trying to manage it all.
07:52 So, our guys have given everything they've got.
07:56 I mean, they're competing.
07:59 I tell them all the time we can't take plays off
08:01 and you can't ever rest when you're on the floor.
08:04 We've got to figure that out.
08:06 Once you take a play off, you'll get taken advantage of and put you behind eight ball.
08:12 You mentioned that that three overtime game was a battle all the way through.
08:17 How do you, I mean, you probably don't want that either.
08:21 How do you keep a rivalry game from, you know,
08:25 what was the roster like you got from expanding into, you know, a street fight?
08:30 Yeah, I can't get into, you know, a fouling match by any means.
08:34 I want to play way more aggressive and play way more aggressive defensively,
08:40 but you're playing with fire sometimes there when you do so
08:45 because you certainly don't want certain guys in foul trouble.
08:48 You know, that proved critical to us with Jesse sitting on the bench
08:51 and only playing 26 minutes rather than playing 33, 34 minutes every night.
08:57 So, got to be careful.
08:59 I mean, Jesse, a couple of Jesse's fouls were ticky tack fouls that, you know,
09:05 he could have prevented, 100% could have prevented.
09:08 But down the stretch, I wasn't real excited about the way they called the game late.
09:13 So, he knew what he was doing.
09:16 You're on the eve of coaching your first pick.
09:21 What's the name of it?
09:23 Something in your stomach tell you it's different?
09:26 Is there anything like that that will go on or does go on?
09:30 Well, a little different from this side of things in the head chair, yeah.
09:34 Everything's a little different.
09:35 Every day is a little different than it's been.
09:37 So, certainly wish I had a full deck of cards to work with, but I don't.
09:44 And we're trying to figure out how we're putting ourselves in a position to win each game.
09:50 You mentioned you're 3-4 and you're obviously not happy about that,
09:53 but you can't be displeased with the effort.
09:56 I mean, it's been there all seven games.
09:59 How do you keep your guys focused and, I guess, going towards a goal
10:05 when you know you're dealing with things that you really can't control?
10:09 You know, the first thing that comes to mind, bend it, but don't break.
10:13 I mean, we're bending.
10:14 We're bending.
10:16 And 3-4 doesn't sit right with me whatsoever.
10:21 It doesn't sit right with them.
10:22 It doesn't sit right with our staff.
10:24 Our net ranking doesn't sit well.
10:27 But it is what it is right now.
10:29 And like I told them, take a hard look at that board up there.
10:32 It has our net rating and everybody else and, you know, who we've lost to,
10:36 who we've beat, and who we've got coming up.
10:39 And look at that number.
10:40 I said, "That needs to be rock bottom for us.
10:44 It really needs to be rock bottom."
10:47 We can -- and it's natural for a lot of people when they're struggling
10:54 to start pointing fingers or this, that, and the other
10:58 and try to figure out different solutions.
11:00 But stay the course.
11:02 Stay the course.
11:03 We've got help coming.
11:04 We're going to do everything to put ourselves in a position to win
11:07 each and every game.
11:08 And when we get to the point that we can look forward, look back at this moment
11:12 and say, "Yeah, that was rock bottom.
11:15 It was rock bottom.
11:16 And we figured out a way and had to resolve to continue to improve each
11:21 and every week, each and every time out on the floor."
11:25 And I think that's where we're at right now.
11:28 Sharon, do you educate the guys who haven't participated in a pick game
11:32 about the history of this, the intensity of it?
11:34 Or do you say, "Hey, they've played.
11:36 They'll know what it's about."
11:37 After we watch the St. Johns, you know, break down a film on Sunday
11:43 and watch those things that we could clean up and those possessions
11:48 down the stretch and show them, you know, on film, the rebounding
11:53 and the 50/50 balls and all those things, that's the first thing we started
11:57 talking about before we got into the Sky Report.
12:00 And, you know, when you put Pitt up on the board, you could see everybody
12:05 kind of set up in their chair and was at full attention.
12:10 I made sure every one of those guys went to the Pitt football game
12:14 in the fall, and I referenced that.
12:18 And they knew, even the new guys, they were well aware of the difference
12:23 that game was compared to every other game that, you know, they attended.
12:27 And they could feel the energy.
12:28 They could feel the passion from our fan base.
12:31 So, yes, they've been educated.
12:35 And you look at my staff, you know, three, you know, they've competed in it.
12:41 So they're well aware.
12:43 And the heat and practice has been turned up a notch by the way I structured it
12:50 and the way we went at each other the last two days has been turned up a notch.
12:54 Like, you know, we really did turn that page.
12:57 And it's, you know, the next game on the schedule.
13:02 Like the changes you've kind of described here a little bit,
13:05 and then you pointed out competitiveness,
13:07 which I don't know if that's something you haven't been competitive,
13:09 or are you looking for more of that?
13:11 And what were you trying to maneuver and arrange in practice to do that?
13:14 Well, you know, I was in a lot of ways I was trying to manage legs, manage,
13:22 you know, we were playing a bunch of guys heavy minutes
13:24 that never played heavy minutes.
13:26 We were playing a group of guys there before knowing the challenges
13:30 and hadn't played a lot together.
13:32 So I had to really build that chemistry between those top five, six guys
13:37 for a matter of three, four weeks.
13:40 And, you know, mixing and matching some of those guys, whether it be Ray and Kerr,
13:47 and putting all those guys into a position where they're guarding somebody
13:51 different each day and making a more competitive positional battle between them,
13:59 you know, in practice was kind of the approach I took.
14:03 And it really worked.
14:05 It really worked in terms of guys seeing different dudes out there guarding them
14:09 and, you know, positional battles, like I said, and I mixed it up both days.
14:16 So, you know, they didn't see the same look both days.
14:19 So it was very competitive.
14:22 But now I've got to--preparing for Pitt today, you know,
14:25 I've got to go back to first team, second team, putting the scout team together
14:30 and locking in on those guys, you know, getting back together on the court together,
14:35 the top five, six guys.
14:38 You mentioned a couple times that you'd like to add somebody at the semester break,
14:41 at least one somebody.
14:43 How wide in that, one, two?
14:45 What do you look for in a position if you had your druthers or just anything?
14:51 A perfect world.
14:53 I could get a big in here or even a shooting guard.
14:58 But I have nothing to report on that end or could I if I did.
15:03 So, yeah, if the opportunity presents itself and it makes sense to us,
15:09 we'll 100% pursue it.
15:11 Can you sell this game as kind of a spark or a catalyst?
15:15 I mean, they're coming into this hunting for a win.
15:17 They've lost two in a row.
15:19 You guys are hunting for a win.
15:21 You've got a Drexel team that beat Villanova on the backside of this.
15:25 So can you use this as a springboard to maybe reinvigorate your guys?
15:30 Yeah, I mean, I've mentioned it to them.
15:32 I mean, they've just played two high major games in their house,
15:35 and they lost them in two very competitive games between Missouri and Clemson.
15:40 So they're coming into it with a terrible taste in their mouth too.
15:45 We're coming off a loss to St. John's and losing three of four
15:51 and each one of them being an absolute battle.
15:54 We've got a terrible taste in our mouth.
15:57 And it's going to probably come down to who wants it worse,
16:01 and that better be West Virginia.
16:04 Coach, the '80s of both School of Grand and Heather,
16:07 I think they both publicly expressed interest in continuing the series.
16:11 Have you heard anything about that becoming more--
16:14 No, I mean, I think it's good for both teams.
16:17 It's a really good rivalry to continue on regardless,
16:22 and especially from a business perspective.
16:24 How could you not think that's good for both programs?
16:28 So, yeah, the conversations are being had between them,
16:31 and I fully anticipate coming to an agreement and extending this.
16:36 It's not on paper by any means, but those conversations are being had.
16:41 So it's been a great six-game--I think the first one was a four-game contract,
16:48 the second one was a two-game, but it's worked well in our favor thus far.
16:52 And I think it's been good for both programs.
16:56 Hypothetically, bringing someone else in, I'm not quite clear on--
17:02 would it be someone who transferred at the semester break
17:07 or would it be someone who's currently already in the portal?
17:12 It could be a number of different things.
17:14 It's just sometimes you locate somebody you think could help you
17:21 and then you run into a different snag.
17:24 Something holds it up.
17:26 So it's not necessarily somebody in the portal.
17:29 It could be somebody in post-grad out there that's immediately eligible.
17:34 So a lot of eligibility concerns out there,
17:37 and there's not a lot of guys out there shining from all angles
17:42 because think about where we're at.
17:44 Considering your track record, it's going to be difficult getting them eligible anyway
17:48 considering the lucky bet.
17:50 That was kind of my question, the eligibility issue.
17:52 If someone--and I don't want to--hypothetically, if someone from another school
17:58 transferred during the semester break, they wouldn't be eligible right away, would they?
18:05 Or would they?
18:07 Each situation is different.
18:09 I'm not going to pretend to know I know every single rule,
18:13 and trust me, our compliance guy will look up half of them.
18:16 So I'd take a situation into their office any time we do
18:20 and say, "Hey, where are we at with this one?
18:22 What do you think?"
18:25 I'm not going to just bring somebody in at this point to bring somebody in
18:28 when they want to take a chance when they're borderline on whether they can actually help us.
18:32 So I feel good about where we're going,
18:35 and hopefully we can add two or three pieces from our own roster in the coming weeks.
18:43 So that will help tremendously.
18:46 One of those pieces is definitely coming back in a couple of games.
18:49 So when Kirk comes back, how does this team--not just depth-wise, but style-wise--
18:54 what does Kirk do that changes your style?
18:57 How will it look once he's in the court?
18:59 Kirk's a magician in so many ways in terms of reading defenses,
19:03 and I've talked numerous times about this is--
19:07 what we've put in place was built around a point guard like Kirk.
19:12 And not that Kobe hasn't done a great job.
19:15 He's done an absolutely phenomenal job with--
19:17 it's not really his natural position, but he's steady with it.
19:21 We can kick Kobe off the ball a little bit and put him in positions where--
19:28 he's been a masterful defender in so many ways for us throughout the years
19:33 and put him on positions, and we can kind of focus him in other ways.
19:38 But it's great to have two ball handlers on the floor.
19:40 It's great to have Kobe out there, put him in position to take advantage of smaller guards in the post.
19:47 But Kevin Kerr out there is a game changer in terms of our offense
19:52 and offensive production because not only is he masterful at timely passes,
20:00 it seems to be puts it right in the pocket when it needs to be there.
20:03 So I think our production from a field goal percentage will go up tremendously
20:09 just having a point guard like that on the floor.
20:12 Is it faster with him?
20:13 Are you faster? Do you push the pace a lot more than--
20:16 Yeah, we would.
20:17 We would certainly push the pace a lot more with him,
20:21 especially if we can maybe--I feel like each and every day
20:26 we're getting better and better news with the Cooks.
20:30 Hopefully we see him in the coming weeks back out there.
20:35 Statistically, with him and the games he played, looking at about 10, 15 points difference--
20:40 Yeah, that's what it's shown.
20:42 You're looking at a two-game sample size versus a seven-game sample size.
20:47 We're pretty much dead even, I think, 63 points a game,
20:50 opponents 63 points a game, so we're in there.
20:54 From the seven-game sample size, 3-4 record.
20:59 But you go back and look at that Vanderbilt scrimmage
21:01 and Jordan Spacin scrimmage, which the Vanderbilt--
21:04 I only played him about 22 minutes, I believe, something like that.
21:10 But, yeah, it's about a 13, 14-point differential in terms of production.
21:18 Two more questions with Pitt.
21:20 Does Coach Capel also, in a sense, have to be somewhat cautious with this guy
21:27 because they're not very deep either?
21:30 Does that--do you see two kind of similar stories in this game in terms of--
21:37 I'm sure he's a lot deeper than me.
21:39 From what I see, he's a lot deeper than what I'm dealing with.
21:42 It's just whether he wants to use the guys he's got available.
21:46 How deep he goes, that's up to him.
21:49 And then with Henson, when you guys are in man-to-man,
21:52 I'm assuming Quinn, who's probably might be your best matchup against--
21:57 He's going to see a couple different guys.
22:00 There are several guys that have been working against Henson
22:03 and we're trying to simulate that, so it ain't going to be just Quinn.
22:08 If I can go back to the addition--
22:09 Sorry, I know you don't want to talk about this,
22:11 but how--I guess the balance of you would like to get somebody,
22:14 so you may spend a lot of time or energy just networking the guys
22:17 because the guys in the portal are probably there for a reason.
22:20 You do have some connections, but you also have a lot to do here too.
22:25 Is it too tempting to go and try to add somebody?
22:28 And then how hard is it to find--like slam dunk, yes, this is a good idea.
22:32 Yeah, the slam dunk is almost impossible at this point.
22:36 If it was a slam dunk, it wouldn't be available.
22:42 So, I mean, it's just a matter of can he help you or can he not
22:48 because there's a lot to catch up on.
22:54 So we even got certain guys in our roster,
22:57 you don't have the whole playbook in mind when they're in the game
23:02 because some guys just don't have that type of basketball IQ.
23:07 So adding somebody at semester and thinking they're automatically going to be,
23:11 one, capable of competing in the Big 12 each and every night,
23:16 and two, being able to pick everything up that we've done
23:18 and understand what we've done, it's a stretch in a lot of ways.
23:25 Do you have to temper yourself because he's not in game shape?
23:28 I mean, he's practicing, but he's not out there playing the game.
23:31 Yeah, he's not, but he is.
23:33 I mean, we're very well aware of what minutes he plays in practice
23:39 and how much, you know, the mileage, so to speak.
23:44 And so it gets quantified to everybody else on the team
23:49 based on the type of minutes you're playing.
23:52 The idea is getting on the ground running when you guys are getting back.
23:56 I don't anticipate that being a challenge whatsoever.
23:59 You know, you say game shape and game legs, he might not have that 100%,
24:04 but it's not like he's coming off injury.
24:08 He's competing every day and doing that extra work to stay on top
24:12 of making sure he's ready to go.
24:16 Do you have to talk to him about don't try to win the games,
24:18 don't try to do too much because the team's struggling, just be you?
24:22 We'll get into that closer.
24:24 We've got two more games before we see him on the floor.
24:28 What is he able to do right now?
24:31 Can he do any conditioning work?
24:33 And how long before you think he gets some word on what his status is going to be?
24:38 That's all up to the medical people.
24:42 It's trending in a positive direction.
24:45 So I think you'll see him in the coming weeks for sure.
24:54 If he gets shots up on the side, what can he actually do?
24:57 I'm not going to get into what he can and can't do.
25:01 I feel like I'm just happy for him in terms of where it's going.
25:06 So it could have been drastically different for him.
25:10 And you worry when something like that happens that, heck,
25:14 basketball is 90% of your life and you have to take that away from him.
25:18 I don't think that's going to be the case whatsoever.