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00:00 Good morning.
00:02 Just to recap, since Saturday, Sunday we took off.
00:07 Yesterday we met and took a look at what we can fix on film
00:13 from the UMass game and took the big takeaways from that,
00:17 trying to figure out how we navigate all of our challenges,
00:22 knowing an hour before practice at 11 o'clock,
00:26 I found out that Jesse would in fact need surgery to correct his wrist.
00:32 So once again, another challenge that we got to deal with and face head on.
00:38 But that's what we're gonna do.
00:39 I've said throughout this whole thing, we're not gonna be a victim.
00:43 We're gonna take our challenges head on and we're gonna attack them.
00:47 So here we are with another one that we're gonna have to overcome,
00:50 especially knowing we got two really hard games coming up,
00:55 even before we break for Christmas.
00:56 So looking forward to bringing in Derris Nichols, a very good friend of mine and
01:03 probably the closest friend I have in the coaching business.
01:07 Coming into town tomorrow and look forward to seeing him and
01:10 he's got a really good team.
01:11 And in his third year there at Radford, he's really elevated that program to
01:15 a high level team that I think has a very good chance of winning their league.
01:20 So yeah, we will go again today and we'll attack this challenge head on and
01:26 look forward to taking on a good Radford team tomorrow.
01:31 >> So Jesse's injury in terms of details of it, extensive break,
01:35 how bad was, significant was the surgery?
01:39 What can you tell us about the details?
01:41 >> The latest surgery is tomorrow.
01:42 I'm not sure the intricacies of the surgery and
01:46 the names of the bones or anything like that.
01:49 I was a business major, like I said before.
01:53 So I try to stick to what I know and more than anything,
01:56 I just want to know how quick he could recover and
02:00 whether something he'd be back for us this year.
02:03 And it sounds like that will be the case.
02:05 So we're looking at probably around four week recovery time.
02:08 So we'll do everything we can with him and
02:11 practice to keep him ready to go and engaged and locked in.
02:16 So he'll be ready to transition right back in when that time comes.
02:21 And I have full faith in Jesse staying on top of everything and being engaged.
02:26 So that's nothing I'm concerned with there, but
02:29 it will be a challenge from the fact that there for
02:34 the longest time we didn't have any guard depth.
02:37 Now we have some guard depth, but we never had a backup center.
02:40 So here we are trying to play without a center.
02:43 So we'll figure it out and we'll take this challenge head on.
02:47 >> What was Jesse's mood when you told him or he found out?
02:52 >> He was cautiously optimistic before the MRI and the x-ray.
03:02 But he had this injury his junior year with his left wrist.
03:05 So he said it didn't hurt nearly as bad this time around.
03:12 So but it sounds like he had a very similar if not the same
03:17 injury to his left his junior year.
03:20 So he was well aware of what it could be and
03:22 it sounds like that was the case that it was worst case scenario.
03:27 >> Four weeks best case for him to come back?
03:30 >> That's just the timetable I've been told at this point.
03:32 So I'm guessing that's probably the minimum recovery time.
03:38 >> If your two options then is to either use a cook or Pat or go small, right?
03:43 Those are the two or just go completely different route.
03:46 >> Yeah, I mean, you look at a cook at the five and
03:51 I know that's not his natural position by any means, but he's very serviceable.
03:58 At the five and I hate for him to play that many minutes at the five.
04:02 But then we also have Pat Sumnick that has been waiting for his opportunity and
04:08 I'm sure he didn't want the opportunity to come this way.
04:10 But he's gonna have to step up to the plate for us and give us everything he's
04:15 got and hopefully he can service that role.
04:20 >> You spoke to the officials about before he got hurt about the way he was
04:25 being involved during that game.
04:27 It's happened all year.
04:30 I mean, people have been counting him pretty good now.
04:34 What can be done about that?
04:35 What is the officials responsibility in protecting players who are in that
04:40 situation?
04:41 >> Well, I mean, I've said it over and over again.
04:44 That's people's strategy against us.
04:48 They know we don't have a backup big and anybody with any depth was gonna
04:54 completely use their depth to be as physical as possible with Jesse.
04:58 And I think it started in the SMU game down in Fort Myers.
05:02 I thought that's when they really started to take advantage of us and
05:06 understand that that would be our kryptonite
05:09 by just completely using their depth to foul him.
05:14 And what I can do about it, there isn't a lot I can do about it,
05:19 but I can vocalize it the best I can.
05:21 I knew going into that game, by the numbers,
05:28 UMass was 346th in the country in opponents free throw attempts.
05:35 And we were second in the country in that same stat only allowing our opponents
05:40 to go to the line 10.7 times.
05:43 Consequently, they're sending people in line 26 times.
05:46 And for whatever reason, Frank found a way to flip the script on us and
05:53 they shot 20 more free throws.
05:55 So I knew going into it and I was very clear with our team that Frank and
06:01 his personality is gonna, I know how he's gonna approach this game.
06:06 He's gonna use as much physicality as possible to negate some of our skill.
06:14 And he certainly took that approach.
06:17 And from a coaching perspective, he's doing everything he can to figure out how
06:20 to win.
06:21 And he used that approach and the way the game was called,
06:25 I warned those officials during the game, somebody's gonna get hurt.
06:32 Especially, the one I was concerned about was Jesse, and
06:35 I'm always concerned about Jesse, the way they attack him.
06:38 >> Coach, if the roles were reversed,
06:45 you were coaching UMass, Frank was coaching Western,
06:47 the situation would be the same.
06:49 I mean, your strategy would kind of be the same way, wouldn't it though?
06:55 >> Yeah, that's what I said, from a coaching perspective, it makes sense.
06:57 >> Yeah.
06:58 >> So you feed off how the game is called to figure out whether you need to make
07:04 adjustments or whether, so it was critical how the game was gonna be called.
07:09 And they allowed it to happen and consequently, here I am,
07:13 without an all Big 12 center that I don't have any depth for to replace.
07:20 So it's unfortunate, it's very unfortunate.
07:24 >> When you guys met after the game, was that part of any conversation,
07:29 you and Frank?
07:30 >> Yeah, it was part of the conversation.
07:33 >> Was it?
07:33 >> It was a brief part of it.
07:36 >> You said before the game he's a friend of yours, is he still?
07:39 >> He'll always be a friend of mine, he's been very loyal to me and
07:43 a mentor of mine.
07:44 And I don't think by any means they had any intention of hurting Jesse Edwards.
07:49 They knew they were gonna be very physical with Jesse Edwards and
07:53 consequently, the way the game was called, he gets hurt.
07:56 >> Ray Kwan's health, how is he now, is he better?
07:59 >> He's not 100%, he went yesterday.
08:04 And you could tell it wasn't Ray Kwan at his 100% level, but he's getting there.
08:12 He's certainly on the mend.
08:14 So hopefully I see even more improvement today.
08:17 And so I'm excited for him that things are going in the right direction for
08:23 him in terms of his health.
08:24 So even the entire day on Saturday,
08:30 he warned that he thought he wouldn't be able to play.
08:33 But I said, well, let's pump the brakes,
08:36 figure out what we can do for you throughout the day.
08:39 I didn't bring him to shoot around, let him rest.
08:42 And by the time we were loading the bus and heading in,
08:46 he was getting ill, even walking into the building.
08:48 So I knew at that point that he wouldn't be able to go today.
08:53 And being down 13 pounds, I'd be doing a disservice by throwing him out there and
08:59 the condition he was in or forcing the action, so to speak.
09:04 >> Plan to play him Wednesday?
09:05 >> Yes, 100%.
09:07 >> Can he play a small forward position or more shooting guard?
09:12 I mean, necessity may- >> Yeah,
09:14 it's typically who you can guard in terms of your position in basketball.
09:21 And he can guard one, two, or three.
09:25 So obviously he's not gonna be the one handling the ball by any means, but
09:30 he can guard the two or the three.
09:31 So that's not a problem there.
09:34 >> Darius doesn't have a super big starting lineup, but
09:37 he does bring bigs off the bench.
09:39 But if you look at him, they got three guys that can shoot threes.
09:43 They got a guy that's blocked 25 shots, and
09:45 they got a guy that's grabbed 44 offensive rebounds.
09:47 So there's some unique challenges with them, aren't there?
09:50 >> No, certainly, their bigs are, they do a lot of the intangibles.
09:54 I think his biggest strength are those three guards,
09:59 especially in the starting lineup.
10:00 And they got some good guards to come off the bench as well.
10:02 But their bigs play their role to what they can give their team, and
10:07 they certainly play that at a high level.
10:10 And we talk about as basketball coaches all the time, excelling in your role.
10:14 That's how you help a team win.
10:16 And he's got guys that are excelling in their role and bought in.
10:21 Which is, you look at coaches and trying to build a program,
10:27 and it's usually year three when they really start to peak.
10:30 And they're starting to peak, and they're playing really well.
10:35 They're playing good basketball.
10:36 >> Coach, with the situation that Noah and
10:40 Kerr, when they were sitting out, and obviously they practiced.
10:43 But there were other things you had to get ready for.
10:47 With the way they played Saturday, any of that surprised you,
10:51 considering the situation that they had been in?
10:54 And then moving forward, I'm sure there's probably some thoughts
10:59 on what they can accomplish moving forward.
11:02 >> Yeah, going into it, none of us in our wildest dreams thought Noah would be
11:07 playing this year.
11:09 And so he put a lot of his focus and energy into helping us on the scout team.
11:16 And we didn't get him nearly the reps that we would have got,
11:20 knowing that he's gonna be thrown into the fold.
11:24 He would have been getting all kinds of reps, knowing that was coming.
11:28 So we primarily kept him, if we were gonna get extra reps at the point guard,
11:34 it was gonna be JB, or it was gonna be Kobe and Kerr.
11:39 So not knowing, we kind of did ourselves a disservice.
11:45 I guess we had no idea.
11:47 So we used him where we could use him, where we thought it'd benefit the program.
11:52 And that's primarily on scout team.
11:55 >> Has he done a good job of keeping up with what we're doing offensively?
11:59 I think he's got a high enough IQ to pick it up really fast.
12:03 He certainly doesn't know it as well as those other guys that got so many reps.
12:07 But he was a pleasant surprise, and we kinda,
12:12 we didn't throw out a lot of sets out there, if you noticed, during that game.
12:17 Because we had a lot of new guys out there, so
12:19 you gotta have five guys on the same page.
12:22 So we kinda simplified the offense.
12:26 Noah, he's a challenge to guard and stay in front of.
12:31 He's as quick as anybody, his first step in getting to the paint,
12:36 and he really gave us a different dynamic.
12:39 So I'm excited to continue to get him into the fold, and him and
12:44 Kerr on the floor at the same time, that'll be something you'll see more and more of.
12:50 >> All year, your biggest problem's been rebounding.
12:54 >> Yeah. >> And now you leave Jesse.
12:57 How do you approach that problem?
13:01 I mean, you say you're not gonna be a victim, so-
13:03 >> Yeah, I mean, we keep drilling it and
13:04 keep drilling it, and hope that it gets through their head.
13:08 We continue to sell these guys going into these games.
13:12 I mean, until we buy in on the rebounding, we're gonna struggle.
13:17 We're gonna struggle to beat anybody.
13:19 So it's certainly a buy-in thing, and
13:23 a lot of rebounding is effort and discipline.
13:27 And we haven't shown that just yet, though, where we're consistent.
13:31 Now you're losing your leading rebounder.
13:33 Hopefully that wakes those guys up that realize that this is truly,
13:38 truly important as a key to victory each and every night.
13:42 >> With Noah, is it kind of like a crash course now for him?
13:46 And he played 18 minutes the other night.
13:50 I'm guessing he could probably maybe go a little bit more than that moving forward.
13:54 >> You say crash course, I mean, we're transitioning three and a half guys in.
14:02 So Raekwon's coming in into the fold.
14:07 Noah's coming into the fold.
14:09 So maybe three quarters of the stuff that we've ran in the past,
14:12 that everything went through Jesse Edwards, that's gonna go away.
14:16 Or it's just gonna be tabled for a month.
14:19 It's not like that's something we can force the issue on like we did in the past.
14:27 Our bread and butter there, so to speak, so
14:30 much was going through Jesse and playing inside out.
14:34 And now, offensive approach is gonna have to take a left turn.
14:38 >> I was gonna ask you that.
14:40 I mean, you went into the season with a plan that had Jesse as a big part of it.
14:45 Is it gonna have to push you to be a little creative?
14:46 >> So much for having a plan, right?
14:48 What's the point of planning anymore?
14:50 So it's a day to day thing.
14:53 You accept the challenges and you try and navigate them.
14:56 And I had great meetings with the staff leading up to the fall.
15:04 And this is what we have as a roster.
15:07 And let's put together the best course of action offensively.
15:11 But every time you get saddled with a challenge, Rayquan's not playing,
15:15 Kerr's not playing.
15:17 You see light at the end of the tunnel.
15:19 You got your whole roster coming.
15:20 And then Jesse gets hurt and
15:22 you still haven't played with what you anticipated being your starting five.
15:28 >> What you do have coming back, I mean,
15:30 the strength of this team is probably gonna shift to being more guard oriented.
15:34 >> Yeah, it certainly will.
15:35 >> Perimeter oriented.
15:36 >> And I keep on saying I wanna play fast, I wanna play fast.
15:40 And we certainly got the guards to do it now.
15:42 And now can we rebound?
15:43 Can we finish possessions so we can get out and run?
15:47 That's gonna be the biggest challenge for us right now.
15:49 >> Josh, is there some mad science involved here?
15:54 Getting lab and different lineups?
15:58 >> I wouldn't say mad science.
15:59 I mean, there's only so much you can do.
16:00 We found the news out an hour before practice yesterday.
16:09 So you go with what you got in the playbook and you kinda simplify things.
16:14 And then you get your heads together, which we did this morning,
16:18 to figure out what our game plan is with practice today.
16:21 And then you play tomorrow.
16:23 So you're not gonna have wholesale changes in three hours of practice.
16:30 >> But across time though, you have a couple of weeks here to figure out what
16:33 works, not trial and error, but keep this and put this in the back burner.
16:37 >> Yeah, certainly.
16:38 I mean, that's a day to day thing that we'll continue to work on and
16:43 manipulate, so to speak, each and
16:46 every day to figure out what our best advantage is from the offensive perspective.
16:50 >> You go into it saying, okay, maybe not my best five players, but
16:55 the best five together.
16:57 Is that how you're gonna have to look at it?
16:59 >> Yeah, probably.
17:01 I haven't quite made a determination who's gonna be my starting five.
17:07 I have an idea, but I wanna make sure everything works correctly today in
17:13 practice.
17:14 If there's synergy with that group, I'll stick with them and
17:18 figure out who's gonna give me that spark off the bench.
17:21 Because as a coach, you always wanna figure out somebody that can change the game
17:26 coming off the bench, and maybe that guy might be 100% worthy of starting.
17:30 But if you wanna help sacrifice for the good of the team,
17:35 you put that on the back burner and you say, okay, I'm gonna accept my role.
17:40 I'm gonna accept my role, I'm gonna take it on, I'm gonna excel in that role.
17:42 >> What does Jesse's absence mean for Quinn's role?
17:46 How does it affect him?
17:48 >> Well, I don't see him really, it's not gonna change much.
17:54 His role changes more due to the fact we got more guard play in there.
17:59 We got more scoring options in there from the guard play.
18:01 So we won't have to rely on him as much to isolate him and
18:08 the offensive game can kinda come naturally to him rather than forced.
18:14 Sometimes we had to force the issue with Quinn because he could create a bucket for
18:20 the team with his guard skills, his size was very helpful.
18:27 So I don't see him by any means sliding down playing the five and
18:32 playing small if that's what you're trying to get to.
18:35 So we're just gonna have to certainly work with the cook and
18:39 try to get him as maximize his minutes and efficiency and
18:45 get Pat in there and get him as much confidence as possible.
18:50 >> Go ahead.
18:51 >> When Raekwon is at his best, what does he bring for your team?
18:56 >> He's probably our best athlete.
18:59 He's so quick twitched.
19:01 Even Raekwon when he makes a bad decision defensively,
19:08 he can recover so fast.
19:09 So not only is he hard to go by,
19:17 he's a natural scorer, it's a natural athlete.
19:22 He can run, he can jump, he can create his own shot,
19:25 which is one of the hardest things in college basketball to do is get your own
19:31 shot and say there's 10 seconds left on the clock.
19:35 He can go get a shot.
19:36 He can rise up and get a mid range shot or
19:39 lift up quicker than most guys on our team and
19:43 maybe majority of all guys on our team.
19:45 So he gives us that different dynamic and I'm looking forward to
19:50 trying to get him back in the fold as quickly as possible.
19:53 >> A couple of weeks ago you said that you were keeping your eyes open for
19:57 additional semester break, but that was before Raekwon got his eligibility and
20:04 obviously Farrakhan, so does that change?
20:07 You're looking for somebody or are you still looking for somebody?
20:10 >> Still looking, I mean, certainly if a big that could help us right away,
20:14 I mean, that's way more attractive than it was a week ago.
20:18 A week ago we were thinking, would we have Raekwon, would we have Noah?
20:23 And do we need guard depth and
20:26 trying to figure out a guard out there that could help us immediately.
20:28 Now that's kind of changed.
20:32 We could have pulled the trigger on a couple that were kind of borderline,
20:36 could help you, didn't know.
20:39 But we didn't and glad we didn't,
20:43 knowing the fact that now we have some guard depth, but
20:46 we're lacking the forward depth.
20:50 So times change quickly.
20:53 And I think Daris, I look back, I remember when Kerr got his suspension,
21:00 he heard the news and he's always the one that's quick to call me and
21:04 give me advice and he puts things in perspective probably better than
21:08 anybody I have in my coaching circle.
21:11 So I remember him saying, and I think I quoted it, it's like,
21:15 just ride those waves, coach.
21:17 Get on that boogie board and ride those waves.
21:20 So he's got a great approach to it and
21:25 we speak to each other weekly, if not more.
21:28 And he does a really good job of checking in on me and he's a truly great friend.
21:34 >> I suspect you're ignoring his advice this week.
21:37 >> Yeah, I called to get a scouting report on Sunday, but he didn't answer.
21:43 And so I was watching Teddy's game and he called and
21:47 I was trying to get some details from him, but-
21:49 >> Well, he's run dry this week.
21:52 >> Yeah, he's tight lipped this time.
21:54 And I got a text from James Herring yesterday after the radio show and
22:00 I was careful what I said because I know how diligent a worker he is.
22:04 So he listened to the radio show too, if he could get a little tidbit of any
22:09 advantage he would get it, and so he texted me.
22:13 >> There's some misinformation out there.
22:15 >> Yeah, and I said, does not surprise me that you listened to that, so.
22:18 >> [LAUGH] >> This is a kind of a tough question,
22:22 and I don't think there's really anyone that can kind of understand the situation
22:26 you've been put in this year.
22:27 But at some point, there's gonna be some kind of decision made and
22:33 evaluations made.
22:35 Do you think there's any fair way possible to evaluate what you've
22:40 accomplished here in the sense that you didn't have a starting point guard for
22:46 X amount of time and you didn't have Raekwon and
22:49 now you're not gonna have Jesse for a month.
22:52 I mean, I don't think there's any fair way to evaluate you under those
22:56 circumstances, but- >> I don't know, it's a good question.
23:02 I just continue to take the approach, I'm gonna make the best decisions possible for
23:07 the people in this program I'm representing.
23:09 And continue to do the right thing in terms of who I'm representing.
23:14 I know I'm representing a hardworking group of people in this state,
23:20 1.8 million people that go to work every day and grind.
23:25 That's the same approach I'm gonna have.
23:27 And I'm gonna represent this university the best way I can and
23:31 make good decisions for this university when I'm at the helm.
23:35 How they judge me on that, that's totally up to someone else.
23:39 I'm gonna be true to my character and my beliefs and the way I wanna run things and
23:47 do things the right way and that's all I can do.
23:49 >> Josh, the nature of all the stuff you've been through,
23:55 like coaches do work with each other sometimes for advice on, like Scott, right?
24:00 But the outreach to you from people, eligibility issues, medical stuff,
24:06 how to handle that when you don't know,
24:07 all the stuff you've been through is kind of unique to this particular situation.
24:10 Are you surprisingly popular?
24:13 I don't know if that makes sense, but are you surprised?
24:16 Is that even existing when people are coming out of the woodwork to ask you
24:18 questions about how they do things that maybe six months ago you never thought you'd
24:22 have to deal with, because they are so unique to the situation?
24:24 >> Yeah, there's been so many situations that are completely unique.
24:28 I mean, going into it, and I remember when I got the job and
24:32 I was excited and ready to take on anything and everything.
24:37 And I had no idea going into the job I would be saddled with so many challenges.
24:43 But what do you do other than look at it as a complete growth opportunity for
24:49 myself and everybody involved in the program?
24:54 We were down 18 against UMass, and they certainly could have folded and
25:00 acted like a victim, but that's not the approach I've ever relayed to them.
25:08 So we're gonna fight and
25:09 fight to the bitter end no matter what situation we're saddled with.
25:14 >> Darius is one, but I mean, is it hard to get advice on these things?
25:22 Like the coach's condition, I mean, who do you go for that?
25:25 Or like now with Jesse, okay, my center is pulled out in the middle of the season.
25:29 These are all, some are basketball, but some are not.
25:31 >> I mean, Darius gave me advice on that one with the cook.
25:34 I mean, they dealt with Keontae's situation and they were close.
25:40 So he gave me some advice on that, not from a coaching perspective,
25:46 not from a medical perspective by any means.
25:50 But there's a lot of things as a coach, and
25:53 especially in the big chair at the end of the hallway that you deal with that
25:59 you would never really believe was part of the job description.
26:04 So, and that's part of it,
26:08 95% of it has nothing to do with X's and O's.
26:12 It's all about leading your program and lead them in the right way.
26:15 [BLANK_AUDIO]
26:18 >> Coach, thank you.