John Newman III and Day Day Thomas on Bearcats Win Over TCU
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00:00 much better job the rest of the night.
00:02 I think to start the game, we just didn't play
00:04 with a lot of energy or a lot of focus.
00:07 And also, I mean, they were hitting some tough shots,
00:09 so credit to them.
00:10 But I think, like, I think our defensive energy
00:14 and our edge could have been better to start the game off.
00:16 So, like I said, credit to them.
00:19 We just had to weather the storm, though.
00:21 Like, really, that's all it really was.
00:22 Like, I know, like, I know what kind of guys
00:26 I got in the locker room with me,
00:27 so I knew it wouldn't end up like the whole game like that.
00:31 But it was just all about weathering the storm
00:32 and continuing to fight.
00:35 KD, 13 of 58 coming in for tonight's increase.
00:39 How have you been able to keep your confidence
00:41 to play your game and drop a tough shot for it?
00:46 I mean, my teammates, they just, you know,
00:48 keep telling me to shoot the ball
00:49 because I'm working on my shot every day in practice,
00:52 before practice, after practice.
00:53 So just getting reps and just staying confident,
00:56 just keeping my head up.
01:00 Jon, what was working for you offensively
01:02 and if you had every single one there,
01:04 early seven, six, 10, 12, shooting the 97 rebounds?
01:07 Career 19, what was working for you?
01:11 I think my teammates just found me in the right places.
01:15 Kind of like any other time for me, really,
01:17 just finding the ball in opportune places
01:19 and being aggressive with it.
01:22 Continuing to put in the work in,
01:23 I mean, that matters for me.
01:25 I'm not the kind of guy that can just go out there and do it.
01:29 You know, I have to work at it every single day.
01:31 So I will credit it to my work,
01:33 but then also my teammates just finding me in the right spots
01:35 and me being able to capitalize on that.
01:39 So the tough guys win games. Are you that tough guy?
01:44 We got 16 tough guys, man. We got 16 tough guys.
01:47 It's infectious throughout our locker room.
01:50 That's what Coach West loves, the edge.
01:52 And, you know, every guy in that locker room with me,
01:55 I'll bring that to the table.
01:56 So, you know, it's like they feed off of me,
01:59 I feed off of them.
02:00 How do you play as a team?
02:05 That's a good question.
02:09 I mean, every environment is different.
02:11 Like, for example, Carolina has, like, a bunch of people,
02:14 but, like, their fans are as rowdy as, like, I would say,
02:21 like, the Baylor game.
02:22 Like, those fans are more rowdy.
02:23 But every venue is different.
02:25 Every venue comes with something unique.
02:28 How do you play in front of a huge fan base?
02:31 Man, our fans are incredible. Our fans here --
02:34 You're talking, like, the Fifth Dirt?
02:36 Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's incredible.
02:38 Like, it's always electric.
02:40 I love it here, though, because it's like you get the honesty,
02:42 because, like, if we're not playing well,
02:44 they pretty much let us know.
02:47 So, I mean, you know, it goes both ways,
02:49 which I appreciate, though, you know.
02:51 I love our fans. They show up.
02:54 Even over winter break, they showed up for us,
02:57 and they continue to.
02:59 So we just got to keep playing a good round of basketball,
03:00 so keep making them proud.
03:02 Question for Coach.
03:04 The last five seconds of the regulation,
03:10 how do you guys keep your composure and make sure
03:13 that you're not [inaudible]
03:15 talk about overtime?
03:19 I mean, we practice with this moment in practice,
03:22 so, like, let's just talk to each other,
03:25 tell each other, you know, don't get too relaxed on defense.
03:28 You know, we still got to get a start no matter what.
03:30 I feel like let's just communicate with each other.
03:33 Just bring us together, keep our composure.
03:37 Yeah.
03:39 Two questions, so that's the last five seconds.
03:43 Yeah. I mean, it's chaotic.
03:45 Like, games like this are always chaotic, man.
03:48 I think a common message is to stay focused.
03:52 We want to have the same focus and attention
03:54 to every possession.
03:55 Like, it doesn't always go that way,
03:57 but especially in the last five seconds,
04:00 in the midst of all the chaos, you know, you kind of want to --
04:03 You know, you put on the focus
04:04 that you built up during practice.
04:06 You know, Coach West does a good job
04:07 of putting us in, like, late-game situations
04:10 so that we're ready for those moments,
04:11 and, you know, we ended up going to overtime,
04:14 but, you know, even in overtime,
04:17 I think you saw, like, some of the plays that we made
04:19 down the stretch were very, like, focused,
04:21 and it was things that we practiced.
04:23 So...
04:24 Yeah. It was, like, a full-circle moment, really,
04:39 because I was really down on myself, man, really,
04:42 after that Texas game.
04:43 I was like, "Dang, like, it's not all my fault,
04:46 but, like, you know, you know how you feel as an individual."
04:49 So...
04:51 But, truth be told, at that moment,
04:54 I could only be so down
04:56 because I practiced for those moments.
04:57 Like, I was prepared as I could be.
05:01 I just didn't go my way, but, you know, after the game,
05:04 Coach West was just telling me, like,
05:05 "This is where you see, like, your true character
05:07 and how you bounce back."
05:08 And even a little bit when I was on the line first today,
05:12 I was in my head about -- You know,
05:13 still in my head about the Texas game,
05:16 but as the game went on,
05:17 I just kind of had to tell myself, like,
05:20 I literally practiced this.
05:21 I was shooting on that goal literally earlier today,
05:23 just practicing, so it's nothing other than,
05:25 you know, the work,
05:27 and you can't be in your own head about it.
05:29 Did you hear him in the post-game press conference
05:32 after Texas come up here and have you back?
05:35 And if you did, what does that mean to you?
05:37 Yeah, yeah. I saw something about it.
05:40 I don't always listen to him, to the post-game presses,
05:43 but I did see, like, a quote about it,
05:45 and, you know, it means everything to me
05:47 to have a coach that, like, has your back.
05:50 Even, like, you know, whenever I lose,
05:53 we all lose. He loses, too.
05:55 And, you know, he's the guy that really wants to win,
05:58 but it just means the most to me that he just has my back
06:01 and that he's understanding, like,
06:02 nobody wants to misread those.
06:03 Nobody's trying to misread those, you know?
06:06 But -- And he knows that because he's played the game.
06:08 He's played at the highest level,
06:10 so I think he can kind of have, like, some, I guess,
06:12 like, empathy would be the word.
06:16 But, you know, it just means the world to me.
06:18 That's my guy, and he's rocking with me,
06:20 so I'm always rocking with him.
06:22 What do you guys think about the student session?
06:25 Nah, that's love. I love the student session.
06:28 I love the student session. That mean a lot.
06:30 That mean a lot. That was good.
06:32 How much less time do you have?
06:34 Part of a course?
06:35 Have you ever been a part of a course?
06:36 Yeah, I was a part of a few at Clemson.
06:38 We had the -- We had the, like, three top six teams in a week.
06:44 Like, we had the -- Who did we beat?
06:47 Louisville. That's when they had, like, Jordan Moore,
06:50 all the guys. Then we beat Duke.
06:52 And they had Cassius Stanley, and then we beat Florida State.
06:56 They were, like -- I think they were, like, the sixth team.
06:59 Did you expect that to happen?
07:02 I didn't expect it at all.
07:03 I was kind of caught off guard for --
07:07 It's funny because I was literally just, like,
07:08 standing there, and then next thing --
07:10 I was kind of, like, zoned out.
07:12 And the next thing I know, I got a bunch of people surrounding me,
07:14 like, "Y'all knew it!"
07:18 But, man, that was fun, man. It was fun, man.
07:21 You know, and hopefully we can continue to get tough wins
07:24 like that and create more moments like that.
07:25 That's exciting.
07:26 ...difficult matchup.
07:31 I was excited to get a whole new 4-12 team,
07:34 and I believe you've talked about his performance tonight
07:37 and how this was a matchup.
07:40 Yeah. Yeah, he's a great player, man.
07:42 He's a great player. I watched him on film.
07:44 Plays very, very hard, super physical, strong.
07:50 But, you know, I just take it as, like,
07:52 part of my responsibility to take on every single challenge,
07:55 every man that steps in front of me.
07:58 And knowing that sometimes I might fail, really.
07:59 Like, it might be somebody that could beat me one night,
08:01 really, honestly.
08:02 But that's what comes with the job,
08:03 being, like, a defensive stopper.
08:06 You kind of got to -- My dad always told me, like,
08:08 you got to have the mindset of, like, a defensive dad.
08:10 Like, you might get a bright one play,
08:11 but you got to get right back to it.
08:13 So that's kind of my mentality.
08:16 But, like I say, he's a great player.
08:19 I guess not the best night for him,
08:21 but, you know, he's still a great player,
08:23 and I'm going to continue to take on every challenge.
08:25 One more question.
08:26 Quite a bit as well.
08:28 How much have you taken Josh under your wing?
08:31 He looks like a different player over the past couple of weeks.
08:33 Yeah, he does. He does.
08:35 Man, I'm super proud of Josh
08:36 because he hasn't always gone his way this year.
08:39 Seriously, I'm sure he would have wanted
08:41 to play more earlier on,
08:42 but, like, I think he's kind of, like, found his niche.
08:45 I think it's not always about, like --
08:48 It's not always about where you are in the moment.
08:50 You have to, like, kind of fight to find your role
08:53 and fight to find your place on the court,
08:54 and I think that's something that he's done.
08:55 And that's not easy to do.
08:56 It's super easy to pout and to take yourself out,
09:01 really take yourself out the game.
09:03 But Josh is, like, high character,
09:05 and so, like, that shows why he's in the position
09:08 that he's in now.
09:10 You know, like you said, we took turns guarding him,
09:14 and he's one of the people on the team
09:17 that I really, really trust, like, he can get the job done.
09:20 You know, if you take me out --
09:21 Really, I never trip when I come out the game,
09:23 but, like, if Josh is coming in or you put Josh on him,
09:26 like, I have full confidence in Josh.
09:28 He does his job. He's smart.