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00:00 Let's begin today's zoom conference with West Virginia men's basketball coach Josh Eilert.
00:08 Coach will turn it over to you for an opening statement.
00:11 Good morning.
00:14 Great great win on Saturday and great program.
00:19 You know, top to bottom in terms of our program is something we certainly need to need to
00:24 have to get that confidence rolling and move forward, especially going into a two game
00:31 road swing.
00:32 You know, you know, tomorrow, you know, central Florida and then Oakland State on on Saturday.
00:37 So I think we're turning in the right direction and we showed that some very positive things
00:43 in that Kansas game and and what we're capable of doing.
00:47 And, you know, we're even feel like we're getting closer to having a complete roster
00:52 and getting, you know, a day by day situation with Jesse.
00:58 So yeah, we're turning in the right direction and we got to keep that momentum going.
01:03 I was very pleased with how we, you know, performed offensively against Kansas.
01:09 One of the glaring statistics for me was the 19 assists on offense.
01:14 And like I told our guys, we kind of showed some of that yesterday in practice film, you
01:21 know, eight of nine of our guys touched the floor, had an assist.
01:24 So that's how connected we got to be on offense to get, you know, good looks and uncontested
01:31 looks.
01:32 And we certainly manufactured a lot more uncontested looks than we had in the past, especially
01:38 when you compare our game film to, you know, Oklahoma and some of those others that we've
01:44 we've dropped.
01:45 So great team effort.
01:47 A lot to improve on on the defensive end.
01:49 You know, gave up 53 percent from the field and the, you know, 85 points.
01:56 So like I told these guys, you know, each and every night, you're not going to be able
02:00 to outscore people.
02:01 But in this instance, that's kind of what happened.
02:04 We shot the ball well enough to outscore someone.
02:07 It wasn't what we did on the defensive end.
02:12 OK, our first question comes from Greg Hunter.
02:17 So Josh, because of your guys' improved play, it seems like the chemistry, at least game
02:21 day chemistry, I'm not saying you guys had bad, you know, personal chemistry before,
02:26 but game day chemistry seems much better.
02:28 Is it just a matter of time and getting the guys all to play together?
02:31 What's leading to all this?
02:33 I think I've spoke about that a lot.
02:37 I mean, you know, a lot of these guys have played.
02:41 Almost any opponent you play has been playing for 15 games together, maybe even 18 if they
02:46 played a foreign tour.
02:48 So they had developed a lot more chemistry.
02:52 And if we were going to be successful, especially with all the changes in our roster and adding
02:58 guys so late, whether it be Rayquan, Kerr, Noah, even a Cook and losing Jesse.
03:08 So I mean, the chemistry, we didn't have time to develop that.
03:13 The success was probably going to be predetermined based on how quickly that chemistry was built.
03:21 It's hard to build chemistry when you're going against some of the best of the best and the
03:28 best conference in the country.
03:30 You know, we had a couple of games under our belt with the majority of our roster and then
03:39 go to Houston for your first league game, which was probably the best defensive team
03:46 in the country.
03:47 So those are things that will set you back from a chemistry standpoint, trying to build
03:53 that.
03:54 But we certainly, you know, went into the last three and a couple of top 25 wins can
04:01 go a long, direct, long ways with us in terms of our confidence and building that chemistry.
04:06 I think people are, especially the guys on the roster, everybody's kind of fallen or
04:12 started to learn their role and what it's going to take for us to be successful as a
04:18 team.
04:19 So a follow up to that.
04:20 Now you're going to add another piece or reintroduce Jesse back to the lineup.
04:24 How does that change what you've done?
04:27 Just chemistry wise, not necessarily scheme wise.
04:31 Yeah, hopefully that's a smoother transition.
04:34 You know, credit to Pat Sumnick, which has done an absolute phenomenal job, especially
04:40 here in the last two, three, four games, you know, filling that void for us and giving
04:47 us that presence down low, especially on the defensive end, you know, guarding some of
04:54 these bigs and shoring up our deficiency there at the five position.
04:58 But he's done an absolute phenomenal job and a key to our success probably in the last
05:05 several games that we've come up on the winning side of.
05:10 Next question comes from Kevin Kinder.
05:12 Hey, good morning, coach.
05:14 Morning, Kevin.
05:16 You've used the word connected several times describing your offense and what you're striving
05:21 toward.
05:22 And I guess on one level, that just means passing, sharing the ball.
05:24 But does it go deeper than that?
05:26 Can you tell us a little bit more about that and your goals for what being connected truly
05:32 is?
05:33 I mean, more than anything, it's it's it's.
05:37 We talk a lot about shot selection.
05:40 We also talk a lot about like I've talked in past trying to get uncontested looks, cleaner
05:49 looks.
05:50 And we break down a lot of film in this program and trying to find those opportunities where
05:56 there's another pass to be made.
05:59 Excuse me.
06:02 We found over the course of the last, especially the last five, six games that we're leaving
06:07 a lot of uncontested looks at the table because we're forcing things and we're not recognizing
06:12 the next pass.
06:14 And sometimes whether it be a comfort dribble, somebody thinks they need to bounce and allows
06:21 that defense to rotate or or not getting it out of our hands quick enough, which allows
06:27 the defense to rotate.
06:29 But regardless, we're not recognizing that quick enough.
06:33 And that's typically what I'm talking about with being connected.
06:37 You know, there's there's several options, options that any given offense or any given
06:41 play.
06:42 Are we are we infatuated with the first option or do we look at our counter options on the
06:49 back end of the play?
06:50 So, you know, when I say connected, it's kind of covers a lot of those things in terms of
06:57 being more efficient on the offensive end.
06:59 One quick follow up.
07:00 Does that heavy film study and the use of that, does that really come from your background
07:06 of being a video guy for a while and having that being one of your main things?
07:12 Yeah, it was.
07:14 It's a priority for me from day one, especially when I when I chose my staff and young assistants.
07:22 And it was great that they shot it, done that video role with the Knicks.
07:27 And he was very, very proficient with the video.
07:31 I told my young staff, like this is I want you guys to all be able to do this and kind
07:38 of be your own video coordinator and not have to rely on younger guys to kind of help you
07:44 cut all that film, because it is such a necessary tool, teaching tool in today's game, especially
07:54 with the rosters, the way they are in college basketball, the way it is that there's so
07:59 much turnover.
08:00 And so there needs to be a lot more teaching from a video standpoint.
08:05 And we've made that a priority here since I've taken over.
08:11 We'll move to John and Tony.
08:13 Josh, to the first one, Central Florida, what did they do well against Kansas and Texas
08:20 to win those games?
08:23 They were down 16 against Kansas at one point.
08:28 They threw some zone at both those guys or both those teams.
08:32 And it really threw them off.
08:35 They hadn't shown much zone at all prior to the Kansas game.
08:39 I think it threw them for a loop.
08:42 But yeah, things started going in their direction.
08:47 They started seeing some shots fall and their defensive intensity just continued to raise
08:52 throughout that game.
08:55 They were so active defensively that they really gave both those teams some problems.
09:01 And they're not really, I don't think at the end of the day.
09:05 He's a zone guy.
09:08 I think he wants to primarily be a man-to-man coach.
09:13 But he will change a lot of defenses on him and his man-to-man.
09:17 And it's as good as anybody's in the country.
09:21 I think they have a number four defensive ranking and they're 24th in the country in
09:26 opponents points per game.
09:27 So they hang their head on the defense.
09:29 And they got a good group of very physical roster from top to bottom that can really
09:38 give you problems on the defensive end.
09:41 And second one here, how do you translate, take what you did against Kansas on the road
09:47 now and what is your philosophy on how you approach this with your guys in road games?
09:53 We got to rebound first and foremost.
09:55 I mean, it's a broken record in our program.
09:58 We have to rebound.
09:59 I think, like I've told those guys, we can do all the game planning we want.
10:02 But if we're not quick to the ball and you're not taking care of the glass,
10:06 we're gonna have a hard time beating anybody.
10:09 And I don't think it's a coincidence that we out rebounded Texas by one and
10:14 out rebounded Kansas by nine and won those games.
10:17 So that's first and foremost.
10:20 We gotta travel.
10:21 When we travel and hit the road,
10:24 we gotta have that type of intensity that we've had in the last couple games here
10:30 at the Coliseum and try to be quick to the ball and not be playing on our heels.
10:35 And I thought that was kind of the case in the Houston game.
10:39 I thought that was kind of the case in the Oklahoma game.
10:42 I felt like we were playing on our heels a lot and
10:46 they were always quicker than the ball.
10:48 So we gotta turn up that intensity and
10:53 pretend like we got 16,000 fans behind us and root for us.
10:59 So we gotta figure out a way to muster that energy and
11:03 bring it to the table tomorrow.
11:05 [BLANK_AUDIO]
11:08 >> John Raby.
11:09 [BLANK_AUDIO]
11:11 >> In the months since Rick Juan was allowed by a judge to compete,
11:15 how has that decision affected him both on and off the basketball court,
11:19 including his mental outlook and overall demeanor and happiness?
11:23 >> It's been great.
11:25 He raised all smiles.
11:28 He's got basketball in his life and
11:31 he's had multiple family members traveling to see him play.
11:36 And it's meant the world to him that he can just compete in the game he loves and
11:42 compete with the lights on, not just in practice.
11:45 So I said over and over, Ray needs that and he certainly needs that competitive
11:51 fire and he needs to fuel that each and every day.
11:55 And the game of basketball is where he gets his happiness.
11:59 So it's meant the world to him and I'm so happy for
12:04 him that it worked out in his favor.
12:07 And so many other guys across the country that been sitting and
12:12 trying to figure out what their next move was.
12:16 But for everybody to be able to compete, I think that's a beautiful thing.
12:20 [BLANK_AUDIO]
12:24 >> Justin Jackson.
12:26 >> Hey, good morning, coach.
12:26 How you doing?
12:27 >> Good.
12:28 >> I guess travel will be a little bit better today or?
12:32 >> No, I'm crossing my fingers.
12:34 It's everything's smooth so far today.
12:38 I think we got a plane in the air and it's headed to Clarksburg.
12:41 So hopefully we don't have a mechanic doing anything or
12:45 some mechanical issues that throw us off.
12:49 But knock on wood, we're smooth sailing so far and we're headed to sunshine.
12:55 I assume there's sunshine down there.
12:56 >> Yeah.
12:57 >> But my luck, it might be raining, but I hope there's some sunshine that we can soak
13:01 up.
13:02 >> Hey, a question on Jesse here.
13:05 I mean, obviously, he practiced the day before the Kansas game,
13:10 he's dressed for the Kansas game.
13:13 As you take this trip now, this road trip,
13:17 what will go into the decision on whether or not he plays?
13:21 Is it how he feels?
13:24 Is it what your gut tells you?
13:26 Is it what the doctor say?
13:27 Is it a combination?
13:28 What will go into that decision?
13:31 >> It'll be everything.
13:33 I mean, we say we practice before KU.
13:36 He did very, very limited five on five.
13:40 So he was there, he was active,
13:45 all the five on no drills he was in.
13:49 But we limited on his five on five, we did throw him out there for
13:54 some contact drills and see where he was.
13:58 But he got uncomfortable at one point trying to guard Big Ali post and
14:04 we backed off as soon as he felt that uncomfort.
14:10 And we gotta be careful with it, make sure we're not pushing it too fast.
14:15 And so he warmed up against Kansas and
14:19 was it VAR fest that we throw him in at any given point.
14:23 If we got very desperate, I think he would have been all for it.
14:27 But I gotta be smart with him.
14:29 And so my responsibility is to do the best thing by our guys.
14:34 And just because a guy is raring to go and is willing to,
14:39 it doesn't mean it's the best for him.
14:42 So we went light yesterday, we did a lot of film.
14:46 We did a lot of walking through their sets.
14:49 We got shots up and so we didn't do any contact yesterday, five on five contact.
14:55 So I didn't have that to go off of.
15:00 So today when we get traveled down to Orlando,
15:03 we'll see where he's at, what his comfort level is.
15:06 And throw him out there probably it's more five on five to see where he is.
15:10 So it's a fluid situation.
15:14 Not sure if he'll go tomorrow or not.
15:16 But the good thing is, that's playing really well and giving us great minutes.
15:22 So we don't feel as forced, feel like we have to force the issue as much as we
15:27 probably would have maybe a week or so ago if we were in the same situation.
15:33 >> And then one last thing here.
15:34 Obviously, they probably all played together over the summer.
15:39 I don't know how much of that you really get to watch.
15:42 You obviously got other things to do.
15:44 So when Jesse's out there on the floor now,
15:48 even if it's just in a limited experience, he's out there now with Raekwon,
15:53 with Kerr, with Noah, I'm sure that hasn't always been the case.
15:58 Do you have any kind of idea what the potential looks like,
16:03 if that makes any sense?
16:06 What that group looks like together because they haven't been together.
16:11 I mean- >> No, I've seen them in the preseason
16:15 practices, I'd switched a lot of those teams up and continue to work through it.
16:20 And I've seen the combination of Kerr and Ray and
16:26 Jesse and other complimentary pieces with them.
16:31 And I was very, very excited about those guys playing.
16:37 And I felt like we had some real good depth.
16:40 At that point, I never thought Noah was gonna play by any means.
16:43 But yeah, I've seen them together.
16:45 It's probably, you go back to the early interviews,
16:50 I had a big smile on my face thinking those guys are gonna be with us from day one.
16:57 And it just wasn't the case.
16:59 Kerr, it's nine game suspension, and Ray not playing the first ten, and
17:03 Jesse getting hurt.
17:04 So I've seen them plenty playing together.
17:07 And it's a special unit when you get all those guys together.
17:12 >> Thank you, Coach.
17:13 Bob Herczel.
17:15 >> Yeah, Josh, long lines of what Justin was asking, but quite different in a way.
17:23 Obviously, when Jesse got hurt, told you'd be about a month,
17:28 you knew he'd be coming back.
17:29 You probably started thinking about how you were gonna use them, etc., and
17:32 what your lineup would look like.
17:35 That's something that comes along and changes, I suspect,
17:38 many of the views and the things.
17:40 You're talking about how good your chemistry is now.
17:44 How do you work that out?
17:45 I mean, does something go back to where he was at four?
17:51 Can they play together, or should they be on the floor at different times?
17:55 What are your thoughts on that as they get ready?
17:57 >> It's certainly play together, certainly play together, but
18:02 we also have other guys at options.
18:05 And that's what I wish I had from the beginning was options.
18:10 And Pat is probably the, he's become the best
18:16 five option outside of what I had with Jesse.
18:21 So he certainly can shore up any minutes that you don't feel with Jesse,
18:26 but he can also play the four and guard the four.
18:30 And Cook, he's a four as well, so Quinn is a four.
18:35 So we have more depth there, more options.
18:38 So early on in the season, I'm always worried about,
18:42 is Jesse getting foul trouble and how we navigate that.
18:45 Now I feel like we've got that shored up to where, okay,
18:49 we can be more aggressive with Jesse.
18:52 We have Pat to service all those minutes if he does get in foul trouble.
18:57 So I just feel like I have more flexibility.
19:01 And from a coaching standpoint, especially in this league,
19:04 having some flexibility with your roster is gonna be critical.
19:07 >> It seems like Pat's a big part of that chemistry of the,
19:11 as you've been talking about, his energy and stuff.
19:14 So obviously you wanna see that he gets minutes even when Jesse's back,
19:19 I presume.
19:20 >> Yeah, he's gonna be a critical part of anything we do moving forward.
19:24 And having that confidence rolling, and
19:29 he knows deep down the way he can play.
19:33 And I don't think he's even second guessing himself in any way at this point.
19:37 So this is gonna be in our best interest with that confidence that he's rolling.
19:45 >> Thank you.
19:47 Mike Cazaza.
19:48 >> Hey, Josh, how are you?
19:50 >> Good, how are you, Mike?
19:52 >> I'm good, thank you.
19:52 You covered a bunch of stuff.
19:53 Just one thing I wanna go back to.
19:55 Played very well against Texas, very well against Kansas.
19:58 Common denominator there, they're both ranked, but you both have them at home.
20:02 Oklahoma in between, just very different.
20:05 Also ranked teams, that has something to do with it, I'm sure.
20:07 But is it as simple what you watched live and on film, just being on the road?
20:14 Or I know some unique things went into that.
20:16 But just that energy or that focus or that, whatever you lacked, excuse me,
20:20 whatever you lacked that day you've had in the home games.
20:22 Or is it more than that and you can't just say, we're on the home things,
20:26 it'll be better and maybe better, it'll be a little bit better.
20:29 >> It's been kind of the theme, we don't have a road.
20:34 Houston, we went to Oklahoma, we don't have a road.
20:39 And those are two very hard ones to get, two very hard places to play.
20:43 Central Florida is gonna be no different.
20:46 But we need to prioritize the road.
20:49 We need to figure out what are we lacking on the road that we're getting home.
20:56 And as coaching staff, we continue to look at what we can do to have them
21:02 prepared and ready, have that step and be the first one to the floor.
21:07 We need to be the first one to the floor and set that tone on the road,
21:11 just like you kind of set that tone at home.
21:13 So that's the goal.
21:17 We have one goal in mind right now, and that's getting the road.
21:20 >> That could be lineups, it could be anything that happens in the game.
21:24 But it also sounds like how you get your team to the jump too.
21:28 I mean, rest, preparation, film, set of practice.
21:30 How much of just thinking through things, and I don't even know if you can be
21:34 consistent because maybe all these road trips are different, but
21:36 you almost have to win that battle before the game.
21:38 Does that make sense?
21:39 >> I mean, you have to game plan for your rest and
21:44 recovery as much as game plan for the team you're playing.
21:47 So you can have the best game plan in the world and try to execute it.
21:51 But if you're a step slow to everything you do, and
21:56 you just don't have that energy, you're not gonna be successful.
21:59 So yeah, we think about that, and we plan for all those things.
22:03 And you certainly hope travel goes smooth because you see,
22:07 I'm sure there's a correlation that people's travel and
22:11 length of people's travel and their success on the road.
22:14 This league, it's imperative that everything goes smooth and
22:18 we have that energy and that focus going into a big road contest down in Florida.
22:27 >> We'll go back to John Antonik.
22:29 >> Last one for me, just looking at UCF again here.
22:33 Primarily, their two main scores are guards,
22:37 looks like they get a lot of their points from the backcourt.
22:39 And then Avery comes off the bench as one of their top scorers.
22:43 What do you see from their personnel?
22:45 What gives you concern with them?
22:46 >> Their physicality, they really lock in on the defensive end.
22:52 They have good size from top to bottom.
22:54 So we're gonna have to be good with the ball.
22:57 We can't be playing on our heels by any means.
23:00 We have to attack them.
23:02 We have to be the aggressor.
23:04 They can't have us turned around with their physicality.
23:07 So yeah, they're a really good defensive team.
23:11 And they force a lot of turnovers and they get up in you.
23:16 So we can't back down by any means and we gotta take the fight to them.
23:21 [BLANK_AUDIO]
23:24 >> That concludes our Zoom conference for today.
23:27 Coach Eilert, thank you for your time.
23:29 >> Thank you.
23:29 [BLANK_AUDIO]