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00:00 >> Good afternoon, just to recap since Saturday, Sunday was required day off.
00:06 So it's nice when those days off falls on Sunday and there's no class and
00:12 we can kinda take a minute to reset and get our minds fresh before we go into prep
00:18 for the following opponent, so we took Sunday off.
00:23 Yesterday we started prep for a very good Cincinnati team, but
00:26 we're excited to have a two game home stretch and
00:30 be back on our home floor with our fans behind us.
00:33 So we're excited to see Mountaineer Nation and
00:37 hope we continue to have that support that we've got so far up to this point and
00:43 excited to have those people backing us in the Coliseum tomorrow night.
00:47 >> Josh, the prognosis for Jesse obviously got to play.
00:53 Do you see that he progresses over time?
00:55 Do you think it's just something he's got to battle all season?
00:58 Where do you think he gets to?
01:01 >> He had an appointment yesterday which went really, really well.
01:04 And I think for him, more than anything, it's gonna give him some peace of mind and
01:08 some confidence moving forward.
01:10 That there is gonna be a little bit of pain,
01:13 he's probably gonna have to play through, but
01:16 that's very common for this injury.
01:20 So I think that'll, and even looking back at yesterday's practice,
01:27 I think he played with less hesitation than he's played with to this point.
01:33 So I think anybody that watched that game on Saturday probably saw that
01:37 Jesse was favoring that wrist in a lot of ways.
01:41 And maybe people might think that it was rushed to get him out there.
01:46 But that was totally up to him in terms of he gave me the go ahead on
01:51 Saturday morning and says, I'm ready, I wanna try this.
01:55 So the moment we thought we needed him, we threw him out there to see what happens.
02:01 >> Do you think that rap, you think going forward,
02:04 does that seem to affect his shot a little bit?
02:06 >> I think the way I think it's supposed to work out is that earlier,
02:11 with his rehab, the rap would be a lot tighter early.
02:17 And as we progress each and every day and move forward with it,
02:21 it'll probably just loosen that up as we go.
02:24 But there certainly has to be some type of protective measure for
02:27 him moving forward.
02:28 >> Rayquan pressing a little bit, and
02:30 is he dealing with teams trying to take him away and game planning?
02:35 >> Yeah, and I think we're gonna find out with Rayquan and
02:41 I keep on having conversations with him.
02:45 And some games, he can be such an amazing player for you.
02:53 And then other games, if he forces some action,
02:56 sometimes it can hurt the team.
03:00 But he by no means wants to hurt the team in any way.
03:04 And he's trying to figure out what that niche is that he can bring to the table
03:09 and be effective as a scorer, as a defender, whatever that may be.
03:14 So we're having a lot of conversations in that regard.
03:18 And his mindset's right where you want it to be in terms of growth and
03:23 learning and trying to fit into what we got going on and
03:27 being an effective member of the program.
03:29 So I'm pleased with his mindset and
03:32 tomorrow with the home crowd, he's done really well at home.
03:36 So I'm excited to see him in action tomorrow.
03:40 [BLANK_AUDIO]
03:43 >> What Cincinnati bring to the table?
03:44 I know they got size and kind of a United Nations type roster.
03:49 >> Yeah, it's one of those teams that they play really, really physical.
03:55 We've talked about that over the past with some of these teams that we've
03:58 struggled with between UMass and Houston and Central Florida.
04:02 I mean, they're right up there with those type of teams in terms of their
04:06 physicality.
04:07 So we're gonna have to match that physicality.
04:10 We can't back down by any means, we can't play on our heels.
04:13 They're a very, very good offensive rebounding team.
04:17 And that's something that we're gonna have to shore up and
04:21 we continue to, we understand it's been a struggle to this point.
04:25 So hopefully, inserting Jesse into the lineup and getting him more comfortable
04:29 should help us shore some of those defensive rebounding issues that we've had.
04:33 But if you look back to the game against Oklahoma State,
04:38 the first play on defensive end, we gave up an offensive rebound and
04:44 it ended up being a made three point shot.
04:47 And down the stretch when we're trying to make winning plays to win the game,
04:53 they made those winning plays.
04:55 They got that offensive rebound, they kick out and made that shot.
05:00 And I have a lot of those conversations with our guys when comparing game to game.
05:05 If you look back at our Kansas game and how we were so
05:07 effective down the stretch, we were the team making those winning plays.
05:12 Raekwon got a really hard rebound.
05:14 Pat got a really hard rebound, kicked it out to Raekwon for a three.
05:17 That's the same thing that was happening to us in Stillwater down the stretch.
05:22 And we just weren't making those winning plays down the stretch.
05:25 >> How do you make sure you are making those winning plays game to game?
05:29 >> Yeah, I mean, you hope you have the, on the road,
05:35 it's certainly more of a challenge.
05:36 At home, you feel the energy behind you, so
05:41 you probably get that extra effort at home.
05:43 But it's something we talk about every day.
05:46 We haven't won away from home, and we're not shying away from that.
05:50 We understand that's where we're at.
05:52 And we gotta find a way to get that in our head,
05:55 that every single possession matters.
05:58 I say it all the time with our guys,
06:01 it's a game of inches in the end in so many of these games.
06:05 And the difference in a game might be one effort play, or
06:10 one guy hitting the floor and getting you an extra possession.
06:12 So that's something we just talk about and
06:16 continue to learn and strive for growth each and every day.
06:18 >> You've talked a lot about Kerr and Jesse pick and roll, and
06:24 that's how they kind of work together.
06:26 With Raekwon, how do you get him and Jesse to feed off each other?
06:33 Is that more of a challenge?
06:35 >> Well, it should be helpful for Raekwon.
06:37 It should be helpful for all those perimeter guards in terms of,
06:41 Pat gave us an excellent three, four game stretch there.
06:46 And filled that void as our five man.
06:49 But when teams have to key on that role man, and
06:54 they gotta do a lot of tagging on the backside, that's gonna open up a lot of
06:58 guards.
07:00 So just having Jesse as a lob threat and a roll threat to the rim
07:06 will create a lot of openings for a lot of guys.
07:09 And not to mention we can play a little differently that we didn't have really
07:13 the ability to do so, we can play inside out.
07:17 We can establish our presence inside and they get to a point where they're more
07:23 concerned about our big man getting a touch and
07:26 just gonna open everybody else on the floor.
07:28 So we'll be a more balanced approach.
07:30 Now, in terms of how much we can force the issue down low with
07:36 Jesse isolating them and trying to get a bucket, that might not be the case right
07:40 away, because how comfortable he is with the wrist at this point.
07:46 And scoring or taking a jump shot is gonna be a day to day thing.
07:51 I mean, it's gonna improve each and every day.
07:53 But where we're at, come tomorrow, I don't know.
07:58 Yeah.
07:59 >> And that's kind of, I mean, so obviously, the first part of the sea,
08:03 first chapter of the season, I guess, Jesse's the number one option.
08:07 Then he gets injured, Ray Quan comes, so he's number one.
08:10 So now when you got them both together, is there, I don't wanna say conflict, but
08:14 is there, I guess Jesse's gotta get healthy first before you can fully answer that.
08:18 But- >> Yeah, I wouldn't say conflict.
08:19 I think the word I've been trying to get to and
08:23 probably the word I've used the most is we're gonna be more balanced.
08:28 You saw in the first nine games, it was a lot of Quinn and Jesse.
08:33 And as soon as you get Kerr into the fold and Ray Quan into the fold,
08:38 Jesse is exit with his injury.
08:42 So we never got that cohesion as they played together.
08:46 Now you got some spurts of it that you saw the other day, but
08:50 still that's a limited amount of action so far and Jesse wasn't 100%.
08:55 So I like to tell our guys right now, I mean, we have a lot to play for and
09:01 a lot to prove as we progress through the conference season,
09:07 because now we finally have everybody.
09:10 Now is it hard to build that chemistry midway through the hardest
09:15 conference in the country?
09:16 Absolutely it is.
09:18 But let's kind of flush the past right now and strive for growth each and
09:23 every day and try to figure out how we maximize our potential as a team.
09:27 And that's all we can do at this point.
09:28 >> Are there any limitations with Jesse or is he full of everything?
09:33 >> No, I mean, I don't think there's any limitations.
09:37 There's certainly limitations with his skill level of what he can do.
09:41 Sure, I mean, he's not gonna be, as you can see,
09:48 he's not gonna take that three point shot that he might look to
09:52 explore early in the first few games.
09:56 Which that's something that he was exploring in his game anyway.
09:59 So he didn't take a lot of them, but
10:02 it's not like he's gonna step out 15, 18 foot.
10:04 And I don't think that's gonna be a secret,
10:06 even if an opponent's listening right now.
10:08 I mean, we know he's not gonna be that threat from the perimeter at this point.
10:13 So no, but the rest of his game, it shouldn't be hindered whatsoever.
10:19 >> 16 minutes he got against Central Florida, was that more than you expected?
10:23 >> Against Oklahoma State.
10:24 >> I'm sorry, against Oklahoma State, I mean, was it 16, I think?
10:29 >> Yeah, 15.
10:30 >> Is that more than what you expected?
10:32 >> I didn't know what to expect, to be honest with you.
10:34 And if we were to a point that we felt like Pat was playing well and
10:40 I didn't feel like I needed to bring him in, it might have been 8, 10.
10:46 But that was something I didn't have any preconceived notions on how it was gonna
10:51 fall that day.
10:52 So I basically got the word a couple hours before tip off that, hey, I'm good.
10:59 I'm comfortable.
11:01 And that's where I had to get to with him, that he 100% felt comfortable with it.
11:05 And everybody in the equation felt comfortable with it because I didn't
11:10 wanna do anything to harm Jesse in any way.
11:13 >> Coach, when wins are hard to come by, especially in this league for any team,
11:18 how are you measuring success with this group?
11:22 >> Progress, certainly, like I said,
11:25 we're just getting to a point where we're whole for the first time.
11:29 So it's not gonna be easy regardless of whether we had that chemistry up to
11:34 this point and they'd all played together for whatever many games it's been,
11:40 20 games.
11:42 So it would have been hard regardless.
11:44 And here we are, finally getting everybody together.
11:47 It's like the old saying, we got the band back together, right?
11:51 So it's who we thought we're gonna have from day one.
11:56 But here we are, game 21 with all of our pieces.
12:00 So to answer your question, measuring success is, okay,
12:05 what's our mindset right now?
12:08 We certainly haven't given up by any means.
12:12 And let's look at this 11 games we have left in the conference tournament and
12:16 see, let's maximize our potential and
12:18 show what we could have been from day one.
12:22 But unfortunately, we had so many challenges up to this point.
12:26 And that's something we had to navigate and that's adversity.
12:30 It's like any walk of life, you have adversity.
12:34 And it's no different in the game of basketball with what we've had to go
12:37 through.
12:37 So we don't hang our head, let's see what we can make of the rest of the season.
12:42 >> Coach, I'm interested with your thoughts on how you handled Kerr in the sense,
12:45 okay, you start to think he's on the ball.
12:48 But if he starts making shots, you can take him off the ball,
12:52 give the ball to Noah.
12:54 But if Kerr's not making shots, he stays on the ball.
12:56 Seems like there's a lot of versatile pieces there with Kerr and
12:59 it all kind of just depends on how he's doing.
13:02 >> Sure. >> Right, I mean,
13:03 just is that just something that- >> No,
13:08 I think it's good for everybody in the program.
13:10 We have that versatility.
13:11 And if Kerr's making shots, it's no secret that when somebody's making shots,
13:17 I'm going back to them one way or another and
13:20 trying to drain that well if I can.
13:25 So yeah, Noah is very capable to run the point.
13:31 He's a real good, quick downhill guard.
13:33 And I probably forced the action with him a little bit much in the second half.
13:36 But that's how a lot of our success was with him in a pick and
13:40 roll and a flat ball screen in the middle of the floor.
13:42 I didn't have the opportunity to use Kerr late,
13:48 which he was kind of my hot hand there late in the game and with him fouling out.
13:53 And it's just a lot of, you go back and look at the end of that game and
13:58 there's a lot of unfortunate incidents.
14:00 I mean, they fouled Jesse as soon as he get the rebound.
14:02 I don't think that was their intention by looking at the coach's reaction, but
14:06 they fouled him.
14:07 And it was an excellent strategy because he's 95 feet from the basket,
14:11 they can stop the clock and basically turn us over if you don't make foul shots.
14:16 So we had to get Jesse out of the ball game and Kerr fouled out there late and
14:21 trying to figure out how we get production.
14:23 And like I said earlier, when you look back at the film,
14:27 we just are one or two winning plays or effort plays away from winning that game.
14:34 Just like we're one or two away from winning or
14:38 losing the game against Kansas in the last several minutes.
14:42 So that's where we gotta get to.
14:44 I mean, we have to close games and find a way to not make this a habit,
14:51 where we carry that on from game to game.
14:53 >> Every team looks for consistency.
14:57 Maybe the most consistent thing about your team is its inconsistency.
15:03 Seems like a different team shows up every night.
15:05 You don't know who's gonna do what.
15:07 How do you try to combat that or
15:11 is it simply because of the unfamiliarity of guys with guys?
15:15 >> Some of it's probably that.
15:17 But I actually had those two words that I use the most leading up to
15:22 the Central Florida game and the Oklahoma State game,
15:26 which we had tremendous opportunity with two road games that
15:32 I felt were winnable.
15:33 I use the two words, I use discipline and consistency.
15:38 We gotta get to a point where we're a very disciplined team and
15:42 do all the right things and minimize our mistakes.
15:46 In the game of basketball, there's mistakes all over the place.
15:48 And the team that does the best of minimizing those mistakes usually wins.
15:54 But I use those two phrases or two words heavily.
16:00 One, being disciplined and two, being consistency.
16:03 And that's where we gotta get to as a program and as a leader of the program,
16:09 those are things that I harp on each and every day.
16:11 But I mean, you're right when you say we've been inconsistent.
16:15 We gotta take that same approach that we did against Texas and Kansas and
16:22 on the road and take that team with us to compete in those team games like
16:28 Oklahoma State and Central Florida.
16:30 >> You could bottle it up.
16:31 >> Yeah, it'd be nice.
16:33 That's what we're trying to do.
16:35 >> This is obviously a game against one of the new guys in the league.
16:39 If you kind of look at it, I mean, Houston's got a chance to win the whole thing.
16:44 Cincinnati seems like they either win by five or lose by five.
16:48 They're competitive and all the bit.
16:50 UCF has beaten Kansas and BYU's ranked.
16:54 Are you surprised that these new guys have been successful in the Big 12 as
16:58 they have the first year?
17:00 I mean, you were here when you first moved into the Big 12.
17:05 >> Yeah, they got rosters to compete.
17:07 I mean, and they can beat anybody on any given night.
17:11 But consequently, it's the same way just like us.
17:14 They can lose to anybody on any given night.
17:17 And we're sitting here in the middle of the dog days of the conference play.
17:22 It feels like we've beaten up on each other for six weeks.
17:26 But I mean, we're only, what, seven games into an 18 game schedule.
17:31 And some teams are coming upon their week off in the league,
17:36 which is, I've argued for years, is critically important in this league,
17:41 is getting your legs under you and
17:43 hitting that reset button in the middle of conference play.
17:46 So, but to answer your questions, no, I mean,
17:51 those guys have strong, athletic, skilled rosters that can compete.
17:58 So night in, night out, they're gonna compete.
18:03 But it's not surprising when you see a lopsided victory or
18:08 a lopsided loss in any given situation in this league.
18:11 >> You look through the history of this league,
18:15 February's been the great separator.
18:17 You get into the season and the depth and you play all these tough games.
18:21 So you really don't know until you get through February who's gonna be what,
18:24 really, in this league, right?
18:25 >> Yeah, and I can't imagine that even a team that wins this league
18:32 doesn't have at least five, six losses.
18:35 And it's top to bottom, you just don't see it as strong.
18:42 And it seems like it just continues to get stronger and stronger every year.
18:46 And how many we got, top 25 teams in the league?
18:50 Where are we at, seven, eight?
18:52 I mean, that's unheard of.
18:55 I mean, you can look at all the best conferences in the country moving in
19:00 the past, how many times have you seen eight teams in one conference that are ranked?
19:05 >> Back to Jesse real quick, what did you think of his game conditioning?
19:09 Is he the point he could play 30 minutes and when do you start him again?
19:13 >> No, I mean, game conditioning, you tell wasn't there.
19:17 I mean, he's certainly done all that conditioning and
19:20 stayed on top of all that.
19:21 And but we all know game conditioning is different than
19:24 treadmill conditioning or wherever it may be.
19:28 So it'll be a gradual process, it ain't gonna happen overnight.
19:33 To get him to be where he's playing,
19:39 the minutes he was playing prior to is not gonna happen overnight.
19:42 So that's hopefully in the next two, three games,
19:47 we're back to where he's 100% in conditioning and
19:51 he's feeling 100% with his wrist.
19:53 So, >> [INAUDIBLE]
19:57 >> Something that we're looking at on
19:59 whether it's time to do that yet or not.
20:01 So I'm on the fence with that one yet and
20:04 we'll probably have a lot to do with how things go in practice today.
20:08 >> Question you had earlier about where you are in the season.
20:12 I guess the beauty of basketball is you got a tournament.
20:14 I mean, if you were a college football coach right now,
20:16 you'd be playing out your year.
20:18 But you've got that tournament, you still got an opportunity.
20:21 Is that what you, is that the message you have to your guys?
20:23 >> Yeah, I mean, I even had one of my staff members,
20:25 we were talking about the UConn team back in 2011.
20:29 And what they did, they were on the wrong side of the bubble.
20:32 They wouldn't have made it into the tournament had they not rattled five
20:36 straight games off in the Big East Championship and won that thing.
20:40 And then they went on to win six more and go to the National Championship.
20:43 There's story after story after story out there.
20:45 And I mean, that's one of the greatest ones.
20:49 There's stories of teams that, subpar teams that get going late in the season,
20:54 and they really make a run at it.
20:56 Look at Oregon State not too many years ago to where they got hot and
21:02 won the Pac-12 tournament, go on and go to the Elite Eight.
21:09 Why can't that be us?
21:10 That's my message to them.
21:11 We're finally whole.
21:13 We're finally whole.
21:14 >> There's no dominant teams in the country.
21:17 >> No, and so if we have the right mindset moving forward and
21:22 we strive for growth every day, why not?
21:25 Why not us?
21:26 >> Coach, you've talked a lot about the adversity.
21:28 How important do you think the adversity your team has faced has been for
21:32 you guys, especially when competing in these tight games and
21:35 the chemistry on the court?
21:38 >> I think it depends on how you handle it.
21:40 Like I told them yesterday, every walk of life, you're gonna have adversity.
21:45 It's how you handle it and
21:49 how you, whether you pull your boots back on and go back to work.
21:54 That's the mentality you gotta have.
21:58 Can you learn from that adversity?
22:00 Can you grow from that adversity?
22:01 And how do you handle moving forward?
22:05 And certainly, there's so many adverse moments in my life that shaped who I am.
22:12 I'm sure it's the same way with you and everybody in this room.
22:16 We draw from our experiences in life.
22:20 And if we have the right mindset and the right attitude and
22:23 the right approach moving forward, you can learn from that and grow.
22:26 And that's where I am with us and our program.
22:29 >> Do you feel like your team has taken it the right way?
22:34 >> There's certainly moments.
22:35 They care deeply about winning games and competing each and every night.
22:42 I felt like coming out of the Oklahoma State loss and
22:48 after the day off, I looked them all in the eye and
22:51 I felt like we had some guys hanging their heads.
22:55 And that the message I put forth was pick your head up, hold your head up high.
23:00 And I think they heard that loud and clear.
23:03 We have a lot to play for left.
23:05 And we're excited about where we're at in terms of having every piece to the puzzle.
23:12 So moving forward, let's make the absolute most of this thing.
23:16 So that's where we're at.
23:19 >> One more on the barricades.
23:20 What are we gonna see offensively and defensively, Brian?
23:24 >> Defensively, I mean, they get after you.
23:26 That's another physical team and you're gonna see a heavy dose of man to man and
23:32 in your face physicality and they're not backing down from anybody.
23:36 And that's kind of their mindset and they're relentless on the offensive glass.
23:42 But I mean, they're pretty balanced from an offensive standpoint.
23:46 The big fellow, was it Lakin?
23:50 He didn't play the other night, I think against Central Florida, but
23:57 they got a lot of size down low between him and
24:00 Debangdango and Stallings probably of anybody on that team.
24:05 Is playing as well as anybody across the big 12 as of recently.
24:11 So he's building all kinds of confidence in his game and
24:15 they got really good junior college point guard and
24:19 Dede Thomas that they brought in from Texas and junior college ranks.
24:24 So they're a very balanced team.
24:27 The cautious is a he's a baller, he makes winning plays and
24:31 just has a very good instinct for the game.
24:34 So he's got a lot of pieces to work with and
24:38 they take the physicality to a higher level than a lot of teams by all means.
24:44 And they really rebound that ball like their life depends on it.
24:48 >> So freedom of movement and how the games called them are will be important.
24:51 >> Yeah, it's important for us each and every game.
24:54 I continue to try to harp on that because we don't have the biggest,
24:59 strongest guards by any means.
25:00 So if they're using their size and to their advantage and
25:05 bumping us off the ball or steering us with one hand and showing the other.
25:10 And however certain teams use their strategy to prevent your movement.
25:17 I mean, it's certainly something that comes into play when I'm trying to figure
25:21 out fight for our guys from an officiating standpoint.
25:24 >> One more on break one.
25:27 So I mean, the Oklahoma State game with the Tex.
25:30 So then you probably say, we probably expect, okay,
25:33 well, you gotta bounce back now against UCF.
25:36 And then obviously that's a disappointing thing.
25:40 So now you get to this game.
25:41 Do you have any idea how he's gonna respond now?
25:45 I mean, obviously being at home probably makes a little bit of a difference.
25:49 But you probably thought he was gonna respond differently to UCF than the way
25:52 he did.
25:53 >> Sure, I mean, you mean against Oklahoma State after the UCF game?
25:58 >> Right.
25:58 >> No, certainly it wasn't two of his best performances by any means.
26:06 He was frustrated against Central Florida.
26:09 And he did the right thing walking off the floor.
26:13 And I told him to hold his head up high and
26:16 don't make any more of this than he has to.
26:19 And we're gonna turn the page from here.
26:21 He did get frustrated against Sokoma State as well.
26:24 There's a couple plays, I think one in transition where he lost it twice trying
26:29 to, he made a good play and ended up turning it over on the other end on
26:34 a breakaway.
26:35 And there's one right in front of our bench, so he turned it over.
26:38 And I got after him a little bit because he wasn't the first to the floor
26:44 in that situation.
26:45 And more than anything, as coaches, if you're not the first to the floor,
26:49 a lot of times you get hurt.
26:51 And he ended up coming out of the situation limping, and
26:54 that was a case in point.
26:55 The ball's rolling on the floor, you dive on the floor and
27:00 you're the first one there.
27:01 So I was more upset with him in that regard,
27:05 because he didn't make that effort play in that situation and
27:10 almost got himself hurt.
27:12 So yeah, he was frustrated and he sat for quite a bit during that game.
27:17 But he got to a point in time where I felt very comfortable putting him right
27:22 back in there because he had cooled off and his mindset had changed.
27:27 So we've had conversations since the game and everything that I hear from him.
27:33 He's doing everything and trying to do everything he is asked of him.
27:37 And he's trying to figure out what he can do to help us each and every night.
27:42 And that's all you can ask for from a coach.
27:44 [BLANK_AUDIO]
27:48 >> Anything else?
27:49 >> Thank you.