Fran McCaffery 3-10-24
Fran McCaffery Interview
Transcript
00:00 Coach, you guys started out 0 for 10 in the field in the game,
00:03 and you guys spelled it with 21 to 4 deficit early.
00:05 Can you just kind of explain your view of that,
00:08 and how did you guys kind of correct that?
00:09 Because you guys cut the lead down to five eventually.
00:11 Yeah, we just kept fighting.
00:13 You know, we had good shots.
00:14 You know, I wasn't like I was going to criticize
00:18 anybody for the shots we were taking.
00:20 I thought we were taking good shots.
00:21 I thought we were moving the ball.
00:23 It was just frustrating for everybody.
00:26 To follow up on that, Frank, like you said,
00:28 it looked like you guys were getting good shots,
00:30 and they just kept rimming out.
00:31 Yeah, and not only the jumpers, but, you know, stuff in close
00:37 was rolling out on us.
00:38 You know, we just kind of tried to stay the course.
00:41 You know, I think we cut it to four in the second half,
00:44 had a couple chances in transition,
00:46 you know, to get it back to even.
00:50 You know, but, you know, we missed 42 shots.
00:52 Got to get more than three back.
00:55 You got to go to the glass.
00:56 When the shots aren't going, you got to go to the glass.
00:58 And to be honest with you, we only got two back
00:59 because it was one team rebound.
01:00 So two offensive rebounds, 42 misses.
01:02 That's unacceptable.
01:04 Did Illinois do anything defensively
01:07 that you felt like really took you guys out of rhythm?
01:08 No.
01:10 I mean, they're a good defensive team.
01:12 They fight. They compete.
01:14 You know, that's why they're one of the best teams in the country,
01:16 but it wasn't like they were doing anything special.
01:19 You know, we just played them two weeks ago.
01:21 Same thing.
01:22 Brock seemed to give you a lift.
01:24 He was great. 6.6 assists in the first half.
01:27 He gave us a huge lift.
01:28 You know, got it back under 10.
01:30 I think it was a 21 at one point, the deficit.
01:33 So got it back under 10.
01:34 So, you know, it felt like in the second half
01:37 we could make a run.
01:38 You guys did get it close, I think, four or five.
01:43 Just couldn't quite get it over that hump.
01:45 Was it just the shooting?
01:46 Well, I mean, I thought -- we got consecutive stops
01:49 in that one stretch, you know.
01:50 Tony's breakaway dunk, Tony got at the rim a couple times.
01:54 We had a couple open threes, and this didn't go.
01:58 Were you guys rusty at all for having an eight-day window?
02:02 You know, possibly.
02:04 I mean, we practiced.
02:07 You know, we got a lot of shots up.
02:08 I don't think it was that --
02:10 I mean, it's kind of a weird time to have a bye.
02:13 But, you know, you're going to get a bye at some point,
02:16 so you're going to have that same amount of time
02:19 off at some point.
02:21 I thought the guys, you know, were very professional
02:23 in terms of getting in the gym and grinding this week.
02:27 I didn't see anything that would concern me
02:30 in terms of their preparation.
02:32 Were you pleased with the energy and intensity?
02:36 Do you feel like it was just a --
02:37 Yeah, I thought the kids played hard.
02:39 I mean, other than you got to go to the glass.
02:42 I mean, that's the one area that's really disappointing,
02:45 and I think they would agree with that assessment.
02:48 You kind of just touched on the glass, too.
02:50 You guys were out-rebounding 50 to 33,
02:52 I believe it was.
02:53 Was there just, like, lack of physicality,
02:54 or was it just not being able to check on the ball?
02:57 We didn't go to the opposite glass, like I said.
02:59 I mean, that's it right there.
03:01 Didn't want to get too complicated with the analysis.
03:05 Missed a lot of shots.
03:07 You got to get some put-backs.
03:08 You got to get it back and get to the free-throw line,
03:11 and we didn't do that.
03:12 Looking ahead to the weekend,
03:16 you guys are one of the few teams that has guys
03:18 that have lifted that trophy over the weekend.
03:20 How does that help you guys prepare?
03:22 You know, I think it helps, obviously,
03:26 and I think they know and understand
03:28 what it takes to compete in a tournament.
03:31 This is obviously one of the tougher tournaments
03:35 in terms of quality of teams, top to bottom.
03:39 We're playing one of the hottest teams in the country right now,
03:42 so we'll have to have them ready.
03:45 With Brock playing the way he did
03:47 when he got to come in in the first half,
03:49 was that just a scenario where you wanted to go
03:50 with your senior Tony Perkins,
03:52 proven guy in the second half?
03:54 Yeah, we gave Brock another shot,
03:56 but I thought Tony, he did some really good stuff.
03:59 I mean, you look at the stats, and he's one for ten.
04:01 Okay, you know, he was battling.
04:05 You know, I mean, he was aggressive defensively.
04:07 He was attacking the rim.
04:09 You know, he ran our stuff.
04:11 Yeah, so that's our guy.
04:13 Can you talk about the spark that Brock
04:15 did give to the offense in the first half?
04:16 He was great.
04:18 I thought his decision-making, his energy level,
04:22 and that's the key.
04:23 You know, when you're putting the ball in his hands
04:25 and he's going in attack mode and making plays,
04:29 you know, they're going to want it two ways,
04:30 and he was really a positive influence,
04:33 not only in terms of getting everybody involved,
04:36 but, you know, getting the crowd involved.
04:38 Your team has been really resilient this year.
04:40 Every time you've hit a lull or a stretch,
04:43 whether it was in December or, you know,
04:45 kind of through the season, you've come back, responded,
04:47 put yourself in a better situation.
04:50 What's it going to take to do it this time?
04:51 Because --
04:53 More the same, you know, you don't --
04:56 you lose a game, we all wanted to win.
04:58 The kids fought. The kids prepared.
05:00 It didn't go well today.
05:02 So you don't want to start throwing everybody under the bus
05:05 and blaming and, you know, like I said,
05:07 there's one area that I thought, I think,
05:10 honestly, we had to address.
05:13 I addressed it with them.
05:14 I just addressed it with you guys.
05:16 We did a lot of good things, and I thought we competed.
05:20 It wasn't our day,
05:22 and we have another opportunity this week to be better.
05:27 All right, last question, Scott.
05:29 Brad was adamant that he thinks your team
05:31 that should be in the dance.
05:33 You know, I don't like to talk about it too early,
05:35 but in this case, it's right in front of us.
05:37 Do you think your team is deserving
05:40 of getting there right now,
05:41 or do you think you have work to do?
05:43 I think we have work to do, but I appreciate Brad,
05:45 and I think he's right.
05:46 We're one of the better teams.
05:48 We've got some really good wins, you know,
05:52 in a very difficult league.
05:53 We have some good wins out of conference.
05:56 So it's not something you kind of want to leave to chance.
06:00 You want to do some more damage, you know, this week if we can.
06:05 All right, thanks, Coach. Thanks, Brad.
06:07 (door opening)