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00:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]
00:02 >> Yeah, free.
00:03 >> JJ and Mike, the guys are here last year, you lost three in a row last year by
00:07 one to win one by one this year.
00:10 Describe the difference in the emotions and the feelings in the locker room.
00:13 >> It feels good to pull a close one out.
00:16 We really need that as a team to know that we can fight and
00:21 that we know how to win.
00:24 So just looking forward to the next game, second quarter,
00:27 first two games, and to MSG.
00:29 >> Yeah, I would agree.
00:31 The first couple games mattered the most for the rest of the season and
00:36 to come here and get a win and to be the way it was.
00:39 And they were hitting some shots and to fight and pull it out is big for
00:43 our team and definitely give us some confidence moving forward.
00:49 >> Hey, JJ, just wondering if you could take us through that last bucket there.
00:53 I know coach talks about, you can't in practice simulate a lot of stuff that
00:59 happens in games and that for sure seemed like a moment that just happened.
01:04 What did you see and
01:05 I take us through your thoughts there in the last moment.
01:09 >> Honestly, it was a wild play, Trey came down, lost the ball.
01:16 And then the guy grabbed it, he took it from him and then I seen him just throw
01:20 it up and I was like, let me go get it, finish it.
01:24 Yeah, that was definitely something you can't practice and
01:27 you just gotta be ready to make those plays.
01:29 >> Mike, Kenny was in here, he said that if he had eight of you,
01:34 that you wouldn't lose.
01:37 Today, you drew eight fouls, you hit 13, 14 free throws.
01:43 How much of that was based on their foul trouble and
01:46 your desire to take advantage of that?
01:49 >> Sue, I just say he's just playing hard.
01:53 I ain't pinpointing on anything, I'm just trying to get to the lane,
01:58 get some layups, just playing hard and they were fouling a lot.
02:02 So just kept driving them, smaller defenders, so you can take advantage of
02:07 that and just got up to the line and hit them, knock down my free throws.
02:11 >> This is also for Mike and JJ, since you were here last year,
02:16 what kind of kept you guys when you got behind?
02:19 I think the most was 13 in the first half, from kind of the back of your mind being
02:24 like, here we go again, what kind of kept everybody up and fighting?
02:28 >> Honestly, I think between the coaches and the leaders, me, Mike, and
02:33 Scott, they were shooting 60%.
02:36 And going into halftime, we were like, don't let it get to your head.
02:40 We've been in these situations before, we can't fold.
02:43 So just coming out and then the first group actually came out and executed.
02:48 We got a few stops and it just started rolling from there.
02:52 I think now that we know we're getting those spots,
02:55 we got a little bit of experience now.
02:57 And the guys that haven't been in college basketball, so
03:00 that'll be good moving forward.
03:02 [BLANK_AUDIO]
03:08 >> Mike, the second half, the physicality of, Brandon kind of turned it on,
03:12 you guys got on the offensive boards and
03:14 kind of a little more physical on the defensive end.
03:16 What was said at halftime or
03:18 what did you feel like how you came out in the second half?
03:21 >> Man, before we came out at halftime, Peyton was right there in the hallway and
03:29 he got everybody together.
03:32 And we already got a speech from KP in the locker room, so
03:36 we was motivated to come out and play and just play harder and come back.
03:41 But Peyton was right there and he got all the guys together and he was like, man,
03:45 play this half like this for the rest of your season.
03:48 And I really took it to heart, I feel like the guys took it to heart.
03:51 He was like, man, boss, let me not say that.
03:55 >> [LAUGH] >> I'm gonna say, he said, no.
04:01 >> [LAUGH]
04:06 >> Basically he said, just play like-
04:08 >> Play hard.
04:09 >> Yeah, play hard like it's your last game.
04:12 And it's gonna dictate,
04:13 this second half is gonna dictate the rest of your season, whether you know it or not.
04:16 This second half is gonna dictate everything that happens in the rest of
04:20 the season.
04:21 So I think the guys just took this to heart and came out there and played hard.
04:25 And I'm proud of the guys for fighting and coming back and
04:28 I just wanna build off of it and do it again.
04:30 All right, that's all I have to say.
04:34 >> JJ, your dad obviously played for Denny.
04:36 What's the sense that all you guys had for what Denny Cronin and
04:40 what he meant for this program and for these fans?
04:44 >> I feel like we got a good idea of what Denny Cronin meant.
04:49 I mean, we live in his dorm and the coaches,
04:53 after every practice we got alumni in there.
04:55 And they're always talking about Denny and the things he did and
04:59 how he changed the culture.
05:00 So I feel like we had a level of importance of what this game meant and
05:04 what he meant, and I feel like we handled it well.
05:09 >> Tyler, the second half, you got a lot more minutes.
05:11 Just what did KP talk to you about when he put you in there and
05:15 how do you feel like that you performed?
05:17 [BLANK_AUDIO]
05:23 >> I wanna say I was ready.
05:26 Scott got in trouble early in the half, so I was just ready.
05:31 And me and KP always talk about me as the littleest person on the court.
05:35 I gotta fight, and I just went out there and fought.
05:37 [BLANK_AUDIO]
05:39 >> Mike, we talked about in Charlotte just this group of freshmen that being
05:44 different from last year and just already seeming like they're much farther along.
05:49 What does it mean to have someone like him come into the game late and
05:53 just help out in those big crunch time moments?
05:55 And do you see that for this class of moving forward?
05:58 >> Yeah, it was big for us.
06:01 I don't think the game changes around without his energy and his spark coming in.
06:06 So I gotta give a lot of credit to him.
06:08 All the other freshmen already as well, they came in and played good minutes.
06:12 So just gotta tip my hat off to Ty for staying ready, being ready, and
06:17 coming in there.
06:17 We're gonna need him.
06:19 We're gonna rely on him for the rest of this year.
06:20 So just him putting us on his shoulders, coming in and
06:25 just doing his job, so that was good.
06:27 [BLANK_AUDIO]
06:30 >> This is also for you, Ty.
06:31 How advanced do you think the chemistry is right now when you and
06:37 Sky are playing alongside each other?
06:40 Do you feel like you still have to kind of work out more kinks, or
06:43 do you feel like you jump right in and kind of know each other's game?
06:47 >> I feel like we play every world together.
06:51 We both get downhill, open each other's games up,
06:57 make it easier for one another.
07:01 [BLANK_AUDIO]
07:03 >> Anything else for these three?
07:04 [BLANK_AUDIO]
07:07 >> For anybody, just how can you build off that?
07:10 It's the first game of the season.
07:12 Mike, you were talking about it is a win, and it's a lot different.
07:16 How can you build off of this now moving forward?
07:18 >> Just going back to the film, seeing what we can get better at.
07:22 I think in the first half, we gotta come out with a lot more aggressiveness and
07:28 attention to detail, locking dudes up, and try to get out in front of dudes
07:33 in the first half, not have to fight from behind.
07:35 And I think once we do that, and going to the second half, how we did,
07:41 we'll start to build bigger leagues and get more comfortable wins.
07:44 Today was a tight win.
07:45 I feel like it was good for us because playing in the first game,
07:48 coming down to crunch time, learning how to play in those situations is always good
07:51 for a team, so I'm good that we went through that.
07:54 But I think if we put two halves together like we did in the second half,
07:57 I think we can come out with more and more dominant victories.
08:01 [BLANK_AUDIO]