TCU Men's Basketball players JaKobe Coles, Emanuel Miller, and Essam Mostafa talk about their 93-74 win over Alcorn State.
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00:00 You good. You good. You good. You good.
00:04 I got to get to the crib, man.
00:05 I'm going to catch a flight for Thanksgiving.
00:07 All right, questions for Esau, E-Man, and Jacobi.
00:11 You got to catch a flight, so let's start with you.
00:13 20 points tonight.
00:15 Glad the team is scoring for the third time in five games.
00:18 Talk a little bit about your rhythm
00:19 that you've been in so far this year,
00:20 but what was working for you again tonight?
00:23 Just my confidence, you know.
00:26 I shoot the shots I'm confident in.
00:27 You know, I just think I was a little sick last game,
00:31 so this game I felt a lot better,
00:32 so, you know, my rhythm was there.
00:35 You know, not much to say on that, to be honest with you.
00:38 Hey, man, what was your fourth straight game
00:41 with scoring double digits?
00:43 How did you get on the ball with basketball games?
00:45 With help like guys like Jacobi.
00:47 You know, Jacobi gets it going early,
00:49 and I think it's been a trend for my second-half performance
00:52 to always start, like, start.
00:55 That's where I mostly get active,
00:56 and I think it's a lot to Jacobi,
00:58 and not only Jacobi, but most of my teammates.
01:01 They do such a great job of drawing in the defense
01:03 that I start getting easier shots in the second half,
01:05 so it's just kudos to those.
01:07 Man, talk a little bit about the start you guys had tonight.
01:09 Yeah.
01:10 Four games seemed like a little challenge,
01:12 but seven points in the first three minutes.
01:13 Yeah.
01:14 It's just -- it's like a continuous,
01:17 reoccurring event with our team.
01:19 We're starting to start off slow,
01:21 but we're starting to implement that within our practices.
01:23 We do a lot of four-minute game,
01:25 maybe even eight-minute scrimmages,
01:26 just implementing them game-like scenarios,
01:30 trying to make sure that we're ready before the game,
01:32 before even tip-off occurs.
01:33 So I think just continuing to do what we're doing in practice,
01:36 staying to our principles, trusting in ourselves,
01:40 trusting our defense, trusting the coaching staff,
01:42 and just knowing we're going to get the job done.
01:44 When was your first game with the Double Diggies at TCU?
01:48 [Drumming]
01:50 Yeah, I see something.
01:51 How are you doing on your own?
01:54 I mean, you got Jacoby taking all the attention,
01:56 you got E-man, so that gives me a chance to get a little open.
01:59 So, when they gave me the ball,
02:01 I was scoring instead of going like,
02:03 "It's time for you to score."
02:04 I'm scoring, so I'm going to step back from it.
02:05 So, he's scoring 21, E-man, 13.
02:12 They're going to double them, they're going to get
02:14 the attention, so I'm going to be open.
02:15 So, give me the ball and score it.
02:17 Talk a little bit about the rotation between you
02:20 and Ernest and Xavier to start this season.
02:23 I mean, we have great three bigs.
02:25 We all can play, we're all good.
02:28 So, we got to rotate all three of us.
02:30 I mean, it makes us less tired.
02:32 Everyone comes to the court, we play hard.
02:33 We play hard, we run a lot.
02:35 We're bigs, so we have to run like,
02:37 three and two and three and two every time.
02:38 So, it's okay for me.
02:40 I mean, I have no problem with it.
02:42 Ernest has no problem with it.
02:44 I know X has no problem with it, so we're good.
02:45 The way we play, it's fast.
02:47 I don't think it bothers any one of us.
02:51 So, it's good.
02:53 How dangerous are you guys,
02:55 so many guys and footballers on the board?
02:57 Oh, stand one more time.
02:58 How dangerous are you guys,
02:59 so many players with different scores?
03:01 It just makes us -- we're very versatile.
03:03 We have a lot of players that can do
03:04 a lot of things on the court.
03:06 Jacoby, for example, he could bust out.
03:09 He could start the offense.
03:10 He could kill you within the half court.
03:12 We got Eson.
03:13 He can guard a lot of positions, more than people think.
03:17 And we're just versatile across the board,
03:19 and being that versatile just gives us
03:20 so many options, and all those options,
03:23 we all become threats, so you take away one thing,
03:25 we have something else, and I think that's
03:27 what's really been helping us.
03:28 And that's -- a lot of that happens in our transition, too.
03:31 You take away one, you transition,
03:33 well, we got 11 other guys that can do the same thing,
03:36 so we're just very versatile.
03:38 How is it having someone like Eson
03:40 who can help out with those second-chance points?
03:42 It's huge.
03:43 Second-chance points, it might not stay in the scoreboard
03:47 and the stat sheet, but it's huge.
03:50 All those second-chance points that he's given us,
03:52 whether he's going up for himself
03:53 or kicking it out to another player, it's huge.
03:56 Second-chance points, winning games,
03:57 and that's what we've been doing.
04:00 You guys -- you just talked about your transition.
04:02 Yeah. You guys did a lot of that with turnovers.
04:04 How are you able to turn around where it's taken so much today?
04:07 You know, just locking in.
04:09 A lot of it goes to our scout.
04:11 Our WAC cons don't get enough credit
04:13 that they're supposed to get,
04:15 but they do a great job of coming out for scout team,
04:18 helping us prepare for these games,
04:20 and knowing the defenses and the offense
04:22 is never going to go again.
04:24 So I think being mentally active before the game,
04:26 I think that's been helping us.
04:27 You go back to something Eson said
04:29 about how all three big men are prepared for their roles
04:33 and seemingly unselfish.
04:34 Can you talk a little bit about the general unselfishness
04:37 that this team has?
04:39 Oh, yeah. Every guy's unselfish.
04:41 You know, we're a very close team on and off the court,
04:44 so, you know, we want to see everybody succeed,
04:46 and that's just a testament to our team.
04:48 And, you know, it's going to be dangerous,
04:50 especially when we get to Big 12 play,
04:51 because, like I said, I've said it
04:53 in a few press conferences that, you know,
04:56 any guy can get, you know, 15, 20, any points they want.
05:00 So it's just about, you know, guys staying confident,
05:02 staying ready, you know, when it's your time,
05:04 step up to the plate,
05:05 and I think that's what Eson did tonight,
05:07 and we'll see a lot more from different guys down the way.
05:11 Hey, man, talk a little bit about the rebounding tonight.
05:13 You matched up with about 437 rebounds.
05:16 I actually think not only me,
05:18 but the whole team collectively,
05:19 I think we could have done a way better job on the boards.
05:24 Our culture, we emphasize rebounding a lot,
05:26 and to win games at the next level
05:29 against not better opponents, but more aggressive opponents,
05:33 I think rebounding, we have to be dominant from the jump,
05:36 from the first half going to the second half,
05:38 and I think I had a lot of rebounds.
05:40 I had six rebounds, but I think I could have done a better job
05:43 of just being more into play,
05:44 up and out, our big fella down here, you know,
05:47 big fella on their team, he had a lot of offensive rebounds.
05:50 I think we could have done a better job there,
05:52 but that's what's great, you know.
05:54 We have some stuff we need to work on,
05:56 and our ceiling is just incredibly high.
06:00 Any last questions, man?
06:01 Eson, what's been the biggest difference in your role
06:03 from Coast to over this year?
06:07 I mean, it's completely different,
06:09 but this is the point of it.
06:12 Like, when I transferred, I wanted to go to a bigger team
06:15 that have better players, and it's a better league.
06:18 It's a better -- like, I never played with 12 players
06:22 that are very good, and that's the point of it.
06:26 I was prepared.
06:27 I was mentally prepared before I do it, before I transfer here,
06:29 and I know it.
06:31 I would play 37 minutes a game, every game.
06:34 I know I'm not going to get the ball every time in the post.
06:36 It's tiring, too. I ain't going to lie to you.
06:37 Like, getting the ball every single time,
06:40 you're getting double-team all the time.
06:42 So, for me, it was to win.
06:43 I know I have to play with a team like this,
06:45 and I love it.
06:48 I mean, what, 5-0?
06:50 Yeah, 5-0.
06:51 Yeah.
06:52 You're going that way.
06:55 Guys, this is for all three of you, and this is my research.
06:58 I don't know if Steven hasn't verified it yet,
07:00 but in my understanding, it's the first time
07:01 that both the men's and women's teams have started 5-0.
07:05 We make history here at TCU.
07:06 What's that say just about the general
07:08 teams' culture at TCU right now?
07:10 Man, it's something special.
07:12 Something's brewing in Fort Worth,
07:14 and it's only getting started, you know?
07:16 Our girls' team is making history,
07:18 literally making history.
07:20 They're having a tremendous start to their season.
07:22 The men's team, us, you know, last year,
07:25 a lot of the games were close during this time,
07:27 and I think we're taking advantage of these games
07:29 and fully coming out with the opportunity presented with us.
07:31 And I just think we keep talking about basketball,
07:34 but besides basketball, this whole school, man,
07:36 every sport within this school,
07:39 it's just a great culture here at TCU,
07:40 and I'm just beyond blessed to be a part of it.
07:43 Why not TCU?
07:45 I don't know. Thank you.
07:47 Appreciate you.
07:49 (sighs)