Zed Key and Evan Mahaffey Talk Postgame After Win Over Miami (OH)
Zed Key and Evan Mahaffey Talk Postgame After Win Over Miami (OH)
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00:00 So what's the deal with the headbands?
00:03 You should have seen the way I pulled up to practice yesterday.
00:07 No, it was headbands, but you had leggings.
00:10 I had those leggings, and I took them off. I look crazy with the leggings.
00:13 But I had a headband on and a sleeve on. I took the sleeve off too.
00:16 I was a 2K player, like a generic 2K player. It was crazy.
00:20 So just the headband, you know, something different.
00:22 Keep the sweat out of my eyes.
00:24 Oh, God, you're not going to get it.
00:26 Whatever.
00:28 I guess on a bit more serious note, a couple of quieter games for you the last week or so.
00:33 Bounce back today. What was working for you today, especially in the second half?
00:37 My teammates found me the right spot.
00:40 I was rebounding well today.
00:43 I was getting out some extra possessions on the offensive end.
00:47 But as I said, my teammates found me the right spot throughout the game.
00:51 And I converted.
00:53 And then Evan, for you, no points the last couple of games.
00:56 I know you offer a lot besides scoring, but what was it like to get into double digits today
01:00 along with five other guys, basically?
01:02 It felt great.
01:04 I think just not putting my head down is a big thing.
01:07 Just keep working. Just keep trying to contribute in other areas.
01:10 I feel like that's some of the best things I do along the court, just contribute in different areas.
01:17 You said you've been around the Big Ten for a while.
01:19 You play on Sunday. You play again on Saturday.
01:21 And you have this game in between.
01:23 It's not a night where a team can overlook somebody. It could be a rough night.
01:27 What did you see in your team's preparation leading into this?
01:30 And what did you guys ultimately take from handling this game the way you did in between two Big Ten games?
01:35 We had great preparation.
01:37 Guys were locked in, preparing for Miami-Oregon vs. Ohio.
01:44 We showed today. We started off a little slow, but they were getting shots.
01:48 Give credit to them. The came in ready to play as well.
01:51 Our preparation was the coaches put together a great game plan.
01:56 We followed it. We got the W.
01:58 What did you guys learn about yourselves today playing a team like this in between two Big Ten games?
02:04 I feel like they were a really locked in group, honestly.
02:07 I feel like that's one thing Coach mentioned.
02:10 Some of the best teams, they don't let them get out of the way.
02:14 They know that we can all get better in these situations.
02:17 They can really prepare us.
02:19 When you have a really good team like that coming in that people might not expect to beat,
02:23 they can really sneak up and engage you.
02:25 I think it just shows that we stay locked in no matter who we're playing or no matter when it is.
02:31 That's what you have to be able to do to beat good teams.
02:34 You mentioned teammates found you with four assists from you.
02:42 What were you seeing out there passing?
02:44 Passing four assists?
02:46 [laughter]
02:48 I mean, I just think with the D-9 division, if I grab an offensive rebound,
02:53 I'm usually going to kick it out.
02:55 That's because the defense has collapsed.
02:58 Just to get a good shot, once you kick it out, if there's four people in the paint,
03:03 someone's open on the outside.
03:05 That's a good look for us.
03:07 Coach Holman said, "When you get the offensive rebound, turn around and look at the people on the perimeter
03:12 because they're wide open."
03:14 Yeah, and a guy's knocked down shots today.
03:17 [inaudible]
03:24 Evan, I know you talked about it on the court, but going back to Penn State this week,
03:28 what are you looking forward to?
03:30 How do you feel like that's going to be?
03:31 Do you talk to Jamison at all about his emotions?
03:34 I know he was at home.
03:35 Yeah.
03:36 What do you think of that?
03:37 I definitely will.
03:38 I'll probably talk to Jay.
03:39 But I'm excited more than anything.
03:41 I think going back up there, it's going to be a really good team.
03:46 Obviously, I have a few former teammates on that team, so I'm excited to play against them for sure.
03:51 We'll talk a little bit, but just excited to go up there and get a win, really.
03:55 This is our first Big Ten road game, and we all know how hard it is to win on the road to Big Ten.
04:01 Just being able to go up there and be locked in on what our game plan is and go out there and play hard.
04:06 - All right.