• 2 years ago
Iowa basketball guard
Transcript
00:00 All right, we'll go ahead and get questions for Tony.
00:02 Tony, with about six minutes left in the first half,
00:04 you guys were tied.
00:05 And then you guys kind of turned it up,
00:06 rode that momentum the rest of the game.
00:08 What happened at that point?
00:09 How did you guys turn things around?
00:12 One of the coaches came to me, and he said a few words to me.
00:15 And then after that, I started getting into it with the team.
00:18 Not like into it, but talking to them more.
00:21 And then turn the energy around for us
00:23 to come out with a better end to the first half.
00:26 Can you share what was said?
00:28 No, not really.
00:28 [LAUGHTER]
00:30 Can you share who said it?
00:31 Um, I-- hmm.
00:37 I'd say you probably know who it is.
00:39 I mean, he's not one of the guys who sit in front.
00:42 So he's one of the guys who sit in the back of the bench.
00:44 That's all I can give you.
00:47 Tony, you've been kind of waiting, I think, for a game
00:49 where you can break out on three or four dunks.
00:51 I mean, how long have you waited to kind of really get out there
00:53 and fast break and do what you've kind of been talking
00:56 about wanting to do for a while?
00:57 Um, it felt good.
00:59 It felt a little different, because, you know, usually,
01:01 you don't get that many dunks.
01:02 I haven't got that many dunks in the game yet.
01:04 But I mean, it was fun just running the floor,
01:07 getting steals, Brock kicking it up,
01:09 just getting fast break points.
01:11 So, you know, it felt good, I guess.
01:14 We've talked a lot about this freshman group.
01:16 And I know you had mentioned that Brock
01:18 is kind of one of the guys that you take it under your wing.
01:21 Double-double from him tonight, it just kind of seems like when
01:23 he's on the court, just what he does,
01:26 the energy, sharing the ball is infectious.
01:28 Would you agree with that? Yeah, I agree.
01:30 He comes in happy, geeked.
01:32 We in together, we just make jokes.
01:34 Not really jokes, but like in a game,
01:36 we'd be like, "Yeah, he can't guard you,"
01:37 or stuff like that.
01:39 And then, like today, when he had eight and eight,
01:42 I told him, I said, "When you get in there,
01:43 should we just go in there, score you two,
01:45 and then get you two assists?"
01:46 That's what he did.
01:47 Were you thinking about that when you made the pass to him?
01:50 Yeah, yeah, because he gave me assists on the dunk.
01:53 So when I did, I was going to try to dunk on Duke
01:55 at the beginning of the game.
01:56 I admit, I smoked.
01:59 But then when he said, "TP," so I just looked.
02:00 I was like, "Go ahead, get your double-double."
02:02 So I just threw it back, and passed.
02:04 Can you put a finger on why you guys started so slow tonight?
02:08 You know, for a lot of teams around this time,
02:12 Christmas time, you get to go home and be with your family.
02:13 That's really all that's really on your mind for some players
02:16 and some programs.
02:18 Like, there's a lot of teams who played their last game
02:20 before going home and lost.
02:22 So I think that wasn't really the case,
02:25 but we just came out sluggish.
02:27 For some players thinking they're ready to go home
02:31 and enjoy their family since they never get to.
02:33 So I think that was a little bit of it.
02:36 Tony, you've been through a few seasons now.
02:38 How important is this holiday break for you guys this season
02:41 and just for you as a person
02:42 to be able to kind of take a load off for a little bit?
02:45 I finally get to go home again,
02:48 even though it's going to be a little different.
02:49 I really don't want to go home, but, you know, my mom and them.
02:52 So I'm going to go home for that.
02:53 But, man, I think for a whole team it's good.
02:56 You know, you don't really get to see your parents as much,
02:59 I mean, unless they come to the game
03:00 or your friends or your family.
03:02 So, I mean, it would be good for them to enjoy their time
03:04 with their parents and come back and be ready to work
03:06 and then also get some one-on-one time
03:08 with them on the court.
03:09 Talking about, you know, a friend's offense
03:11 can take a little bit to learn
03:12 if you're not used to running the motion offense.
03:14 But it seems like Brock, especially over the past
03:15 couple of weeks, has really started to piece it together.
03:17 I mean, 12 assists tonight.
03:18 I guess, can you talk about how he's just evolved
03:21 probably since the start of the season
03:22 now and kind of what's allowed him
03:24 to kind of embrace this system
03:25 and set you guys up for some good looks?
03:27 As you know, when Brock was a senior in high school
03:31 and all throughout high school, he was a playmaker.
03:33 He could score the ball, set people up.
03:35 He was never selfish with it.
03:36 So, honestly, I think I've kind of figured
03:39 that he was going to be the type of player he is.
03:41 And he's only a freshman, so he's got time.
03:43 He's going to be way better.
03:45 Do you have any favorite holiday movies?
03:50 Home Alone. I mean, Elf.
03:54 I mean, I watch a few holiday movies,
04:00 but I'm more of a video game guy.
04:02 So, I do that more than watch movies.
04:04 So, yeah.
04:06 All right. Thanks, Tony.
04:08 Yep.
04:09 (mumbling)