Iowa men's basketball coach
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SportsTranscript
00:00 - All right, are there any questions for Coach?
00:02 - Coach, about six minutes left in the first half
00:04 where you guys really kind of flipped the switch,
00:06 picked up momentum.
00:07 What did you see that was different
00:09 in the first 14 minutes,
00:10 and how'd you carry that on the rest of the day?
00:12 - Our defense was just better.
00:14 You know, our defense was not good
00:15 at the start of the game at all.
00:18 In terms of executing a defensive game plan,
00:21 you gotta give them credit.
00:23 They still have to make shots, which they did.
00:25 But, you know, you're playing a team
00:28 that's gonna shoot a bunch of threes.
00:30 You know, they shot 25,
00:31 you know, typically they're gonna shoot 30,
00:33 but, you know, they made 13.
00:35 So our defense was not nearly what it needs to be.
00:38 But it was in that stretch you're referring to,
00:40 and it was in the first 10 minutes of the second half,
00:42 which is what got us the lead,
00:43 which essentially got us the win.
00:45 We were able to get out and run.
00:47 You know, a lot of good things, 33 assists, four turnovers.
00:50 I mean, they're impressive numbers.
00:51 Out-rebounded 'em.
00:53 But, you know, once we got up, you know, plus 25,
00:57 I thought, you know, our defense softened
00:59 like it was at the start of the game.
01:00 There's no excuse for either one.
01:03 - Brian, I think Jordan Bohan's the only true freshman
01:05 that you've had here that's gotten 12
01:07 or more assists in the game.
01:08 Brock Harding, I mean, has four steals, one turnover,
01:10 12 assists.
01:11 I mean, for a freshman to come in there
01:13 and run the offense to the level that he does,
01:17 and especially his passing,
01:18 is it more so just his natural vision,
01:20 or is it just a product of his kind of work ethic
01:22 that he's developed that passing?
01:23 - I think it's more that.
01:24 I think it's more who he is.
01:26 He is an incredible competitor.
01:28 He's got a tremendous mind for the game.
01:31 And he truly understands what is needed at any given time.
01:34 Like, he knew we needed to get some stops,
01:37 get some runouts, you know, hit some cutters,
01:39 get some layups, get to the free throw line.
01:41 We were in the double bonus pretty early
01:43 because he was driving the ball.
01:44 We were back-cutting.
01:45 He was finding people.
01:47 And you look down and say,
01:48 "Okay, we had a bunch of guys in double figures
01:50 because of him."
01:51 - Honestly, it just kind of seems like
01:54 his energy is infectious off the bat.
01:57 - Yeah, and I think his leadership.
01:59 You know, he has a natural ability to lead.
02:02 You know, he's always been a point guard.
02:04 Very confident in himself, very vocal.
02:07 - Lodgy didn't play.
02:09 Do you still have an update on him?
02:11 - Yeah, he should be all right in a couple days.
02:13 - Hey, Coach, your assistant, Matt,
02:16 got the chance to play for you, and he's at Iowa.
02:18 Now that he's on the coaching staff in his second year,
02:21 can you talk about the role that he's played
02:25 on the sideline?
02:26 - Yeah, his scout tonight did a great job with that.
02:28 You know, he's a bright young coach.
02:32 Pretty good at, I mean, he's good at everything.
02:34 He can scout, he can recruit.
02:36 He can do skill development workouts.
02:38 I mean, there's really nothing he can't do.
02:40 Very knowledgeable, very mature in his approach.
02:43 He's gonna be a star in the business.
02:45 - Coach Tony said it was a conversation he had
02:49 with one of the assistants that kinda got him going.
02:52 As a head coach, what's it like knowing that your staff
02:55 has your back and has the ability to step in?
02:58 - Yeah, I think I've been pretty lucky since I've been here.
03:03 I've had really good assistant coaches.
03:05 I think Kirk Spiro and Andrew Francis and Billy Taylor,
03:10 guys that left, but Sharon's been with me the whole time.
03:13 Matt played for me, now he's working with me.
03:15 Courtney's been with me a long time.
03:17 I coached him, I coached both he and Matt.
03:20 I have two guys on my staff.
03:22 Tristan is a guy that I haven't gotten to know really well.
03:25 He's a phenomenal assistant coach.
03:26 So those guys, they understand what we want
03:30 and they have the respect of the players.
03:32 So they can be challenged, they can be talked to,
03:36 they can be taught.
03:37 They understand it's coaching, not criticism.
03:41 - Brock talked about a mental schedule he's got
03:45 for the days when he's back home for the holidays.
03:48 What do you encourage for your guys?
03:50 Do you encourage them to keep pushing
03:53 or take a little time off?
03:55 - Well, you want them to have some family time, Mike,
03:59 but they gotta work out pretty much every day if they can.
04:02 That's what they need to do.
04:03 Get some shots up, do some running,
04:05 some conditioning stuff.
04:09 And we're relying on their professionalism to do that.
04:13 But I'm not worried about this group, they'll do it.
04:15 - Bran, I think there's 150 plus shots taken tonight.
04:19 So tempo, obviously a big part of it.
04:21 I think there's a stat for them and for you guys
04:24 that says your guys' tempo is pretty high.
04:26 - Well, they're number one in the country.
04:28 It pays to play.
04:29 - So I guess expectation going into the tonight
04:32 that you guys would get up quite a few shots?
04:35 - Yeah, we wanted to push it and we took 84 shots.
04:38 Matt's a lot of shots.
04:39 We wanted to push it and attack.
04:42 I just, like I said, I wish we would have
04:44 guarded the three-point line a little bit better.
04:47 13 for 25 is usually a recipe for a defeat.
04:51 - Just to clarify, was Lodgy injury?
04:55 - Yeah. - Okay.
04:56 - Yeah, he's a tremendous person.
05:00 I think tonight would have been a great opportunity for him,
05:02 but we weren't gonna push it.
05:05 He should be okay when we get back.