Porter Moser Pre-TCU (1-9-24)
Porter Moser Pre-TCU (1-9-24)
Transcript
00:00 >> Quarter to get started out 1-0 in conference play before you head out on the road.
00:03 Just how big is that?
00:05 Maybe what did you take away from watching the film on Saturday?
00:08 >> It was really physical.
00:10 We knew it.
00:11 I thought it's gonna be like this every night.
00:15 It's gonna come down to that last four minutes.
00:17 I thought we showed some resolve in the last four minutes.
00:21 I think we had down one going into that last four minutes.
00:23 And getting some good offensive possessions, good defensive possessions.
00:27 And every game is gonna be, I mean, these guys felt it.
00:33 It was sore the next day.
00:36 I mean, it was an absolute physical, physical battle.
00:39 And you expect nothing less.
00:40 I mean, I'm heading into TCU.
00:42 They're the exact same thing.
00:43 They're like right top five, forcing turnovers, crashing the glass,
00:47 pace of play, oldest team in the country.
00:50 So our first takeaway was what we expected.
00:53 It was gonna be an absolute physical, physical game.
00:56 >> Is there confidence that can be built in those late stages and
00:59 finding ways to win?
01:00 Stuff that, I know you guys have a completely different roster this year,
01:02 but you just didn't do the last couple years.
01:05 >> Absolutely, I mean, you mean confidence.
01:06 I mean, the guys, we kept on saying even the game we were down big in North
01:12 Carolina is that you only have to be up at the end when you're digging that down.
01:16 We didn't say that this last game cuz it was just so back and forth.
01:19 But for our guys, they got some resolve.
01:22 And when you win with those kind of situations, it only does build confidence.
01:27 But our guys are confident.
01:29 And the thing that I liked is at the 36 minute mark into the game,
01:33 they were defending really hard.
01:35 And we had some guys we really executed in the last four minutes.
01:40 >> Is it a little bit of a sign of maturity for
01:42 Otega to kind of battle through and
01:44 still be a guy that you drew up a play for out of that five time out?
01:47 >> Absolutely, and they've got confidence in him to do that for Otega.
01:51 He's earned that and he's a key guy for us.
01:54 And the thing that I wanted him to, that he showed good maturity was,
01:59 he got two fouls.
02:00 And I said to him, I said, I'm playing you.
02:03 Sometimes you sit a guy the rest of the half, but
02:06 it was like 10, 12 minutes up the half and I go, I'm playing you, so
02:08 you gotta be smart.
02:09 So I was playing him a minute here, a minute there just to keep him in the flow.
02:12 And then the second half, he did some good things.
02:15 It wasn't about him thinking just about that.
02:20 He was making some team plays, got to the foul line, it's what he does.
02:23 >> I know you probably don't wanna get out of the moment, but
02:26 some of these road games you guys got coming up,
02:29 it's probably the last time Oklahoma will ever play at some of these places.
02:34 Do you think about that at all?
02:36 >> I really haven't.
02:37 I really haven't thought about the nostalgia of anything other than,
02:41 we gotta go to TCU.
02:43 They're really good.
02:44 What we have to do to beat them is, their transition, just like I was saying,
02:48 they turn you over at such a high clip and then they capitalize on it.
02:53 Their pace of play, how they crash the glass, older physical bodies.
02:58 So that's really all of our thought process has been on that.
03:02 >> Can you bring down the matchup against them?
03:04 >> Yeah, the matchup, I mean, obviously, Miller,
03:08 I mean, they're just an old physical team.
03:11 It's very similar to Iowa State's.
03:15 We gotta take care of the ball and we gotta win the battle of the glass.
03:18 We also gotta win the battle of the foul line.
03:20 They draw fouls really well.
03:22 When they get to that foul line a ton, they usually are winning.
03:25 Miller, obviously, Tennyson, who hit, I don't know how many,
03:30 six threes or something against Kansas.
03:32 He was outrageous, really can shoot.
03:35 I mean, obviously, we know Avery Anderson.
03:36 We've played against him, Jet Quick athlete.
03:38 They just, you can go down the list of guys that are doing really well for them.
03:44 It's just the physicality.
03:45 PV and Coles are two veterans that know their system, physical, older guys.
03:49 So it's gonna be another physical game, oldest team in the country,
03:54 but it's similar to what we have to accomplish.
03:58 Take care of the ball, transition D, and win the battle of that glass.
04:03 >> What changes when you go on the road or
04:05 what can you learn about a team that maybe you can't otherwise?
04:09 >> I mean, guys have heard me say this a lot.
04:13 Being with Rick Majerus, he didn't make a big deal about the road.
04:16 He didn't. It was about us, what we do the same way.
04:20 Our process, our game preparation, everything is exactly the same.
04:24 Our process is we will get over there.
04:26 We'll get a lot of shots.
04:26 We'll get a lot of shots on their arena.
04:29 But we talk about communication on the road.
04:32 That's one big thing we do talk about is our communication
04:36 when it's loud against us, that we gotta stay poised.
04:40 We will talk about that.
04:42 And that's the biggest thing is these venues are so
04:45 extreme that you've gotta communicate.
04:47 And what do you do when a run's against you and there are crowds going against you?
04:51 What's a good possession?
04:53 Good possession isn't trying to take an eight point shot.
04:56 There's no eight point shots.
04:58 That's what happens sometimes when you get in these situations where you get down and
05:02 one guy's like, I wanna win, I try to do it all myself, and
05:04 then there's no eight point shot.
05:06 You need good possessions, good leadership, and
05:08 communication that everybody's on the same page.
05:11 That is the one thing we will talk about on the road, is that.
05:14 >> You spoke pretty good about how this team can handle that,
05:17 especially with the point guards that you've got.
05:19 >> Yeah, I thought, and let's all just say what it is.
05:22 It wasn't a neutral game in Charlotte.
05:24 So it was extremely loud in Charlotte.
05:28 And that wasn't why we lost.
05:30 It wasn't why anything.
05:32 I thought our guys handled that crowd noise.
05:33 I thought they handled that kind of an atmosphere.
05:36 It was 17,000 Carolina Blue.
05:39 And so that wasn't what, it was our turnovers.
05:42 It was our turnovers.
05:43 And what we did learn from that is guys, you gotta take care of that ball.
05:48 You gotta take care of all, we can't have 18 turnovers at TCU.
05:51 And we had seven live ball turnovers against Iowa State.
05:54 We had 11 total, but four of them weren't live ball, they're moving screens.
05:58 And we'll take that, that's very good to have that kind of turnover.
06:03 >> How do you keep building on that to make that kind of a consistent
06:07 feature throughout the season?
06:08 >> I think our guys are smart.
06:11 They realize, I mean, we only had seven live ball turnovers.
06:13 That's gonna, I mean, and we put ourselves in a position to win.
06:16 Is they're about winning.
06:18 And hey, look what happened.
06:20 We took care of the ball and we, our offensive efficiency,
06:25 you look at point per possession.
06:26 We get, you have more turnovers, just less possessions.
06:30 It's simple math.
06:32 And for our guys, they knew.
06:35 They knew they needed to take care of the ball and they did.
06:38 And we gotta do it again.
06:39 >> What's all about the newest rebounds this season against Kansas?
06:42 Is that kind of underscored in these next two games,
06:44 just how relentless you're gonna have to be on the ball?
06:47 >> They had their fewest rebounds?
06:48 >> Yeah, fewest.
06:49 >> Cuz they were making a lot of shots, I know that.
06:52 So, but I think their rebound percentage, the way they smash.
06:55 If you watch tape, they do a great job of anticipating their teammates' shot.
07:01 I think that's a real strength of theirs.
07:02 So they don't rebound after the ball is released.
07:05 They anticipate as that guy's shooting the ball, they're crashing.
07:09 And that's just a faster checkout you have to have.
07:11 And then, but then if we can rebound, I think we can run.
07:16 But they do a great job of anticipating their teammates' shot.
07:21 >> Lowe's had a good all around game on Saturday on the stat sheet.
07:25 Just maybe what have you seen from his development this season,
07:27 the way he's progressed, and how encouraging is that for him to start Big 12?
07:30 >> I've seen it in the last three weeks.
07:32 He's just, he's Lowe's now.
07:36 The ball's got eyes.
07:37 It's finding the right guys.
07:39 And when that happens, then your shot feels better.
07:42 I just think he's really coming into his own, playing.
07:48 It's amazing, he's such a strength of seeing the ball and
07:54 the ball getting to where it goes.
07:56 And I just see his confidence growing and growing, and
07:58 that's just a great sign for us.
07:59 >> You talked a lot about the block charge, how does that change in the fourth season?
08:04 Is that proving to be a big adjustment as the season goes, kept on going?
08:10 >> You're not seeing as many teams take charges.
08:12 You're more teaching going vertical, just trying not to reach for
08:15 the lights and not get that charge.
08:17 So you're seeing that being taught more than get there early, take the charge.
08:22 Now we've taken some charges, but it's not as much as,
08:24 because I mean, they're erring on it to block.
08:28 Whether it is or not, they know it's blocked.
08:30 So we're teaching that, get there and go vertical.
08:34 You gotta jump, you gotta have your hands reaching for the lights.
08:37 And you're seeing a lot of people teach that.
08:38 And we gotta do that against, cuz they come in and they drive it so hard.
08:42 I don't know if you're gonna get there in time for a charge at TCU.
08:46 So you gotta go vertical and not foul those shots.
08:50 And if they make it tough too, they make it tough too.
08:52 But that's what we're teaching, that discipline and verticality.
08:54 >> [INAUDIBLE] >> I love that, that's a great stat.
09:00 >> How important is meeting the ball and making that extra pass to your system?
09:03 >> It is our system, pace and space and making that.
09:09 You saw, if you rewatched the tape like we did with Iowa State,
09:12 we had so many extra one more passes, one more passes.
09:14 We did it against Mamas, and you were getting those high assist numbers.
09:17 And I love that stat, 38 assists in the last 51 baskets.
09:22 I mean, that's really good basketball.
09:25 That's what we're trying to do.
09:26 >> Mindset that you have, preparing one team at a time.
09:30 >> I'm sorry?
09:30 >> The mindset- >> Mindset.
09:31 >> That you're taking one, it's huge this week, the Kansas,
09:36 the Blue Blood on Saturday, but you don't care, it's TCU so good.
09:40 >> Yeah, truly, it's just been about, I mean, I think TCU is a,
09:44 they're a team that can make a huge run in this.
09:47 I mean, I'll say that a lot this year to the teams we play.
09:49 I felt that way about Iowa State.
09:50 When you have veterans, length,
09:55 athletic ability, extremely well coached, they got it all.
10:00 And there hasn't been one other word about anything but TCU as it should be.
10:04 I mean, we're playing a team that's gonna end up with, they're a top 25 team.
10:09 They're an NCAA tournament team, and that's been our focus is that.
10:14 I do think we gotta handle the pressure too.
10:15 There last year, we didn't handle the press.
10:18 This year, or here, we handled the press.
10:20 So we've got to handle their length and their press as well.