TCU men's basketball head coach Jamie Dixon met with the media on Wednesday night following the team's 80-71 win over No. 9 Oklahoma.
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00:08 >> Thanks for coming.
00:09 Thanks for, well, I was ready but Sean wouldn't let me come in, so.
00:15 >> [LAUGH]
00:17 >> Got the rebounding turn second half,
00:20 out re-entered by eight, still didn't get to win that battle.
00:23 A little concerned about that rebounding wise, but we're a low turnover team and
00:28 we really emphasize that.
00:30 And so you get seven turnovers and
00:32 you force 14, that's where you can make up the difference.
00:36 So I liked it better when we were up 17 and felt good, but
00:39 we found a way to make some mistakes down the stretch, we're gonna be smarter there.
00:43 But, it was defended pretty well, made some adjustments on ball screen coverage.
00:49 They hurt us a little bit early, maybe more than a little bit.
00:52 And so we made some adjustments there.
00:54 I thought we did a better job of that and then pretty good through all out.
01:00 And then a couple of threes at the end shouldn't have happened, but
01:03 we could have handled time and scored a little better down the stretch.
01:06 But again, nine point lead against a highly ranked team is a good thing.
01:10 So it's good to see the crowd.
01:12 I think the kids earned it, they deserve it.
01:15 We got smart kids, good kids, they're working hard.
01:19 I think everybody responded.
01:21 I think obviously after the tough loss the other day,
01:26 we really made a concerted effort to immediately after the game
01:31 to be focused on Oklahoma, not what had happened and how it had happened.
01:37 And I'm sure there were constant references back to it,
01:42 the two guys that were doing the game first thing they both asked me was about.
01:47 And I said, we're on to Oklahoma.
01:49 So that was a great message for our guys and they handled it well.
01:52 They're smart and they knew it was a trap to fall into,
01:56 to keep talking about the last game.
01:59 And we got it ready for this game.
02:00 They're very good, Oklahoma, by the way.
02:02 They're old, they're experienced, they got good guards.
02:04 They're a very balanced team.
02:06 And it's amazing that all the guys they got kind of fit,
02:11 the new guys fit to what they had back.
02:13 It was really a good GM role, I guess, for Porter.
02:19 So that's what I got.
02:20 >> Coach, Manuel crossed the 1,000 point mark for his career tonight.
02:24 Can you just talk about his career and what he spent in the program?
02:26 >> Yeah, I mean, it's kind of, I mean, involved.
02:30 I mean, he's one assist, no turnovers.
02:32 I think he's changed his game, makes two out of five from three.
02:38 He's three to three, one assist, playing on the perimeter, guarding on the perimeter.
02:43 Completely different player than a five man that showed up three years ago.
02:46 So I got on him a little bit in the first half.
02:50 And he responded, which he usually does, which is great.
02:58 Some guys don't, and he does.
03:01 And that's a great sign of him, and a reason why he's gotten better over his career.
03:05 So that was good to see.
03:08 >> How big was Avery's second half for you guys?
03:11 >> Well, I thought the shots in the first half were pretty good.
03:14 I was a little surprised he was 0 for 8, but there was a couple of layups I saw
03:17 that were good layups right on the line of vision at the other end.
03:22 So, I mean, it was good for him to hit.
03:23 The threes were huge.
03:25 The one was, I mean, they were both wide open, so it was good reach.
03:28 The one thing I told our guys afterwards, I said our big guys,
03:30 we really went to a lot of ball screens as the game evolved.
03:35 And I think our guards are getting better, but
03:36 I think our big guys had really good ball screens.
03:38 We had no moving screens.
03:40 They did a really good job of creating angles for us to drive.
03:44 And we really felt we were a great success at that.
03:47 We went to that a lot.
03:48 And again, that's how we got 17 up, and I thought that was good.
03:54 So Avery, Jameer, both came off, I don't wanna take away from the spacing that we
03:59 had and the ball screens that the big guys set, Ernest, Isam, and Xavier,
04:03 for the most part.
04:04 And we ran a lot of different actions to get to that, but
04:07 I don't know if we're gonna do a ball screen on those guys.
04:11 >> It looks like Jameer's been a lot more comfortable over these past four outings,
04:15 really, and had a good first half tonight.
04:16 >> Well, I mean, I told our guy, I mean, they're just getting better as they should.
04:21 I mean, they were one-to-one assist the turnover guys in their previous stops,
04:25 over four years in their careers.
04:27 That's pretty, that's hard to change, and we have, and they have.
04:32 And so they're now two-to-one guys.
04:33 They're getting better.
04:36 Defensively, it's been where we need the most progress, and
04:40 times are getting there, and at times I think we take a step backwards.
04:43 But there's huge adjustments for them in that area.
04:49 Anticipated some, but maybe more than I thought.
04:51 And then obviously, we didn't have Jameer for the summer,
04:53 really didn't have Avery for the fall.
04:54 So that wasn't part of the plan either, but you adjust.
04:58 But I've been telling everybody, we're better now than we were because our guards
05:02 are better, and we wanted it to happen, wish we would have happened in July.
05:08 But just we're in a certain sense, and go our way, but they're smart.
05:13 They're both very smart.
05:16 So you know they're gonna get better.
05:17 They're smart, they're great kids, and they're good athletes.
05:20 So in my mind, I know they're gonna get better.
05:22 I've always held that they were gonna get better, get better, get better.
05:25 We're really turning two scores into point guards, is what we're doing.
05:29 The score is mentality.
05:30 And but smart, competitive, and athletic are good starting points.
05:37 >> How did you feel about the half court execution tonight?
05:41 >> I thought it was good.
05:42 I thought it was better.
05:42 I was a little surprised we didn't score, shoot it at a higher rate.
05:45 But we missed a lot of layups, especially the first half.
05:49 And somewhere around the rim, second half too.
05:52 Micah, E-man missed some, we missed a dunk.
05:54 I mean, so those add up.
05:57 We didn't shoot great from three, obviously, but
05:58 I thought our layups would make up for it.
06:00 But that was, I thought we were better.
06:04 And again, seven turnovers being volumes too, as well.
06:08 A little too much dribbling, I thought, first half.
06:10 We got off it a little bit more drawing kick in the second half.
06:15 >> You mentioned- >> And
06:15 we got the ball inside a couple times for wide open shots to our bigs.
06:19 Our big guys are really good passers, and we have to get better at throwing the ball
06:22 inside to them.
06:23 Two times they get a touch in the first half, two wide open shots.
06:26 One, Chuck makes, the other one we miss.
06:30 The big guys are doing a good job.
06:33 Their numbers weren't great tonight, but
06:34 I still think they did a lot of good things, Ernest and Sam and Xavier.
06:39 >> You mentioned winning the rebounding battle in the second half.
06:43 What changed in the half to allow you guys to do that?
06:46 >> Well, I think they shot 50% in the first half, and
06:50 then we have forced them to make turnovers, so that was part of it.
06:53 I've said this before,
06:54 I'm getting used to this rebounding with having teams that are forcing more
06:58 turnovers as we do, though that plus ten is almost impossible to get to.
07:04 If you're forcing 18 turnovers like the other day,
07:07 then I don't wanna use it as an excuse.
07:10 So the number's still plus ten for us, and
07:14 certainly we didn't get it tonight, and didn't get it last game either.
07:17 And it's something we've gotta fix.
07:20 It's something I'm a bit surprised by, it's caused by us forcing a lot of turnovers.
07:25 We gotta get more offensive rebounds, but
07:28 it's good to see Jermeir get seven rebounds.
07:30 Gotta get Avery recruiting, we're out rebounding more.
07:33 We need our guards to rebound more, too.
07:35 Across the board, we gotta rebound better.
07:36 I mean, we got used to coming up, but what do we need to say?
07:42 >> This might be a little off topic from the game tonight, but
07:44 doing a profile on Jacoby Coles.
07:46 What was your first impressions of him, and
07:48 what has he just meant to this program?
07:49 I know he didn't play tonight.
07:50 >> I mean, we recruited him out of high school, and he's a guy that,
07:56 we recruited, he ended up going to Butler.
08:01 It's kind of weird, another guy, that type of thing that happens a lot in recruiting.
08:06 But we've always liked him, liked his knack around with baskets, his feel.
08:10 He has a great feel, and we need him out there.
08:12 So he's missed a lot of game, been out for about three weeks now.
08:15 So he's really playing well, but he's got a good feel.
08:20 What we like about him is he gives us a little changeup as a five,
08:24 but we can do that.
08:25 And then he's gotten better and better at playing as a four.
08:28 Thought he was defending better this year, so that's always gonna be the challenge,
08:32 as he transitioned from strictly a big to guarding on the perimeter.
08:35 But he's got a great feel, he sees the floor, knows where guys are at.
08:41 I've kind of used that, I said, you know where guys are at offensively.
08:44 You can use that defensively too, and
08:46 you should be a good defender just by your feel.
08:50 And so I'm just trying to say, you're a smart player,
08:53 you've gotta use that on defense as well.
08:55 >> Coach, I already mentioned Houston, they're coming to town on Saturday.
09:00 What have you seen from them this season?
09:02 >> Nothing.
09:03 I've spent two hours.
09:04 >> [LAUGH] >> I don't know if I see.
09:08 I was reading an article about their thing, being a Jordan school and
09:14 all the great facilities and their boosters and stuff.
09:22 I saw it in an article the other day, last night, two nights ago, I guess.
09:26 But I don't think I've really seen them play on film yet.
09:31 So I didn't even watch yesterday,
09:36 I didn't even catch it yesterday I was watching it on CBS.
09:42 I know they play hard, and I know they rebound, and
09:46 I know they have a long history of good basketball.
09:51 >> Any last question for Coach?
09:54 Okay, thanks.
09:56 >> All right, guys, thank you very much.
09:57 Have a great night.
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