Fran McCaffery Interview 2124
Fran McCaffery Interview
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00:00 Coach?
00:02 Coach, I think I heard on the broadcast
00:03 that Josh had had some sort of minor injury in the first half.
00:07 Is that correct?
00:08 Yeah.
00:09 Yeah?
00:09 You OK?
00:10 I think he'll be fine.
00:12 Everything good with Patrick and Lodgy now, too?
00:15 Yep.
00:17 Forgot to ask, after the game, the play
00:19 that was run to Peyton, the out of bounds,
00:22 was that exactly how it was drawn up, or what went into that?
00:25 Yeah.
00:27 We always talk about it.
00:28 It rarely works that way.
00:30 Something always breaks down, and somebody else
00:32 has to make a play.
00:34 Sometimes it works the way you draw it up.
00:37 Yeah.
00:38 It's kind of unique finding him in that opposite corner.
00:41 So that's how you drew it up?
00:42 Yeah.
00:43 OK.
00:44 Yeah, we only had 2.9 or 2.7, something like that, 2.5.
00:48 I can't remember.
00:49 It was a little over 2.
00:50 You don't have a lot of time.
00:54 Looking kind of ahead at Ohio State, what kind of stands out
00:56 to you about them on film?
00:59 They play hard.
01:01 They have speed and quickness.
01:03 Backcourt, I think, is really talented.
01:08 Getting battle was a big get for them.
01:14 You're bringing Zed Key off the bench.
01:15 I've always been a big fan of his.
01:17 I think O'Para is playing at a high level.
01:19 I think you could see that coming.
01:21 He was a freshman last year.
01:23 Mahafia, I always liked when he was at Penn State.
01:25 So I like their roster.
01:28 Now that Patrick's back and healthy,
01:30 have you thought about putting him back in the starting lineup?
01:33 I don't think I will.
01:36 But that could change depending upon how close to 100%
01:43 Josh Dix is.
01:44 The Maryland game, the IU game was kind of similar,
01:47 where you guys led toward the end of the game
01:50 and down the stretch, they made a few more plays.
01:52 Was there any commonalities you saw,
01:54 things that could be better to pull those out?
01:58 It was a little different.
01:59 We had to lead most of the second half against Maryland.
02:05 Took us a long time to get the lead against Indiana.
02:09 Our shot selection wasn't great in the last two minutes.
02:14 Wasn't horrible.
02:16 We got decent shots, but we need to get better shots.
02:20 Fan turnout hasn't always been spectacular this year.
02:23 What do you attribute that to, and what
02:25 do you think is the key for that to get better?
02:28 Say that again?
02:29 Fan turnout hasn't always been spectacular this year
02:32 here at Carver.
02:34 What's the key to kind of--
02:35 I think the key for us, and it's been that way for a long time,
02:37 is weekend games.
02:39 So hopefully Friday night will be good.
02:41 Is it frustrating when the results are there on the court
02:45 oftentimes and the fans aren't?
02:48 Yeah, but the thing I always say is--
02:50 the thing about our fans is they really support the team.
02:54 We make it real easy for you to watch it on TV,
02:56 and they don't often like the start times.
02:59 During the midweek, you've got issues with that.
03:03 But they show up on the weekends typically.
03:06 DeSante has been--
03:08 I mean, began the year in starting,
03:10 and ended up coming off the benches.
03:12 Where do you feel like he is right now in terms
03:14 of being able to make it?
03:15 I think he's a valuable player for our team,
03:18 as is Brock Harding and probably Sanford.
03:21 Their minutes have been up and down, those three guys,
03:25 as you get into conference play and sort of streamline
03:27 the other positions.
03:29 But I have total confidence in those three guys.
03:32 How much rotation-wise is it predetermined before a game
03:37 versus just the flow of the game?
03:39 It's just the flow of the game.
03:40 I don't ever predetermine it.
03:42 And then also, obviously, when you
03:44 factor in some injury situations,
03:46 that's going to create opportunities for other people.
03:48 And that's where Evan Brauns has gotten some opportunity
03:52 and has done well.
03:54 With Lodgy, it kind of seems like--
03:57 I mean, injury withstanding--
04:00 he's come in and really been able to bring value,
04:03 no matter if it's on the score sheet, the stat sheet,
04:06 or defense, or whatever he's doing.
04:08 It's just he's on the floor.
04:10 Your team gets better.
04:11 Yeah, I think his defensive instincts and physicality
04:16 has been really good, as has his rebounding.
04:22 He's not afraid to shoot the ball.
04:23 He'll shoot the ball.
04:25 I think little by little, his offense will come around.
04:28 He takes good shots.
04:30 They all look good.
04:31 He makes some.
04:33 I think more and more, he'll start
04:34 making a higher percentage.
04:37 It seemed like with Ben, obviously, he
04:39 didn't shoot well against Indiana.
04:40 It seemed like he had a lot of good looks.
04:42 He did have a lot of good looks.
04:44 I want him to keep shooting it.
04:45 I don't ever want him to get tentative at all.
04:47 And it's frustrating sometimes when
04:49 you're shooting that mid-range jumper that he usually makes,
04:52 and they're going in and out on you.
04:53 They're rolling out.
04:56 But he kept playing hard, and that's what we need him to do.
04:59 I think it's now four straight games, or Tony said,
05:01 at least 20.
05:01 How important has he been?
05:03 What do you see as coming next?
05:04 Well, you want him to continue to be aggressive.
05:06 I mean, that's when he's at his best.
05:09 But he's also been fairly under control as a point guard.
05:13 And that's the big difference.
05:15 When you're the two guard, you can attack.
05:18 And when you're the point guard, you have to pick your spots.
05:20 And I think he's really figured that out.
05:22 He's been really impressive.
05:24 You had that shot from about half court the other night.
05:27 I think I saw you say, "saddle down, P."
05:29 Is that something you have to say to him frequently,
05:32 with the way he would shoot the ball?
05:33 The one-- yeah, that was probably a little bit too deep.
05:37 And he's done that before.
05:39 You don't ever really want him thinking too much about that.
05:41 You just want him to fire.
05:43 But I think he can do stuff off the bounce.
05:48 And he can make a play for somebody else,
05:51 rather than take that particular shot.
05:54 But if your best shooter is taking one bad shot a game,
05:57 it's probably not a bad thing.
05:59 Kind of seems like things are just clicking on all cylinders
06:01 for him and Tony.
06:02 Yeah, he's played with a lot of confidence.
06:04 They both are.
06:05 And they both are showing leadership.
06:07 And that's what we need him to do.
06:09 Peyton, it seems like he's really hard on himself.
06:12 And I'm sure, to a certain extent, everyone is.
06:14 But how do you approach coaching someone
06:17 that might just beat themselves up a lot, based on--
06:20 Yeah, I just keep telling them, I'm going to keep going to you.
06:26 I'm going to keep playing you.
06:28 Just keep firing.
06:30 So there's never any pressure from the coaching staff
06:33 as to do this, don't do that, think this, don't think that.
06:37 Because now you get in your own head.
06:39 So to me, it's all about building confidence
06:42 and continuing to know that I believe in him.
06:45 Talked about the foul issues with Owen.
06:49 Is there anything specifically you're doing with him
06:51 right now to try to--
06:52 Yeah, we show him film, what he's doing.
06:55 Sometimes you think it's not a foul.
07:00 And that gets frustrating.
07:03 But then you look at the play, well,
07:05 maybe I did come down on his arm.
07:07 Or maybe I did bump him ahead of time.
07:10 And kind of see what the officials are looking at,
07:13 what they're seeing.
07:14 So he learns from it.
07:16 So he doesn't keep doing it, because he's kind of been
07:18 doing it over and over.
07:19 And then, of course, then he gets frustrated.
07:22 And we need him on the floor.
07:24 All right, thanks, Coach.
07:25 Thanks.
07:26 Appreciate it, guys.
07:28 [BLANK_AUDIO]