Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 >> Yeah, credit to BYU coming here focused, ready to execute their game plan.
00:06 I think the glaring stat that I talked to the team about was
00:10 the 19 second chance points that they got.
00:14 It's a hard league to, anytime you can get easy buckets,
00:19 fast break points, second chance points, and
00:24 when you end up with 27 of them, and especially as well as they're shooting
00:28 the ball on the half court, it's gonna be hard to overcome
00:32 those three things in particular.
00:35 So credit to BYU and Coach Pope and their approach to the game today.
00:41 I think without Khalifa, I think they did some different things against us that
00:46 we probably weren't ready for, but credit to them and their approach to the game today.
00:52 >> Questions for the players, Coach?
00:53 >> So Jesse, start with you.
00:54 I mean, just team defense overall, giving up 80 some, I know that's not the recipe
00:59 you guys want, is that a big area that you look at and say, it's where we came up short?
01:04 >> Yeah, definitely.
01:06 I mean, like I said, they're a well organized, good team,
01:11 good offensive team, that's what they're known for.
01:14 So then putting up a lot of points is not something they're not used to, but
01:17 it's definitely something that we don't have in our planning to give up like that.
01:24 So yeah, it's a big,
01:29 obviously a big part of the reason tonight was a loss.
01:33 >> Ray, so sort of the same for you.
01:35 Defensively, was it more their shooting or you guys' poor defense?
01:38 What would you attribute those numbers to?
01:41 >> It's a combination of both.
01:43 That team like that, you gotta really stick to every shooter as much as you can.
01:47 When they got seven, eight of them that do all the same thing and only that,
01:51 you know what I mean?
01:51 It's kinda hard to stop,
01:52 especially when they got you running around the entire time.
01:55 I mean, it's mainly us though.
01:59 We gotta take more pride in taking away the three and staying in front of our man
02:03 and taking more pride in one on one opportunities on the defensive end.
02:06 >> Jesse, BYU, the guy, their starter was sick and so
02:15 they bring a new guy in and obviously he has a pretty good game.
02:20 Can you just kinda talk about, was it a surprise having to guard him and
02:24 then obviously the game that he has, the 40 minutes against him?
02:29 >> Yeah, we find out obviously that Cleaver wasn't playing.
02:35 We prepare for both, you know what both bigs can do, Atiki too,
02:41 you know what they can do.
02:43 He's obviously a lot, very strong on the right hand.
02:46 So yeah, you start to cut that off.
02:49 But yeah, all credit to him actually this game, he made it really tough for
02:55 me and Pat, he just played a really good game.
02:57 Was strong, I mean, I know I'm a lot better than that.
03:02 So it's just knowing that way, I definitely kinda let my team know,
03:09 cuz I'm a lot better in defense than what I showed tonight.
03:13 It's just, yeah, at this point is one of those nights, but yeah,
03:17 like I said, credit to him, he did a really good job, made it tough, made it really tough.
03:21 >> Jesse, how much do you think your defensive effort maybe have
03:27 lacked because you're still in a recovery process?
03:30 >> It's a little part of it, here and there, it hurts to just do regular things.
03:37 But on the other hand, we've been working a lot behind the scenes.
03:42 Our athletic trainer, Randy, has done a lot of work with me, and
03:46 it feels really good in most plays.
03:49 So you take what you can get, it's still there, but
03:54 it's no excuse for some of the things tonight.
04:00 But yeah, it's both ways.
04:02 >> They scored inside, they scored outside, I mean, about the same number of points.
04:09 How tough does that make it to Dwight?
04:11 I mean, the fact that they stretch you and do that.
04:13 >> Yeah, it's, I guess it's part of their game plan.
04:21 It's they're so strong on the outside playing, like Ray said,
04:26 they got like seven or eight dudes who are elite shooters.
04:29 So when they do take it inside, there's not a whole lot of opportunity to go out and
04:35 help, and yeah, like I said, that's usually me and
04:41 Pat can definitely clean it up a lot more, but that a really good night on that part.
04:47 >> Yeah, it's difficult.
04:47 You can't just go double off of Curry level three point shooters.
04:53 You know what I mean?
04:55 Like I said, we just gotta take more pride in one on one opportunities and
04:59 make them score over us.
05:00 >> You guys feel like the chemistry's coming together a little bit more here as
05:05 you've gotten to play a couple more games.
05:06 Is it there yet or what else do you guys think you need to be working on?
05:09 >> Our chemistry is there.
05:11 I mean, we've seen each other as much as we can.
05:13 We all love each other, thick and thin.
05:16 It's just when it comes to basketball, you gotta do your job.
05:19 If you don't do your job, then you lose.
05:21 >> I'm trying to get a sense of what you're, it was hard to play help, right?
05:28 Is that kind of what the sense was?
05:30 Because if that ball gets kicked back over to the other side,
05:33 then now you're out of position kind of stuff.
05:36 >> Yeah, I mean, you necessarily can't help us as much.
05:39 Our game plan was a little different when we play gaps,
05:42 since we've changed our defense, especially it's a team like this.
05:45 I don't wanna help.
05:48 I mean, I trust everyone on my team to guard their man one on one, and
05:51 they trust me to guard them one on one.
05:52 So I mean, it's just sticking to the game plan and trusting them.
05:57 >> Yeah, I just wanna make sure I- >> You guys had something going, and
06:01 they had two seconds on the shot clock when they called you kicking the ball,
06:06 I guess, or whatever it was, you're out of bounds.
06:08 And they threw the ball in and almost in one motion, he hits a three to,
06:13 sort of like a dagger in your heart.
06:14 Was that the biggest play of the game for you?
06:16 >> We were down 17 at one point.
06:18 >> Yeah. >> We were down 17, and
06:20 we were fighting and clawing.
06:22 And we cut it to five.
06:25 A couple of those miraculous threes, I mean, those are daggers for
06:29 the team's confidence when you're trying to make a run like that.
06:33 And especially as late as they did make those shots.
06:38 So yeah, at the end of the day, you look at it, and
06:42 we talk about them getting 27 second chance points and
06:47 fast break points combined, we got the same number.
06:50 It's in the day, they make 13 threes, we make eight.
06:55 And it doesn't take a mathematician to realize that threes are worth more than
07:00 twos.
07:01 And they got five extra shots than we did.
07:04 No, we were even, field goal attempts were even.
07:08 They made five more threes than we did.
07:09 A lot of things on the box score, I mean, we made nine free throws,
07:13 they made nine free throws.
07:15 It's very even in a lot of ways.
07:18 But at the end of the day, they made a lot more threes than we did.