RaeQuan Battle, Quinn Slazinski, Jesse Edwards UCF Postgame
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00:00 >> Ray, start with you.
00:02 A lot of zone today.
00:03 You guys like, I mean, did you like how it worked and
00:05 do you like playing zone just naturally?
00:09 >> Yeah, it's fun.
00:09 I mean, especially with Jesse, a legend in the zone.
00:12 We're able to kind of mix our defense a little bit and
00:16 especially with our game plan, they average about six threes a game.
00:19 And if they hit 20, kudos to them.
00:22 >> Jesse, you obviously, it's a defense you're used to, but
00:27 you haven't played quite as much this year, but what do you think of,
00:30 how did you guys perform?
00:32 >> We executed it really well.
00:33 Like Ray said, I've been playing it for a while, so
00:37 I know most of the stuff around it, but yeah, we did a really good job with it today.
00:40 And I think it was a big reason why we played or
00:46 got really good stops a couple in a row, multiple in a row on them.
00:51 And that's got it with a great rebounding intensity.
00:56 So yeah, it was fun, fun time.
00:57 >> Quinn, slightly difference off that question.
01:02 They took a ton of threes and against the zone, that's gonna come.
01:05 But you just have to say, if they're gonna make them, they're gonna make them.
01:08 They didn't make enough tonight.
01:09 >> Yeah, exactly.
01:10 Sometimes in the big 12, the competition is high, so
01:14 you're gonna have to live with some things.
01:15 And that's what we decided to live with.
01:18 And then going off of what Jesse said, the hardest thing to do in zone is rebound
01:21 out of it, cuz you don't have a man.
01:23 And what helps with that is us being vocal.
01:26 So guys were stepping up and just, it's hard being vocal for
01:29 the whole game, cuz it's very tiring.
01:31 But we were able to do that and find mans to box out, and
01:34 we held them to one possession.
01:36 And this is a team that rebounds like the living crap out of the ball.
01:39 They're all athletes and all super long.
01:42 So I'm just really proud of my team and kinda how we rebounded,
01:45 cuz that was something that you gotta give up when you play the zone.
01:51 >> Diallo didn't play a lot for them tonight.
01:53 How much did that affect what you all did, both offensively and
01:56 then defensively as well?
01:58 >> Yeah, our kinda game plan with the zone is you gotta have a playmaker in
02:01 that middle.
02:02 It's kind of, sometimes you think, the division one basketball players,
02:06 they're comfortable there, but it's hard.
02:07 You got two guards behind you jabbing at the ball, and
02:09 you gotta be able to make a read.
02:11 And Jesse being so long and playing both,
02:14 they couldn't play him down in that position.
02:16 I think cuz he does great things other than playmaking, but yeah,
02:20 we were gonna live with that.
02:20 So they went a little smaller, which I think helped with our rebound.
02:23 So it just kinda went hand in hand.
02:25 >> Jesse and Ray, down there, they got really physical with you guys tonight.
02:31 They tried that again.
02:33 I mean, Ray, you bounced off the floor more times than Ali.
02:39 But what was it like out there?
02:41 What do you do when a team's doing that?
02:43 >> You just stay poised for, you don't let them get in your head at all,
02:48 as much as they're hitting and grabbing on you.
02:51 Really just stay in the course and don't let them knock you off your trail.
02:53 That's kinda what I did today.
02:56 I wasn't trying to talk back to them if they tried to get in my head like last
03:00 game, especially with the refs too.
03:03 The refs did a good job tonight, so
03:05 you should stay in poise with the refs and the opposing team throughout the whole game.
03:08 >> Yeah, same, really.
03:11 Yeah, and kudos to the rest of the team in this game.
03:15 Really civil, nobody got into no fights or nothing like that.
03:18 >> [LAUGH] >> So it's a physical team,
03:23 we knew they were coming in, especially after the last game.
03:27 So we expected it and I think we did a good job with it.
03:30 >> For all three of you guys, and I'm kinda interested, you guys at other parts
03:35 of your career have played at big schools, big conferences before.
03:39 But for all three, this is your first trip into the Big 12.
03:44 And now that you guys have gotten a good taste of it now, what's it been like?
03:48 Has it been what you expected?
03:50 Has it been harder?
03:51 Has it been a different style of play?
03:52 Just what will you remember from your first time in the Big 12 play?
03:57 >> It's wild.
03:58 >> Wild.
03:59 >> Yeah, it's wild.
03:59 >> It's very aggressive, very aggressive.
04:02 So I'm not gonna say that.
04:03 >> Well, just having the teams this year, I mean,
04:05 every time we turn a Big 12 game on, it's 10 versus 12, 4 versus 6.
04:10 >> Yeah, that's the main thing, I think.
04:11 Just the amount of crazy good teams in these leagues, it's a lot.
04:14 >> Yeah, every conference I played in, I thought the ACC was talented.
04:18 But I mean, this blows everything out of the water, just playing in the game.
04:21 It's not even close.
04:23 But we're here competing, and to get a win like this just shows that we got
04:27 something going.
04:28 >> The style of play, is it, especially maybe even defensively,
04:31 is it more of a physical lead than the Pac-12 or ACC?
04:36 >> For sure the Pac-12, in this respect.
04:39 >> Pac-12 is not this physical.
04:40 >> Right, right.
04:41 >> Pretty sure.
04:43 >> But- >> I mean,
04:44 the better teams in the ACC are also very physical teams.
04:47 But it's just the amount of good teams in these leagues is so-
04:51 >> It's the amount.
04:52 >> It's crazy.
04:54 Week after week, you're playing some of the best teams in the country.
04:56 So there's different teams, like BYU is not the most physical team in the world,
05:01 but they're in their own right, top 15, top 28 programs.
05:05 So you have to adapt every weekend.
05:07 It's a lot of fun, but it's hard, man.
05:10 It's a hard league, so yeah.
05:12 >> To kind of follow that up, has it been fun or in the back of your mind,
05:17 like, man, I should have gone to the SEC or something?
05:21 >> No, it's- >> It's been a roller coaster from
05:23 the start.
05:24 >> It's been a roller coaster, but we're so happy to be here.
05:27 Obviously, the situation we're in with our record and where we are in March,
05:31 I mean, you can obviously say whatever you want.
05:33 But I think everyone sitting here and everyone in the locker room is happy we
05:37 chose here.
05:38 And like I said, every time we go on a road trip, I appreciate my fans,
05:42 our fans so much more.
05:44 We're gonna go play a team who's 12th in the country at their place, and
05:46 there's 2,000 people in the stands.
05:48 And I say it every time I try,
05:50 because we're just so thankful to have the support that we have.
05:54 And it just makes it playing here a lot more enjoyable and just a lot more fun.
05:58 >> What is the difference?
05:59 Obviously, it's tougher to play on the road in any conference,
06:01 especially against this high level competition.
06:03 But to have the previous result against UCF, then turn around and
06:08 do this against the same team, but being at home.
06:10 What do you think is the difference besides just obviously easier home versus
06:16 away, whether it be calls from the refs, whether it be style of play,
06:19 whether it be easier to get up for games,
06:22 whether it be having to deal with more adversity on the road?
06:24 You guys articulate that for fans?
06:27 >> I think it's just being consistent of what we do as a team.
06:31 I mean, if we're not consistent and we john at each other the whole game or
06:34 somebody breaks off a play two or three times in a row,
06:36 it's gonna be confusing throughout the entire game.
06:39 And especially we're playing somewhere else where they got their fans,
06:42 they screaming at us, their players are screaming at us.
06:44 It's chaotic, it gets chaotic at some points.
06:48 But it's just staying mentally tough and trusting each other.
06:52 If you don't do that, you'll get blown out by 20.
06:54 >> The three of you guys played an awful lot of basketball games combined and
06:58 individually and any other way you wanna slice it.
07:01 You just lost four games in a row.
07:03 What is the difference tonight after a basketball game
07:08 as compared to when you're losing?
07:12 I mean- >> You love your life.
07:14 It's tough losing.
07:15 It's tough losing.
07:16 I'm not gonna sugarcoat it.
07:18 We come together and we try and we bust our ass every single game.
07:25 We know whether a fan has a certain opinion about a way a certain kid plays.
07:29 But I mean, we try and we win.
07:32 As much as you guys want us to win, I mean, we want it ten times more.
07:36 And I know the fans are so great, but the league is so hard.
07:39 And to go back to your question,
07:40 it's like there's so many things that you have to be ready to play every night.
07:44 Like he said, you're gonna go play BYU team that shoots the crap out of the three.
07:48 And then you may go play at TCU that just pounded down low and
07:51 then pick up full court.
07:53 I think with ACC, a lot of the teams are kind of similar.
07:55 Pac-12, a lot of the West Coast teams that kind of play the similar way.
08:00 But the Big 12 is every single type of basketball into one.
08:06 So you're playing a completely different whole identity pretty much every single
08:10 game, which I think is hard.
08:12 And when you play a team a second time,
08:14 it's really when you try to get on them and pounce on them.
08:16 >> Going on that same note though, Saturday,
08:18 you guys had one of your better offensive games.
08:20 And then you obviously didn't win.
08:22 And then how different is it when you are able to have that similar type of
08:26 performance on offense but actually get a win?
08:29 >> Yeah, I mean, it's hard to look at the good things when you lose four in a row.
08:36 So to try to find things we can work on, things we can build on.
08:39 Our staff has just done a great job of trying to motivate us and
08:42 keep us locked in for these last few games.
08:46 To really see if we can make something happen in the tournament.
08:47 Like Ray and I, we always talk about what we had to do at our mid-major schools in
08:52 the conference tournament.
08:53 And it's where you need to be playing your best ball.
08:56 I mean, I've seen magic happen all the time.
08:57 So we're just gonna keep on staying on the track.
09:00 >> Great going, like Bob was saying, the last time you guys played at UCF,
09:04 it was a very frustrating game for you.
09:06 That was kind of in, if you look at it at the roller coasters,
09:09 that was kind of the down part for you.
09:11 You're kind of on the upswing now again.
09:12 Are you feeling that or you're just talking about being on the upswing?
09:18 >> I feel like I put a lot of unnecessary weight on my shoulders
09:21 the first few games, especially after Kansas.
09:23 It was so fun.
09:24 We were all on our high horse at that time.
09:26 And once I went to UCF, they kind of just punched me in my face, literally.
09:32 >> [LAUGH] >> But that's a lesson learned.
09:36 I just turned it around, especially after Texas, a game like that.
09:39 We went down to Texas and got blown out the water.
09:42 That was when I was like, all right, I just need to relax and
09:44 play the game I've always been playing my whole life.
09:46 You know what I mean?
09:47 And stop overthinking.
09:49 >> Easy to do that.
09:49 >> At times.
09:51 >> [LAUGH] >> At times.
09:53 I mean, when you lose on the four game losing streak,
09:55 I love the fans that all show out night in and night out,
09:59 regardless of our record, you know what I mean?
10:01 Cuz a lot of people talk down on us, but
10:03 that also motivates us seeing people in the building tonight.
10:06 >> Quinn, this has nothing to do with the game tonight, but
10:10 were you surprised at Patino's outburst?
10:13 >> I'm dying a little bit.
10:14 It's so funny.
10:16 I mean, that was one of the nicest I've ever seen him, quite frankly.
10:19 And I mean, going back on that, I mean, I loved playing for him.
10:22 It's just, one thing about him is he knows who he is.
10:25 And you can't bat a guy down for that.
10:27 He hates losing.
10:28 So I've heard him tell me some of the craziest things I've ever heard come out
10:33 of someone's mouth, and you gotta understand why he's doing it.
10:35 I've called a couple kids from the team and just heard stories,
10:39 cuz it's kind of the stuff.
10:41 It's so unfortunate when you're in that locker room, but
10:44 hearing it from the outside, it's kind of funny.
10:46 But- >> One example of the crazy things he said
10:49 to you. >> I don't wanna get in trouble, but
10:51 he told me he was gonna- >> It's a good interview.
10:53 >> I don't know if I'm allowed to say this.
10:55 It was kind of out of love.
10:56 >> I won't tell anybody.
10:59 >> I didn't box out.
10:59 I show them the video all the time.
11:01 I didn't box out, and this was in practice.
11:04 And he goes, he looks at me.
11:06 I don't know if I can say this.
11:08 He said, out of love, he said he will chop me up in seven pieces and
11:12 send me back to Detroit or Houston or wherever the bleep I'm from.
11:18 And I go and just sit there and laugh.
11:20 He's like, are you laughing at me?
11:22 And I'm like, no, I don't know.
11:25 He knows it's just a game.
11:26 It's just who he is.
11:26 It's just kind of the way he talks.
11:28 He doesn't mean it.
11:28 He just likes to win.
11:30 >> Hey, Ray and Jesse, I got one for you guys.
11:32 So Jesse, I mean, you played the first part of the season without Raekwon.
11:36 And then obviously when Raekwon comes back, he's playing without you.
11:40 Now that you guys are playing together,
11:42 you know how teams defended you when you guys were without each other.
11:46 What are teams doing?
11:47 Are they defending you guys any differently now that you guys are playing
11:51 together?
11:52 Is there any difference at all?
11:53 >> I guess there's definitely less of a focus on either one of the players on
11:56 the team right now cuz we got all our pieces we wanted.
12:00 And then we can play from there and
12:02 nobody can really just hone down on one of us at all.
12:06 So that makes it a little easier to run your offense,
12:10 especially when we get good speed on fast breaks like we did today.
12:15 It's the way we wanna play.
12:17 So it's a lot more fun to be on the court with everybody out there for sure.
12:20 >> Thanks guys.
12:22 >> Yeah.
12:22 [BLANK_AUDIO]