Fran McCaffery 2.27.24
Fran McCaffery Interview
Transcript
00:00 All right, go right here.
00:01 Questions for Coach?
00:02 Coach, besides the history that was made tonight with Patrick,
00:05 Ben, and Sanford, just describe what this win means for the team
00:08 as the season went on.
00:10 Well, you know, we played these guys a couple weeks ago,
00:12 and they played better than we did.
00:15 And tonight we played better.
00:17 We made some adjustments.
00:19 We had some really impressive individual performances.
00:23 It's a really good team we just beat.
00:24 And they play hard.
00:27 They challenge you with their defense.
00:30 But getting to the free-throw line 37 times,
00:33 a big 22 assists on 25 field goals was really important.
00:39 Turned it over less.
00:41 Probably gave them too many offensive rebounds.
00:42 They're really good at that.
00:43 We got to do better there.
00:46 We also went small for a while,
00:47 so just really proud of the guys.
00:50 When you look at Peyton's stat line,
00:52 what are you most, I guess, impressed with
00:54 and proud of the way you played tonight?
00:57 Well, his rebounding when we went small was critical.
01:00 And, you know, when they're guarding him the way they are
01:04 to have 10 assists, it's really important.
01:07 He made the biggest three of the game.
01:08 You know, we were struggling to get a basket there.
01:11 Josh had a good look. Patrick had a good look.
01:12 Ben had a good look.
01:14 Tony, the ball wasn't going in.
01:16 Somebody had to make one, and he did.
01:18 It was a big one.
01:20 Patrick got to 1,000 in his career.
01:21 What's that mean to you?
01:23 Well, you know, his journey has been so unique.
01:25 We talked about it a lot.
01:29 But, you know, when you think about, you know,
01:31 when he was 14 years old, you know,
01:33 when he'd get 1,000 points in the Big Ten,
01:36 you know, we didn't know if he'd get two points.
01:38 We didn't know if he'd be able to play his high school career.
01:42 And he's got 1,500 there, I think.
01:44 So just really proud of his perseverance and his attitude.
01:49 I mean, his leadership on this team has been impressive.
01:53 I'm just -- I'm thrilled for him.
01:56 You talked about before this season having more --