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00:00 [ Silence ]
00:22 >> Hi, Kenny.
00:23 How would you evaluate the progress
00:26 of your freshman this year?
00:27 Were you disappointed, encouraged,
00:30 or what's your opinion about that?
00:33 >> The first thing I would say is that, Russ,
00:35 they have shown potential.
00:39 They have shown what they can do when they play well.
00:42 They have shown what they can do when they're locked in.
00:46 You know, from Tyler having a game
00:50 that's probably never been had
00:52 in this building before against Florida State.
00:55 Curtis has had games.
00:57 Caleb has had games where they've shown potential
01:01 of what they can do.
01:03 Had they been consistent enough, not for me.
01:06 But they have shown that they're capable,
01:09 and they have gotten better.
01:10 >> And it's senior night coming up.
01:12 You've got three that are going to be honored.
01:14 But let's start with JJ and the time that he's spent
01:17 at Louisville and what he's meant for this program.
01:19 >> Can't put into words.
01:22 I was at Kentucky when I first met JJ.
01:26 Boo Brewer was his high school coach.
01:30 Watched him first couple years at Louisville.
01:34 Came here, and when I came here, I saw a young man
01:42 that didn't have confidence, had lost a lot of his self-esteem
01:45 and who he is as a player.
01:47 And to see the transformation has been unbelievable.
01:51 He is a great kid, a hard worker, learning about his self
01:58 and has done nothing but grow.
02:01 From first practices when I came in and said every time
02:05 that you drop your head or slump your shoulders,
02:07 I'm running you, to seeing him play with energy, clapping,
02:11 dunking the ball backwards, feeling good about who he is
02:15 as a player, that's a long way from where he started.
02:19 >> Kenny, what has it meant for you to have Zan here?
02:24 I mean, this has been a tumultuous couple years here.
02:28 What has it meant for you to have him by your side?
02:30 What was it like, too, when he hit those shots the other night
02:33 and you kind of saw the reaction he got?
02:35 >> I just love the fact, you know, more than the shots,
02:38 just to fight, the willingness to give up his body even though
02:42 he's a lot shorter than some of the guys he's guarding,
02:46 he's fighting out there.
02:48 And that's all I'm asking from all the players is to go out
02:51 and fight, and when your son goes out there and he does it
02:54 and he takes charges and he head on the swivel and bouncing
02:58 and reacting to things on the court defensively,
03:00 I take pride in that.
03:02 And I've said this a number of times and sometimes, you know,
03:07 you look at a kid and you don't know his story.
03:10 My son has been around elite, elite, elite basketball players.
03:15 In the summers, my son was traveling
03:18 with the Olympic team, spent time with Kevin Durant
03:21 and Chris Paul and all of that.
03:23 Julius Randle in the summer, a few summers ago.
03:26 Anthony Davis.
03:28 So he's seen basketball at a high, high level,
03:32 and he spent time with players and he understands the game.
03:36 So I'm proud that he's earned respect, first more
03:42 than anything, he has earned respect.
03:44 Without me giving it to him.
03:48 I tried at times not to play him, and he kept fighting.
03:53 So I'm proud of him.
03:56 >> Kenny, between tomorrow and then whatever you guys do
04:00 in the ACC tournament, what would you
04:02 like to see this team be able to get accomplished in that time?
04:07 >> I believe that we're winning,
04:10 but I need those guys to believe.
04:14 What I'd like to get accomplished, I'd like for us
04:17 not to turn the ball over on the court.
04:19 I'd like for us to defend with a fire.
04:22 I would like for us to get in this tournament where we're 0
04:27 and 0 and fight like never before and believe
04:30 that we're going to win and play winning basketball and share
04:33 with each other and talk to each other on the court and prove
04:37 to people that, you know, earn respect, earn respect.
04:42 >> How often do you have conversations throughout the
04:51 season with Josh, and have there been any this week
04:53 about your future?
04:54 >> Me and Josh talk regularly.
04:57 Have not talked this week, but we do talk regularly.
05:10 >> What's your understanding about what the process is
05:14 after the season, how it will play out in determining whether
05:17 you will be back or not?
05:19 >> I have no idea.
05:20 I haven't thought about it.
05:22 You know, I would hope that we get the runway
05:26 to fix this program, but that's not my decision.
05:31 You know, my job is to every day get this team better,
05:35 fight to get it better, and that's all I'm concerned with.
05:39 [ Pause ]
05:45 >> Yeah, Kenny, this, you know, this recent skid
05:48 that you guys have been on, it started in the second half
05:50 of Boston College.
05:51 I'm just wondering, as you go back and I watch the tape
05:53 of that, what went wrong there and just how do you try
05:56 to get that fixed tomorrow?
05:57 >> The first half of the Boston College game, we fought.
06:00 We were the aggressors.
06:02 We were physical.
06:03 We were more physical than them.
06:04 The second half, they attacked us.
06:08 They were physical, and we shied away.
06:12 We had unforced turnovers.
06:14 The offense wasn't as crisp.
06:16 We didn't get out in transition and get easy baskets the way we
06:19 did in the first half, and so we ended up playing on our heels,
06:23 and they got momentum.
06:24 Very similar to what they did to Miami.
06:27 The first half, Miami was in control.
06:30 They were the aggressors.
06:31 Second half, Boston College was.
06:33 >> Kenny, you just kind of talked a minute ago
06:38 about it, you say hoping the mindset like zero, zero.
06:41 Do you approach this as a fresh start, or do you still just kind
06:44 of want to build off what, you know,
06:46 hasn't gone right this season?
06:47 How do you kind of approach this?
06:49 >> A little bit of both.
06:50 Of course, we want to fix the things
06:52 that we've not been good at, but we also got to approach this
06:57 like this is a new start for us.
06:59 I think that we're capable of beating anybody we play.
07:02 I think that we're capable of surprising people,
07:07 and if you get in a dogfight and at the end of the game,
07:10 a team that's supposed to beat you, they get tight.
07:13 You just got to make sure you got the game close enough
07:17 to where they get tight.
07:18 >> Kenny, was there a moment this season where you kind
07:23 of felt like the season got away from you, so to speak,
07:27 whether it was injuries or something else going on?
07:29 Was there some point you look back at?
07:31 >> No, we've been, you know, C.L., we've been dealt
07:37 sometimes bad hands.
07:39 Sometimes, you know, when guys are injured,
07:43 you can't control that.
07:44 When a kid decides in the summer
07:47 to go play professionally, you can't control that.
07:51 You know, going down with two point guards
07:54 and not having a point guard, you can't control that.
07:57 So at one point or the other, did I feel like, no.
08:03 We've been dealt bad hands at times,
08:06 and my thing is I'm not using that as an excuse,
08:09 and I'm not allowing them to.
08:10 I expect you to go out there and fight to win,
08:12 because nobody wants to hear the excuses.
08:16 Nobody really is talking about you without J.J. Trainor.
08:20 Nobody's talking about, by now, where would Dennis Evans be?
08:23 Nobody's talking about that.
08:25 So we can't worry about that.
08:29 We just got to go out and fight.
08:31 Kenny, considering the hand you are dealt right now
08:34 and talking about the fact you do believe in this team
08:37 down the stretch here, can you expand on that
08:39 just a little bit as far as where on this team
08:42 do you find belief that you guys can win these games
08:44 against the tough teams in the tournament
08:46 you're going to face here next week?
08:47 First of all, we have a post player in Brandon Hatfield
08:50 who demands double teams,
08:52 who has played his best basketball of his career.
08:55 He has gotten better.
08:57 He plays to win.
08:59 He's an example of why I have hope.
09:02 We've had Scott Clark have great games.
09:05 Mike James has had great games.
09:07 Trey White has had really good offensive games,
09:11 and I want to emphasize this,
09:12 but he's also had games where he's had 12, 13, 14 rebounds.
09:17 I need that Trey White.
09:19 So if we put it all together, that's what gives me hope.
09:24 If we fight together on defense, that's what gives me hope.
09:27 If we don't turn the ball over, that gives me hope.
09:31 Because some of this, to be honest with you,
09:33 we've sort of beaten ourselves.
09:36 We talk about the defensive numbers.
09:40 Well, if you play good defense and get a stop
09:42 and they get that rebound, you're killing your numbers.
09:46 If you turn the ball over and it's a live ball turnover
09:49 and the other team gets six layups off live ball turnovers,
09:53 you're beating yourself.
09:54 So if you correct those things,
09:58 that's what really gives me hope.
10:00 All right, guys.
10:05 [BLANK_AUDIO]