“I knew I was gonna have to play some guys. We just played the other day and I played our starters a lot of minutes. We couldn’t do much the last two days in practice, so I’ve been preaching to the other guys, get ready and be ready. I thought David Tubek came in and gave us some good minutes, Isaiah gave us good minutes, Jaquan gave us good minutes, and I thought Elijah gave us good minutes as well. That’s what it takes to beat a good team like Marquette. Marquette is a very good team, very well-coached, great players. I thought we came in today and I think the crowd played a big part. The crowd was unbelievable from the beginning of the game to the end of the game, so I want to thank those guys.”
On adjustments after his first timeout:
“Subs. That’s the adjustment, bringing guys in that want to play and give me energy, and play the way I want to play. I thought the guys that came off the bench did that, and we got right back in the game.”
On resilience as Marquette made runs:
“We gotta take care of the basketball and understand moments. There was a moment where I told the guys in a timeout, you can’t relax with a team like that. They’ve got too much firepower, they’re quick, they’re easy, they get stuff, we turned the ball over with them scoring it. We’ve gotta take care of the basketball and always be ready, just be alert.”
On sustaining momentum:
“This league, it’s the Big East, right? I think it’s the best league in the country, I think every team is good. I know we keep saying letdowns, but Xavier is good. They’re a good team, Georgetown's a good team, very well-coached. For us, I gotta find a way. This is gonna be our third game in six days, I don’t understand that at all but it is what it is. I just gotta find a way to get my guys some rest, but at the same time, be ready. Kooks is battling a foot injury, some guys are banged up, so tomorrow we can’t do too much other than a walkthrough and film, and Monday, we’ve gotta practice, get on the bus and travel down there. I don’t know, man. I didn’t make the schedule.”
On David Tubek starting the second half:
“Just a feel for the game. I just needed some energy, I needed some life. Dre didn’t do nothing, it was a coach’s decision. We’re striving to be a good team. We’re not there yet. Any good team, you gotta have players that push each other, you gotta have players that, when guys don’t have it — like in the first half, I thought Kadary and Dre didn’t have it, so I went to the bench and guys came in. I gotta have more confidence in all those guys. They’ve been working hard. I don’t know, it may be health.”
On Dylan Addae-Wusu:
“Not just me, the team. The team’s been talking to him, the team got him together and said, ‘you just gotta play basketball.’ He’s a big part of what we do, and it’s not so much on the offensive end. Just his energy, his leadership, his defense, he’s a guy that I think could bring a lot of intangibles. The last game against Providence, he had 12 rebounds, so those things, that’s what I expect of him every game. I thought tonight, he did a good job. He was on (Kam) Jones, he was on (Tyler) Kolek, we kind of moved him around a little bit.”
On how much of his image is in his team:
“I think we’ve got a long way to go. I think it’s coming. These guys understand we played with some passion. I thought today, to be honest with you, I’ll be honest, the crowd kind of got us back into it, it got us juiced and I thought our bench did as well. I just want our guys to play hard. Every night’s not gonna be pretty, we’re not gonna make shots, but if you play hard and you defend, you give yourself a chance to win, right? And that’s what I think is happening.”
On Al-Amir Dawes:
“I believe in all my guys. I give all my guys freedom because I know how hard they work. If they don’t work at it, if Al doesn’t work on his shot, I’ll tell him, don’t shoot. Al works on his shot every single day, before practice, after practice. I’ve gotta get him out of the gym, he comes back at night and he works at it. It’s a matter of time, right? But he’s gotta understand he has to be more than just a jump shooter, and I think that’s what he’s trying to do, he starting to get into the lane and create, and be a playmaker. Once you start doing those things, your shot comes.”
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