“I thought it was excellent, Jerry. That was our main focus coming into the game. We didn’t get back from Georgetown until about 4:00 in the morning, but we practiced on Wednesday and we got after it Wednesday, which we usually don’t do because this team is so good offensively. We just wanted to come out and jump on them, and make sure they didn’t make any threes early, didn’t get any confidence early. And I thought we were really locked in on trying to get (Alex) O’Connell and (Ryan) Hawkins off the 3-point line.”
On Kadary Richmond:
“I think you’re starting to see the evolution of a really, really good player. It’s hard playing 24 minutes a game and sharing time with a guy to now all of a sudden having to play 38 minutes a game and play three games in five days, so I think he’s handled the responsibility phenomenally. I think he’s playing with a lot of confidence, and I think he’s just starting to evolve into that really, really good point guard.”
On Jamir Harris:
“I think the biggest thing is having time to practice with Jamir. Being able to put him out there when Kooks is not out there has given me confidence in putting him out there. I think that’s the biggest thing for me. When Bryce went down and having those three games in five days, I just didn’t have time to do anything. The fact that we’ve had two weeks, we’ve had a lot of practice — these guys have practiced phenomenal — has given me a chance to kind of do some things with Jamir to give me confidence in Jamir, and I think at the same time, trying to give Jamir confidence in what we’re trying to do with him.”
On Tyrese Samuel:
“I’m starting to see the kid that was averaging 26 minutes a game in December. He’s finally getting out of the funk of COVID.”
On defensive catalysts:
“It’s Myles Cale. It’s been that way…how long has Myles been in college? Five years? It’s been that since he was a freshman. He’s one of the most underrated players in the country and there’s nothing flashy about him, but I would take him every day of the week.”
On maintaining momentum:
“I think if we — obviously we have a very, very tough battle Wednesday night, I love the way Xavier’s playing, they’re using (Jack) Nunge great, they’re using (Zach) Freemantle really well in the post, they’re really spacing those two guys out — if we can get back to 6-6 after really gifting the league two losses, I’d be thrilled.”
On Bryce Aiken:
“Bryce is doing good. Physically, he looks better. I think he’s feeling better, I think he’s progressing in a way that’s positive, but again, there’s still no timetable.”
On adjusting to life without Aiken:
“I just think the biggest thing was we had to get through those three games in five days, to me. That’s really all it was. I had a lot of confidence in this group, we have some older guys. Getting Tyrese back to the way Tyrese was playing, to me, was probably the biggest thing just because he gives us such a different look than Ikey, he gives us really a scoring option off it. So it’s a resilient group, it’s a great group to coach. They’ve come with a great attitude, they’ve practiced great over the last two weeks…I mean, I practiced hard yesterday, I went two hours and almost 30 minutes yesterday, which, like I said, we have four guys out with injuries. Donald Copeland had to practice for an hour and a half of that. I know how good this team can be. We were 9-1 and the 15th-ranked team in the country. It’s my job to get them back to that, and the only way we’re going to get back to that is getting into a good rhythm, and that’s through practice. It’s not through games.”
On Alexis Yetna:
“I think the same thing. Lex has been one of the most consistent guys I’ve ever coached. If you need a rebound, you get it. You need a shot, you need a pass, you get it. He’s played terrific all year.”
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