“Yeah, I mean, Malachi, he’s been…it’s the reason I wanted him to come here. We saw this a lot starting to develop last year, and he works hard and he’s been practicing great. Him and Matty have been working hard against each other, and I think that’s really helped both of them play at a high level. He’s come in, and I think defensively, he’s playing really well. I know offensively, everybody looks at him, but I think defensively, he gave us a huge lift.”
On Villanova’s run to end the first half:
“Anytime you can get on a run going into halftime against a really good defensive team, it’s important.”
On matching up against Seton Hall:
“I think the biggest thing for us, Jer, is the way we play pick-and-roll coverage. We’re okay with Budd (Clark) shooting jumpers. Our whole game plan was to pretty much take away A.J. (Staton-McCray) and (Tajuan) Simpkins. I thought Simpkins, I thought he’s been a difference maker for them over the last two games, so for us, it’s you have to take away something. You know it’s gonna be a struggle to score, but we’re okay with Budd shooting twos and those guys not going off, because I think A.J. coming off those downscreens is really tough, and I think when Simpkins gets going down to his left hand, he creates, he puts a lot more pressure, gets fouled, gets to the free throw line. So for us, it was like, it also helps us stay at home and rebound by (Clark) taking jump shots. That’s where we’ve struggled a little bit, and I thought I was really proud in the first half. We only gave up two offensive rebounds.”
On Villanova’s rebounding:
“I think that was really the game plan. We talked about transition defense, keeping Budd out of transition, and I think we gave up 16 offensive rebounds in the first game. I love what (Palmer) just said, but it also helps that he rebounds. Whenever he rebounds, he plays well, too. Let’s not forget about it, too. I love the fact you’re doing that, but you’re also rebounding the basketball, which is phenomenal.”
On a comfort level with his depth and rotation:
“The only person I’ve gotta get back into the rotation a little bit more is Chris Jeffrey, just because I think he’s been a difference maker in practice for us right now. He’s changed the level of how we’re practicing just because we have bodies. I’ve just gotta get him back out there and get him a little bit more comfortable because he just gives us a different dimension at the guard spot, just defensively. But yeah, I’m pretty comfortable. I’ve got confidence in all these guys. They all put the work in, so I have confidence in them. We don’t have one guy…(Tyler Perkins is) a little bit of a pain in the ass because he probably works too much. His processor gets burnt out a little bit at times, but I’ve got a lot of confidence in them.”
On his second unit playing together:
“I don’t look at it as reserves or starters. I think that the second unit has really practiced at a very high level. You’re starting to see Braden take a nice little jump, Malachi, all these guys. And I think Chris has really helped them because I’ve had to keep switching Dev and teams, and there was just no consistency. I think right now, we have a lot of consistency in practice, and that’s helping us on the offensive and defensive ends.”
On similarities between Tyler Perkins and Josh Hart:
“Oh, absolutely. I mean, that’s about as big a compliment as I could give, because Josh kicked my ass for four years. Three games a year, I got it from Josh, so absolutely. I think as (Perkins) evolves as a player and realizes…one of the things I loved about Josh is he affected the game at every level and never made a mistake. He was okay not touching the ball for eight, nine possessions. He knew, ‘alright, I’ve got Jalen (Brunson) out here, I’ve got Mikal (Bridges).’ No wonder why I lost so much! But once (Perkins) realizes it’s okay not to touch the ball a little bit, and he can still affect the game at an unbelievable level, that’s what made Josh a pro. Josh affected the game without having to score. But he found ways to score, he found ways to shut down the best defender, the best offensive guy. (Perkins is) starting to figure that out. So yes, that’s about as big a compliment as I can give to somebody, because Josh was not only a phenomenal person — which Tyler is — but just a winner. And Tyler’s a winner.”
On satisfaction with where his team is at:
“Nothing. We’ve got a lot of work to do. February’s not a time to be satisfied, February’s not a time to be…you should be looking at your team right now in February and saying, what do I need to improve? What do I need to fix, what do we have to do? Like, I have to fix our offense a little bit. I’m not satisfied with anything.”
On Seton Hall:
“I love this Seton Hall team. It’s Sha personified. They’re as tough as you can play against, they’re the toughest team we’ve played against all year. Michigan’s a little bit different just because Michigan’s length and athleticism was, I think, a little bit of a shocker to us when we first went against them, I don’t think we were quite ready for that. But this is Sha’s personality. I love it. They’re fun to watch. Sometimes they struggle to shoot, but they — just like Sha a little bit — they never give up. We were up 20, and we’re like, you know they’re gonna make a run. And that tells you how good of a coach he is, and how much they love playing for him.”
On coaching at Finneran Pavilion:
“Get back to me next year, Jer. I say this a lot: This is an unbelievable job. I’m blessed to be the Villanova head coach, I love it. I’m still drinking out of the fire hose, man. I love it, but I think I still have so many bad memories. Every time I walk on the court and I see that V, I get a little shiver just because I think I lost by 37 in here one year, I think it was 26 the year after that. Then, finally, Jay was nice enough to move me down to the Wells Fargo (Center). We beat him, I don’t know what he was thinking, but I’m glad he did. We finally got a W and we never came back here after that, and I kept texting him after every game, like, ‘I love you, you’re just such a nice guy to get me out of this building.’ So it’s great, man. I have a great job, so I’m blessed.”
On Jay Wright:
“I think he’s here just about…he goes right back to Naples (Florida) and plays golf. He’s got the job that we all want one day, eventually.”
“Does anybody have anymore questions? Thank you so much for all your questions!”
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