Postgame Quotes
1/5/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Graduate Forward Tyler Cavanaugh
On Yuta Watanabe
He's unbelievable. I mean, 6-9, doing that â€" he's great for our team, he's an asset most teams don't have. A guy that can do that and unselfishly do that, because it did limit him offensively tonight, but that is tough. He did a great job on Gibbs, who is one of the best players in our league, if not the best. It was a great win for us.
On holding the lead tonight
It was huge. It's big for us as a young team, and to get a W in conference play and protecting our home court is key, so I'm happy we were able to do that tonight.
On what was clicking offensively
I think we moved the ball well and we got open shots, we hit them today â€" which was big. Jordan was 3-4 from three. Everyone hit shots, so that was huge. Matt Hart had the biggest three of the game down the stretch. Moving the ball and doing what we do is what we pride ourselves on offensively and defensively.
On the offensive rebound tip in the last minute of play
Yuta did a good job flashing to the ball, so I was able to get it to him and he was able to make a great play. That's a winning play, as coach would say. We just have to keep making winning plays especially at home to protect our home floor and continue to get better.
On protecting the rim
Smith, Marfo, Toro â€" they're very athletic, big, and they protect the rim and are a huge asset for us. Gibbs was going in there but was having a hard time. He still finished with 16, but we did a good job protecting the rim and that was key because we were going to pressure them on the perimeter because they can shoot it so well, so having someone back there to clean it up was big.
On the older players taking leadership during a close game
Keeping everyone together. Huddling when we're at the foul line or relaying the message the coaches are trying to relay to us if guys don't get it. Mostly just keeping everyone calm and having the ball in Jaren's hands and Yuta's and I's down the stretch is huge. Matt Hart is a veteran and he made big shots, and Jordan is growing up before our eyes. It's good to have that experience as well as the young deer in headlights type guys, so we just have to keep leading them.
Interim Head Coach Maurice Joseph
On Yuta's game
He was the reason we won the game. He's one of the most selfless teammates I've ever seen in my life. He wanted to guard Justin Robinson last season [vs. Monmouth in the NIT], he wanted to guard Jack Gibbs tonight, he wants to challenge himself in that sense. For a 6-9 kid wanting to do that, running around knowing he's going to be fatigued, knowing he's going to be tired, no one wants to do that, but he relishes in that challenge. That's impressive. That's selfless. That's a wolf wanting to hunt for the good of the pack. He's vital. He's a big reason why we won the game.
On Jordan scoring double digits for the 6th game in a row
If he can score double digits then I'll let him, go ahead. He's doing a good job of being aggressive, taking really good shots, not forcing the issue. He's taking and making good shots and that's why he's been playing well. He's not forcing the issue, he's letting the game come to him. He's getting shots within the flow of our offense, and if you do that then you're going to get good shots. He's playing well. We're going to continue to not go to him per se, but expect him to continue to take good shots. As we continue to move the ball, play selflessly, and understand that we have to sacrifice good shots for great shots, guys are going to get great shots. Guys are going to be able to open shots within our offense and be able to knock them down. That's what we've done as of late. That's what Jordan has been doing the last six games.
On the last minute and a half of play
I absolutely believe this was a growing up moment for us. We practice situations like that almost everyday. Our team has been in that exact situation during practice throughout the year, to be able to execute it and do it in a live game against a really good team and really well coached team is big for our confidence and big for our understanding, for young guys, what our conference games are going to be like. These last few games are perfect examples for our young guys who haven't played college basketball in conference to know what conference play is like â€" might not get great calls, shots might not fall, you have to rely on your defense, rely on different things in the game, knock down free throws. Every game is a street fight, you have to do something. Great learning experience for our guys, glad that we came out on the winning side to get this learning experience. Now we just have to refocus and try to prepare for a very talented Richmond team who's coming in 2-0.
On what Jaren's performance means to the team
He needs to understand that that's a great game for him. Being a floor general is not about scoring points, it's not about getting the limelight, it's about making winning plays. Winning plays are making free throws down the stretch. Winning plays are tapping the ball to your team. Winning plays are battling for a lose ball. Winning plays are volunteering to guard the fifth leading scorer in the nation. Those are all winning plays with winning attitudes, and things that we need to continue to have if we're going to expect to win games in this conference because this conference is talented, top to bottom. It's all about winning plays, and Jaren had a bunch of them. Never thought I'd see the day when Jaren Sina would have seven rebounds in a game, the guys had a good laugh about that in the locker room. Now he think's he's good at rebounding like Dennis Rodman, but that's toughness. Five assists, one turnover, 10 points, seven rebounds â€" that's a hell of a floor general game. Those are the types of games he needs to have for us to win. He's going to have his games when he hits five threes, and that's fine, we'll take that out of him, but it's not always going to be that way. He's going to have to rebound, run the show for us, get Tyler shots and Yuta shots and Jordan shots, be unselfish and cater to others or looking for his own. That's frustrating for a player, especially for one with his talent. But those are the cards he was dealt, he has to run our team and he's doing a great job of that so far.
On Yuta's growth this season
I think the biggest area where he's grown is his confidence. He's been able to grow as a leader. He's been able to grow as a teammate. He's been able to grow vocally. He's more of a presence and voice in practice, which is something he really didn't do as a freshman or as a sophomore. You hear him a lot more, maybe that's because we have a bunch of young guys and he feels like he needs to lead those guys. Whatever it is, I'll take it. But he's really grown in his confidence and being outspoken on the court, in practice, and stepping up to challenges and all that kind of stuff. I think that's the biggest area where he's grown. He's always been talented, he's always been able to shoot, he's always been athletic, all those things, but his confidence in various aspects of the game has grown.
