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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 11, 2015Christian BeyerBuzz WilliamsGREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA MIAMI – 59 Q. What about Miami's defense made it a tough shooting night for you? Also, why were you able to be much more competitive throughout this game than in the first two meetings? COACH WILLIAMS: Yeah, you would probably know this, I think it's the least number of threes we've made all year in a game. We didn't get to the bonus either half. Because of our makeup, we really need free throw makes, as I've said all along, and in large part that was a huge difference in last night's game. To never get to the bonus really hurts us and puts even more pressure on our perimeter to make shots. So I thought the difference in why it was a game in comparison to the previous two games, I thought our staff, their adjustments were superb, and I thought the execution of those adjustments by our players arguably was as good as it's been all year defensively. Hold those guys to 43% after the three of the four halves they have had, that was the lowest that they had in the four halves that we had played. Only gave up four offensive rebounds. One was a team rebound. Our turnover rate was too high, but it was still under 10. So when you get to postseason play, that is how thin the margin is. Q. Buzz, as disappointing as the result is this evening, how satisfying was it for you as a coach the last two days to see Christian play as well as he did as he closes out his career? COACH WILLIAMS: We lost because I didn't play him enough. Q. Jalen obviously didn't have close to the kind of game he did last night. Did Miami do something to take him away coming off the bench, or was it just sort of more of the same kind of inconsistency from him that you mentioned last night? COACH WILLIAMS: Well, I think we'd be foolish to think that he would score 32 points in 28 minutes again. I would say that the scouting report probably changed by Miami relative to how they wanted to guard him. I thought he played fine. We haven't all year in the 33 games I don't think we've been dependent on one guy. What we've been dependent on is all of our guys being as good as they possibly can be. Ahmed was saddled with foul trouble in the first half. Jalen was saddled with foul trouble in the first half. Both of those guys had two fouls before the ten‑minute mark, I believe. So, again, that shortens our rotation. Tried to play Ahmed spot minutes just because we don't have enough guys to endure two guys just freezing out on the bench because they have two fouls. He did a good job in those spot possessions that he played. But, again, we need to have everybody at full ability to use them however we think is best, and that changed things a little bit. Q. I've never seen a coach, I don't think, during a timeout coach up a fan shooting a free throw. Why did you decide to do that? COACH WILLIAMS: Well, I want to have fun. I know you guys think I sweat and I don't have fun. I'm having the time of my life. It's just what you nerds think is fun isn't what everybody else think is fun. You guys think sending out a tweet and talking about a blog, that's not fun. That's just it gives entitlement because you can send out a tweet or a blog. The only reason I wanted to win, not because it was for Virginia Tech quarterfinal game or whatever game that was. I want to be around these two guys, and I want those guys to keep playing. So there is nothing that I'm going to say in a timeout that they haven't heard me say. It's just say the same stuff over and over. Q. Buzz was mentioning adjustments in terms of the first couple Miami games versus tonight. What adjustments do you feel you did pretty well to make it a more competitive game tonight? CHRISTIAN BEYER: The ball screen coverage. Today we did basically kind of got pressing under with a big. It's a one‑man removed. Before we were yelling the ball screen in our previous games and they would just drag us out and force us into rotations. As we like to say they were just hitting practice shots. But today we were really focusing on keeping all their guards in front of us. If it got to the point just forcing it in to Jekiri and making him beat us on the post, because we didn't think he had the skill set in order to beat us. So obviously, it was the guards previously that did the most damage. I think it was the ball screen coverage today, keeping the guards in front and making sure that we didn't force rotations. That would also help out on the defensive rebounding. COACH WILLIAMS: Sounds like a doctor. Q. Christian, growing up in this state you know a lot of kids dream of playing in this league and playing in this event. Can you feel right now any kind of storybook feeling because you basically played a 7‑foot scholarship player to a standstill, and I don't know, it feels like a fairy tale story. CHRISTIAN BEYER: It is really cool growing up in Coastal Carolina. If you had told me this would be the situation a couple years ago I would have laughed at you. It's awesome. I think it just shows what walk‑ons can do. Everyone considers us just to be practice guys. Johnson here is one of the hardest working guys I've ever seen. So walk‑ons all across the country are busting their butts, giving it their all just to show that they belong. It is cool to show that I can contribute. I can stand my own in my home state at the biggest level. I mean, this is the biggest level I've been on and it's just been a blast being able to play in it. Q. You finished with 22 losses. But do you feel like you maybe got what you wanted accomplished in year one in terms of laying a culture, establishing a culture, laying a foundation, getting some stuff to build on for year two? COACH WILLIAMS: I'll have to think about that. I think there are always ways that you can improve. I think too many times maybe it's just society. You think that there's going to be an event that's a turning point. Right? And I think our egos, coaches, people, players, your ego is fighting when is that event going to occur that it changes? I've learned a lot, and so I want to answer that question better in a couple of weeks when I avoid your texts. But I think it's a process not to be Nick Saban, but it's not an event. You have to work with a passion level and an energy level that the turning point is this minute. The turning point is this possession. It's this practice. It's this film session. It's this road trip. I'm so thankful for how the five kids and coaches have accepted all of the new coaches and new players. Very thankful for how all of the new people accepted all of the old people. There was never any division whatsoever, spoken or unspoken. I think we had an energy level that came pretty close on a daily basis of hitting our ceiling, some of which is limited. But the thing that I respect the most about all of us in the group is we were all very transparent in each of our skill sets relative to what our ceiling was. I think sometimes it's not "Did you win the game?" It was, "Did you decrease the level of mistakes that then gave you a chance?" You didn't lose it. This is, I think 354, day 354, and I've learned more in that time period maybe than I have in any other year as an a difficult, not just as a coach. I've learned so much from these kids as far as being a better husband, being a better dad, and it's not just the kids. Our administration has been incredibly supportive, and I'm kind of a hard guy to get close to purpose. But they haven't infringed on that. There's been a lot of really good stuff. And I hate that it's over because I think the turning point had not happened, but the trend was going in the highest angle that it had been going in thus far. So somehow we've got to figure outcome Monday how to get it ramped up to the same level that we just finished with. Q. You said this is day 354. Do you have a plan for day 35? Do you let yourself relax, get some rest? Or what do you do when a season ends? COACH WILLIAMS: Yeah, I'm really depressed, just to be honest with you. I don't handle it very well at all. That's not because it's year number one. You're just‑‑ you function on such a premium level of emotion, and your brain and your body is functioning at a very high clip. I'm not very mature at how I handle beginnings or endings. I don't like saying hello. That's why my first impression is typically bad, and I don't like saying goodbye, and that's why I don't give hugs when it's over because I don't want it to be over because I want to keep fighting. So I don't handle it very well at all, just to be very Frank. Not a pity party. Just that's the truth. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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