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MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 12, 2015David ColletteJalen MooreStew MorrillLAS VEGAS, NEVADA Wyoming – 67 THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Utah State. Coach, some thoughts on today's game. COACH MORRILL: It was a good college basketball game. I think the difference was about a stretch in the second half of about four or five possessions where they got just too good of shots. They got layup opportunities driving the basketball. We couldn't get them stopped during that stretch. We also were struggling a little bit scoring at the other end. But our defense tightened up. We got back in the ballgame. All the credit in the world to Wyoming. They've got an experienced, veteran team. I think they're playing real well right now. Tough loss for us. Tough way to end the season. THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions for the student‑athletes. Q. Jalen, talk about fighting back. You clawed back in a lot of games. Almost did it today. JALEN MOORE: Yeah, for a little bit, like coach said, we were down by seven points or so.  We had to try to come back. We kind of almost dug ourselves out of that hole but we couldn't quite get there. We were just giving them layups and on the other end they were stopping us. I think that was the biggest turning point of the game. We just dug ourselves in too big of a hole to overcome this time and we couldn't get out of it. Q. When they missed the last two free throws, a couple seconds left, you've hit some game‑winners in high school. JALEN MOORE: I just got the rebound, tried to take a couple dribbles to get a better look. I let go. It was on target. Just too far. That's a low‑percentage shot kind of thing. Once‑in‑a‑lifetime kind of thing. It just didn't fall this time. Q. David, stayed out of foul trouble for a large portion of tonight. DAVID COLLETTE: Obviously that's been a big thing, trying to keep me on the court. I did my best to play as smart as I could this game. Did pretty good in the second half, only got one foul, so... Q. Can both of you address playing for Coach Morrill. I know a lot of you want to send him out the right way. I'm sure that's been emotional for you guys. JALEN MOORE: Yeah, it's been great playing for one of the best coaches in college basketball, kind of a legend kind of things. I learned a lot about basketball, playing hard, defense, offense. He's always coaching for perfection, have energy, that kind of thing. I like that in a coach. He pushes you, makes you get better every game kind of thing. I like that. We tried to send him out how we did. We came out, played as hard as we could. Tried to get a win for him, that kind of thing. Just have to keep moving forward from here on. A lot of guys got to play for a once‑in‑a‑lifetime coach. I think they all liked doing that. DAVID COLLETTE: I would agree with everything Jalen said. It's an opportunity that not many get to play for such a great coach. I think we've tried to lobby to get him back another year, but it's not going to happen. He's led us in the right direction. He's given us all the tools we need to move forward and become better. We're going to miss him. But we're going to take what he's taught us and move forward and become better. Q. You did a great job shutting down Josh Adams. What was it about him the last two games that allowed him to get going? DAVID COLLETTE: I think the first time he didn't look to push as hard as he did the last couple games. He was super aggressive these last couple games. Last time we played him at their place, we didn't have much help on him driving in. That's what we tried to do this time. We certainly stopped him more than last time, but not enough as we would have liked to. JALEN MOORE: At our place, he wasn't as aggressive. He didn't look for his shot as much. Then we play him here and at Wyoming, he's way aggressive. They ran a lot of plays for him. He made some tough shots, that kind of thing. Make some tough shots, gets you going. That's what I would say, was more aggressive, looked for his shot a little bit more. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, men. We'll continue with questions for Coach Morrill. Q. What kind of is going through your mind as you sit here right now? Are you hopeful for some post‑season opportunity? COACH MORRILL: Well, what's going through your mind is that it's kind of weird to be done. I'm really proud of this team. This team was picked 10th. This team, if some of you had seen us during our exhibition games, it was all we could do to manage a win over D‑II teams. This group of kids got better. They're young. They got a really bright future. I really believe that. We're starting a couple freshmen and a sophomore, brand‑new players. All five starters are back. I think the new coach will inherit a good group that will just keep getting better. That's what we emphasize from day one, keep getting better. That's what I told them in the locker room: Be proud of what you accomplished, don't hang your head, you did more than most thought you could do. Keep trying to get better. Our season is over at this point. We had hoped to come in here and get to the championship game obviously, try to win the tournament like every team comes in here. We felt like if we got to the finals we might be a candidate in the NIT. The NCAA and the NIT are basically out. At this point we just feel like it's best for these kids to concentrate on their academics. We've missed a ton of school. And get ready for a new coach, rather than play in any other events, like the CIT and the CBI. We will not be pursuing those. So our season is over. I do think it's in their best interest to get back on track academically. It's in the best interest of the university to hire a coach. We won't look at those events. Q. You have coached your last game? COACH MORRILL: I have, yeah. My son asked me if I would help coach his eight‑year‑old daughter. I said I'd go to the game and cheer for her like hell, but I am not calling a timeout, not even an eight‑year‑old game. Q. Not everyone goes to a small college town like Logan and find something there that keeps them so long. COACH MORRILL: I grew up in Utah. I love Utah. My mom was there when I came back 17 years ago and needed us to be around. That was a big part of it. It's a great place. Coaching, too many people are looking for the next job. I always thought you ought to keep the one you have if you can, because they're hard to keep. As you guys know, they're hard to keep. I just liked it there. There were opportunities, but nothing that made me feel like I wanted to leave. It's been a great run. People have treated me so well. I've joked that if I would have known people were going to be this nice to me, I would have retired three or four years ago. How about the coaches sending me on a cruise? I must have been pretty easy to beat. That's pretty awesome for the other coaches to send me on a cruise. First class, no less. They must know how much I hate to sit like this with this big body. That will be fun. Looking forward to new things and new challenges, mostly relaxing for a little while. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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