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BIG 12 CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 13, 2015Fred HoibergJameel McKayGeorges NiangKANSAS CITY, MISSOURI Iowa State – 67 THE MODERATOR: We're ready to get started with the Iowa State Cyclones, Coach Fred Hoiberg and his two student‑athletes tonight, Jameel McKay and Georges Niang. Coach, you sure know how to make things exciting. Congratulations on the victory. COACH HOIBERG: Thank you for that. It was an unbelievably competitive game. We knew it would be. They jumped out on us early. I thought we missed a couple of good looks at the basket and I thought we started rushing our shots a little bit as opposed to letting the offense come to us. Once we calmed down, I was glad to see we were able to pull back even at the half and come out and get off to a nice run in the second half. They went on a run, which we knew they would, but we held our composure, which was a great sign and that's what allowed us to win that game. Q. Georges, can you talk the 1 of 2 from the free‑throw and then how that set up? GEORGES NIANG: That changed the dynamic of how Oklahoma was going to attack. And I knew I had to make the second one, so I knocked it down and my teammates did a great job of getting back and I don't want to say forced them to miss a shot but go after the rebound after he missed. Q. Either of you can answer this or both, you've had four back‑to‑back‑to‑back‑to‑back games where you have been in a double digit deficit and ended up winning. How have you been able to do that? GEORGES NIANG: The comeback kids strike again? No, we believe in each other and have the will and the fight to keep fighting until the clock hits zero. I'm not saying being down double digits for those last couple of games is a good thing. Obviously we need to get things in check, but there is no quit in this team and that's the biggest thing we need. That's all we have is each other, and we put our best foot forward every time we get out there. Q. For either of you, your thoughts on playing KU again third time this year? JAMEEL McKAY: It's an exciting feeling, especially knowing that we got a chance to win the Big 12 Tournament Championship. I feel like we let one go the last time we was at McCasland Field House, and this was our time on the big stage to get some revenge. THE MODERATOR: Okay, guys, you got off easy, we will let you go back to the locker room. Congratulations. Q. Coach, your A.D. has heart issues, this is not the way to‑‑ COACH HOIBERG: So do I. Q. Can you talk about the resiliency of the team to win these close games? COACH HOIBERG: Well, yeah, it's a great sign, I guess, when you fall behind double digits, to be able to keep your composure and come back and get the win as opposed to earlier in the year where it would go from 10 to 20, and then we would get it back to 10, now it's getting to 10 or 12 and we're able to cut back like we did tonight. That's a step in the right direction. Hell, the next step, I guess, would not be getting down double digits. Maybe that would help. Q. Again, with your A.D., close games, not exactly good for heart conditions. Have you talked with him recently? How is he feeling? COACH HOIBERG: Yeah, I have. I've actually talked to him the last two days. I got a call from his wife Ellen the day after the surgery while he was still in ICU, and I had a good conversation with him and just talked to him about the recovery being through an open heart procedure myself. He sounded, I thought, really good. From being in that situation, I doubt he remembers much of what we talked about. And I talked to him after the game and he was obviously in great spirits. I forgot to tell him the day before not watch. I'm surprised that his doctor let him watch the game. But at the end of it, it's great therapy, I think, for him that keeps some normalcy in his life. Hopefully he will be able to get out of there in a few days and then it's the road to recovery and the biggest thing for Jamie is going to be to listen to his body and not try to play super hero and get back on his feet. Knowing Jamie and his fighting spirit, I know he'll be back in no time. Q. Coach, do you have any idea why your team falls behind by double digits? Obviously it's not as easy as flipping a switch, but what is it that's happening to them that gets them behind? COACH HOIBERG: Good question. I don't know, that's a great question. I thought we had great prep going into this one. And, again, I don't think it was because of lack of effort. They hit some shots on us early, 5 of their first 7 they hit and we defended the line much better after that, finishing the game for them 7 to 28, 2 for 12 there in the second half. The biggest thing that I thought hurt us tonight was the glass. We did not do a good job rebounding the ball. We weren't making contact on the cutouts and their length, they were back‑trapping the ball and they were getting looks and second‑chance points. But we did outscore them in the paint and that was the goal coming into this game was to try to win that paint battle so that was a positive. THE MODERATOR: Coach, thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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