|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
BIG 12 CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 10, 2016Trent JohnsonJ.D. MillerChauncey CollinsKansas City, Missouri West Virginia-86, TCU-66 THE MODERATOR: We're joined now by TCU, had coach Trent Johnson, student-athletes Chauncey Collins and JD Miller. Coach, we'll go to you first and call on an opening statement on your thoughts for tonight's game. COACH JOHNSON: Well, West Virginia is a very good basketball team. They wore us down. I thought their multiple pressure caused us to make some ill-advised decisions. And they did a really good job of putting a lot of pressure on Chauncey, putting a lot of pressure on Malique, our two primary ball handlers, and forced our fours and fives to handle the ball. I couldn't fault our effort. I thought we competed really well. They really shot the living heck out of it in the zone. We made a decision going into this thing that we would have to play predominantly zone. Obviously, with our limited bodies, we couldn't chase them around on man. They're a good team. They're a really good team and they are deep. It's just tough, it's been tough. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. Questions now for Chauncey and J.D. Q. Chauncey, neither team could score more than three points in a row until like 5:00 to go in the second half. Did they just finally wear you down, they were able to go on that long run? CHAUNCEY COLLINS: I mean, West Virginia is a good team. Their pressure is amazing. Really, you know, like I said, they did wear me down. I had to put the ball in other people's hands and we had step up and make plays, and we didn't make enough. Q. J.D. and then Chauncey, this is your first Big 12 tournament you got two games in. What did you think of the experience and what you got out of it personally and the way you played? J.D. MILLER: It was a great experience, you know, for the first time. I mean, it was just a good experience for me to play at least two games in the Big 12 against two top teams. CHAUNCEY COLLINS: We came into the tournament to win the championship. For the most part, it was a good experience. Q. Chauncey, you guys have gotten off to slow starts before, you trailed early. Did you feel like West Virginia, when they got up front, it was another kind of uphill battle for you guys again? CHAUNCEY COLLINS: It was. But, I mean, for this season, it's nothing that we weren't used to. We always put ourselves in the hole, and I think in this tournament it has gave us more motivation to try to fight harder. Unfortunately, we weren't deep enough. They had bodies. Us due to injuries and other things, we just didn't have as many bodies as them, so we were wore down. Q. J.D.? J.D. MILLER: The same here. We had injuries and people down. We couldn't really -- you know, we didn't have depth on our bench, so we was really tired out there. West Virginia is deep, so yeah. Q. Both you guys, Chauncey, wrap up the season for me. What did you think of it as a whole? And J.D., the same from you. CHAUNCEY COLLINS: I just wish we would have fought harder in the middle and beginning of the season as we did at the end. I wish we all would have had a better understanding, all been on the same page. But for the most part, I am satisfied with our fight towards the end of the season, and looking forward to next year. J.D. MILLER: I wish we would have fought harder in the Big 12, like we did at the beginning of the season with all of the regular season games. And we get to Big 12, you know, disappointing losses. We fought hard, but we had disappointing losses. THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much for coming. Questions for Coach. Q. Coach, so many of the guys that played well for you, scored for you in these two games are underclassmen. Can you think about how much they gained out of this week? COACH JOHNSON: Well, this week, this year, any time you are on the floor, you gain some experience, whether it is negative or positive. So moving forward, as long as we're able to address and work at the things that were negative and remain positive and work, I think we have a chance. But going into the year, our achilles heel and our concern as a staff and as player is our mental toughness, our ability to rebound, our ability to defend, and our ability to take care of it, and that's exactly what happened versus good teams. We played well versus certain teams during the course of the year. I thought we competed pretty well down the stretch here. So moving forward, though, we really need to get a good understanding of how hard it is and how competitive we need to be. Q. Coach, can you talk about what West Virginia's pressure does to you, and specifically how it affected you when they finally went on that 10-0 run late? COACH JOHNSON: It wears you down. It wears you down. And you get yourself out of rhythm. I thought today, because obviously when we played them in West Virginia, in Morgantown, they did a really good job of applying pressure on Chauncey and denying the ball from Chauncey. So going into this game, we changed our press breakers, and we knew our primary ball handler was going be taken away and was going to have to be a kid like Chris and a kid like Vlad, who were uncomfortable handling the ball. And that's what happened, and so that wore us down and they got us out of rhythm. To beat this team, you have to have four or five guys who can really handle the ball, a mobile post or a stretch forward who can handle the ball. JD Miller, as a freshman, he did a really good job at certain times, but then he made some ill-advised decisions, which you expect from a freshman versus teams like that. Q. Trent, we just kind of briefly alluded to it, but how difficult is it to build up your program in a conference as competitive as the Big 12? COACH JOHNSON: Nothing's easy. I said this earlier when I first got here, I hate to use the word build. I don't like it. Hate is a strong word. We trying to win as many games as we can as fast as we can. This is a new territory for me. I've never been a part of a program where going into year four you took steps backwards. We've got a good, young nucleus and guys that were seniors, very experienced, played a lot of basketball. But these guys have gained a lot of experience and we'll continue to grind away. Q. Coach, addressing Malique and Chauncey and J.D. and Vlad. Can you talk about where they have come from day one with you till now? COACH JOHNSON: Well, they've improved. They've improved. This whole team has been inconsistent, and a lot of it has to do who you are playing against and where you're playing, and the strength of this league. But there have been some improvements. Chauncey alluded to the buy-in, the fight, and that's him speaking from the heart. He's speaking with truth. Buy-in means 24/7, socially, academically, athletically. And then the fight, a lot of that is attributed to sometimes you have to tip your hat to some people you are playing against. They're probably bigger, probably stronger, and probably better. But the things that we can control, we didn't do very good job on a consistent basis and that's unforced turnovers, one. Two, shooting the basketball with confidence when you're open, and obviously your effort, maximum effort of blocking out, a fundamental thing, and putting a body on people. Again, that responsibility ultimately relies on me to get them to understand that and teach. And with young guys, sometimes it takes longer, so... THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|