	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NCAA MEN'S REGIONAL SEMIFINALS AND FINALS: ANAHEIM

March 24, 2016

Anaheim, California

Texas A&M - 63, Oklahoma - 77

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Head Coach Billy Kennedy, and student-athletes Jalen Jones, Alex Caruso and Tyler Davis. We'll open with a statement from Coach Kennedy and then questions for the student-athletes.

BILLY KENNEDY: We ran into a very good team that played extremely well. Every mistake that we made they made us pay. Jordan Woodard was to me -- played a heck of a game. We just felt like we had a tough time matching up with their quickness and when we had opportunities to score we struggled.

I'm really proud of these guys and proud of our team. I just wish we would have played better in this game because we definitely are capable of playing better than we played.

Q. Tyler, it looked like they were pretty determined especially early not to let you get the ball deep. How difficult was it with them defensively in trying to get the ball where you like it?
TYLER DAVIS: They did a good job of taking me out of my spots, not letting me duck in early and just keeping a guy on my high shoulder, even when the ball was on the other side of the court. But I should have slowed down a little bit more, but their defense, they did a good job.

Q. Alex and then Jalen, outstanding year. Get to the Tournament for the first time for each of you guys. Rough ending certainly, if you could encapsulate your thoughts right now?
ALEX CARUSO: Yeah, proud of how hard we fought all year, what it took to get to this point. Obviously the outcome is not what we wanted, but just really proud and happy with my teammates for sticking with it the whole year.

JALEN JONES: Yeah, tough way to lose like that. I think me, the seniors and the rest of the team put all we had into it, and it's a really emotional moment right now because the season's over with. I'll probably keep in contact with some of these guys for the rest of my life.

Just a sad moment right now. We didn't go out like we wanted to, and it just happens like that sometimes.

Q. Alex, it looks like you guys did a really good job on Hield, limited his shots, but they were able to penetrate and do a lot of interior passing. Can you talk about how that hurt you and what you did to contain Hield.
ALEX CARUSO: Yeah, we just tried to keep him from touching the ball as much as possible. The other guys did a good job of playing off them. We might not have given them enough credit. The two other guards and their bigs played really well for them, too.

Just try to make it as tough as possible for him to catch, throwing bodies at him. And credit to those other guys for stepping up and making plays.

Q. Jalen, can you describe the emotions of the moment when you guys, like you say, you missed shots that you would normally make, you miss free throws and you're a solid free-throw shooter, to lose in a game when you know you didn't play anywhere near your best.
JALEN JONES: It hurts. We know we're a way better team than the way we played tonight. We can't sit up here and sulk in our performance. We have to give a lot of credit to Oklahoma. They came out prepared and ready to go, and the shots that we usually make weren't falling.

I mean, it's a tough way to go out. It's a sad moment, and somehow me and the rest of the team got to get over it.

Q. Jalen, you talked about the free-throw shooting a little bit. Did that become contagious there in the second half with everybody missing?
JALEN JONES: I mean, maybe. I just know for me personally I couldn't -- my free throw wasn't falling in for some reason, and it kind of messed with me a little bit mentally. But I just think we weren't able to knock down free throws like we are capable of, and it was the wrong time not to knock them down, and we're paying the price for it right now.

Q. Alex, when you came out in the second half got a few points, did you kind of have a feeling that everyone was remembering the last game that you were in, and hey, there is still a chance no matter what the deficit was? That early, I know later it wasn't quite that way.
ALEX CARUSO: Yeah, we just at halftime talked to each other like, hey, we've got to come out, chip away, chip away, get it to single digits by the 8:00 mark, 10:00 mark. We did a good job of that. But missed opportunities on the offensive end as a team, and giving up too many points, too many open shots to the Sooners on offense, it kind of stopped us. So just give credit to them for sticking with it and not giving in to the pressure that we tried to put on in the second half.

Q. Alex, was there any hangover from Sunday? I know you guys have had a pretty crazy schedule the last five days or so.
ALEX CARUSO: Not really. I feel like we were ready. I mean, we came out firing on all cylinders in the first five minutes of the game, and they made a little bit of a run and we didn't answer it the way we should have. Then they extended it, so we dug ourselves a bit of a hole. Against a good team like that, you're not going to be able to come back. We just didn't get it done.

Q. Tyler, from your perspective, why do you think that you were so much more successful getting the ball inside, down low in the second half than in the first half?
TYLER DAVIS: You know, just coming out second half just mentally thinking to myself like I've got to dominate. Every possession I've got to fight for the best position I can get. I've got to give my guards the best angles I can get them. Coach Kennedy was calling plays for me and he kept going back to it, kept working. I just said, it's 20 minutes. I've got to play as hard as I can. If I exhaust myself come out the game, oh, well. Can't be afraid to be tired. Just went out there and tried to play everything. Now I'm just ready to get back to work.

Q. Tyler, we talked about you not getting the ball in the first half. They were able to get inside in the first half. What were they doing that maybe we hadn't seen before from an OU team that you usually just think of as shooting threes?
TYLER DAVIS: I mean, they were throwing a couple lobs inside. I don't want to say their bigs scored a ton inside, but they had a couple lobs over us because we had to help. We were face-guarding Buddy. And I made a couple poor decisions in helping and not protecting the basket.

Just little things that we could have done a little bit better, that I myself could have done a little bit better.

Q. Tyler, what did you learn from the seniors this year that you can take forward into next season?
TYLER DAVIS: Man, a lot. Just try to take the things that helped us be successful into next season, and that's going to help me be a better leader like these guys right here in Caruso and Jay, and House, and learning just how the game -- you can't ever take one game for granted. You have to play your heart out every game and just be a leader. That's one of the biggest things I learned from these guys is leadership is key to success.

I'm just ready to get back to work and take those things into next season and lead the young guys.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Kennedy.

Q. Coach, did you feel like the missed free throws kind of stifled any kind of momentum you were trying to get in that second half?
BILLY KENNEDY: No question. We played hard defensively. I thought we made some adjustments in the second half defensively. You miss the free throws when you have a chance to cut under 10. I thought if we could get it under 10, we could put some pressure on them. I think we had it to 11 one time with a number of opportunities to make free throws and cut into it.

But we had a hard time matching up with them. You take Buddy away, it opens up driving lanes for Jordan and Isaiah. And they got dunks and lay-ups for their bigs, and it just throws your defense totally out of whack. I think that's the right way a lot of people played them in the Big 12. But they made us adjust and we had a hard time recovering.

In the second half we didn't try to help as much off of Buddy or played more normal rules, and I thought that gave us a chance. We just didn't score enough.

They're better defensively than I know after playing them. They're switching defense, man-to-man and keeping guys out of the lane, force you to shoot threes, and if you're not making shots, it makes it tough for you to score. We shot way too many threes today to have a chance to beat them.

Q. Now that your run with these seniors is officially over, what's this group meant to you?
BILLY KENNEDY: I can't say enough about -- it starts with Alex. Four years as a true Aggie. First guy that I recruited, stayed the course, exemplified what this program wants to be about and is about. Danuel House and Jalen coming in right behind him after transferring and committing to what we wanted him to do, at times in adverse situations, demonstrated that they grew up in their character really helped us.

And Anthony Collins did a really good job of making us a better team, and again, sacrificing. Our walk-ons with Dobbins and Juan, just tremendous kids and good-character guys that were all about the team. That's one of the reasons why this was a special season.

Q. Was there any sense that this Oklahoma team had been in this position a year ago that maybe they knew what to expect from this kind of pressure?
BILLY KENNEDY: I think so. I thought you could see just their comfort level. We jumped out and we were moving the ball and making threes and we were guarding them pretty good. They didn't panic. They kept doing what they do and got the lay-ups. They played like a veteran team and adjusted. We come out the second half, we gambled twice and bam, bam. They scored eight points. Really three times they scored eight points and that put the game away.

Any mistake we made they took advantage of it and made us pay.

Q. Coach, you touched on it a little bit, but you almost warned us every time we talk about Buddy, you bring up Woodard. Could you discuss what he did and what he was able to do today against you.
BILLY KENNEDY: No question. I've been a fan of his since he was in high school. The kid wins. He wins. He makes the right plays and he plays on both ends of the floor. He's one of the better point guards we've played against all year. I was concerned about him for every reason.

Q. Did y'all get out of your game plan in the first half or were y'all taking the right shots and just not making them?
BILLY KENNEDY: We started out the first five minutes, it all looked real good. They adjusted a little bit and we didn't. Defensively we paid so much attention to Buddy I think we fell asleep at times on the weak side and gave up lay-ups. Then the basket got a lot smaller when we started missing shots. Danuel could never really get going. Again, Isaiah Cousins did a really good job and Jordan guarded him.

But I thought their guards, their quickness -- when we played small guards this year, Kentucky, both of their guards could put it on the floor and were a threat. Just, they were hard to guard. Even their bigs, just being a little more athletic and quicker, we never recovered and rotated like we needed to.

Q. Now having played against this team, how would you compare them to the better teams that you've seen this season?
BILLY KENNEDY: They're the best team we've played. It's not a question in my mind. Gonzaga maybe. Gonzaga was pretty good when we played them earlier in the year. But they, in my opinion, are the best team we've played just because they're different, they're quick, they're experienced, they shoot the ball extremely well. Again, they made 11 threes. They average 11. 23 assists. They were able to overcome their lack of size because their guards are so good.

Coach Kruger, I mean, he's one of the best. They're prepared on both ends of the floor. They're a team that I wouldn't be surprised win it all.

Q. How do you adjust the game plan when you go through periods of scoreless stretches?
BILLY KENNEDY: We were stuck on 22 it seemed like forever. We tried to go inside. We tried to go outside. We missed open shots. We missed some free throws. We struggled scoring. I'd have to really watch the tape.

Jalen and Danuel really, their field-goal percentage the last five to seven games has not been great. It's one, we're playing better teams, and we needed them to have really good nights the same game. And we just, for whatever reason, weren't able to get that.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297