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AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 10, 2017

Hartford, Connecticut

SMU - 81, East Carolina - 77

THE MODERATOR: Okay. We're joined by Coach Michael Perry; freshman, Elijah Hughes; sophomore, Kentrell Barkley. Same format as yesterday. We'll take an opening statement from Coach and questions from student athletes.

Coach Perry, your thoughts on the game please.

MICHAEL PERRY: It was an unbelievable game, obviously. To be able to play against the No. 12 ranked team in the country and have the type of game that we had against them, and battle and compete the way we did, says a lot, speaks volumes about our program. But speaks more about these kids up here and the guys in the locker room.

We didn't win on the scoreboard, but we certainly did win in the hearts and in the hearts of ECU supporters and also our competitors. We won in a lot of different ways. We moved the program forward and our culture changed, and it's been changing, and it certainly changed tonight. We put ourself in position where we can play with and beat the elite teams in this league and elite programs, and these guys made a statement. They've changed the culture of our program.

THE MODERATOR: Take questions for the student-athletes, please?

Q. Kentrell, you had 22 points in the second half. What changed for you and the team trailing by 18 points with 7 minutes left?
KENTRELL BARKLEY: In the first half, I kind of attacked a little bit and they didn't fall. So I wanted to stick with what I was good at. If I was open, be offensively aggressive in the second half.

THE MODERATOR: Other questions for student-athletes, please?

Q. Elijah, can you talk about that run and the three-pointer when you tied the game at that point? Did you guys feel like the momentum had totally shifted to your side and just what lead to that second-half run?
ELIJAH HUGHES: Really just energy from each other as teammates, energy from the bench. We just had more juice. Things were going our way, so we kept doing what we do.

THE MODERATOR: Anything more for the student-athletes?

Q. Elijah, can you talk about the press, or both of you, actually, can you talk about the press that happened in the second half? When did you guys decide that that might work, and how well has that worked for you this season?
ELIJAH HUGHES: Well, we always found success with that press. We kind of sped them up like we wanted to, and we got out on transition, and we just converted off the press. So, that really gave us a lot of energy, too. The steals, deflections to turn the ball over for them. That was just good.

KENTRELL BARKLEY: And it was also a different look. We got Deng Riak on the ball. He's aggressive. He's long. And being aggressive, and when we got the steal, it was off to the boards at that moment.

MICHAEL PERRY: Certainly changed the momentum of the game. We started the half out making some shots, but we weren't necessarily getting stops. They were making twos. Not necessarily threes, they were making twos. They cut into the lead significantly. We decided to go with a change for defense. Take them out of rhythm. Also speed the game up. Open the floor up a little bit. Have better spacing for driving lanes and have better spacing where we could spread out for threes.

We thought changing it up would take them somewhat out of sequence, and we have some success with it, and it worked pretty good for us there. But more importantly, it changed the tempo of the game, and once we started seeing them looking at the scoreboard, we thought we were really going to make some strides here.

Q. Kentrell, this is a team that had beaten you by 31 points and 40 points and you're down 22 at halftime. What was it about this team you didn't just say, okay, we had a good kind of end to the season and this is it. What made you guys hang in there?
KENTRELL BARKLEY: The focus was, we're trying to do something different. We're trying to change the coaching, we're trying to build a legacy, and I don't think you can possibly do that without going 150% out on the court. That game was just like, you got to put it all out there, win or lose, you got to give your all, and just play hard, play basketball, and don't go out without a lot of heart.

ELIJAH HUGHES: To piggyback on that. Kentrell has the biggest heart in the country. He's not going to go out like a chump or sucker. He's going to go out like a champion like he is. With him leading the pack, leading all of us, is something special. That's how you're go on a run like that.

THE MODERATOR: Okay. We'll excuse Elijah and Kentrell back to the locker room. Thank you, gentlemen. And we'll take question for Coach Perry, please.

Q. Coach Perry, could you talk about Kentrell's game? I mean, he's been battling the left knee for a while. You're down that much at halftime, and he comes out and scores 22 points in the second half.
MICHAEL PERRY: Nothing seems to amaze me anymore when it comes to Kentrell Barkley. We call him junkyard dog. He literally is that. He scores in a lot of different ways. He's one of those guys that's very difficult to prepare for as a coach, because of how effective he plays, and he contributed in so many different ways, whether it's in transition, whether on the offensive glass, shooting threes, dribble drives. And some of that you really can't prepare for because so much of it is just effort. Then what he does -- not only what he does individually, and also he makes plays. He finds open guys, makes plays, makes other guys better, but most importantly because of the intensity that he brings, and the energy level he plays, it's contagious for our program. And other guys now are playing harder. Seemingly their DNA is one in which is cool. They now beginning to show a lot more emotion and play with more emotion because of the impact he's had on our program.

Q. Can you address -- you had mentioned that you guys had been trying to change the culture. Obviously, you have a young team. Could you talk about what this game does for you going into next season?
MICHAEL PERRY: A lot of those guys that are out there are going to be back next year. We got some outstanding players sitting out as well. We're really excited about the future of the program. But most importantly, we wanted to kind of change the approach, not just think about competing, not just think about, you know, playing well, not think about individual success as well, but about winning.

And showing we can win against the better teams in this league, that we can go out there with an opportunity to win and think about the big picture, that it wasn't necessarily about the win that particular night as much as about building the program and everything we do. Not just wins and losses, but the way we approach practices, the way we conduct ourselves when we're in airports, the way we are on campus in terms of academic commitment, study hall, going to class. We want to win at everything we do. Those are the signs and traits that you need to have guys committed to to be a successful program, and that's what these guys are finally buying into.

Q. Coach, just to follow up on what your players addressed, the two regular season meetings and how, judging by the final score, it seems games got out of hand. This was on the brink of getting out of hand, what is different? Why were you able to come back?
MICHAEL PERRY: We're a different team now. That's the difference, we're a different basketball team now. We had a chance to go through the fires and compete; sometimes get knocked down and get back up. But we have to learn along the way there's no harm in getting knocked down. You heard the quote often it's how you get back up that matters and can you get back up? And that's what they've done. They've gotten back up. They've been knocked around and got back up again, and they finally got to a point where they're tough and they're not going to run home; they're going to fight. That's what they did tonight.

It's a different basketball team SMU saw tonight than the last time we saw them and even the time prior to that. That's saying a lot for this group. That's saying a lot for them. They've come a long way in a short period of time and continue to move forward, but I couldn't be prouder of them. It was an honor for me to be able to coach this group. It's -- I mean, it's just pretty special.

And first, for me, I want to thank Coach Lebo for having the faith in me to coach this team, to lead them, and our athletic director, Jeff Compher, to have the faith and confidence in me to lead this group. It was an honor, it really was. It was an honor to be able to coach this group and I'm really privileged to be able to have the opportunity to spend time with them and coach them. And for those guys to take to my voice, says volume about the type of guys they are. A lot of class and character in the locker room.

Q. Did you have a chance to talk to Coach Lebo? Did you get him on the phone?
MICHAEL PERRY: Not yet. I saw a text to all of us, I'll reach out to him later.

Q. What did he say?
MICHAEL PERRY: Unbelievable comeback, great job, and proud of us.

THE MODERATOR: Coach Perry, thank you.

MICHAEL PERRY: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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