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MAUI JIM MAUI INVITATIONALNovember 20, 2017Wyking JonesDon ColemanJustice SueingLahaina, Maui, Hawaii Wichita State - 92, Cal - 82 WYKING JONES: Well, our guys, they left it all out on the court today. They fought. They played with a lot of heart and toughness. Ultimately experience won out today. But the guys definitely gave us everything they had. At the end of the day, what I've been preaching the whole time is that hopefully we get better game in and game out. So I felt like we got better today. Q. Justice, did you grow up watching the Maui Invitational, and how do you feel about playing in this tournament, being back home in Hawaii? JUSTICE SUEING: Yes, I did. I used to sit on the couch with my pops, and he'd go over how I would want to get on that stage at some point in my career. Being here with Cal, I think we took a big step in moving forward and showing the world and all the teams what we're capable of doing. Q. Can you talk about how hot you felt in the first half, and could you tell that they made adjustments at halftime to change things up on you? DON COLEMAN: Yeah, well, I felt kind of hot. I felt like I was going to have a good game. Once I hit a couple threes in a row, I knew I had my rhythm going. In the second half, they made a couple adjustments, but we decided to get the ball to Marcus and King more. It wasn't just me trying to come off the screen and score, it was more playing through the bigs. I really think that's what it was. Q. Can you just talk a little bit about Justice and how much he kind of helps you guys get 20 today? And he's back home, man, this is his place. DON COLEMAN: Oh, yeah, Justice was big for us. After he got that and one, I thought we had the game. I thought we had the game after that and one three, that was a big shot. But he plays good. We're going to need that in every game. Q. [Indiscernible]? DON COLEMAN: Oh, yeah, of course. We've got a lot of young guys, so they look up to me on and off the court. I just try to set the right example. Q. Second half your three-point shooting percentage dropped in half. Was that due to the press, tiredness, better defense by Wichita State? What happened? DON COLEMAN: Yeah, I think we were kind of tired. They picked it up on us. They got a really good press. I was surprised. I'm not going to lie. But I would say fatigue. Yeah, fatigue. THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach. Q. [Indiscernible]? WYKING JONES: Grant earned a lot of my trust today. Marcus and King getting into foul trouble against such a veteran front line at Wichita State. He competed. He competed. Did he win the battle, no? He didn't win the battle. Shaq Morris won the battle. But he earned some stripes today, and for a freshman, that's what it's all about. Just coming in and earning some stripes and getting a chance to play against a guy like that, hopefully learning and gaining some confidence for tomorrow and the day after. Q. How encouraging was the first half? For a young team, a new head coach, how encouraging is that as you guys go forward? WYKING JONES: Very encouraging. For me, like I said, it's just about us getting better game in and game out. So to see them compete, it was a big stage against a very good team, that's all I could ask of them. So it's very encouraging moving forward. Hopefully we continue to get better. Q. When it came to that pressure that Wichita put out there, how much of that were you able to game plan for, and how much are you just trying to draw up as you go along? WYKING JONES: Well, it was more draw up, but I'm going to watch the film. I told my film guy, Mitch, I said, Put together an edit of all of their presses and the times that we turned it over. I don't know if it was fatigue, but it just seemed like no one was coming to the ball. So as many times as I drew it up, no one was really coming to the ball. They were more or less just kind of had us on our heels. That was the difference in the game as well as giving up 24 offensive rebounds. Q. How difficult is it for those guys that when you do break it, you're almost tempted to go attack it? WYKING JONES: Well, you know, it's a fine line. You want to be aggressive because at that point you have a numbered break. It's two against one at that point. So it just takes some savvy. When to look to score, when to pull it out. I think a couple times in the second half we would have been better served to pull it out because we had the comfortable lead. We stayed aggressive, and I can't fault our guys for being aggressive. But moving forward, we can learn from that. Q. Coach, can you speak to what Justice has provided for your team through these first two games of the season, and the trust he's earned from you? WYKING JONES: So far, Justice has been a nice surprise. I don't know if you guys know it or not, but he was out for six weeks with a stress fracture. It's almost like he was out for so long. You're talking about a month and a half. He was out for so long my staff and I kind of forgot what he really did for us or what he provided for us. So we're all kind of seeing it like you all are seeing it, what he was able to bring to the table, night in and night out. He plays with a lot of poise and lot of confidence. I could play him at the four, could play at the three. He's very versatile. Very versatile. He could post up a little bit, so he's doing a great job for us. Q. What are your early impressions of VCU, and what do you expect in that game tomorrow? WYKING JONES: I'm going to be honest with you, I have not watched VCU until I got here to the arena because I focus on who we have to play. I put 100% into who we have to play. I don't look past any opponent. I'll start to watch film on VCU as soon as I leave here and get back to the hotel and get briefed on what it is that makes them tick when I get back to the hotel and meet with my staff. But just watching them, they play similar to how we play as far as picking up full court. But just the nuances of them, I don't know just yet. Q. [Indiscernible]? WYKING JONES: It makes me feel encouraged, very encouraged that moving forward hopefully these guys get better and better and we can rely on them more and more. Ultimately that the future is bright. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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