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AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 8, 2018Fran DunphyObi EnechionyiaJosh BrownOrlando, Florida Temple - 82, Tulane - 77 THE MODERATOR: We'll start with an opening statement from coach and then take questions for the student-athletes and coach. FRAN DUNPHY: Well, we're excited to be moving on. I thought Tulane gave us a great effort. I thought maybe the difference in the game was the amount of times we got to the foul line. I thought we drove it, drove it well. We pressed the issue a little bit. We talked about it, but obviously it opened up for us a little bit tonight. So big shots were made, Obi made some big shots, J.P. Moorman made a big shot. Shizz Alston made some big shots, a couple big foul shots down the stretch. And then the last piece would be just turning it over six times, which I think is something we take a lot of pride in, but doesn't always happen that way. But we're thrilled to be moving on. THE MODERATOR: Take questions, please. Q. Fran, first of all, can you tell us anything about J.P. Moorman? FRAN DUNPHY: They're looking at him now. We're hoping that it's not anything that's real serious, obviously. But we'll find out when we get back in the locker room, but the preliminary diagnosis would be -- look, I didn't see it but they both said it looked like he just kind of straightened his leg out when he came down. I didn't see it. Maybe you guys had a better look than I did. Q. Obi, you looked to be more aggressive, you didn't hesitate on your shot tonight. You had talked the other day about trying to be more aggressive. Did that just go into your thinking coming into tonight? OBI ENECHIONYIA: Yeah, I tried to be as aggressive as possible. My guys did a great job of finding me, and I was able to hit the open shots. So just trying to be a little bit more aggressive, attacking the basket as well as with my shooting. Q. Josh, 24-0 the other day, so I guess 10-1 was not that big a deal in a sense at the start of this game? JOSH BROWN: Yeah, we tried to -- we talked about getting off to a good start, but unfortunately we wasn't able to, but we didn't put our heads down like we did the last game, we just kind of came together and we fought back and I think we ended the half up two, I think. OBI ENECHIONYIA: Up four by the way. JOSH BROWN: Oh, up four, sorry. Q. Fran, basketball's obviously a game of makes and misses, you guys have had your up and downs this year, what did you see particularly at the end of the first half, beginning of the second half, as those shots started to fall? What was different about your offense at that point? FRAN DUNPHY: Well, I have great faith and trust in these two guys, and obviously Shizz and Q are outstanding offensive players as well. I thought our offense became more in good rhythm at the end of the first half. I think we figured out what was going to work for us, and then again stepping up and making shots is so critical and I think that all these guys did a really good job at that. But even the other day when we were down 24-0, to get it back to where we got it, down seven with six or so minutes left in the game, that's a long battle to come back from, but I think these guys understand that there's no quit in them. And I thought they did a terrific job of running their stuff toward that latter part of the first half, early part of the second half. Q. You played two games against Wichita this year, they have been very good games. What can you take from those experiences into tomorrow? FRAN DUNPHY: Well, knowing how good they are, but we're going to have to play our best basketball, no question about it, but we're excited to have that opportunity tomorrow. Good basketball team, really good. Q. How much was depth a factor? FRAN DUNPHY: Yeah, we're playing three young guys coming off the bench, I thought Damion Moore did a good job in the first half subbing for Earn there, but the three freshmen did a really good job. As I said, J.P. Moorman made a huge three that took us I think from four back to seven again. And then just as I mentioned in the locker room to the guys, those two freshmen stepped up and while it may not have felt great that they only made one out of two, those were two big foul shots that they made. They're good players, they're going to get better and better as the years go on as well. Q. Obi, what does this do to the team's confidence? I mean you guys had a tough end of the regular season, what does a win like this do for you guys? OBI ENECHIONYIA: It's just a good win. It's good to get a win in the first game, especially against a team like that. So confidence-wise I think it's going to help us going into tomorrow. Obviously facing a great team, but it's one that we have beat before, so I don't think confidence will be an issue. Q. Josh and Obi, every game you guys are playing from here on out could potentially be your last game. Are there any words that you have with the younger guys to kind of get them to want to play just as hard as you guys are going out there and playing? JOSH BROWN: Not necessarily. The stakes are high for them, too. They want to play as well as we want to play, so we just trying to just hold ourselves accountable each of us, and go out there and just try to get the victory. Q. You guys have played your fair share of close games this year. How does that help out when you get the things get a little bit tight like it did down the stretch tonight? OBI ENECHIONYIA: Just having that experience, we go over late-game situations in practice all the time, but it's different when it's in a game and that's where you really get the experience. So just having those, that experience in those late-game situations and knowing exactly what to do, how to keep ahead and things like that definitely helps. THE MODERATOR: All right, Temple, thank you. FRAN DUNPHY: Thanks. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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