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NCAA MEN'S FIRST FOUR: DAYTONMarch 14, 2018Bobby HurleyKodi JusticeShannon Evans IIDayton, Ohio Syracuse - 60, Arizona State - 56 THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Arizona State Sun Devils coach Bobby Hurley and student-athletes Shannon Evans and Kodi Justice. COACH HURLEY: Obviously a painful finish, but this has been a breakthrough year for our program. And it's been led by guys that I absolutely admire, their competitive drive and their will to win. And Tra Holder, Shannon Evans and Kodi Justice, those guys have had great careers. For me they'll always have very special place in my heart for how they compete and what they're meaning to the future of what we're building at Arizona State. And I'm not surprised that we had chances to win again and it's what we've done all year. We've been in every game. And difficult game to play, obviously, with Syracuse, and a lot of credit to them for how well they defend. This was the lowest point total that we've had this season. And usually we're scoring 56 in a half and we ended up with 56. So there were limited possessions. It was a rock fight. And we just didn't make enough shots. I thought our free throws hurt us, going 3-for-10. And then we just needed -- we shot 34 from 3 and we made 11, which was great. But we just needed to hit, like, two or three more. And that's always been -- if we're at like 40 percent we have a real good chance. But these guys fought as usual and it was a terrific season for us. THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student-athletes. Q. Kodi, you guys have faced zone a lot during the season. Is facing zone against Syracuse different than facing other zones? KODI JUSTICE: I think so. It was their length, athleticism, the way they take away the corners, kind of taking away the middle, it was difficult. But I felt we attacked it as best we could. Like Coach said, we made shots and we missed a few. But I felt like we were in the game. And our defense was pretty good tonight. And I felt we played pretty well. Q. What was the difference between the first few minutes of the second half when you went on an 8-0 run and the last minutes of the game? KODI JUSTICE: We were just aggressive. I feel like both times we were just aggressive. We were making plays. We were making shots. We were doing -- we were just executing our offense. And to end the game a few shots didn't go. That's all it came down to. SHANNON EVANS II: I agree with Kodi. We were aggressive early and later in the half we didn't make shots. Feel like that was it. Q. For you guys, could you put into words what your college basketball careers have meant to you? SHANNON EVANS II: Personally, mine's meant everything to me. The opportunity that Coach Hurley gave me, it's something I'll never forget. KODI JUSTICE: Just the opportunity to grow as a person, a basketball player, what else could you ask for? You get a great coach like this to let me go out there and play my game and show the world who I am and kind of just be free and go out there. I love these guys. They'll always be family to me. Q. What is it like going against that zone, though, when they've kind of got it going? Like you said, they're long and they're out on the edge and everything. Is it like trying to crack a safe? How would you describe it to somebody? KODI JUSTICE: You just gotta -- I don't know. It's difficult, obviously. That's why they run the zone. But you've just got to be able to attack certain areas with the middle, trying to get the ball to the middle. And with that we can kick the ball out and get shots, be able to stay in attack mostly. So, yeah, obviously it's difficult. That's why they -- I feel like they've ran the zone for so long, but we've just got to be aggressive in certain areas. Q. Coach talked about how much you meant to him and growth as a player. What do you believe your lasting impact will be on ASU? KODI JUSTICE: Just being able to give these younger guys the opportunity to play in a tournament like this. And this feeling right now it stings, it burns. And this is going to help them get better, to help take this program further. So I feel like being able to give them the opportunity and they helped us just as much to be able to get into this tournament and to have this feeling that we have right now, yeah, it sucks but I feel they're going to grow from it. SHANNON EVANS II: I feel like we did a great job, had a great run, and from where this program was and when we got here until we're at now, I feel like it can only go up from here. We've got great guys in our locker room, young guys, and we set the standard. And it's time to come back and win some games in the tournament. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. Questions for Coach. Q. Jim said that you obviously were going to go after their guards who have been playing 40-plus minutes every game and try to wear them out. Being as you played that way, how amazing is it to you, the minutes and the way, the level they've been able to play with? COACH HURLEY: That was kind of part of our plan coming in get after Howard some and try and get some pressure and worked on a little bit of run and jump which we did -- trying to create pace to the game. And we never were able to really truly accomplish that because those guys I thought for the most part handled the pressure very well. And even for all the minutes they play late in the game, it was battle off the dribble that had the legs under them to make a big shot. So I mean that's kind of what the game really came down to was just plays like that that were made, and we weren't able to make enough shots. We got good shots. We got some floaters, got some 3s. So we had good chances. I thought it was 49-42 and we weren't able to continue to build on that. Us allowing them back in it really hurt our chances. Q. At times this season you shot free throws very well and down the stretch not as much. As a coach, is that hard to explain how that happens? COACH HURLEY: Yeah. Pretty much. It was across the board. It wasn't one guy. In a game like this, and I said it was a defensive-oriented game, and I thought it could end up going in that direction based on our opponent and their style of play. And you have to knock down your free throws and open 3s that you get. And there aren't a lot of great looks out there to be had. And these guys did a great job to even move without the ball and find open areas so we were able to get some clean looks late in the game. Q. Even though you came up short today, I thought it was probably the best game as far as attacking the zone, there were like six, seven possessions; it was textbook how to break a zone and find the (indiscernible) line and the sweet spots. Did you feel that was probably the best -- COACH HURLEY: There wasn't a real issue with our offense. Syracuse dragged us through possessions and went deep in the clock, and to their credit, the way they defend and how good they are at it, we had to use more time in a possession and be patient and then find a good shot even if that meant that was as the clock was winding down. I think 19 assists out of 21 made field goals is a great number. Our bread and butter all year has been turnover margin and we've done very well in that category. And we were flat in that today. So we didn't generate enough turnovers. They scored 15. It was 15-4 points off turnovers and that's something that -- we've dominated that category with most opponents. So again we just weren't able to create enough easy baskets and I'm telling you, when you're in that zone, there's a pass that's open. And if it isn't executed at the right moment, it's going the other way. We had a couple of those work against us as well. Q. You mentioned 49-42. When Jim was in here, after the timeout, he said they ran the same play four times in a row. It sounds like you should be able to take care of that after the first or second time. But what is it about the same play working four times in a row against your team? COACH HURLEY: Yeah, I'm going to have to look at the film and try and remember. It's like it's a blur right now. And, again, this was probably as well as we've defended in my recent memory of watching us play defense. We've been a high-scoring offensive team the whole season, and we just couldn't generate enough points in this game to win. Our defense did the best job it could do. I think if you would have told me coming into this game we would hold Syracuse to 60, I would have thought you were crazy, if we weren't on the right side of it. Q. How would you describe the season with all the highs and lows you guys had and the disappointing finish? Seemed like you went through just about everything. COACH HURLEY: I don't look at the season in any stretch of the mind as a disappointment. These guys are warriors. They fought. They delivered some memories that I'll always remember in some of the key games that we won this year. They've elevated Arizona State basketball, the seniors have. They'll have a special place in my heart. I've been through so many wars with these guys. And they show up and they compete and you're going to have to play our team for 40 minutes to win. We just lost some games this year where we had shots to win and they didn't fall or played different here and there and we're on -- we're winning and advancing. So my heart's broken really that I can't coach Shannon Evans and Tra Holder and Kodi Justice anymore. And that's sadly disappointing for me. I have such a connection with them. And it's part of -- a great part of coaching that you can build those type of bonds. And I hope I can continue to find guys like them. And if I do that, we'll be in tournaments like this quite a bit moving forward. Thank you. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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