|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 15, 2019Penny HardawayIsaiah MauriceKyvon DavenportMemphis, Tennessee Memphis, 79 - UCF, 55 COACH PENNY HARDAWAY: Yeah, unbelievable game for us. When you play a team three times in one season, we split the regular season. Both teams know each other well, and it comes down to will, making shots, and making game-winning plays and our team did that for the entire game. I'm proud of them. It was a timely game we needed -- of course, it's win or go home. But it's timely and it's appropriate because these guys have been working their butts off all year, been continually got better as the season has gone on and all the hard work is paying off now. Q. Mid-season you instituted the hustle board. How can you hustle the players you had today without people diving on the floor going forward? COACH PENNY HARDAWAY: That just fits the eye test. You don't even have to go to the hustle board for that one. Honestly, doing whatever it takes and playing desperate because it's where we are right now. We know the road we have to take. And we understand that every possession counts and we are out there playing like it now. Q. Talk about the energy that the crowd brought today. How much of a pick-me-up was that for you guys? COACH PENNY HARDAWAY: It was huge. Our crowd understands we need the energy, they understand the situation we're in. And they're going to do their part and they've done their part all year of letting us know they have our backs and that they want to support us and help us win and they're doing that. Q. Which coach scouted this game and is that the same coach that scouted the game the previous time? COACH PENNY HARDAWAY: Mike Miller was the scout in this game, he was the scout for the other two games. And he's done a phenomenal job all year on giving a game plan and having the kids understand what's going to happen, how we stop it, what to look for, play calls, everything. Phenomenal job by Coach Miller all year on the scout on UCF. Q. The momentum seemed to shift after that first timeout you called and that's when Isaiah came out and kind of got in his bag. Was there anything you said in particular to him or was that when it took off? The same question to Isaiah. COACH PENNY HARDAWAY: We understand what this team can do. They can strike fast. They got really good players, and we couldn't get complacent and we had to keep attacking them and we had to make shots. We were doing a good enough job defensively to feel like we have to make shots to push away and that's what happened. ISAIAH MAURICE: My main focus was just coming in to produce, you know. We played this team twice before and my main focus was not to make the same mistakes that I did. So just go out there and make shots. I know how Tacko's going to play me and maneuver off how he plays me pretty much. Q. Coach, always say, everyone says, when Kyvon plays with intensity and plays like he played today you all are hard to beat. Do you feel the same way and talk about your attitude coming in to today's game? COACH PENNY HARDAWAY: I have stated before -- what Peso did in February, points-wise, he did in November and December, honestly with his play -- he played big. I said at that point there was no small forward, power forward in the country that can stop him. He's makes his mind up to go and he's knocking his jumper down, he's almost impossible to guard. I mean, it is what it is. And I put a lot of pressure on him and I have challenged him publicly a lot, but I mean, he's taken a challenge for this tournament. He's showing up at the right time for us. This is the time we need him to show up. KYVON DAVENPORT: I knew we had to come in and stay focused, get after them early, and we couldn't let them get off to a huge start. Even though they got off to a good start, but we had to keep fighting the whole time. We had to put him away early. We knew if we got up, they were going to fold. They struggled to score and we were staying silent and making them shoot over us the whole time, and I thought we did a good job. They only had one guy in double figures. Congrats to the team. Q. Coach, you talked about Jeremiah Martin a little bit. With the way the front court is playing, what does that mean going forward? COACH PENNY HARDAWAY: It's there for both of these guys, both these guys are extremely talented. Isaiah to me is the best five -- one of the best fives in our conference. He just hasn't been able to get his game out. Him and Mike are two totally different guys. Mike is a pounder, and he's more of a skill player and he hadn't been able to get that talent out. And today, of course, is his best game of the year. That's always on time when you are playing well during tournament time. These two guys playing like this, Jeremiah hasn't had a great scoring game, but he's gotten to the free throw line and made winning plays. So we get Karim, Jeremiah, and these two guys continuing to play the way they're playing, it will be tough to stop us. Q. We saw a shimmy and saw you play a guitar a bit today. Were you kind of embellishing the match-up with Tacko Fall. Or was it in the heat of the moment? ISAIAH MAURICE: I was just in the moment. I do those things to keep myself going. It is a confident-raiser for me. I go out there and have fun. I play the game like I know how to to. Q. Is this the toughness you have been looking for? COACH PENNY HARDAWAY: For sure. We have been playing tough since the South Florida game. Ever since that game we have been playing way tougher. We made a little pact at that point going to ECU that we weren't going to allow anybody to get up on us that big anymore, and we were going to fight to the finish. And from that point forward, everybody drew a line in the sand and said that's it, we are not going out like we did at Temple, at Tulsa, and South Florida. The team is playing much tougher. Q. Coach -- Kyvon first, then Coach. It seems like the team finally followed the game plan from the beginning to the end. Is there something that -- when did that click to get them to stop varying from the game plan? KYVON DAVENPORT: We just knew that the only way that we're going to win is to follow by the game plan, and if we don't, we go home. We have to keep following the game plan because that's what's helping us win and helping us get wins like this and helping us know how to play everybody in the conference and how to play a certain player. And it's helping us out a lot, so we have to keep following the game plan and do what we do and it's going to result in a win. COACH PENNY HARDAWAY: It's been a maturation process of all the guys because they wanted to be individuals early. And they thought they could do it on their own without the game plan, and that bit us in the butt. That's why we have 12 losses. But as the season has gone on, you can tell, when we put our foot down and start playing tougher, everybody started buying more into it. And I said if we buy into this, we will win games. I said that going into ECU and that's what's happened. They're starting to buy in from that point with the game plan all the way through. We made some mental mistakes in some games, but for the most part, we are sticking to the game plan. Q. Coach, how quickly do you hit the reset button? Houston is a different team and how do you prepare for them? COACH PENNY HARDAWAY: We hit the reset button as soon as we leave here. We want to enjoy this. The guys deserve to enjoy this. As soon as we leave, we are in the mode of we have Houston and we understand what -- that's the beast. They have earned everything they have gotten, the best record in our league, first place, the top coach. He got the award for the coach in our Conference, we know what it is. As soon as we leave here, we focus on them. It's a different game. They are relentless and we understand that. Q. Did you hear the fans chanting your name as you walked off the floor? You stopped and said hi, and what did that mean to you to get that attention is? ISAIAH MAURICE: It was a special moment for me, obviously. I want to keep that going. Carry it into next year and have that moment again, so that is pretty much it. Q. I want to know from all three of you if there were any songs in particular that helped you get into the game for today? KYVON DAVENPORT: Not really. I listen to everything. I was listening to a lot of stuff in the locker room. We listen to everything, so there's no particular song for me. ISAIAH MAURICE: I don't have any particular songs that get me hyped up before the game. I just listen to whatever my teammates list to, and we get pumped up to the same music. COACH PENNY HARDAWAY: I will do something Memphis, whether it's Yo Gotti or something. This is -- we're at home, you have to get that feel, all Memphis right now. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|