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MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 5, 2010Jermaine MallettCuonzo MartinKyle WeemsST. LOUIS, MISSOURI Wichita State – 73 COACH MARTIN: Thank you. That was a tough, physical game both ways. Both teams played hard, competed, Wichita State won it down the stretch. I thought it was physical on both ends of the floor, and the referees let us play. Couple key stops down the stretch, and they played well. Q. Against Wichita State, the narrow differences, what do you think was the ultimate difference in all three? KYLE WEEMS: I think all together there were probably nine or ten plays combined in all three of those games that were not necessarily them, but it was just our break downs. You know, started by helping out of the corner, helping uphill. Just a little foul in the bonus, little things like that they got to us. Q. Go back to last year and just kind of what did you guys learn from last year's experience? Just with the whole season the way the season went and losing the first game here? You guys won last night. What has been the difference between the 20-loss season last year and the 20-win season this year. Where you guys are going to be in a postseason tournament now? KYLE WEEMS: We've got six or seven new guys, so of course that helped. You know, and people like myself. And Coach even had another year under his belt, and you I think that helped a lot. Q. How'd you view it? You had a four-point lead with five minutes to go. Then they scored two free throws and another basket. Was it a lack of defensive stops that turned it? COACH MARTIN: Oh, yeah. They were just staying the course of the game. Just minding mistakes and break downs. That's what cost us. Q. You got it together, that's a pretty good offensive lineup for them. Can you talk blood pressure the challenge guarding those two offensive players? KYLE WEEMS: They're both really good players. Stutz is big and strong, so those two together we did a good job on them. Pretty key moments of the game, we knew coming out that they were going to try to go inside early in the second half and they did a good job of that. For the most part we did a good job on those two. Q. I'm sure Coach talks all the time about being tough mentally and physically. And I'm curious, three games against Wichita State you got five half as that are just toe to toe to toe. The first half you played at your place they pretty much took it to you. I wonder if that first half where they just man handled you so bad toughened you up for the rest of the season? KYLE WEEMS: I think we were a tough team without that first half. But it opened up our eyes and let us know that we can't come in and flat out out-talent people. That is not the nature of on our team. Coach demands being physically tough and both physically and mentally. And I thought for the course of the season we've done that. But you're right. It opened up our eyes that first half in our place pretty much for the rest of the season I thought we got back to playing the way we play. Q. For the two student-athletes, is there any consolation knowing that you guys will play another game this month. Talk about the prospect of being in a postseason game this season or this year? JERMAINE MALLETT: You know, it's an honor. Coach always says tomorrow's not guaranteed. Of course we came here with our eyes set on one prize and that was to be celebrating around 3:00 on Sunday. But we felt that we fell short and now the next step, whatever step that is, we're going to compete and battle and stay together. KYLE WEEMS: It's a learning process for us. We lost but we've got to get back in the game and finish out the season and we have the postseason or whatever. Q. You guys have talked about how tough you are as a team. But you have 16 lead changes. Can you speak about as a team what that says about you and your program? JERMAINE MALLETT: It says a lot. Coach always preaches defense, defense. And that's what we did. But we'd break down sometimes, but like on the offense we move the ball and get what we want, and sometimes we don't. When we listen, we do good. We execute. So I think that says a lot about our program, the discipline. Q. Tonight you were very aggressive for offense and defense. Talk about tonight versus from last night to tonight on. It seemed that you were more aggressive offensively tonight. Talk about that a little bit. KYLE WEEMS: Oh, yeah, Coach. JERMAINE MALLETT: Oh, yeah, Coach Martin talked about being on the on fence. Tonight was like every other game. Came out aggressive. Were making shots and the guys kept telling me keep going, keep going. That's what I did, so. Q. This obviously isn't the first time you've been in a close game, hasn't gone your way down the stretch. Can you find a common ground that you can put your finger on and why it happened again? KYLE WEEMS: It goes back to our own break down. It's a tough piece to bite. But we've got to stay together and get better in practice. But it's just those little plays. Not boxing out, not getting the on offensive rebound or helping out in the corner, just little things like that that add up to a couple of close losses over the season. Q. Can you talk about that basket that Stutz had with 52 seconds left with that foul that put them up 4? KYLE WEEMS: It was big. The foul is just part of the game. But we still had a chance. And I thought I made a good play on the ball. And that's the down fall last minute of the game. But give credit to Stutz and his team for pulling out the victory. Q. A 20-win season this year, could you talk about last year compared to this year? Particularly the vision that Coach had in hiring you and being in the position that you are today to lead young men? COACH MARTIN: Well, as far as the hiring, it's a blessing and I'm grateful for the opportunity. Missouri State for giving me an opportunity. But as far as the program from last season to this season, you're building the keys, and you have to be able to recruit and identify guys. It's easy to say let's get a couple of quick guys that can score a lot of points, might have some character issues and that assort of thing. But when you're trying to build for the long haul you have to get the right guys and add some substance to them. The wins will come, but you have to build a foundation first. You don't want a situation where you win a couple and four or five guys get in trouble off the court. You have 15, 20 wins, next thing you lose a couple of guys and you're down to 12. That's not a program or foundation for us. We need to find quality guys. But as far as the 20 wins when you're trying to be a champion, that's expected. I don't think going into the season I would have said 20, because you don't know what you have until you're with 7 new guys and you go through and Kyle Weems trying to find his way. Justin is the one lone guy that played a lot of minutes at this level. He was a solid role guy. But I thought our guys came in, competed and they bought what were selling as a staff. That is always key when your guys are buying what you sell. Q. Any consolation knowing you're going to have more basketball to play? And what about the opportunity to coach in the postseason? COACH MARTIN: It's a great opportunity for our guys. Especially when you have a lot of guys. When you have your whole roster coming back, it's good for those guys to get their reps and they'll continue to play together. They hurt after this loss. They felt we came here to win this tournament and we came up short. That's part of that. But any time you continue to play and your team continues to grow, it's always a bonus. Q. Going back to media day you said coming into this season there were some things that you needed to work on and learn as a coach. I hear in your second season as a Head Coach, what things did you personally learn this year? COACH MARTIN: I think the key as a coach is the flow of the game. Understanding your personnel. Understanding your opponent. You can learn a lot against your opponent how they coach their style, how they're calling timeouts, what play they're running. Second time around you know what your opponent is running, and you know the players and the situation. That is the biggest key. We're just actually going through it. I don't care what kind of program you come from. A National Championship program or things like that. When you look at the history of guys that come from a championship program, they don't have a lot of success. It has a lot to do with you and building the program. You can go down the track record of the last five teams that won a National Championship and the assistant coaches where they went and got a job and whether they win or lose in games it has to do with you building a program, building a foundation and understanding what you're trying to do. If you don't have a foundation, you look around the country and you fall short. You have to believe in something. You have to be consistent in what you believe in. It's defense for us. And I thought our guys have gotten better late in the season. What we try to teach is tough. But our guys will be a lot better because they've been through it. And it's not easy when you demand guys to defend one-on-one for 40 minutes consistently throughout the game and carrying out assignments and it's part of it. Q. You're thinking three with 7:30 left. Did you know it was that long? Can you talk about that kind of dry spell in a game? COACH MARTIN: I didn't. As long as we were aggressive, I didn't know it was that long. I thought we were getting good looks and we rushed a come. But I tell guys we're going to miss shots. But you can't hang your hat on that. Square your feet up. Get the ball inside, get the post feed. But I won't say we haven't had a shot in this many minutes because they start thinking about it. For us on the defensive end, that's where we hang our hat. We had three break downs on the defensive end, and that was a part of it. And I think that's part of his growth. He got a foul on Hannah, and he got a one-on-one. That was the play he came off the screen, and Hannah came to the basket, got the foul and the shot fake. And he got it all three times. It's just part of it. He has to learn. He has to go through it. It's just one of those situations. Q. Jermaine and Kyle both fouled out at the end of the game. Can you talk about how hard it is to operate at the end of the game when two of your players are in foul trouble late? COACH MARTIN: It's tough to do. But the thing we tell our guys is you're all on scholarship. You're here to play and perform. Ryan came and gave us big minutes. The guys in foul trouble gave us big minutes. That's what you're here to do. Give us big plays. I don't see us having bench guys that get into the game. These guys produce and perform every practice. And I thought Isaiah did a good job. He'll battle for the start. You don't play seven or eight games this season, and throw it in the tank and say I'll give it up and wait till next season. Those guys continue to stay the course and continue to compete in practice. And that's what you're looking for. Jerome told Mallett I'm going to get that position. When you're building a championship caliber program, those are the things you have to go through and those are the guys you have to have. Q. Wichita State did a decent job on Creekmore tonight. He was 1 for 7 from the field. Was that more something they did? Or just inexperience in not getting the ball to them? COACH MARTIN: I think you have to give credit where it is due. I would have to say it's something they did. If he was open, nobody's guarding him, he'd make those lay-ups. You have to give those guys credit. For him, getting the emotional rush and the shot, he's playing it, as opposed to playing basketball. I tell guys all the time you can't worry about your miss. If your man's missing, you're fine. But you can't miss your man and he's scoring. Then you should be upset. It's one of those deals where he has to keep his composure. Of but Isaiah Rhine came in and gave us good minutes. But I don't think we got the offensive block we needed to. Q. I thought it was interesting last night, you didn't seem overly impressed with the 20 wins. And I was serious about what kind of goals you have for your team. It's easy for them to focus on 20, and you're winning championships and that's the goal. COACH MARTIN: That's the goal to win a championship. When I took over that was the goal. Not to be just competitive. You want to be a champion. That is the ultimate goal for them. It's a blessing to have 20 wins. Our guys have to understand we try to be the best team in Missouri Valley. That is the bottom line. We have the foundation and the piece to do that. Those 20 wins, we're grateful for it, but our guys are upset right now. The last thing on their mind is 20 wins. They're upset. They don't want to go eat tonight. That's what I want to see as a coach. That's when you know those guys are making progress in the paint and loose games. But you know, it's grateful and a blessing. That is a credit to the players and the staff. But more importantly it's identifying guys when you're recruiting. A lot of guys can put the ball on the basket, but can he they fit into what you're trying to do? Will they go to class every day? And those are the things that you're trying to identify. Q. I asked the guys about the inability to finish down the stretch. Is there something kind of common theme that you've seen develop over the season and why it happened again today? COACH MARTIN: Not really. I told our guys when we put ourselves in position, we have to go ahead and win it. Like I said, those key break downs with Nafis Ricks, they have to understand you've got to be solid. I can't yell in your ear get ready, watch the back swing. You have to have the discipline and understand this is what I'm doing. I know what they're doing. This is plan B, second option. The guys understand what they're doing. You have to have the discipline. I've got to contain my guy. I can't rely on the help behind me. I've got to be a weak side, I've got to be off it. It's tough. One thing about man-to-man defense, you have to be able to trust your guys. You have to know okay when I do this, for 72 years I didn't understand what Coach "K" was trying to do. I was on the high school team, we were playing. I was always faithful going to my back screen making lay ups. And I was guarding my guy. It's not easy. You have to be trustful. You feel like you're on an island. Coach, I'm here. The thing is you have to be at a certain place at all times and it's not easy. It's quick. You have to understand and make quick decisions because the other team runs an offense, and you have to understand what's going on. Q. What kind of practice routine do you anticipate during a week in limbo? COACH MARTIN: For us we'll take a couple days off. It will just be all skill work really. Just a lot of offensive skill work. Things we do all the time to try to develop the offensive skills. I think we're getting it offensively. Making moves off the drill. Penetrating, pitching, jump stop, not turn the ball over. I thought we had a great season. One of the better assist to turnover ratios in the country. That's what it's about. Taking care of the basketball. 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