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MAUI INVITATIONALNovember 21, 2011Jerime AndersonBen HowlandLazeric JonesLAHAINA, HAWAII THE MODERATOR: Coach Howland, opening remarks? COACH HOWLAND: I was really glad we had such a good second half. They really did a good job in the first half of getting to the foul line and driving us and we were too extended out. I thought we did a better job in the second half playing our defense a little more packed in. Our help defense still has such a long way to go, and they really spread us out. They're a very well‑coached team. You have to give them a lot of credit. The first half was an even half. Then the second half we got off to a great start. I thought we got some really good minutes out of both the youngsters next to me. Jerime made some big shots tonight and hit 4 for 6 from three, and really was efficient in scoring as many points as he did on six shots. Lazeric did a good job, not only scoring, but getting the basketball. I thought Stover's energy was great tonight. I thought when Reeves game in the game in the second half, we broke away. He had five defensive rebounds. Even though he didn't score a point, he really helped change the game to our way with him coming in and giving us energy and playing really hard. Josh, I thought had a good stretch in the second half where he blocked four shots, but we're glad to get a win under our belt. Q. What was the difference in the 29‑3 run in the second half? Were you knocking down outside shots? COACH HOWLAND: We did a great job defensively. I remember we looked up. There were probably about eight minutes to go in the rest of the game and they scored 11 points. So our defense got a lot better. We were able to force some turnovers off some blocks. We got some good opportunities to push the ball, transition. I thought we started attacking the zone better. Then he had to come out of the zone. We got 16 offensive rebounds, which is a lot of rebounds, so we did a good job on the glass tonight. Q. Jerime or Lazeric, what's it like defensively knowing guys like Reeves and Stover, and even Josh tonight had your backs and they were blocking a lot of shots and made it a lot easier on you guys? STUDENT‑ATHLETE: I think it helps us a lot having them on the perimeter and knowing that we have them as a safety net back in the key. But, honestly, Coach definitely teaches us to keep our guy in front of us and that is the goal for all of us on the perimeter. We've just got to keep working defensively on staying in front of the ball. They're going to get their blocks because they're big and athletic, and they really help us down there. Q. Were you guys worried at halftime that here we go again a little bit? You watched the first two games and here you are with the two‑point game that Chaminade and things might not get any better at that point? STUDENT‑ATHLETE: To be honest, it felt different in the locker room. I could see everybody was feeling confident. And you could see everybody was feeling anxious to get back on the floor and work hard. From the beginning we came out with some energy that we haven't seen. So I felt like this was a turning point for us. Q. Ben, have you ever had to suspend a guy or sit out a guy for a half and then play him the next half before? COACH HOWLAND: You know the situation with Reeves is that he missed the bus going to the airport. He's never done that. The guy's a morning person, so he's been through a lot here. But I still felt that we had to do something. So I wanted to let him know that he's got to do a better job leaving his phone on to be the alarm rather than the electric one that can be blanked out if the electricity goes out, and that's what happened. But he's never been late to a road trip or anything before, and I've never done that before. But that's behind us now. I was really pleased with his energy that he brought to the team tonight when he got his chance to get in there. Q. Lazeric, is there anything to the fact that you guys are sort of comfortable getting away from the drama at home with the road show and the first home loss? Is it nice to be away from that? Obviously it's nice to me in Maui, but can you talk about that a little bit? LAZERIC JONES: It's nice, but just to have the mentality that this is a serious trip. We're not out here to have fun. We're trying to get a win. That's what we have to do. Right now we have to keep that mindset and when we get back home, hopefully we can do the same. So right now I'm not too focused on that right now. Q. What was it like for you guys to get Reeves back and play with him after three halves of not having him? JERIME ANDERSON: It was exciting. You saw what happened out there. There was a lot more energy coming from every player on our team. You know, Reeves does that for us. He inspires a lot of guys from our team once he's out there playing hard. When he brings that energy, it's a good thing for our team just because it gets us started. Really has us focused on defense, so I thought that was really exciting for us. Q. Ben, if you should happen to play Kansas tomorrow night, last year at Allen Fieldhouse you would have beaten them but for a highly questionable call with .4 seconds left. COACH HOWLAND: Actually, we would have gone into overtime if they hadn't called that. No, I just watched that game the other night. They're a really good team, so is Georgetown. This next game playing upstairs here in a few minutes is going to be a heck of a ballgame. Those are both very good teams that are very well coached that play different. The Princeton offense is one that's a really tough, high‑low post‑up game for Kansas. So either opponent, whoever we end up playing, is going to be a very good challenge for our team and will be the best team we've played thus far. So we've got our work cut out for us, and we want to get back and get rested. As soon as we know who has won that game, we'll do a scouting report and video tonight. This is kind of like you're playing a conference tournament in the middle of November where you get used to preparation on less than 24 hours. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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