|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
BIG 12 CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 12, 2014Jaye CrockettDejan KravicTubby SmithKANSAS CITY, MISSOURI Oklahoma State – 80 THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Texas Tech, Coach Tubby Smith and student‑athletes Dejan Kravic and Jaye Crockett. Coach? COACH SMITH: Well, it's a rude awakening, first experience here at this Big 12 tournament. But we got off to a good start there, just really disappointed in how we responded to the pressure. But a lot of credit goes out to Oklahoma State. They were ready. They really, really became a lot more aggressive and took us out of our game. THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student‑athletes. Q. Jaye, there were a couple times out there you yourself looked really frustrated. Just talk about kind of what Coach alluded to the last 12, 10 minutes of the first half and just kind of how the rest of the game went? JAYE CROCKETT: It's just so frustrating when you put so much into it, and then we just got down and we just weren't following the rules that Coach wanted us to stick to. He tells us to stick to the principles and do the fundamentals every game. When you don't do that, and just make dumb mistakes, it gets really frustrating. Q. Dejan, what was it about the full court pressure that threw you all for a loop the first half? DEJAN KRAVIC: I think we were just rushing it too much. We didn't really meet the passes. And like I said, we rushed it too much and we let it get in our heads instead of just slowing it down. Q. Jaye, you went to the locker room with a knee injury. What was the process like getting the diagnosis and whether you could come back? JAYE CROCKETT: The doctor wanted to make sure there wasn't anything torn in there. Found out it was just kind of a bruised bone, but it's fine. The doctor came and our trainer looked at it and they said it was fine, continue to play. Q. Dejan, you outrebound them 28 to 12 in the second half and also scored more points in the paint then they did overall. How did you really take advantage of the height advantage that you all had coming in? DEJAN KRAVIC: I mean, it was kind of the game plan. Our coach tells us to play inside out. So our purpose was to just post up, post up real strong, look for the ball outside, kick it out. If we don't, then go up aggressively. Q. Jaye, Marcus Smart, a lot of people talk about all the things that he does on offense, but he looks like he's just a total ‑‑ wreaks havoc on defense, got six steals tonight. What kind of an instigator is he on defense in terms of disrupting your offense? JAYE CROCKETT: I think he's just really active. He continues to move, and he has a big body. He's strong. He's kind of like a pest, like some small guys that kind of get in there except he's big and he does it. He works hard during the whole game, and he leads his team. He's out there talking the whole time. He's really aggressive. That's what he does with his opponents. He's more aggressive than them and works for them and gets them a lot of steals and deflections on defense. Q. How different is that Oklahoma State team that you saw tonight than the one you beat up in Lubbock about six weeks ago? What makes them different and what kind of a challenge could they be if they get to the NCAA Tournament? JAYE CROCKETT: I wouldn't say they're too different. I think it was us. We came in, we weren't as aggressive as they were. They were just making the physical plays. And we made them when we were at home, we just didn't seem to make them up here. You just lose at this level. When you're not the aggressive aggressor, then you kind of slip up and the other team they can score off that. They get ‑‑ like I said, with Marcus Smart, he's aggressive on defense. He gets his team steals and deflections and causes problems for our offense. Q. Jaye, what was the main difference between the play that started out 8‑0, and then Oklahoma State pretty much took over the game with like a 23‑4 run? JAYE CROCKETT: We kept making unforced turnovers. We just kept giving them the ball. That was something that we went over in our scouting report at Oklahoma State. They had like 23 points off of turnovers and we knew that was something we needed to stop with the turnovers and stop being so careless with the ball. And we just went back to our old habits and it killed us in the end. Q. Oklahoma State didn't look like the same team that was in Lubbock. What did you see as the biggest difference between how they were playing then and how they're playing now? COACH SMITH: Well, I thought Jaye had a good point. It always takes two. And we weren't‑‑ we were at home. We were playing better at the time. By that I mean we were playing with a lot more confidence. We just haven't played with‑‑ today we're coming off‑‑ we were off seven out of our last eight games, so we've been a little shaky for a while. Then we bounced back and had a good win at home against Texas. But otherwise, we haven't been playing well. So you asked me that question, and I just know that whatever issues Oklahoma State had, they corrected them. And when you have a great player like Marcus Smart ‑‑ and Travis is a very good coach, he understands what he has to do to get his team turned around, and he did. He got them playing hard. They went to more trapping and pressing, pressing and being more aggressive, and I think that was the key to their turnaround. Q. You weren't really happy with your guys on‑ball defense in the first meeting in Stillwater. Did you see any improvement in that area in today's game? COACH SMITH: Not really. Because we were so dysfunctional as far as executing, and it's hard to‑‑ when you're always retreating because you turned the ball over, your mindset is‑‑ you're making stupid plays offensively and just reaching and fouling people on 3‑point shots. It negates any hustle, any opportunities you might have. Q. The way the last month has gone, does that change how you feel about the season overall and kind of the direction of things, where things are headed in Lubbock? COACH SMITH: No, it doesn't change. We knew it was going to be a process. We knew it was going to take time, but we expected to win more games, obviously, and we had‑‑ we were giving ourselves a chance even in the tough losses against Kansas, Kansas State at home, West Virginia, Iowa State. We were in a lot of those games, but then the last‑‑ but we really never learned how to execute in late game situations. And when that happened, we lost a lot of our confidence. And I think we've been heading in the right direction. Obviously, the loss at Kansas and then the loss here really didn't‑‑ I don't think it really is indicative of how hard our kids have played and how they've overachieved in some ways. Having said that, I'm excited about the future and I think some of the returning players are going to have to really step it up and improve in order for us to be competitive in this league. With the new players we have coming in, I think we're going to be okay. Q. You've had a chance to go through this league. You'll have seven or eight teams going to the postseason. What exactly do you feel like you guys have got to get better at heading forward? COACH SMITH: We've got to get better in a lot of areas. We certainly have to get some outside shooting. We've really struggled shooting the ball from the outside all year long, and we're trying to‑‑ and when you're not able to‑‑ we try to throw it inside. We felt like our strength was our interior play, but today and against good teams they find ways to double you and make other people handle the ball and now you're not as good a passing team and they take you out of your rhythm, out of your offense. So in order for us to compete in this league, we've gotta get better just about in every position. I don't think that when I look‑‑ I thought today Dejan really stepped up and played well. Jaye, he's a true Big 12 player, but he's a fifth, fourth year guy. And Dejan, they're both mature and older guys, but we need‑‑ like my staff are working hard to recruit good players that I think can compete at this level. Not that the other guys can't, it's just it's been a real challenging process to change and to change the culture and change the attitude about what it takes to be a winning team. Q. What difference did Jaye Crockett make in the second half for your team? COACH SMITH: Well, Jaye's our heart and soul. He plays with everything. He gives it everything he has. He's a young man that will play at the next level. Maybe not at the NBA, but he's certainly one of the most gifted players I've had the good fortune to coach over the years, and he's got excellent leadership skills, skilled offensively. He struggled with some tendonitis in his knees the last month, and even today he had a little twist of his knee. And I'm glad to see he was okay and it wasn't any real serious injury. So, no, it's been a good year for us, good to get here. I think we've got the right people on track. I've lost my train of thought again. I'm sorry. But it's been a great experience to be here. I know Big 12 does it the right way. Very impressed with the hospitality and how this tournament is being run. So thank you all for the hospitality. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. 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
|