Billy Kennedy
Gary Blair
Texas A&M Basketball
On not being able to get over the hump on second-half runs, never closing inside of 10 points…
“Well, when you’re down 20 on the road against the No. 5 team in the country, you have to play so well to get over that hump. Again, I thought we came out and played the way we needed to play. We wanted to control the tempo, we wanted to manage the clock, make them guard us, go through Khris (Middleton) and get the ball inside. We were able to get some easy baskets in transition off our defense at the beginning of the half, but then we turned the ball over and it doesn’t take much to get that team going. They’re a very good team and very explosive offensively. You’ve got to play a lot smarter.
“(For example) Keith Davis took the ball out of bounds off the side, and he’d never taken the ball out of bounds for us. We’ve got to make better decisions than that. And we did cut it to 10 again, so it wasn’t just that one possession. We just went through a stretch where we struggled scoring again. We got fatigued, Ratliffe hurt us, and I was disappointed how we guarded the ball screen at the top. But Missouri’s got four shooters, it’s really tough to play two post guys, and that’s what we went with. They’re a tough matchup to guard.”
Can you take some of the good things you saw yesterday and build on them in preparation for Saturday and beyond?
“Yeah, I think so. We’re starting to establish a style of play that works for this team. Our guard play has to be really good and manage the game better for us. We have to manage every possession from the bench. It makes it difficult to be really good but I think that’s what we’re going to have to do just to give ourselves a chance to win.”
When you say you’re starting to establish a style of play that works for this team, what exactly do you mean?
“I think we need to run when we get the opportunity to run, but we need to run clock and play a little bit slower. We need to run things through Khris and really try and get the ball inside to be effective, because we’re really struggling with shooting the ball from the perimeter. We only had 5 assists yesterday, and 5 assists is not going to win many games. We’re not making plays for other people. We just have to do a better job of managing those situations. We can’t play as fast as we’d like to play, we just don’t have the depth and we don’t have the scoring power to do that.”
“Go inside and take power shots, and be able to beat somebody off the dribble. That’s something we struggle doing. And make teams guard you. I think we shoot too quick sometimes and the wrong guys take the wrong shots. We have to make teams guard us. Not having enough assists and not getting to the free throw line usually means you’re not beating people off the dribble. You’re not making plays for other people. We need to get more athletic, and that’s what we’re trying to do beyond this year.”
What kind of conditioning has Kourtney Roberson been able to do?
“He’s traveling with us, he’s working out on the bike with our strength coach, and lifting. He can’t put a lot of pressure on his foot yet, running on it, but he’s out the boot we look forward to getting him. That should help give us more size around the basket to where we can score more and maybe get fouled around the basket. I think in two weeks we’ll have a better feel whether he’s ready or not. We’re hoping to get him back in the next 10 days to 2 weeks.”
Have you crossed paths with Coach Kruger before?
“Yeah, I’ve known Coach Kruger since he was the head coach at Pan American. He’s one of the better coaches in the country. He’s coached at every level and won at every level, and is doing a really good job with this team. They had a really good player sitting out last year named (Romero) Osby, who can score and is really talented. They’re getting decent guard play from a kid they recruited, so this is a better Oklahoma team than last year. He’s doing a really good job getting the most out of them. Beating Kansas State at home the other day was a big win for them.”
Do you think Khris is gaining more confidence as he recovers from his injury?
“He’s definitely playing better and we’re doing a better job of getting him the ball and running things for him, but he wears down quick. His conditioning is not where it needs to be. So we play him a few minutes, get him out, and try to get him back in. Our game plan the first 12 minutes was to try and get him the ball posting up some, running him off screens and him making post feeds. For the first 12 minutes we did a pretty good job of that, I think he had 8 points, and we were able to get the ball inside. I also thought Elston did a really good job. We played better with Elston at the 1.”
What’s your thought process seeing all the success that the Murray State program is having?
“It just gives me confidence that I know we’re doing the right things. When you see a team that’s undefeated and ranked 10th in the country, they’re doing the same things we did last year. They’ve been groomed, they’ve been trained in a system over a four or five year period. Sometimes it takes that to get that going. They’ve got really good guards who can shoot, and that helps.”
Flores, a kid from San Anton', used to come to our camp all the time. Just one of those things where we didn't have room (for her). Now you second-guess yourself with how good she is. She's been to the free throw line more times than Brittany Griner this year — and she's not a power player. She's a finesse player in the mid-range with a little hook. Something's got to give. We've got to be physical. Missouri does a good job with their offense, trying to get it in (to the post).
* We're high today (defensively), but we could be low tomorrow. We read the stats in conference play vs. the regular season. We're moving up the ladder because of how hard our schedule is in the conference we play. We're going to open up film session today with a segment against Missouri that I just found, and it was the perfect rotation on a kid driving, kicking to the corner and kicking to the next pass and so on. We were that good defensively, and I need our team to be able to see what we need to do to help, to show help and rotate. We need chemistry, we need rotation and we need kids to trust each other on the defensive end. Iowa State was not that good offensively, so now we'll see against a more active and quicker team in Missouri.
* In conference play it's hard to get out of an eight-man rotation. That's pretty much what every team does. That's not changing anywhere in the country unless you're in a blowout game.
* I think we're a better free throw-shooting team than what we've showed. We've improved the last couple days, but when you only get four attempts in a ball game... Missouri has shot blockers. Someone's going to get into foul trouble, either us or them. Free throws happen when you attack the basket, whether it's zone or man. If you're going to play against 40 minutes of zone, you better have great transition offense and take it to the hoop.
* We had no transition points in the last game. We're working on it, but right now it's an achilles heel. Our point guards need to get into the play more and realize they're down there to create for others. We've got players who can score. Don't worry about your points; create for others.
* Crowds have been great, coverage has been great ... we need to find a way to be great. We're going to keep working.
* Coach Blair tries to kind of talk to us on the defensive end, and I think we're just so used to Coach Schaefer being that general for us that we're like, "Eh." (laughs) It's just different styles. Coach Blair doesn't yell, he just focused on teaching and talking to you nice; Coach Schaefer will get on you and it shows you that he cares enough to stay on you. They're different but we like having both during games.
I remember the Baylor game in the NCAA Tournament last year, it was chaos because you've got Coach Schaefer switching defenses, Coach Blair calling an offense (and so on), and all the coaches are saying something.
* I tell Coach Blair all the time that I'm going to comb his hair because sometimes he looks like he just got out of bed and I ask him if he's combed his hair.
Skylar: "That's because he's SO FOCUSED on getting us ready!"
* The injury's coming along well. I'm out of the boot and I got to lift in my shoe today and I'll be out there practicing. It's good, because I'm tired of sitting out.
Skylar: "We're tired of you sitting out!"
* I don't have meddlesome parents (something Blair touched on). (laughs) They learned this lesson in high school, I had to tell them not to call my coaches because we will fight when I get home. My mom is so non-athletic and doesn't know much about sports that I don't have to worry about her commenting on the game, but I do worry about her being like, "They should play you more!"
* Coach Blair's really laid back and patient and he'll let us get away with stuff until he just can't take it anymore, and as soon as you do something Coach Schaefer is fired up and in your face. It's nice to have both ends of the spectrum, because you're not getting beat up or pampered the whole time. It is a good cop-bad cop thing, but it works for us.
* I've really been focused on getting my degree. I've already graduated with my undergrad and I'm working on getting my Master's in sports management. I want to stay around this sport even if I'm not playing. NBA or WNBA, it doesn't really matter. Don't have a favorite team or player. I don't do favorites, I just enjoy watching.
* My dad was very excited after the Iowa State game. I'm a daddy's girl, so he was definitely excited.
Quotes & video from basketball press conference
Billy Kennedy
“Hope everyone is doing alright. We are still battling. I thought we played the way we needed to play the first 12 minutes of the first half, style of play, manage the game the right way. Then we got out of character and started throwing alley-oops, speeding the game up a bit, taking questionable shots and (making) turnovers that fueled a very good offensive team into putting it on us in the last 7 minutes of the first half. That’s where we lost the game.”On not being able to get over the hump on second-half runs, never closing inside of 10 points…
“Well, when you’re down 20 on the road against the No. 5 team in the country, you have to play so well to get over that hump. Again, I thought we came out and played the way we needed to play. We wanted to control the tempo, we wanted to manage the clock, make them guard us, go through Khris (Middleton) and get the ball inside. We were able to get some easy baskets in transition off our defense at the beginning of the half, but then we turned the ball over and it doesn’t take much to get that team going. They’re a very good team and very explosive offensively. You’ve got to play a lot smarter.
“(For example) Keith Davis took the ball out of bounds off the side, and he’d never taken the ball out of bounds for us. We’ve got to make better decisions than that. And we did cut it to 10 again, so it wasn’t just that one possession. We just went through a stretch where we struggled scoring again. We got fatigued, Ratliffe hurt us, and I was disappointed how we guarded the ball screen at the top. But Missouri’s got four shooters, it’s really tough to play two post guys, and that’s what we went with. They’re a tough matchup to guard.”
Can you take some of the good things you saw yesterday and build on them in preparation for Saturday and beyond?
“Yeah, I think so. We’re starting to establish a style of play that works for this team. Our guard play has to be really good and manage the game better for us. We have to manage every possession from the bench. It makes it difficult to be really good but I think that’s what we’re going to have to do just to give ourselves a chance to win.”
When you say you’re starting to establish a style of play that works for this team, what exactly do you mean?
“I think we need to run when we get the opportunity to run, but we need to run clock and play a little bit slower. We need to run things through Khris and really try and get the ball inside to be effective, because we’re really struggling with shooting the ball from the perimeter. We only had 5 assists yesterday, and 5 assists is not going to win many games. We’re not making plays for other people. We just have to do a better job of managing those situations. We can’t play as fast as we’d like to play, we just don’t have the depth and we don’t have the scoring power to do that.”
Not having enough assists and not getting to the free throw line usually means you’re not beating people off the dribble. You’re not making plays for other people. We need to get more athletic, and that’s what we’re trying to do beyond this year.
{"Module":"quote","Alignment":"right","Quote":"Not having enough assists and not getting to the free throw line usually means you’re not beating people off the dribble. You’re not making plays for other people. We need to get more athletic, and that’s what we’re trying to do beyond this year.","Author":"Billy Kennedy"}
How do you get your guys to the free throw line more often while minimizing the fouls you commit?“Go inside and take power shots, and be able to beat somebody off the dribble. That’s something we struggle doing. And make teams guard you. I think we shoot too quick sometimes and the wrong guys take the wrong shots. We have to make teams guard us. Not having enough assists and not getting to the free throw line usually means you’re not beating people off the dribble. You’re not making plays for other people. We need to get more athletic, and that’s what we’re trying to do beyond this year.”
What kind of conditioning has Kourtney Roberson been able to do?
“He’s traveling with us, he’s working out on the bike with our strength coach, and lifting. He can’t put a lot of pressure on his foot yet, running on it, but he’s out the boot we look forward to getting him. That should help give us more size around the basket to where we can score more and maybe get fouled around the basket. I think in two weeks we’ll have a better feel whether he’s ready or not. We’re hoping to get him back in the next 10 days to 2 weeks.”
Have you crossed paths with Coach Kruger before?
“Yeah, I’ve known Coach Kruger since he was the head coach at Pan American. He’s one of the better coaches in the country. He’s coached at every level and won at every level, and is doing a really good job with this team. They had a really good player sitting out last year named (Romero) Osby, who can score and is really talented. They’re getting decent guard play from a kid they recruited, so this is a better Oklahoma team than last year. He’s doing a really good job getting the most out of them. Beating Kansas State at home the other day was a big win for them.”
Do you think Khris is gaining more confidence as he recovers from his injury?
“He’s definitely playing better and we’re doing a better job of getting him the ball and running things for him, but he wears down quick. His conditioning is not where it needs to be. So we play him a few minutes, get him out, and try to get him back in. Our game plan the first 12 minutes was to try and get him the ball posting up some, running him off screens and him making post feeds. For the first 12 minutes we did a pretty good job of that, I think he had 8 points, and we were able to get the ball inside. I also thought Elston did a really good job. We played better with Elston at the 1.”
What’s your thought process seeing all the success that the Murray State program is having?
“It just gives me confidence that I know we’re doing the right things. When you see a team that’s undefeated and ranked 10th in the country, they’re doing the same things we did last year. They’ve been groomed, they’ve been trained in a system over a four or five year period. Sometimes it takes that to get that going. They’ve got really good guards who can shoot, and that helps.”
Gary Blair
* Missouri, coming in here 0-4, very similar to Iowa State. The difference was ISU is hosting a sub-regional and Missouri's in the second year of a coach trying to build a program. She had a great non-conference run and, again, you find out how hard the Big 12 is. They've got a senior that's a good player, a freshman point guard, Simmons, that's got speed. We just got finished facing a freshman point guard at ISU. Who do we have to stop? The 4 and 5. We're going to be on our post players hard to, one, stay out of foul trouble and, two, give credit to the offensive players.Flores, a kid from San Anton', used to come to our camp all the time. Just one of those things where we didn't have room (for her). Now you second-guess yourself with how good she is. She's been to the free throw line more times than Brittany Griner this year — and she's not a power player. She's a finesse player in the mid-range with a little hook. Something's got to give. We've got to be physical. Missouri does a good job with their offense, trying to get it in (to the post).
* We're high today (defensively), but we could be low tomorrow. We read the stats in conference play vs. the regular season. We're moving up the ladder because of how hard our schedule is in the conference we play. We're going to open up film session today with a segment against Missouri that I just found, and it was the perfect rotation on a kid driving, kicking to the corner and kicking to the next pass and so on. We were that good defensively, and I need our team to be able to see what we need to do to help, to show help and rotate. We need chemistry, we need rotation and we need kids to trust each other on the defensive end. Iowa State was not that good offensively, so now we'll see against a more active and quicker team in Missouri.
* In conference play it's hard to get out of an eight-man rotation. That's pretty much what every team does. That's not changing anywhere in the country unless you're in a blowout game.
* I think we're a better free throw-shooting team than what we've showed. We've improved the last couple days, but when you only get four attempts in a ball game... Missouri has shot blockers. Someone's going to get into foul trouble, either us or them. Free throws happen when you attack the basket, whether it's zone or man. If you're going to play against 40 minutes of zone, you better have great transition offense and take it to the hoop.
* We had no transition points in the last game. We're working on it, but right now it's an achilles heel. Our point guards need to get into the play more and realize they're down there to create for others. We've got players who can score. Don't worry about your points; create for others.
* Crowds have been great, coverage has been great ... we need to find a way to be great. We're going to keep working.
Coach Blair doesn't yell, he
just focused on teaching and talking to you nice; Coach Schaefer will
get on you and it shows you that he cares enough to stay on you. They're
different but we like having both during games.
{"Module":"quote","Alignment":"left","Quote":"Coach
Blair doesn\u0027t yell, he just focused on teaching and talking to you
nice; Coach Schaefer will get on you and it shows you that he cares
enough to stay on you. They\u0027re different but we like having both
during games.","Author":"Sydney Carter"}
Sydney Carter
* Skylar (Collins) brings effort and energy, and that's what we need. We need consistency, and she definitely brings that for us (too).* Coach Blair tries to kind of talk to us on the defensive end, and I think we're just so used to Coach Schaefer being that general for us that we're like, "Eh." (laughs) It's just different styles. Coach Blair doesn't yell, he just focused on teaching and talking to you nice; Coach Schaefer will get on you and it shows you that he cares enough to stay on you. They're different but we like having both during games.
I remember the Baylor game in the NCAA Tournament last year, it was chaos because you've got Coach Schaefer switching defenses, Coach Blair calling an offense (and so on), and all the coaches are saying something.
* I tell Coach Blair all the time that I'm going to comb his hair because sometimes he looks like he just got out of bed and I ask him if he's combed his hair.
Skylar: "That's because he's SO FOCUSED on getting us ready!"
* The injury's coming along well. I'm out of the boot and I got to lift in my shoe today and I'll be out there practicing. It's good, because I'm tired of sitting out.
Skylar: "We're tired of you sitting out!"
Skylar Collins
* What I really focused on this summer was having a more consistent shot. Last year my shot could be hot one day and just cold the next, so just being in the gym, getting up shots and working on my form and being consistent in that regard, as well as being able to make the right decision and reads on offense and be consistent on defense and not be a liability at that end of the floor.* I don't have meddlesome parents (something Blair touched on). (laughs) They learned this lesson in high school, I had to tell them not to call my coaches because we will fight when I get home. My mom is so non-athletic and doesn't know much about sports that I don't have to worry about her commenting on the game, but I do worry about her being like, "They should play you more!"
* Coach Blair's really laid back and patient and he'll let us get away with stuff until he just can't take it anymore, and as soon as you do something Coach Schaefer is fired up and in your face. It's nice to have both ends of the spectrum, because you're not getting beat up or pampered the whole time. It is a good cop-bad cop thing, but it works for us.
* I've really been focused on getting my degree. I've already graduated with my undergrad and I'm working on getting my Master's in sports management. I want to stay around this sport even if I'm not playing. NBA or WNBA, it doesn't really matter. Don't have a favorite team or player. I don't do favorites, I just enjoy watching.
* My dad was very excited after the Iowa State game. I'm a daddy's girl, so he was definitely excited.
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