On winning close vs. losing close
Like I told the guys, you want to learn from your mistakes through victory. Last night, they played a good team and played very well. Tonight they played a much lesser team and they played very poor basketball, except for the end. I'm a little disappointed with the way they played tonight. I was very happy with the way they played last night. Like anything else, they needed a victory tonight. Because they played so hard last night.
On their zone
I'm trying to get Damion Lee and Trey Lewis to understand that, if they just live with the jump shot, they're not going to be effective basketball players. They've got to paint touch and create passes as well as shots. Finally, in the fourth quarter, they did that. But that's something they have to learn. They lived too much with the jump shot. Trey started driving to the basket, making good plays. Mangok was the only one I was really pleased with.
On Mangok Mathiang
He's playing well. He's playing against inferior talent, but he played very well tonight. They couldn't keep him off the backboard.
On Mathiang's talkative nature
He never gets down. If Matz had his attitude, he would be a dominant college basketball player. Because Mangok's never a victim. He's always somebody who tries to lead other people.
He's always been talkative. He's never quite been a leader like this because we had other people.
On the turnovers
Well, in the first half, we had 11 turnovers with nine assists. The turnovers will get better. What bothers me is the nine assists. That's Trey Lewis not doing a good enough job at point guard.
On Trey Lewis
He's a shot maker and Damion Lee is a shot maker, but they've got to learn to get to the foul line more. They've got to learn to get the paint touch and pass more. I told the guys today that chemistry is defense and passing.
On if that's something they have to learn
They'll have to learn. They've both had losing seasons and not been to the tournament. They have to learn to get to the tournament. Statistics are only important when you win. When you lose or you have a losing record, mommy and daddy will give you a trophy. If you don't get to the tournament, it doesn't matter.
On if a win was important
No question about it.
On his goals for the final game
Just execution -- get your turnovers down, your deflections high. The Puerto Rican team wasn't a very good one tonight -- they had 23 deflections and we had nine. We're getting there. Last night's game was terrific from watching it on tape. This won't be pleasing tonight.
On how much time it would take to match this experience if they weren't here
If we didn't do this, I'd be really worried going into the season. Really worried. Because these guys have to learn how we play this game. Everybody. Deng Adel, Ray Spalding, Donovan Mitchell, Damion Lee, Trey Lewis ... They all have to learn how we play. Without this, it would've been very difficult.
We're ahead of where we need to be. We'll be on target for practice. We know some offenses. We know some defenses. We'll be ahead of schedule.
On if he'll coach Louisville tomorrow night
Probably. I'm so mad at them right now I don't know. I may boycott them.
On why they canceled the Sunday game
We can't bring back the Sunday game for a lot of reasons. They're not playing against great competition right now. Everybody's hurt. Everybody's gone. Our guys are pretty tired. They've had no days off. It's unfair to them. You can't make a trip like this without having a day off.
Like I told the guys, you want to learn from your mistakes through victory. Last night, they played a good team and played very well. Tonight they played a much lesser team and they played very poor basketball, except for the end. I'm a little disappointed with the way they played tonight. I was very happy with the way they played last night. Like anything else, they needed a victory tonight. Because they played so hard last night.
On their zone
I'm trying to get Damion Lee and Trey Lewis to understand that, if they just live with the jump shot, they're not going to be effective basketball players. They've got to paint touch and create passes as well as shots. Finally, in the fourth quarter, they did that. But that's something they have to learn. They lived too much with the jump shot. Trey started driving to the basket, making good plays. Mangok was the only one I was really pleased with.
On Mangok Mathiang
He's playing well. He's playing against inferior talent, but he played very well tonight. They couldn't keep him off the backboard.
On Mathiang's talkative nature
He never gets down. If Matz had his attitude, he would be a dominant college basketball player. Because Mangok's never a victim. He's always somebody who tries to lead other people.
He's always been talkative. He's never quite been a leader like this because we had other people.
On the turnovers
Well, in the first half, we had 11 turnovers with nine assists. The turnovers will get better. What bothers me is the nine assists. That's Trey Lewis not doing a good enough job at point guard.
On Trey Lewis
He's a shot maker and Damion Lee is a shot maker, but they've got to learn to get to the foul line more. They've got to learn to get the paint touch and pass more. I told the guys today that chemistry is defense and passing.
On if that's something they have to learn
They'll have to learn. They've both had losing seasons and not been to the tournament. They have to learn to get to the tournament. Statistics are only important when you win. When you lose or you have a losing record, mommy and daddy will give you a trophy. If you don't get to the tournament, it doesn't matter.
On if a win was important
No question about it.
On his goals for the final game
Just execution -- get your turnovers down, your deflections high. The Puerto Rican team wasn't a very good one tonight -- they had 23 deflections and we had nine. We're getting there. Last night's game was terrific from watching it on tape. This won't be pleasing tonight.
On how much time it would take to match this experience if they weren't here
If we didn't do this, I'd be really worried going into the season. Really worried. Because these guys have to learn how we play this game. Everybody. Deng Adel, Ray Spalding, Donovan Mitchell, Damion Lee, Trey Lewis ... They all have to learn how we play. Without this, it would've been very difficult.
We're ahead of where we need to be. We'll be on target for practice. We know some offenses. We know some defenses. We'll be ahead of schedule.
On if he'll coach Louisville tomorrow night
Probably. I'm so mad at them right now I don't know. I may boycott them.
On why they canceled the Sunday game
We can't bring back the Sunday game for a lot of reasons. They're not playing against great competition right now. Everybody's hurt. Everybody's gone. Our guys are pretty tired. They've had no days off. It's unfair to them. You can't make a trip like this without having a day off.
