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00:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]
00:07 >> Yeah, Brayden, frustration was visible during the first half today from everyone
00:12 on the team.
00:12 I just wanted to know what you thought, what led to that frustrating first half?
00:17 And what was the most frustrating part about it for you?
00:23 >> I just think the most frustrating part was we had two really good
00:28 days of preparation, we feel like the practice leading up to the game,
00:34 we felt like we started to figure out our defense a little bit more.
00:39 And we come into the game and then we're down 10-0, we're down 15-0,
00:44 it just keeps snowballing and stuff, so that was the frustrating part.
00:49 Feeling like we had two good days of preparation and stuff within our defense,
00:52 feeling like we're finding some improvement,
00:54 we're finding our footing on a defensive end.
00:56 And then we're just not putting it together in the first half or
01:01 throughout the whole game.
01:03 >> Brandon, it seems like with this team, you put together a decent performance and
01:07 then you follow it up with something that may not be exactly what you're hoping for.
01:11 And that's been going on and on this year.
01:13 What is happening where you guys can't string together games where there is
01:16 consistency?
01:17 >> That's a really good question.
01:19 That is a really good question.
01:23 I just think it's all on us, to be honest.
01:26 There's nothing, none of our coaches can draw upon
01:29 on the board for us to go out there and execute.
01:34 I don't know why we come off certain games, if it's a certain game,
01:37 like a certain matchup, or it's a really good team, top five team, whatever,
01:39 then we're really in.
01:40 But then Virginia is also a very good team too as well.
01:46 They're just not in the top five as well, but I don't know why we do those things.
01:53 It's just about a mental aspect of it, making sure we're all together as a team,
01:59 as a unit, and understanding different teams give us different looks.
02:03 So it's just about figuring it out.
02:05 That's a very good question, I would.
02:09 >> Back here, for both of you guys, Kenny said going into halftime,
02:14 Mike said some stuff to the team.
02:16 What was he talking about?
02:17 What are conversations like in the locker room when you guys are down like that?
02:22 >> Really just talking about what we all see out there,
02:26 figuring out what's there and what's not.
02:29 Figuring out what we were doing that was good or that is good for us.
02:35 And just keep focusing on it and keep going back to that.
02:39 We wanna find ways to go on runs, and
02:41 we also have to find ways for us to stop them going on runs as well.
02:46 So really just focusing on what we're doing correctly and
02:50 focusing on what we're not doing, make sure we're not doing those things.
02:54 Making sure that we're put together very good possessions.
02:57 [BLANK_AUDIO]
03:00 >> Brandon, you guys have been shown improvement the last three or
03:03 four games, and this is a step back.
03:06 Does it ever get to a point where the losing makes it hard to stay positive and
03:11 hard to keep working?
03:11 >> I would say so, for guys, for
03:17 teams that don't believe in themselves, or they've given up.
03:20 We never like to get embarrassed like we did today.
03:24 But we're keeping the faith, I'm keeping the faith.
03:28 We're all keeping the faith, because we know what type of team that we have.
03:32 We know that we are better than last year.
03:33 We know we are better than the team, the game that we put out.
03:37 It's just about having the mental capacity to figure it out together.
03:42 Not, and take coaching well, and take criticism from our teammates,
03:47 and accountability from our teammates very well too.
03:49 So I feel like we're right there, we gotta put it together.
03:54 We gotta figure out how to put it together.
03:55 >> For both of you, there's been obviously flashes where the offense has been
04:00 improving, but the defensive struggles, it's been a consistent thing all season.
04:03 Kenny's talked about it, you guys have talked about it.
04:05 What's being done, or are you guys mixing it up in practice?
04:08 Or why do you think the team is having a struggle getting over that defensive hump?
04:11 Cuz you guys obviously, you're talking like you know what you need to do.
04:14 What's the difficult part about getting it done?
04:17 >> I think the difficult part is, like you just said, we're talking about it.
04:21 It's a difficult part to talk about it, but we gotta be about it as well.
04:24 We can't allow one of our brothers, one of our guys,
04:29 to just guard by himself, guard a very good player by himself.
04:32 If any man goes to rotate, I have to help him.
04:36 And when I go rotate the person, whoever's on the floor with me,
04:40 with us, has to go help me.
04:41 We all have to help each other.
04:43 I mean, we're just not doing that.
04:44 We're not being in gaps to get out of gaps.
04:48 I myself, I'm not walling up on every time a guard gets down here.
04:53 So it's all a trickle effect.
04:55 We all have to help each other.
04:58 A lot of them, we all feel like we're pretty good one-on-one defenders.
05:01 But sometimes someone may get beat.
05:03 It's just about being there for your brother and stuff, and being desperate.
05:07 So we all have to be desperate on a defensive end.
05:10 [BLANK_AUDIO]
05:16 >> Yeah, just wondering what gives you the most hope that this team is able to,
05:20 down the stretch of this season, put some things together and
05:24 pull out some more wins?
05:25 >> What gives me hope is the game in New York.
05:35 We're playing the best of teams, and we're getting within five points,
05:38 one possession games, but we're not figuring out how to get over that hump.
05:41 But we're getting top five teams, teams who we believe are national
05:46 championship contender teams, top five teams, top whatever teams.
05:51 We're getting them within one possession games.
05:53 So we've shown we can do it.
05:54 It's just about figuring out how to get over that hump,
05:59 figuring out how to take lead of games and control games.
06:01 I think that's what keeps giving us hope, and we're getting kills through our games
06:06 and stuff like that, where we're really going deeper, where teams are not scoring.
06:10 They may go over for a certain stretch.
06:14 This is about carrying that out throughout the whole game,
06:17 putting it all together, putting together two halves of great defensive effort.
06:21 [BLANK_AUDIO]
06:25 >> Yeah, for Emmanuel, your first action in a while, what was it like for
06:29 you to be back out there today?
06:30 And what do you feel like you can give the team going forward?
06:34 >> I was happy to be back out there, and I didn't do anything different than what I do.
06:40 I just went in to help my team play defense.
06:43 They needed me on the boards, so I went in there.
06:46 They needed me on the screen, and I went in there to do my job.
06:49 And I feel like if I keep doing my job and
06:52 everyone keeps doing their job, we're gonna be good.
06:53 >> Guys, was that the same angle that you heard at last year?
06:59 >> No, it was different.
06:59 >> Different angle?
07:01 >> Yeah.
07:01 >> Anything else for this team?
07:03 Thank you.