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00:00 First of all, I want to give credit to Notre Dame for coming in here and
00:06 playing the way they played handedly.
00:11 Put us on our heels with their energy, their effort, their focus,
00:16 their attention to detail, their toughness.
00:18 All those things were superior to ours.
00:22 For me down the stretch of the game, eight minutes to go,
00:25 eight point game, we hadn't played well.
00:28 We're fighting this time to make a run and
00:32 Coach's son knocks down two threes in a row, it goes to 14.
00:38 You can see it in our body language from that point on,
00:42 we didn't have the necessary fight that we needed to have to
00:47 combat that run they made, and so they go on to a 16-2 run.
00:52 At the end of the day, we're trying to get these kids to understand
00:57 how hard they have to fight, how it doesn't matter who you're playing.
01:04 Everybody's a good player if he's got a jersey on his back and
01:08 you have to pay attention to detail, you gotta be alert, you gotta be focused, and
01:12 you gotta fight with everything in your body.
01:14 If you don't, you get burned.
01:16 It's a hard lesson for young players to understand
01:22 because they've all been told that they're the best.
01:26 But the reality of it is you earn the respect that you get on the basketball
01:30 floor as an individual and as a team.
01:33 Questions?
01:34 [BLANK_AUDIO]
01:40 >> Go ahead, sir.
01:41 >> Kenny, when did you know Sky was gonna be available and
01:45 what did it tell you about him the way I'm sure he's still gonna be in pain from
01:49 a re-election?
01:51 >> I applaud him for wanting to come back and
01:54 playing with the energy and the effort for the most part that we need from him.
01:59 It was refreshing to see, even when he did come back and
02:04 practice yesterday or the day before, he didn't do contact.
02:08 So to see him play like that and to see him fight and play with energy and
02:14 shoot the ball with rhythm at times was good to see.
02:18 [BLANK_AUDIO]
02:21 >> Shrewsbury's been a good three point shooter for them or best they have.
02:24 Probably what were they doing to get him decent looks or
02:27 what were you doing to give up decent looks?
02:30 >> I think we relaxed.
02:32 I think they run a lot of movement before he comes off the screen.
02:35 The cliche is you never shoot a gap on a three point shooter.
02:43 You always are connected to the three point shooter.
02:46 You always identify where he is.
02:48 So if there's two players and we're in a scramble situation and
02:52 there's a non-shooter and a three point shooter, you use your voice and say,
02:56 I'm going to help.
02:57 But you're really not going to help.
02:58 You're never gonna lead the best shooter on the floor.
03:01 We did that time and time again.
03:04 We ran gaps.
03:07 Hats off to him.
03:08 He made some tough shots.
03:09 He made some good shots.
03:10 He made some wide open shots.
03:12 And at times the wide open shots are the hardest shot for shooters to make.
03:16 And he shot it with instinct.
03:17 He shot it with confidence.
03:18 And he learned his lesson.
03:20 I think his career high was 25.
03:22 He had 23.
03:23 [BLANK_AUDIO]
03:28 >> They were pushing Brandon off the block more towards the corner in the first half
03:32 and doubled it really hard.
03:34 What problems did that cause for you guys offensively?
03:37 >> Well, Rick, for the last three days we worked on a couple things.
03:41 One, making reads.
03:44 Bigs making reads.
03:45 Bigs making reads after ball screens and popping and driving downhill and
03:49 reading a play.
03:50 Is it a pass to the corner?
03:51 Is it a lob?
03:52 Is it a skip pass?
03:54 We worked on that for three days.
03:56 It's the same as working on getting trapped in the post.
04:00 So there were plays Brandon had where he had a decision to make and
04:04 there are two players there that he can make the decision to.
04:07 He chose to hit Caleb and it's a turnover.
04:12 But Trey White's wide open on the perimeter.
04:15 It's his, he has to read it better.
04:17 He has to process it better.
04:20 Unfortunate, hopefully he learns from it.
04:22 I'm not worried about it because he's gonna try, he wants to do better.
04:30 But it's something that he has to get better at,
04:32 is reading what's going on on the court.
04:34 [BLANK_AUDIO]
04:36 >> Kenny, you spoke about on the ACC conference call,
04:39 a great opportunity that you guys had to kind of finish these couple of games here
04:42 at home, when you do have stretches like that, when they go from that eight point
04:46 lead to 20, whatever it was, how do you make sure guys don't get as flat as they
04:52 did towards that, and you keep energy going up,
04:54 especially when they have an opportunity like you're having?
04:57 >> Well, I can just tell you that myself and all the coaches,
05:01 we're telling them just, guys, we got nine minutes to go,
05:04 we got eight minutes to go, stay fighting.
05:07 It can turn, it can turn, it can turn.
05:10 But fragile minds and young people sometimes,
05:14 they are so concerned with, I hadn't made a three, I hadn't made a jump shot.
05:19 The guy made a tough shot, for example, a player said, I was there,
05:23 I contested the shot.
05:24 That's not what winning players say.
05:28 I contested the shot and he made it anyway.
05:31 Winning players, tough players, championship players,
05:34 the greatest players are gonna will a guy to miss the shot.
05:39 They're gonna will the ball to go get it in a rebound, not he hit me first.
05:44 I'm alert to that, I'm gonna hit them first.
05:46 So we're trying to teach them all these things about what they say they wanna be,
05:52 what they wanna be, and how do you get there.
05:55 And for young players, it's hard.
05:58 And what I'm trying to do is tell them it's not basketball, it's life.
06:04 You don't get that rebound somebody pays for.
06:08 You don't make that stop, your team dies.
06:12 That's the mentality you gotta have.
06:14 That's what separates the good from the great.
06:17 Hard lesson, but it's what it is.
06:19 >> Kenny, just after a loss like this, are you concerned about your job security?
06:25 And what is the mentality like after a game like this?
06:28 >> I'm not really worried about my job security.
06:31 I'm only concerned with how do I get these guys to play better.
06:35 My mentality is that I wanna win every day.
06:39 I wanna win tomorrow in practice, I wanna win tomorrow in film session.
06:43 I wanna do the things to help these young players get to where they need to get to.
06:49 I want them to become a better team.
06:50 I want them to love each other and play and respect each other.
06:54 [BLANK_AUDIO]
06:57 >> Kenny, sometimes coaches can get a feel how a game might go from practice or
07:01 shoot around.
07:03 Did you have a feeling that this is how the game would go in terms of never
07:07 having a lead in the game?
07:08 I guess sometimes that lack of energy, did you sense like this was coming?
07:12 >> Well, to be honest with you, there's a few players that I watch and
07:16 see what their energies are before the game, during the game,
07:20 to be the beginning parts of the game.
07:22 And when they don't play with the fight, the energy that we need,
07:26 because they're vital pieces to us, I worry and I confront them about it.
07:32 So for me, it's about individuals, seeing them focus, seeing them in the stands,
07:37 seeing them energetic, seeing them attacking rebounds with two hands,
07:41 seeing them making the right plays and
07:43 playing within the energy that's needed to get us a win.
07:48 So there were, today for example, there were players,
07:51 multiple players that were a thorn behind.
07:57 That's a concern, yes.
07:58 [BLANK_AUDIO]
08:03 >> Kenny, if you could capsulize why you think this could be turned around and
08:07 how soon, I think your fans would like to know.
08:10 >> So when you say you want me to tell you why do I think it could be turned around?
08:16 Because these are young people and anything's possible.
08:22 We work really hard.
08:25 We believe in what we do.
08:28 We're not perfect.
08:29 But I think these kids care about being good basketball players.
08:35 I think they care about this city.
08:36 I think they care about this university, the community.
08:40 I think they wanna make people proud.
08:42 But with that comes something, and the word is a sacrifice.
08:47 It has to consume you to make the sacrifice to do the things
08:52 that is needed to become a better player.
08:56 I have no doubt about it getting turned around.
09:00 But I've been doing this a long time.
09:04 So for me, it's a no brainer that it's gonna get done.
09:09 But I need them to believe.
09:11 It doesn't matter what I believe.
09:12 I need my players to believe that they can turn this around.
09:16 >> Anything else for coach?
09:17 [BLANK_AUDIO]
09:21 >> Do you feel like if that's the case after this game,
09:24 that the players feel like they can turn this around?
09:27 >> I hope so.
09:27 There's been games where we played really bad.
09:35 We bounced back, we played pretty good.
09:38 So I expect no different.
09:39 That's just, I can look at the class, at the class half empty or half full.
09:46 I'm always gonna look at it full.
09:48 Half full, so for me, I'm pushing them every day to get better.
09:52 I'm not relinquishing.
09:53 I'm not giving up.
09:55 I'm not allowing them to let go of the rope.
09:57 They have to get it.
09:59 Just as simple.
10:03 >> Last one, Matt.
10:04 >> Kenny, you've mentioned not only today, but several points during the season that
10:07 you're working to try and instill a mindset and a culture of fight,
10:11 especially on the defensive end.
10:13 Do you believe it's any sort of indictment, so to speak, on maybe the players,
10:17 the staff, maybe even yourself, that it's late February and
10:20 the defense is still having issues on a regular basis?
10:24 >> It's everybody's fault.
10:25 For me, I demand it, but when I demand it and
10:30 I don't get it, I gotta take the weight.
10:33 I'm the leader.
10:34 When I tell guys different ways that this is how we gotta play,
10:41 this is who we're playing, this is how we gotta play to win, and we don't play that
10:45 way, it falls on me.
10:48 I understand that.
10:49 That's a part of being a coach.
10:52 But I hope that my players look at me and say, not one day did he come in and blame us.
10:59 I hope that my players look at me and say, he still smiles with us,
11:03 laughs with us, put his arms around us, pushes to be better.
11:06 Knowing that at times he is disappointed, at times he is upset,
11:14 at times he is making them do, punishing them for
11:16 doing things that they should be doing and they're not doing.
11:20 So hopefully that answers your question.
11:23 >> All right, thank you all.
11:25 >> Thank you.