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00:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]
00:03 >> Yeah, Danny, Kenny was talking about after the game Wednesday,
00:06 just having an issue with the team taking so many jumpers there in the first half.
00:11 I'm wondering, as you look back at the tape, was there a reason why there were so
00:15 many jumpers and they just couldn't hit the ball in the paint as much?
00:18 >> Well, I think that's true from the standpoint of as a player,
00:22 being a former player, you always feel there's a level of confidence when you are
00:26 open and you're in your range to shoot the basketball.
00:29 There's a fine line that we wanna make sure that our guys maintain and
00:33 being aggressive, but also understand that one of the better things that we do is
00:37 attack the paint, which puts teams in the bonus, which gets us to the free throw line.
00:42 And so having a better feel for time, score, and momentum in those situations,
00:48 as to when we take those jump shots.
00:51 But the bottom line for
00:53 us is we wanna execute our offense to get open opportunities.
00:58 Now those open opportunities also come in the form of scouting report as to what
01:02 they want you to shoot and what they are comfortable with you shooting.
01:05 And so having a balance for that.
01:08 There are times where you're gonna have an open shot and you shoot it and
01:10 you miss it.
01:11 And the next time it's, hey, you know what, let me get a little bit closer, or
01:14 let me get a paint touch, force help, and kick to somebody else for an open shot.
01:17 So it's a fine line.
01:19 So we want guys to be confident in shooting the basketball, but
01:22 also understand time, score, momentum of the ball game.
01:24 [BLANK_AUDIO]
01:33 >> Danny, along those lines, it seemed like you guys had kind of turned the corner
01:38 offensively for several games and now have maybe taken a step back.
01:42 Is that more what you guys have done or not done?
01:46 Or has it been more the defenses you've been facing?
01:50 >> Well, I think you can attribute it to a little bit of both.
01:53 I think there's some things that we can do where we can execute a little bit
01:56 better, but I don't think it's also part of scouting report when teams have
02:01 watched us.
02:02 Last time we played Syracuse, we shot a really high percentage from the field.
02:06 And we did some good things offensively, but we have too many let downs in certain
02:12 areas on the defensive end, namely in transition and losing a few guys.
02:16 And so I think it's just a combination of both.
02:20 Understanding that teams are going to try to take away certain things, but
02:25 we have to impose our will and get what we want and
02:27 not settle all the time offensively.
02:30 And then defensively, I think we talk about all the time just our awareness and
02:35 knowing you go out and you might ID a player as a driver, if you will.
02:41 But if that driver makes a couple shots and we have to do a better job of
02:45 adjusting on the fly as to say, okay, maybe now he's a slasher,
02:49 he's a capable shooter and driver.
02:51 [BLANK_AUDIO]
03:00 >> Benny Hill, I guess you and this coaching staff try to keep the guy's
03:03 spirits high and try to keep that confidence up when you've been kind of
03:07 going through this rough stretch.
03:09 >> Well, the big pitch for us is life, every day you show up.
03:13 And that's the mindset that we have, every day we show up, we put forth our best
03:18 effort and we try to improve in some way, shape or fashion.
03:22 And we're dealing with young teenagers that don't always understand big picture
03:28 in life, but that's the message that we try to display and show them every day.
03:31 You show up and you give us the best that you have,
03:35 we're gonna give you the best that we have.
03:36 And we try to get better for that particular day, and we try to stack days.
03:40 [BLANK_AUDIO]
03:47 >> Just when you're coming off a week where you don't have a game and
03:50 you're able to spend some more time just focusing on yourself,
03:54 just how frustrating was that for the team to come out and
03:57 just not be able to put things together against two combat twins in a-
04:01 >> Well, anytime you don't get the desired
04:03 result, it's always gonna be a level of frustration.
04:07 I think you go back and you look at, you talk about the game,
04:14 you talk about the mistakes we made, you talk about the things we did well.
04:17 And then in this league, in this profession, you've gotta move it to the back and
04:22 then concentrate on what's in front of you.
04:24 And that's what we can control right now is going into this next game.
04:27 Knowing the game we played earlier against Syracuse was a high scoring affair.
04:36 And we wanna make sure that we present a little bit more resistance
04:40 on the defensive front.
04:43 And I'm sure their coach, Red, is saying the same thing to them.
04:47 It was like 90 points in that game for both teams.
04:50 And so we wanna make sure we come out to this ball game and
04:53 we do a good job of providing resistance to their guards.
04:58 Their guards are tremendous players.
05:00 We talked about Mets, Sterling and Copeland,
05:02 and it's playing really well off the bench for them.
05:04 And making sure that those guys are uncomfortable, so to speak,
05:08 in terms of shooting the basketball, making sure that it's always a contested shot.
05:12 And then offensively for us, we wanna be in attack mode.
05:15 We don't wanna settle.
05:16 We wanna make sure we get our paint touches.
05:18 We would like to be the first team to the bonus in every half.
05:21 And we've gotten away from that to a certain extent.
05:25 But that's something that we've been hitting on all these last few days of
05:28 practice.
05:28 >> On a similar note, Kenny was driving home the need to come out against Duke
05:34 very strong defensively, and then it doesn't happen.
05:37 Obviously, that's a theme going into Syracuse as well.
05:39 What can you do to, I guess, kinda wake the guys up before the game,
05:43 before the ball is tipped, to say, okay, this is what we're talking about.
05:45 This is the moment here.
05:46 Let's go out and do what we've been talking about.
05:48 >> Well, for us, it goes back to stacking days, and preparation.
05:51 This is what we've been talking about.
05:53 These are things we need to improve upon.
05:55 These are things we need to do better.
05:57 These are things that we're doing well.
05:59 And continue to harp on those, and we'll do that today.
06:01 We'll do that tomorrow when we come in for shoot around.
06:04 We'll do that before the game.
06:06 And then hopefully when we step out there on the court,
06:08 the whole house will carry over in regards to the things that we've been talking
06:11 about and working on in the last few days of practice.
06:13 >> You were talking about the bonus.
06:15 You mentioned that it has been early in the year,
06:18 you guys were getting to the line a lot more.
06:22 Is that a mentality?
06:23 Is that something that, I mean, drawing fouls, you can do that in different ways.
06:28 What is it, and how does that fluctuate, I guess?
06:32 >> Well, I guess the best way to put it is we want paint touches or
06:36 lane touches, whatever you call the key area.
06:40 And so you can do that by the pass, you can do that by the dribble.
06:44 And that's the mindset for us.
06:46 We feel like whenever we get the ball to the paint, good things happen.
06:49 Good things happen in regards to making the defense shrink the floor,
06:53 making the defense come help, putting the defense in rotation.
06:57 And then from there, we have to do a better job,
07:00 especially against this type of Syracuse team, cuz they have great active hands and
07:03 they cause a lot of turnovers, of making a good decision once we get to that ACC
07:07 area, which is right below the free throw line.
07:10 At that point, we have to be ready to shoot the basketball,
07:13 drop it down to our big, or spray it out to one of our shooters.
07:17 And if our shooters don't have anything, they've gotta be able to put their head
07:20 down and get another paint touch and continue to compromise the defense until
07:24 we get them in a situation where we can draw a foul, or
07:27 we can get an easier scoring opportunity.
07:30 But that's the mindset.
07:31 Every time we have the basketball, we have multiple passes,
07:34 we get multiple lane touches, good things happen for us offensively.
07:38 >> Danny, as a player, when you come in against an opponent that,
07:42 just like you said, put up a bunch of points at their place,
07:46 couple of back bounces go the opposite way, you probably win that game.
07:49 Do you gain a little bit more confidence when you're facing them a second time?
07:51 >> I think that's possible, but reflecting back on player days,
07:58 a lot of it should be some resentment, if you will,
08:03 based upon what happened in the course of that ball game.
08:06 And knowing that, like you said, a bounce here, a bounce there,
08:09 is probably a different outcome.
08:11 But we have to impose our will throughout the whole course of the ball game.
08:15 And that's something that we talk about on a regular basis.
08:18 And that's something that we've shown our guys in preparation for Syracuse.
08:23 These were things that we did well, these are things we didn't do well.
08:26 And we have to capitalize on things we did well, and
08:29 we have to limit what we didn't do well.
08:31 And we have to do a much better job of taking care of the basketball there.
08:34 And then for us, also in this game, is transition defense.
08:38 We know Syracuse is a team that likes to get out in transition, so
08:41 we have to make sure that we have great floor balance.
08:44 And the shots that they're shooting are over us, and there's more resistance
08:48 in terms of being in front of the basket when they shoot the basketball.
08:51 >> Anything else for coach?
08:54 All right. Thank you. Thank you.