Penn State Men's Basketball
Head Coach Patrick Chambers
vs. UMBC - December 29, 2018
Opening Statement
What a great non-conference [game], man that was a lot of fun. That really put us through a test, a lot of tests. I think that's why we are mentality and physically ready to head to Michigan and play in the Big Ten. I am looking forward to this. We could have easily done a different thing with our scheduling and we didn't, but we decided to put these guys through a very difficult stretch of being on the road, playing tough teams, playing different conferences and I think that only prepares you for the Big Ten and further. Today I thought was huge. We were ready for UMBC, Ryan Odom is a great coach, he has great players, they are going to do really well in their league, I come from that league, so I know. But our guys at the last three days of practice, which is typically the hardest three days, it's the hardest three days to practice after Christmas, especially after a loss, which you had the lead with a few minutes to go. It sits with you. They came back and they worked, we got better, and we competed there and there was some physicality, there was some chippyness and I think that is what came out today. We really played solid defense, shared the ball, it was nice to see the ball go in the basket for us and really try and put the ball inside into Mike [Watkins] and Lamar [Stevens], we did a really good job of that. Again I want to give UMBC a lot of credit, they are a very good team.
Q: Pat, what do you learn about your team over the non-conference schedule?
A: I learned that we are really talented, we have some really talented guys. If we can put all of the pieces together we are right were we need to be, but again it is going to take time. We are going to need more consistency, our offense needs to help our defense, because our defense is fantastic. I think it is top-13 in the country. Today is only going to help it, maybe get us to top-12, top-11. But, our offense needs to start helping. We need to take turnovers and turn them into points, rebounds need to be points and we need to continue to share the basketball. So, I think we learned now that we are getting to a good rotation, guys are now very comfortable where they are right now. I changed it one more to be [Rasir Bolton] on the ball and Josh [Reaves] off the ball and starting Trent Buttrick. I thought we did some good things and that group did a good job at Alabama. We have to continue to get one percent better and we'll be the best team we can be by the end of the year.
Q: Ryan [Odom] was just in here and he said thought you guys were more physical than them down in the post. Were you guys more weary of what they could do based on what they did in March?
A: You know what, we know all about UMBC. I know Ryan well and his father well. We are not going to take that team lightly and we were ready to play and we were ready to compete at a high level. I was telling these guys to get lost in the competition and I think that the last three days that we did that. That's what you saw, we stepped over that line and we were ready to compete.
Q: You mentioned the last three days being the toughest days to practice based on it being quiet on campus, guys coming back from break. What do you do to battle through that, to make sure that practices are at a high-level and you guys are ready to play?
A: You mix up the lineups, you make them engaging, you play some game-like situations, game-ending situations, end-of-half situations, some zone situations, just keep mixing it up a little bit, and then obviously on the third day we were working on UMBC. The first two days we were working on us and how we can get better, how we can get tougher and how we can share the ball more. Just little things, because you are going to be in a one possession game for the next 18 games. So where can we steal a possession, where can we win another possession, and we worked on our special teams. Our special teams is our baseline out of bounds, sideline out of bounds, endline out of bounds, different things like that. I feel like we won those possessions.
Is Lamar OK? I know he came back to play, but it looked like he took a hard hit on that foul.
A: I think he hurt his shoulder a bit, but he is a specimen, God has blessed him with an amazing body, to be able to take such a hit to the floor. If that were me I would be out for a month. But obviously, it's Lamar Stevens, he'll get some treatments, he'll be fine, we have days before we go to Michigan.
Q: You guys got a taste of the Big Ten season few weeks ago, how has your team improved since then?
A: I think the experiences that we were able to gain from the last couple of weeks since our last Big Ten game is vital. That was critical for those young guys who we are counting on to help us, we are counting on three freshmen to play critical minutes for us. The Big Ten, I don't think we were great defensively, we weren't great offensively, we competed in both games, but in the end we didn't shut the door. I felt like we did that a little bit, we are in every single game, so these last practices, I think we corrected somethings and then today we saw a better team out there, a more confident team, a little bit of a swagger out there. We had that at West Virginia, we had that at Temple, we needed to get that back. I thought we got that back today. Knowing it is going to be a one possession game, we are going to continue to work on any game situation and prepare ourselves for that.
Q: You mentioned the gauntlet a lot during non-conference play, to get the players, who had three days off, who are able to mentally check out, how important is that given that they were playing at Duquesne, at Alabama?
A: I thought it came at the right time. I thought we all needed a break from each other. As coaches, we can be meticulous, and it was nice to get away, I'm sure it was nice for the players to get away for a little while and recharge their batteries, they came back and they competed.
Q: What does it take in the non-conference and the Big Ten, you've been there. How do you overcome those last few minutes, where you are on the right end more times than not?
A: Keep putting yourselves in those positions, four minutes to go, on the road or at home, let's make sure we have a chance to win this game. Indiana, our free throws weren't there, but we still had a chance to win the game despite that. Maryland, we were right there, Anthony Cowan makes two long threes, we are right there. As long as we continue to give ourselves chances, that's all we can ask for and we'll learn from those experiences and we'll get better from those experiences. Obviously, those were losses and those were setbacks, Virginia Tech we got it done, Duquesne we got it done, but we are going to learn from those successes, we also have to learn from those setbacks, that's how you really grow and learn from failure.
