Penn State Men's Basketball
Coach Chambers Postgame Press Conference
vs. Iowa – January 16, 2019
Coach Patrick Chambers | Head Coach
Opening Statement
I thought we competed. We came back and really competed after Michigan State. It's unfortunate that our defense wasn't as good as it's been all season long. For us to score 82, 23 assists, 12 turnovers, the stats look fantastic. But unfortunately we couldn't get stops when we needed to and we go back to the drawing board. We'll go back to work tomorrow and we have to keep showing up. That's what I told them. Keep showing up. We finally saw the ball go through the basket, which is an incredible positive and we needed that. So we have that confidence on that side. It's kind of like golf. You're able to hit the tee ball but you can't put, or you're able to knock it off the tee and you're making puts, so that's what tonight was for me. It was very interesting not to be able to get stops. They did a great job. Franny [Fran McCaffery] does a good job, but they're juniors, they're a little older and they made the right plays down the last few minutes of the game where we turned it over a little bit and didn't get that one off into rebound and left ball handed. A couple mental errors there, so we'll watch film, we'll continue to get better. That locker room was downed, which is good, and that means investment to me. That means to me, "I want to get better," that means to me, "I'm going to show up tomorrow." So I look forward to getting back to work with these kids.
Q: Pat, this game was played at a different offensive pace than you guys are used to. I know probably earlier in the season you preferred to do it, but do you think there was an element of guys getting tired? Because it looked like there were several key mistakes in the final two minutes, whether it were turnovers, offensive rebounds or missing a couple of free throws. Obviously, Mike [Watkins] will tell you.
A: Yeah. Sometimes it's tired when you miss shots. These guys are thoroughbreds. Greg Miskinis does an incredible job of preparing them to play at a high level. We're in the middle of January right now and we've done a nice job of shortening practice and being smart with our minds and our bodies. So we can't let missing shots or making a mistake on defense really affect what's going on, and we did. We made those mistakes.
Q: It looked like Lamar [Stevens] was short arming a lot of shots. He was getting doubled a lot, I know that, but I saw him take an incredible number of shots before the game, maybe 200. I was wondering if that might have played into him not being as affective as he usually is.
A: You know what, Lamar is working really hard. He's getting in the gym, he's not happy with his jump shot right now. It's unfortunate; it really is, because he's working so hard. If you asked me who is one of or the most hardworking guys on this team it would be Lamar Stevens. He'd be right up there with Rasir Bolton and DK [Daniil Kasatkin].
Q: Pat, this is the most the offense has clicked in a long time. Can you point to anything in particular as to why you guys clicked at this moment and specifically against the zone that they rounded in the second half?
A: You know we play with a lot of pace and tempo. I thought Jamari [Wheeler] really played fantastic. Seven assists, one turnover, made some shots. He's starting to see the ball go through the basket, which is great. 2-for-2 from the free throw line and made a three. That's great production from him. I think he's the guy that really got the tempo going for us, and that's the way Iowa plays. They play a little bit like Michigan State, they get the ball out quick, they're pushing on makes and misses, so it's going to be a high position game. And I think that's the best thing for us, even though we're not finding success right now, sometimes we're going to grind it, but I felt like today we wanted to push it. It worked for the most part, but then we just have to close the door. We've been in a lot of games now; I'm going to say eight. We've only won two in the last four minutes. Again, that's experiences that we have to go through in order to come out the other side.
Q: How do you talk to these guys about some of those pass attempts later in the game? It seems like they were kind of low percentage takes they tried to pull off. How do you kind of balance confidence with that?
A: We just watch the film, show them, talk to them, teach them, continue to coach them, keep an open mind, keep a growth mindset and keep learning. We were right there to take this one from a top 25 team, so it excites me that we're battling versus top 25 teams. We're close, we are. We're really close. We just need to get through stops now.
Q: How do you keep this from being a loss? It seems like you were right there to win it there's maybe a 30-second chunk late in the game and it kind of just gets out of your reach. How does this not become a loss that kind of trickles into next week?
A: I agree with you, man, and that's my job as a leader. Meeting with the leadership council getting together with them to make sure that we compete in practice we're dialed in with film and then we get ready to go to Minnesota and compete on the road. But I don't disagree with what you're saying because you're this close and sometimes you'll feel down or feel sorry for yourselves. And I'll touch on that. Nobody felt sorry for us. Nobody. They're happy we're losing; we just have to keep getting better. It's going to flip
Q: Coach, it looked like towards the end of the first half you were transitioning from sometimes throwing it into a two-three zone into more of a man and that sparked what was a bit of a run and some momentum for the team. Was that a conscious decision to switch from the zone to the man and if so, why was that?
A: A few things. They're personnel. Josh Reaves was a little bit of foul trouble, but just try to mix it up just so they wouldn't get comfortable. That's my job it's to keep Iowa off balance, but obviously 89 points is a lot, so we have to do a better job.
Q: Pat, you guys had made ten free throws up to that point when Mike went to the line and he missed both there went down one. What's his mindset like after the game and what was the team message to him after that?
A: Keep putting yourself into that situation. You know, he's playing hard, he's rebounding and he's doing some really good things on the offensive end for us. We need Mike on both ends, that's the issue right now, doing offense and defense at the end. But he put himself there and hopefully he comes in and I know Mike, he might be shooting free throws right now. If not, he'll be in tomorrow shooting free throws.
Q: What did you think of Rasir Bolton's response to today's game compared to performance against Michigan State? What was the key difference?
A: I thought his response was great. I was really proud of him. After Michigan State, and not really earning the minutes he would like, he came out and really competed. He really worked hard in the last couple of days in practice. He's been in the gym shooting and then in practice you could see he was not happy about it. So, he really responded. That's a big step for a freshman. That's a big step because he hasn't been shooting the ball really well and his minutes got cut. So, there is one of two ways here and he chose the other way. He chose to compete and to get after it and earn his minutes back.
Q: Myreon Jones didn't see the floor tonight. Was there a strategy behind not playing him or was it just the way the flow of the game was happening?
A: I just thought Jamari [Wheeler] was playing really well. The emergence of Kyle McCloskey as well gave us a little toughness. It's tough. MJ has to keep working and maybe he will. MJ is a really great kid and super talented, but he has to keep working because Kyle is bringing us something a little bit different.
Q: How were you able to avoid turnovers and settling for shots during Iowa's full court press and changing defense?
A: I thought we played through the clock was a phrase I was using. Play through the clock. I thought we did a good job of that because sometimes the ball sticks and the ball wasn't sticking tonight. I thought we had some good flow, we reversed the ball, and we had some really good paint touches. I thought we had some real quality shots. Unfortunately, our defense left us a little bit.
Q: Where do you want to see Mike [Watkins] improve defensively? Is there a specific area you want to see him improve?
A: It's one day at a time. It really is one day at a time. Making sure he's whole, making sure he's in a good frame of mind and we do have to develop better habits for him, ball screen defense. I think with [Luka] Garza and Nick Ward, the last two games, he really did a better job of sealing what we're trying to teach him and John [Harrar]. Our job is to get the kids better and I think Mike is very receptive to getting better. Especially after the last two games. As long as he comes in with that mindset, we'll keep teaching him.
Q: How do you manage having one key thing that's attributing to your losses and how do you overcome that in close games like today?
A: Because it's not one thing. It's the 65, 75 possessions that are in the game. You got to be able to win more possessions. It's the game of mistakes. You have to have less mistakes against the next opponent and we need guys to step up. I thought Josh [Reaves] stepped up offensively. I thought Myles [Dread] and Ras [Rasir Bolton] stepped up offensively. We did some good things. But just like you said, it's always something. We have to earn the right for the ball to bounce our way. We have to put more pressure on officials to get ourselves to the free throw line.
Q: How have you seen Myles Dread improve and progress offensively throughout each game this season?
A: I think it's Myles approach. Let me tell you something about Myles. We took him out of the starting line up and he responded. That's why he's back in the starting line up. We reduced Ras' minutes and he responded. So that goes well for Penn State basketball and our future with this freshmen. That excites me. Myles is doing it on both ends. He's rebounding, he's in the right position, he's talking. Sometimes when you get fatigued, or you're missing shots, or things aren't going your way, you don't talk anymore. Right? You're not in stances, but he continues to develop those habits.
Q: What are you looking to improve on in between this break before the Minnesota and Rutgers game?
A: You're a little ahead of me because I am trying to go one day at a time here. But we will see. If we're competing and giving ourselves a chance, we will give them a couple of days to really recharge and really reenergize and get healthy. These guys are battered and bruised, so maybe two days off, something like that. Maybe do some individuals on Tuesdays and then really get back to work Wednesday. Of course, stay on our academics because we are travelling a little bit.
Q: What explanation did the officials give you with the controversial foul on Mike [Watkins] and the alley-oop play towards the end of the game?
A: It's a little different when it's a breakaway and he's going up and he's defenseless. He didn't feel like he was defenseless, he didn't feel like that was egregious. I'm going to have to agree with him. I don't have a choice.