Penn State Men's Basketball
Head Coach Patrick Chambers Postgame Press Conference
vs. Delaware – October 27, 2019
Opening Statement:
I want to thank Martin [Ingelsby] and Delaware for coming up and helping us raise the funds, that's first and foremost. They have a great team, one of their guys is out. I watched a lot of their games last year there towards the end and they have another kid there sitting out. They're going to be very good in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). For us, I felt like we showed who we could be as far as depth. I think we have a lot of talent on the bench and they came out and played hard. I thought we played consistent which was really important. With Myles [Dread] and Lamar [Stevens] really not shooting at a high clip or scoring at a high clip, man, was it refreshing to see Myreon Jones stepping up, he did that last week, and Mike Watkins stepping up. We had some really good contributions, but we're going to hang our hat on our defense and rebounding and that's why I thought we had consistent effort. We scored 40 in the first half and 35 in the second half. For us to continue to get better we have to take care of the basketball. Thirteen turnovers is probably too many for my liking, and only getting to the free-throw line 14 times. Now they played zone so it's understandable, but we can't settle. I thought that 36 threes is probably too many for us. We got to get that number down, but the guys who are shooting the threes are the guys who I want shooting the three, so they took some really good threes. As far as Curtis Jones, he's a double transfer. He requires a waiver and we're hoping to hear about that soon.
Q: Where is Mike Watkins at now leading up to Tuesday?
A: Day to day. He probably had one of the best weeks that he's had since he's been on this campus all around, but still, day to day. I told you he had one of the best summers, condition wise, that I've seen him have in years. It's nice to see him out there and really produce. I just told the guys I look forward to getting him and Lamar [Stevens] on the same page. I'm wondering if Lamar and Mike have ever played well together and that's got to be the goal: those guys really stepping up. It's been a while so it'd be nice to see. We have that to look forward to, that to work on.
Q: Do you think Myreon Jones has a chance to be a big option for you guys this year?
A: He wouldn't be starting if I didn't think that. I mean 18 [points], eight [rebounds] with five assists, I thought he made his teammates better. He's a willing rebounder which I think is critical for him, and he's shooting the ball well. That started over the last week. I thought the second half of West Virginia, he played really well there. We learned a lot in that scrimmage. Again, a good week of practice leads to productive play.
Q: How important is it for Mike Watkins to be put in the right position to make the shots?
A: I think Mike's [Watkins] got to do his work though. Mike's not going to get the ball if he doesn't put in the work. We felt like we could really win the paint today. That was a goal of ours going in, to get him and Lamar [Stevens] going a little bit. Obviously they doubled Lamar and they didn't double Mike. He had eight offensive rebounds. I don't think I've seen that in a long time where it's flipped, but he played with great energy and he kept a great attitude. We have to keep feeding him like that. He made his free throws. I don't know if you guys know the statistics but he's right around 50 percent from the free throw line. So for him to go 5-for-6, again, he had a good week of practice. We go to keep this going but it's day to day and we can't get ahead of ourselves.
Q: Lamar [Stevens] didn't look as consistent in the first half of the game as he did in second. Was there anything that you guys went over to calm down his play or was it him that just settled into his game on his own?
A: Yeah, I think that's a really good question and good point. Lamar is a senior now and when you're a senior it's about winning. It's not about your stats. They're doubling him. Make good plays. When I look at three assists and zero turnovers, that is really productive. I don't think in years past that would have occurred, he would have forced it. So, I thought he played within himself. He took what the defense gave him and that's your leader and that's someone who is growing up and really maturing.
Q: Trent Buttrick was really able to get active outside, especially with those two-straight threes, and that was a really big thing to talk about at media day was expanding the forwards on the court. Where do you see your forwards, particularly Mike [Watkins], getting active on the outside?
A: I showed you a little bit of what a shooting five looks like today. John [Harrar] had foul trouble, Mike played hard but he had to come out, and now we put Trent in there at the five and it's really tough to put five guys on the floor that can make shots. I think that's what Trent's role has to be is spot minutes for Lamar and come in as that third five for us and get us some minutes and get him some space. Look what he did today. So, I think he's playing with a lot of confidence right now.
Q: You talk a lot about the mix of big fives you're having in today. Do you foresee of having the mix of John Harrar, Lamar Stevens and Mike Watkins happening this season in certain situations?
A: You know it's a good thought and I've worked on it in practice, just to have it in my back pocket, I just don't foresee it a lot. But if I need it, it's not like we didn't get reps of it, so it's definitely there. It's what's really encouraging and exciting about this group. I can play some different styles and if we do get into foul trouble, there's some different lineups that you can put out there that you feel pretty strongly about. You know, last year I went to the smaller lineup and we can still do that. This year against some of the bigger teams, Purdue, Michigan State, and Iowa, we can do that if we wanted to play the twin towers and Lamar at the three. It's definitely a three.
Q: You guys had a lot of success with the 1-2-2 press with Izaiah [Brockington] or Seth [Lundy] at the top of it. How often do you guys think you will be able to go into that and what do you think it does for your defense with creating quick turnovers like you did today.
A: I wanted to use it intelligently. I didn't want to open up the floor for their three-point shooters, so I thought Brockington gave us some good energy at the top. I'm really proud of him because he didn't shoot the ball well, but his energy level did not drop at all. Sometimes that happens when you miss shots, you get into your own head and you're deflated a little bit, but he didn't do that. Josh Reaves isn't here and he was the master up top there, right? So, [Izaiah] has been out for a year, sat out because of transfer, and we just have to get the rust off a little bit and keep getting him reps. I think Jamari [Wheeler] could be really good up there and I think Seth Lundy could be really good up there. So, we will keep working on it and keep putting it in as we feel needed.