Penn State Men's Basketball
Head Coach Patrick Chambers Postgame Press Conference
vs. Nebraska – February 19, 2019
Opening Statement
"[I'm] really proud of my team and they're getting better. We were getting better in late January, I could see it. We just didn't get the results that we wanted and I knew if we just kept improving and kept creating and building and sustaining our identity, that the wins were eventually going to start to happen for us. We're breaking things down and we're 3-4 right now (in the last seven games). I told them, 'We're going to do things in chunks. That's how we're going to do this.' They really believe in it. I thought our leadership was fantastic during these last couple weeks, but specifically after the Purdue game they were definitely down. We turned that team over 23 times and we came up short, but they came back in and they came back to work. They continue to get better. We had a fantastic practice yesterday. This first 20 minutes I could bottle that up on both sides of the floor. This is the team that we've been expecting for a long time."
Q: Pat, the way that Tim Miles described Jamari [Wheeler] is that he made a lot of hidden plays. Is that how you would describe his play today?
A: We call them attitude plays. They might not show up in the box score. It's like how Mike [Watkins] might not get a blocked shot but he alters a ton of shots just like [Isaiah] Roby does. Jamari just speeds, speeds guys up, speeds players up, and he sets the tone for us on both sides of the floor. The fact that he was able to get us some points and rebounds and great assists with only one turnover is just fantastic. When he plays that aggressive I think it really helps all of us. It really helps all of us.
Q: How do you account for your offensive efficiency in this game? I think it was almost one and a half points per possession, which for you guys has been a pretty big number.
A: Yeah, I wish I could tell you. I thought we shot the ball well in practice over the last few weeks and we just hadn't seen the ball go in as much as I would like. First half of Purdue we made five and second we didn't make any. Tonight, being at home again, we shot the ball well versus Michigan for the most part and the ball is going into the basket. Again, our offense, we're moving the ball, we're sharing the ball, we're putting pressure on the paint, so when you're doing those things, guys get in rhythm shots.
Q: Lamar's [Stevens] three-point shooting numbers have been really poor this year overall. When he makes a couple, what does that do for you and what does that do for him?
A: Oh it's huge. What it does for our team is it opens up the whole floor now because everybody's loading up. There's no space out there because Jamari's not a great three-point shooter and Johnny's (John Harrar) not shooting threes, so now you have three guys that are not making threes. So when he's making threes like he did at the end of last year when we went on that great run the floor just opens up. I could see it coming, I could see his ball flight in practice, I can see shooting in practice is starting to get more consistent, so for him, his confidence is sky high right now.
Q: Pat, at length earlier this season you talked about trying to get Rasir [Bolton] to attack the basket and take better shots. What does it do for his confidence and what does it do for the team when he can get in the lane, make some easy plays and transitions, and setting up open shots on the outside?
A: I thought he played a really well balanced game. I challenged him after Purdue to play better defense because he was playing better defense. I challenged him to really share the ball and look for threes, search for threes, as well as keep putting pressure on the paint. I thought he mixed it up very well today. He got on the paint, he finished and he got some threes. It was really nice to see him play with such amazing confidence and I think he accepted that challenge. I think at the practice that we had he was phenomenal on both ends of the floor.
Q: Pat, I feel like this is the first time since earlier in the season where both Rasir and Lamar are scoring efficiently. What does that do for your offense when both of them are putting up 20-plus points and is this the kind of offense that you want going forward?
A: Lamar has been very consistent all year I think we'd all agree with that. We always just need another Robin to the Batman. We need somebody to help him out, and sometimes we don't have that. When we're able to shoot like that or those two guys are able to shoot, it just opens up everything else. I think that's why it opens up things for Jamari and you saw us put it inside the mic. I thought Josh [Reaves] played after the first six to eight minutes, I think he settled in and played much better. When those two have it going, it really helps out the other guys.
Q: You mentioned what Lamar's three-point shooting does for the team as a whole, but do you notice him having an added boost in confidence when he's hitting two early three-pointers?
A: Yeah, I think we all do. When he knocked down that first one you could see there was a little giddy-up in his step and he knows the next one is going to go. I thought he took good shots too. We drew some things up for him. He took what the defense gave him and it was nice to see his maturity level and his growth has really shined through tonight.
Q: Going back to Jamari and his offense, he's obviously not going to be a guy that scores 20 points a night, but over the past few games he's been more efficient on offense. Why do you think he's looked more comfortable recently?
A: I think we give him the confidence to be more comfortable. I think that's one thing we're very good at. I told Jamari like in that Purdue game you have to shoot them. You have to shoot them and make somebody guard you because we're a good rebounding team. We'll go get it, so play with confidence, play with that chip on your shoulder, and I thought he did that tonight. When he's getting four steals, five assists, and when he's playing with that tenacity, everything else is going to fall like the free throw, like the layups, like the floater. Everything else is going to drop for him.
Q: How important do you think it has been for Rasir Bolton in the past few weeks to play well and play past tough games like Ohio State, and be able to have performances like tonight?
A: You know what, I talked to Ra after that. There is so much growth and maturity and he is such a willing learner. After that, I thought Lamar [Stevens] did a great job with him too in game. Then we met after that and I think he has the courage and guts to take those shots and we need kids like that. We need guys that want to step up and take big shots. He's hit big shots for us all year long. I'll go back over to Virginia Tech. No one realizes that he is the one that he hit the three in the corner to win the game for us with two minutes to go. He'll continue to learn and we've all learned from failure and setback. I think that is why you're seeing this team start to blossom right around now as we start to finish the end of the season.
Q: What's the value of being able to get a good performance not only against a team like Michigan, but a team like Nebraska that has some injuries that is not having the year that they want?
A: I know exactly where you are going and I think it shows consistency. I think it shows a team that is completely bought in and trying to get better. I think that is what you're seeing because it could have easily got away from us at Purdue, but these guys have a lot of heart and a lot of determination. They stuck together and we cut that [deficit] to five with four minutes to go. They keep showing up and that's what they have to do and we're going to finish the season really strong.
Q: What's the difference in being able to turn your team's performance around despite games in the past where team turnovers were significantly higher?
A: I wish could tell you, Taylor, I have no idea. You know, we're winning the rebounding battle and turning teams over but yet we're not producing the points I would like to see. We turned it over 16 times and Purdue produces 23 points I believe. It was nice to see us do that for once and we need to continue to do that. We have some speed out there. We have some athleticism out there. We're really connected out there right now on the defensive end with our three-quarter court press and what we are doing. If the guys can turn those things into points, that always help.
Q: You knew Nebraska was going to come out strong in the second half. How were your guys able to build off of that and maintain your lead throughout the game?
A: It's really hard to play when you're up 20. Guys look up at the scoreboard and you lose focus a little bit, especially with the young team that we have. It became a scoring match. He (Nebraska head coach Tim Miles) tried to muck it up and press and he did exactly what I would of done. Let's press and let's see if we can get them to turn the ball over like we did at Purdue and maybe get some easy one. We didn't turn the ball over. We settled down and I thought that this was the biggest thing. We did not turn the ball over and we were able to get shots and fortunately enough, the shots were going in.
Q: Josh Reaves hit a milestone into today's game by scoring his 1,000th point. What does that mean as a program when you have someone as consistent as he's been for the last four years?
A: I'm incredibly proud of Josh. You know, a lot of people think that he is a defensive player and a defensive stopper, so this can put that all to rest. He also can score the ball a little bit. He's been very consistent, like you said, over his four years. He has showed up and defended, rebounded and tried to play Penn State basketball. Of course, I had no idea because I am coaching a team. I am not into the individual stuff, but that is such a credit to him and the work ethic that he has put in over the years. Our staff too, that is player development. Josh didn't come in here as a great three-point shooter. I think you remember back in the day in his freshman year, I think he was .022 or something. Now it's nice to see him get his 1,000th on a three point shot.
Q: How do you feel that your team was able to capitalize once [Tanner] Borchardt hit the bench early with foul trouble?
A: I agree with you. I thought that 20 (Tanner Borchardt) is the key. Tanner is the key to their defense. He does such a good job with ball screen defense and dribble hand-off defense, low post defense and he is their help guy. He's really their anchor back there and you can hear him talking the whole game. So for us to get him in early foul trouble, Tim [Miles] had to keep him in there with two. At that point, the way we're scoring he had to take some risks. Unfortunately, he ends up getting three and that definitely put him off kilter a little bit because he is definitely that free safety back there, or the linebacker back there telling everyone what to do.
Q: You guys have struggled with scoring lulls throughout various games this season but you didn't have one tonight. When you don't have a period like that where you aren't struggling to score the ball, how do you think that impacts other areas of the game?
A: When we don't have scoring droughts I think our defense is much better. Guys are willing to talk more because the ball is going in the basket so everyone feels a little bit better. That's why I give these guys credit when we do go through those lulls, we're getting stops for the most part. That's the hardest thing for an 18 or 23 year old to do is when the ball is not going in, can you still play the same way. I think that we have proven this year again, results and records are not anywhere near where any of us want it to be, but we're still competing at a very high level to stay in games when the ball is not going in. The fact that the ball was going in tonight, everything was just better. More energy.
Q: You were able to put in a lot of players coming off the bench tonight. However, the majority of the game it seemed like you were only going with the usual seven-man rotation. What went into that strategy and not giving players like Myreon [Jones] a shot earlier in the game?
A: I just felt like that rotation was playing really well, really consistent. My plan was to play MJ, my plan was to play Kyle [McCloskey], but the way these five and seven guys were playing collectively, I felt like we had an advantage. I wanted to keep that advantage going as long as I could. We called fist up, a couple of guys put their fist up and I put that guy right back in because he was playing so hard. He earned the right to go back in and not sit back on the bench for a longer period of time, where I might put MJ back in or where I might put Kyle in those situations.