Penn State Men's Basketball
Postgame Press Conference
vs. Northwestern – February 15, 2020
Chris Collins | Northwestern Head Coach
Opening Statement
Well, obviously, congratulations to Penn State. Terrific team, you know they've played great basketball and they're clicking on all cylinders. We knew what we were going to be up against it today, against a team as hard as anybody in the conference. Obviously Lamar [Stevens] had a terrific game, and give their guys credit for hitting some big shots. I was really proud of our effort. You know, a lot of teams get down 20 in this building and with the crowd and the energy and you can want to get to the next game, but our guys kept playing. We found a way to claw back to seven. You know [Myles] Dread had a big three, so give him credit, then they were able to execute down the stretch, get themselves fouled, have some finishes. I thought in the last five or six minutes we had numerous opportunities in the paint that we couldn't finish and that's just where we have to get better. We're playing a lot of young kids, we need to learn physicality and learn how to finish late in the game. I was proud of our effort and obviously it's time to get on to the next one.
Q. With Jamari Wheeler, how do you look at him when it comes to a scouting report perspective and how did you see him impact the game today offensively and defensively?
A: I'm a big fan of Jamari. He brings a lot to their team. Very first is his energy. I've never seen him on tape, or live had a bad day with energy. He might not shoot it as well, he might not play as well at times, but he always brings "A-plus" energy. That's infectious on a team. He played a ton as a freshman, he got a lot of experience. Now as a junior, he does a great job for their team. He gets them settled, he's a terrific defensive player. To me, he's one of the better defensive guards in the conference. He's gotten better as a shooter. He used to be a guy that you could dare him to test him from three-point range, but he went three-for-four today and hit some big shots when they needed it. I've always been a big fan of his game. There's a lot of talk about Lamar [Stevens] and rightfully so because he might be the player of the year in the conference, but I think what Wheeler brings to their team really makes them go at a high level and he's having a great year for them.
Q. Coach, obviously Penn State shot a lot of threes today, is that something you tried to coerce them into to settle for outside shots or if that was just part of their game?
A: Well, not necessarily. Anytime you're playing against a really good team there's decisions you have to make in game planning. The reality is that very few guys at the college level can guard Lamar Stevens one-on-one. He requires extra attention. Whether it's half-on man or double teams, you know if you play him one-on-one you're going to be in trouble. Not only because he's going to score but because he gets you in foul trouble because he's such a good isolation player. When you get in a situation where you have to play a guy with two guys, or a man and a half, you're going to be in rotation. I think what's really made them a good team this year is those guys ability to make shots off of him. Look at what [Seth] Lundy's done, what [Myles] Dread has done, Curtis Jones, Myreon Jones has shot the ball incredibly well. That makes it really hard because you have guys like [Mike] Watkins and [John] Harrar that can finish on those roles, now you have to pick your poison. We knew they had a physicality advantage on us. We knew they were bigger and stronger, so we wanted to do as good of job as we could protecting our paint, which was going to lead to some threes. You have to hope it's not like what they had against Purdue, where they made 16 or whatever they did because then nobody's going to beat them, so it was a pick your poison kind of day.
Q. Coach, in 2016-17 you guys were kind of the darlings of college basketball. Penn State is kind of having a similar season this year. As someone who has been through this, how important is it to enjoy this season, not knowing what next year can hold?
A: Absolutely, and it looks like they are enjoying it. I have so much respect for a guy like Lamar Stevens who could have left and made money as a pro, but he felt he had unfinished business as a college player. You look at him and he's all about winning, it's not about his stats. He's trying to lead his team. He's trying to win. I've always been a huge fan of what Pat [Chambers] has done with this program. Even through struggles, they were a team that played hard every single night. You knew when you played these guys you had to bring it, or you were going to be in trouble. When you get a group of guys that really clicks, is winning, having fun and playing great basketball, you've got to definitely enjoy the moments because the heartaches and the losing is tough enough. When it is going well, you want to enjoy the moment because you never know what tomorrow's going to bring. They really have a good thing this year. They have a good group of guys. You can tell they're all in. There's a reason why they are 20-5 and 10-4, because they're a really good, veteran, experienced, well-coached basketball team.
Q. Coach you guys were up 11 to nine with 16 minutes and 17 seconds left in the first half, then Pat called a timeout. What changed from there? It seemed like momentum flipped.
A: Yeah, well they made some shots. I thought their aggressiveness picked up a little bit. I thought early in the game we executed pretty well. We were able to get in our motion offense and get some cuts and some open shots. I think the timeout just woke them up. Sometimes when you play at noon in the first couple minutes the road team can have an advantage. That's why Pat [Chambers] is a heck of a coach, he called the timeout and got them rallied. I thought their energy level and their aggressiveness really kind of picked up on both ends.