Penn State Men's Basketball
Student-Athlete Postgame Press Conference
vs. Northwestern – February 15, 2020
Jamari Wheeler | G | Jr.
Q. Jamari, Pat has always talked at length about your impact on the game defensively. On offense, he said that's he never told you not to take shots like some of the three-pointers he saw you take today. You made three 3-pointers in the game for the first time in your career. Can you talk about the advancements that you've made on the offensive end?
A: I just take what the defense gives me, and it just shows hard work pays off. I just stay in the gym every day.
Q. Pat called a timeout four minutes into the game and Lamar pulled you guys to the side. What did Lamar say to everyone when you were huddled up there and what was your reaction to all of that?
A: He was just telling us that we need to get back to what we know and that's defense and rebounding and getting stops. And stop just trying to put it in on the offensive end. Get stops and that will take care of the rest.
Q. Jamari, have you seen Myles [Dread's] confidence kind of grow over the past couple of games? And how important has he been for you guys without Myreon [Jones] in the last three games?
A: He stays in the gym. I think his confidence was kind of lost and he had to just keep shooting the ball. That was just the main thing and now it's falling for him and we love it.
Q. Jamari, you guys have gotten to the point where you're getting these 18, 19-point leads, what is the next step in terms of being able to kind of put those away maybe a little bit earlier?
A: Just take that 18-point lead into another 10-point lead. Go by four minutes. Just win the next four minutes every time and come out of a huddle and every media timeout.
Q. Is there something that's slipping up a little bit there?
A: No. Just staying focused and playing as hard as we can.
Q: Jamari, you smile a lot when you play basketball. Why do you like basketball so much?
A: I've been playing it all my life and I love it and I have fun with it. So, that's my way of showing. Smiling.