McCasland was fired up tonight, very insightful stuff as always.
Opening statement:
"Yeah, after the defensive effort at Butler, I felt like we needed to make some improvements significantly. Today, especially to start the game, with the way that Omaha tacks the basket. They're one of the best at getting to the free throw line in the country. And so our ability to guard one on one take some pride and individually guard and not fouling was a huge part. I thought the one guy that set the tone for us was actually Kerwin when he came in the game and, and he also, I think that led to him playing great offensively. It wasn't the other way around. He was doing a phenomenal job. On Fiddler because Fiddler is one of those guys that he gets in a rhythm and feels comfortable is he can take a game over because he can make hard shots. And Kerwin made it hard on him and knocked the ball out of his hands. We got a loose ball and I thought okay, now we're playing like that was the energy we needed. I thought his energy defensively was the difference. And then it bled into what he did offensively, which he had a great night. We improved a lot areas we still got to be better rebounding."
On Cambridge:
"Not yet. I know he's been seen and we're going to get it examined and take a look at it."
On free throw shooting and driving the ball:
"Definitely. Especially with as many guys as that we have that can shoot it and who does it, how we do it. We're gonna have to get better at moving the basketball. It takes us a little too long to get the possessions going. We need to play with a little more juice early and the way we've been scoring the way we've been getting the best paint touches honestly has been transition. So how do we get stops? I think gives us the best chance to do that."
On Pop Isaacs shooting numbers:
"I've got confidence in the long game of work. That's what he does. He loves basketball and he'll work he spends the time that it takes to get better. Go back and look, there's a guard named Javion Hamlet that I coached. His first year, he had one of the worst starts of any guard I've ever had in his first 5, 6, 7 games, and then all of a sudden ends up being the best player in our league. I'm not saying he's going to be player of the year I just know that I trust people that love basketball that love to work and he's the wants to be coached. We've gotten over that hump of like hey, I want to know what we need to do and he's the really is listening. And we spent time at night two nights ago up late at the office watching film and he's diving into things that I think matter. Honestly, you can tell like at home he feels a little bit more of a squeeze. He wants to play so good. Because he just he wants to help this team. And it's almost like he's second guessing ones he shouldn't shoot and then he shoot ones he shouldn't shoot. And that to me just shows that, you know, he's feeling a little bit squeezed, which I think is normal, especially early in the season. He's settling in. We just got to keep working on getting the right shots and I do believe it'll make him when it matters."
On Lindsey, two quotes here:
"Ultimately, when Devin went down like that, I just felt like hey, we're gonna need all hands on deck. I mean, I don't know the severity of what's going on with Dev. I trust them because Dev's had a wrist injury at the end of the Butler game that was significant enough when he dunked it on the rim, that he was holding it and bothered him and then he played great today. So I mean, he's a recovery guy, but it just feels like with this team. We need to keep getting all hands on deck and just to keep adding depth we need to get these guys experience. If that doesn't happen to Dev tonight, just not knowing what's moving forward. We probably don't do it yet, but it feels like let's just keep getting guys minutes. So let's get everybody out there so we can be ready for Big 12 play."
"Ultimately in at this level, if you play you, your year's used and then the only way is if there's injury in a short amount of time and early in games. So like I said, I think there's a recognition with the lack of depth at that fourth spot they were gonna need all hands on deck and and honestly all this is day to day this early in the season. Like how do you respond? How do you get better? How do you communicate? I'll give Kye'ron credit. He's really been amazing every day. And at first, you can get knocked off center when you don't play and then you're trying to decide like, how are we going to respond? And he's really responded the right way, comes up and watches film. He does extra work. He does PRed on a jump the other day with explosiveness, like he's getting better. And so I think at that point, if you're going to work like that then it gives me confidence as a coach that this means a lot to him, and he wants to be a part of this. And so honestly, it's to Kye's credit that he's putting himself in a better position. He's not where he needs to be defensively and understanding what we need to do as a team. But I'll tell you what he's working and he's getting better and I think this team needs more depth and we got to find people that can come in and help us with some physicality and rebounding especially with what we got coming."
On recent scoring off bench:
"I'll tell you what we talked about is practice hard. Every time you get an opportunity doesn't matter when doesn't matter if it's at the end of practice at the beginning of practice, if you get the last three minutes like every possession matters, every rep matters, how you compete matters, how you trust your teammates matters. I will tell you this, like Kerwin's hung in there. He's practiced really hard. He's been competitive, and he's listening and he's gotten better defensively and rebounding. I mean he came up with some with some rebounds tonight. We weren't very good defensive rebounding. We need our guards to lead to some rebounding. It feels like that's when we'll be great. That's the team's we've had."
On Toussaint:
"Honestly. Joe wants to win. He knows he wants to win. And Joe, when he came here, the majority of our conversations, because of the experience that we have with some of the returners that had played some minutes. He just said he wanted to win. I mean, that's what the conversation was about. And when you looked at his numbers actually historically he hasn't shot it great from two and as the assist to turnover numbers have been like, you know, sometimes higher in turnovers. I'll tell you where I've really seen growth and he probably had a bunch of potential assists tonight that he could ended up with and if you look at the first three games of the season he had, like 20 potential assists that he had that he didn't get credit for. I'll tell you what he's learned is how do you make the right play? That's what I'm telling he's in for our team to win. And it's not just scoring."
On what's being prioritized in the coming six days:
"well, one It's finals week. So we got to finish the semester off academically and nobody talks about that. When you spend a couple of days making sure we finish this semester off right. And then you can tell at times we look fatigued, our rebounding and physicality wasn't where it needs to be. Coach Wright's tremendous, our guys are getting stronger. They've got like PRs on jumps. I mean, our guys get stronger over the course of the season. That's what we do, and with Big 12 play, we're gonna have to be a better rebounding team. So how do we get stronger when everybody else maybe isn't? That's going to be a big key to us. Because the more physical we can play, the better we will be. Look at our league, we better be able to rebound. To give up nine offensive rebounds, it's not going to do it. That's not going to help us win this league. So how do we get physically stronger and how do we get better, more efficient on both sides of the ball?"
On what specifically to improve rebounding:
"if you watch it closely on film, we're not as physical when the shot goes up as we need to be. And let's just say we go with that smaller lineup with Dev out there playing at a forward spot and Darrion at a forward spot. I mean we gave up several offensive rebounds during that one segment, and balls were bouncing and hitting the ground and we were looking around waiting for somebody to grab it. You can't do that. So it just feels like the first point of attack is the physicality when the shot goes up, like how do we create rebounding areas? And then how do we engage with guards where we rebound down and help out and go come up with those balls that bounce over the top. That's where we've got to get better."
On spacing:
"I think that's the area that we've probably improved the most is our ability to create space for each other and understanding the coverages and how people want to defend us and how how to give space on penetration. And then how to re space out of penetration. We spend a lot of time doing that. And that's an area that I think we've probably had the most growth offensively."
On finding depth at forward:
"Usually forwards it takes more time for them to get a flow of what where they're going to score and what they need to do because spacing so important in college basketball, it's not like the NBA. So that's where it feels like these guys are gaining better understanding as their spacing get better and how we utilize those guys better within offense."
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Opening statement:
"Yeah, after the defensive effort at Butler, I felt like we needed to make some improvements significantly. Today, especially to start the game, with the way that Omaha tacks the basket. They're one of the best at getting to the free throw line in the country. And so our ability to guard one on one take some pride and individually guard and not fouling was a huge part. I thought the one guy that set the tone for us was actually Kerwin when he came in the game and, and he also, I think that led to him playing great offensively. It wasn't the other way around. He was doing a phenomenal job. On Fiddler because Fiddler is one of those guys that he gets in a rhythm and feels comfortable is he can take a game over because he can make hard shots. And Kerwin made it hard on him and knocked the ball out of his hands. We got a loose ball and I thought okay, now we're playing like that was the energy we needed. I thought his energy defensively was the difference. And then it bled into what he did offensively, which he had a great night. We improved a lot areas we still got to be better rebounding."
On Cambridge:
"Not yet. I know he's been seen and we're going to get it examined and take a look at it."
On free throw shooting and driving the ball:
"Definitely. Especially with as many guys as that we have that can shoot it and who does it, how we do it. We're gonna have to get better at moving the basketball. It takes us a little too long to get the possessions going. We need to play with a little more juice early and the way we've been scoring the way we've been getting the best paint touches honestly has been transition. So how do we get stops? I think gives us the best chance to do that."
On Pop Isaacs shooting numbers:
"I've got confidence in the long game of work. That's what he does. He loves basketball and he'll work he spends the time that it takes to get better. Go back and look, there's a guard named Javion Hamlet that I coached. His first year, he had one of the worst starts of any guard I've ever had in his first 5, 6, 7 games, and then all of a sudden ends up being the best player in our league. I'm not saying he's going to be player of the year I just know that I trust people that love basketball that love to work and he's the wants to be coached. We've gotten over that hump of like hey, I want to know what we need to do and he's the really is listening. And we spent time at night two nights ago up late at the office watching film and he's diving into things that I think matter. Honestly, you can tell like at home he feels a little bit more of a squeeze. He wants to play so good. Because he just he wants to help this team. And it's almost like he's second guessing ones he shouldn't shoot and then he shoot ones he shouldn't shoot. And that to me just shows that, you know, he's feeling a little bit squeezed, which I think is normal, especially early in the season. He's settling in. We just got to keep working on getting the right shots and I do believe it'll make him when it matters."
On Lindsey, two quotes here:
"Ultimately, when Devin went down like that, I just felt like hey, we're gonna need all hands on deck. I mean, I don't know the severity of what's going on with Dev. I trust them because Dev's had a wrist injury at the end of the Butler game that was significant enough when he dunked it on the rim, that he was holding it and bothered him and then he played great today. So I mean, he's a recovery guy, but it just feels like with this team. We need to keep getting all hands on deck and just to keep adding depth we need to get these guys experience. If that doesn't happen to Dev tonight, just not knowing what's moving forward. We probably don't do it yet, but it feels like let's just keep getting guys minutes. So let's get everybody out there so we can be ready for Big 12 play."
"Ultimately in at this level, if you play you, your year's used and then the only way is if there's injury in a short amount of time and early in games. So like I said, I think there's a recognition with the lack of depth at that fourth spot they were gonna need all hands on deck and and honestly all this is day to day this early in the season. Like how do you respond? How do you get better? How do you communicate? I'll give Kye'ron credit. He's really been amazing every day. And at first, you can get knocked off center when you don't play and then you're trying to decide like, how are we going to respond? And he's really responded the right way, comes up and watches film. He does extra work. He does PRed on a jump the other day with explosiveness, like he's getting better. And so I think at that point, if you're going to work like that then it gives me confidence as a coach that this means a lot to him, and he wants to be a part of this. And so honestly, it's to Kye's credit that he's putting himself in a better position. He's not where he needs to be defensively and understanding what we need to do as a team. But I'll tell you what he's working and he's getting better and I think this team needs more depth and we got to find people that can come in and help us with some physicality and rebounding especially with what we got coming."
On recent scoring off bench:
"I'll tell you what we talked about is practice hard. Every time you get an opportunity doesn't matter when doesn't matter if it's at the end of practice at the beginning of practice, if you get the last three minutes like every possession matters, every rep matters, how you compete matters, how you trust your teammates matters. I will tell you this, like Kerwin's hung in there. He's practiced really hard. He's been competitive, and he's listening and he's gotten better defensively and rebounding. I mean he came up with some with some rebounds tonight. We weren't very good defensive rebounding. We need our guards to lead to some rebounding. It feels like that's when we'll be great. That's the team's we've had."
On Toussaint:
"Honestly. Joe wants to win. He knows he wants to win. And Joe, when he came here, the majority of our conversations, because of the experience that we have with some of the returners that had played some minutes. He just said he wanted to win. I mean, that's what the conversation was about. And when you looked at his numbers actually historically he hasn't shot it great from two and as the assist to turnover numbers have been like, you know, sometimes higher in turnovers. I'll tell you where I've really seen growth and he probably had a bunch of potential assists tonight that he could ended up with and if you look at the first three games of the season he had, like 20 potential assists that he had that he didn't get credit for. I'll tell you what he's learned is how do you make the right play? That's what I'm telling he's in for our team to win. And it's not just scoring."
On what's being prioritized in the coming six days:
"well, one It's finals week. So we got to finish the semester off academically and nobody talks about that. When you spend a couple of days making sure we finish this semester off right. And then you can tell at times we look fatigued, our rebounding and physicality wasn't where it needs to be. Coach Wright's tremendous, our guys are getting stronger. They've got like PRs on jumps. I mean, our guys get stronger over the course of the season. That's what we do, and with Big 12 play, we're gonna have to be a better rebounding team. So how do we get stronger when everybody else maybe isn't? That's going to be a big key to us. Because the more physical we can play, the better we will be. Look at our league, we better be able to rebound. To give up nine offensive rebounds, it's not going to do it. That's not going to help us win this league. So how do we get physically stronger and how do we get better, more efficient on both sides of the ball?"
On what specifically to improve rebounding:
"if you watch it closely on film, we're not as physical when the shot goes up as we need to be. And let's just say we go with that smaller lineup with Dev out there playing at a forward spot and Darrion at a forward spot. I mean we gave up several offensive rebounds during that one segment, and balls were bouncing and hitting the ground and we were looking around waiting for somebody to grab it. You can't do that. So it just feels like the first point of attack is the physicality when the shot goes up, like how do we create rebounding areas? And then how do we engage with guards where we rebound down and help out and go come up with those balls that bounce over the top. That's where we've got to get better."
On spacing:
"I think that's the area that we've probably improved the most is our ability to create space for each other and understanding the coverages and how people want to defend us and how how to give space on penetration. And then how to re space out of penetration. We spend a lot of time doing that. And that's an area that I think we've probably had the most growth offensively."
On finding depth at forward:
"Usually forwards it takes more time for them to get a flow of what where they're going to score and what they need to do because spacing so important in college basketball, it's not like the NBA. So that's where it feels like these guys are gaining better understanding as their spacing get better and how we utilize those guys better within offense."
Owned and operated by Red Raiders, Sideline Provisions offers one of a kind items you can’t find anywhere else in the world. They are the original creator of the Guns Up logo and are the only place to get Dirk West original pieces.Sideline Provisions
