Opening Statement:
"Yeah, no big day at home on Saturday for us. Obviously, it's senior day for a couple of guys, Warren and Joe who have made significant impacts on our program and are just awesome people. So I love celebrating people that we love. And then Baylor man, a lot of a lot of opportunity in this game. They're the best offense in the league right now. They're sharing the basketball, they're getting to the free throw line, and I think they're, they're playing as good as anybody in our league. So it'll be an awesome atmosphere and looking forward to the opportunity and honoring our seniors."
On Warren:
"Warren is such a big part of what we do and has been and will be when we get him back, and we do anticipate him coming back at some point. Just want to make sure he's at full strength before we do it this time. We tried him last time. But with those complications of having him in and out of the lineup, I'll tell you what I really have loved about what we're doing now is I think we're finding different ways to share the ball where it doesn't stop and without it having to be Warren touching it in the middle of the floor or forward touching it. The key has been involving D5. His feel for the game, his ability to make threes the way he passes the ball. He's just such a multi dimensional player feels like the more we can involve him, the better the better we'll be."
At what percent is Warren now:
"If you told me before UCF, I thought he was you know, you know, 75 going into that game, but he got out there and made a few movements that stalled and pretty quick. And so I hate to even put a percentage on it. I can tell you this, he looks hopeful. I mean, he's got a weight to him, right now that feels like Warren believes he's gonna play in games and make an impact. He's doing things with the basketball in his hand that gives us hope that when he does come back, he'll be ready with with the feel and skill of the game. I mean, he hasn't let that slip. So you know, game experience is different, but I do feel like Warren's moving in the right direction."
On flexibility with Warren's return:
"I mean, I think the balance to coming back from injury is you still want to be effective. You know, it's not just health. And not to say that health isn't the primary reason why he'd be able to play but there's also you need to practice I mean, you gotta have a feel for what the team is doing. And the one thing I will tell you about our team right now is, I think there's a continuity and a grit to how we're playing the game because we know but Warren makes us better and his lob threat and his defensive presence at the rim is ability to block shots. I mean, those are two angles as you move in the postseason that you need to have. And depth is important because you play three games in a few days. Then you get in the NCAA Tournament. If you're blessed enough to play in it. Then you're playing Thursday, Saturday, Friday, Sunday. I mean, you're playing two games in a short amount of time. So it does feel like the more we can get Warren where he's full speed playing, but to your point, we need him but our team's definitely adapted and playing well."
On EY's growth:
"EY has a tremendous feel for the game. He's he's got he's got an offensive mindset and he he's comfortable on offense. He's got a good a good understanding but his grit and his physicality is I think, where he's grown. When you play high school basketball or you play prep basketball, it's just not the same as the big 12. So kind of learning to play with an edge for the amount of time you're out there. And because he doesn't have great length, he's learned to use his body and actually use his physicality as in, it's just not something he's always tried to do. And then the other thing I thought his ability switch a few times at Oklahoma State was big. I mean, he got his feet outside of three point line is really moving well, it's great to see him move but also show some physical plays."
On Baylor's improvement:
"I think improvement can be in a lot of different areas. And I think there's defensively they're finding different ways to finish games, and then they rebounded offensively really well, early in the season, and then the question is, what can they do defensively to continue to get stops because they're, they're difficult to defend, and I just see them making adjustments defensively. That are really beneficial to their team. And maybe the numbers don't always indicate it, but they're definitely finding ways to get stops."
On potentially getting double-bye in KC:
"Everybody wants to talk about where the finishes I honestly don't know I don't I don't have any any thoughts on it nor my thinking about it. Were consumed with how do we win the jump ball. I'm just not using any energy on trying to figure out anything past how do we win the game on Saturday, and how do we get better on a Thursday afternoon? Because I do feel like those have a positive impact on the direction of our program. Whatever the standings are at the end of Saturday night, we'll look at them and make a plan."
"Yeah, no big day at home on Saturday for us. Obviously, it's senior day for a couple of guys, Warren and Joe who have made significant impacts on our program and are just awesome people. So I love celebrating people that we love. And then Baylor man, a lot of a lot of opportunity in this game. They're the best offense in the league right now. They're sharing the basketball, they're getting to the free throw line, and I think they're, they're playing as good as anybody in our league. So it'll be an awesome atmosphere and looking forward to the opportunity and honoring our seniors."
On Warren:
"Warren is such a big part of what we do and has been and will be when we get him back, and we do anticipate him coming back at some point. Just want to make sure he's at full strength before we do it this time. We tried him last time. But with those complications of having him in and out of the lineup, I'll tell you what I really have loved about what we're doing now is I think we're finding different ways to share the ball where it doesn't stop and without it having to be Warren touching it in the middle of the floor or forward touching it. The key has been involving D5. His feel for the game, his ability to make threes the way he passes the ball. He's just such a multi dimensional player feels like the more we can involve him, the better the better we'll be."
At what percent is Warren now:
"If you told me before UCF, I thought he was you know, you know, 75 going into that game, but he got out there and made a few movements that stalled and pretty quick. And so I hate to even put a percentage on it. I can tell you this, he looks hopeful. I mean, he's got a weight to him, right now that feels like Warren believes he's gonna play in games and make an impact. He's doing things with the basketball in his hand that gives us hope that when he does come back, he'll be ready with with the feel and skill of the game. I mean, he hasn't let that slip. So you know, game experience is different, but I do feel like Warren's moving in the right direction."
On flexibility with Warren's return:
"I mean, I think the balance to coming back from injury is you still want to be effective. You know, it's not just health. And not to say that health isn't the primary reason why he'd be able to play but there's also you need to practice I mean, you gotta have a feel for what the team is doing. And the one thing I will tell you about our team right now is, I think there's a continuity and a grit to how we're playing the game because we know but Warren makes us better and his lob threat and his defensive presence at the rim is ability to block shots. I mean, those are two angles as you move in the postseason that you need to have. And depth is important because you play three games in a few days. Then you get in the NCAA Tournament. If you're blessed enough to play in it. Then you're playing Thursday, Saturday, Friday, Sunday. I mean, you're playing two games in a short amount of time. So it does feel like the more we can get Warren where he's full speed playing, but to your point, we need him but our team's definitely adapted and playing well."
On EY's growth:
"EY has a tremendous feel for the game. He's he's got he's got an offensive mindset and he he's comfortable on offense. He's got a good a good understanding but his grit and his physicality is I think, where he's grown. When you play high school basketball or you play prep basketball, it's just not the same as the big 12. So kind of learning to play with an edge for the amount of time you're out there. And because he doesn't have great length, he's learned to use his body and actually use his physicality as in, it's just not something he's always tried to do. And then the other thing I thought his ability switch a few times at Oklahoma State was big. I mean, he got his feet outside of three point line is really moving well, it's great to see him move but also show some physical plays."
On Baylor's improvement:
"I think improvement can be in a lot of different areas. And I think there's defensively they're finding different ways to finish games, and then they rebounded offensively really well, early in the season, and then the question is, what can they do defensively to continue to get stops because they're, they're difficult to defend, and I just see them making adjustments defensively. That are really beneficial to their team. And maybe the numbers don't always indicate it, but they're definitely finding ways to get stops."
On potentially getting double-bye in KC:
"Everybody wants to talk about where the finishes I honestly don't know I don't I don't have any any thoughts on it nor my thinking about it. Were consumed with how do we win the jump ball. I'm just not using any energy on trying to figure out anything past how do we win the game on Saturday, and how do we get better on a Thursday afternoon? Because I do feel like those have a positive impact on the direction of our program. Whatever the standings are at the end of Saturday night, we'll look at them and make a plan."
