March 6, 2025 • 6 mins
with Mike Crispino after the win over the Golden Eagles Wednesday Night
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Joined now by Luke Murray, you kind assistant. Well, coach,
we had three games in a row in this building
that came down to these final possessions, and the Huskies
get it done today. And I think the experience of
all these close games, somehow you can summarize it by saying,
you're learning as you go to play in these close,
tough games.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Yeah, I mean hopefully. You know, I thought we took
a big step forward in terms of taking care of
the ball, you know, first and foremost. That was obviously
something that plagued us in this building against Saint John's
not as much in the in the Creton game that
we lost here, but you know, a big step forward
obviously in relation to how we played out in Milwaukee
as well.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
The Huskies in this one trailed at halftime. Let's talk
about that, because most teams go in the locker room
you're down. You look at the stats around the country,
most teams don't bounce back from that. What do you
do at halftime to regroup even though you're down four,
you're still down. When you try to regroup and set things.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Right, Well, I know, you know, I lost my mind
on him at halftime, and so did Coach Haarley, We
were really disappointed with the way that we ended the half.
You know, we thought we played pretty good ball for
the first fifteen minutes or so of the first half,
you know, and built a little bit of a cushion,
and then just made some really timely mistakes down the stretch,
got beat to the ball two or three times, gave
up a series of offensive rebounds, and then we just
(01:13):
had a really breakdown. On the last possession. We had
two fouls to give and we had talked about in
the time out taking those fouls, and we didn't execute
that properly. We gave up a basket to end the half,
which was really disappointing.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Yeah, that stuff could cost you, boy, down the stretch
of any season. Second half, you come out, you shot
forty percent as a team. It's hard to win a
game shooting forty percent. How did you do that?
Speaker 2 (01:37):
I mean, we really battled on the glass, you know.
I think to be plus fifteen on the glass to
get nineteen offensive rebounds, to put ourselves in a position
to shoot fourteen free throws in the second half, which
we didn't shoot any in the first half. I thought
that helped us overcome you know, some of our struggles
from the perimeter, but yeah, I mean I thought the
guys really scrapped. It wasn't necessarily the most beautiful game
that we've played all year, but our ability to take
(01:57):
care of the ball was huge, And then I think
we were fortunate to agreed that they didn't shoot as
well as they're capable of shooting. But I thought our
switching defense, particularly in the second half, was really really good.
You know, we held them to five assists in the game. Obviously,
he was a tough three point shooting night from them,
So for us to guard the way that we did
in the second half was huge, and I think that
helped us overcome some cold shooting from our end.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Yeah, Luke Murray will us. You know, when you say switching,
when big guys have to stand there and look at
Cam Jones or people like that, that's a hell of
an assignment, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
It really is. I mean Cam Jones is, you know,
in my estimation, the best guard in the country, if
not the best, one of the best, and we have
tremendous respect for him, so it's tough. I mean, he's
such a good player. But for us, we found some
success with that, and there were times where, you know,
we didn't do it as well. You know, Samson had
three or four times in the first half where he
got scored on against the switch. Even without the switch,
our guards were getting driven at times by him. He's
(02:47):
an excellent player, I thought quietly, Terris Reed did a
really good job defensively and kind of the middle part
of the second half keeping the ball in front using
his size. I thought we were really disciplined around the basket.
Marquette does a great job of shot faking and creating
angles around the basket to draw fowls, and I thought
we showed a lot of discipline in and around the rim.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Yeah, seven block shots for the Huskies and playing this
kind of team where you had a crazy game the
first time with him, you shot lights out. You don't
shoot lights out, but you find a way to win
at this point in the season and the kind of
season you've had, But all these close games, is it
really about just finding a way to win?
Speaker 2 (03:23):
It really is. I mean, that's all it's about. You know,
we talked to these guys, I mean, the Hassans and
the Sampson's of the of the world that have been
here for four years or three years in Hassan's case,
and you know, you got two more games left in
your career in Gamble Pavilion. I mean, you got to
be willing to empty the tank and give it everything
that you possibly have. And I thought they did that,
you know, particularly in the second half. Alex was huge.
Sampson I thought did a great job of battling Hassan,
(03:45):
you know, was hobbled a little bit out there today,
but I thought he put up a great fight and
spent a lot of times guarding Jones. So really proud
of the guys. You know, again, I thought they really
showed late in the game how badly they wanted this one.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
And this team. And I've been saying this for a
couple of weeks. You may not agree with me on this.
I feel like this team could be dangerous because you've
had all these close games, You've been kind of beaten
down early in the year, you've been knocked out of
the rankings, no one's paying attention to you, kN forget
about two you know, national championships in a row. It's
(04:16):
now and it just feels like that this team could
be dangerous here in the next couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
I mean, I hope, so, I mean, obviously we think so,
you know, I don't know why people wouldn't necessarily be
paying attention to us. I think they should be. But yeah,
I mean we've had some some struggles along the way. Obviously,
Maley was challenging. You know, you look at where we
are now at twenty one and nine, thirteen and six
in the conference. How easily, how easily could we be
you know, with fifteen wins in the league, you know,
(04:42):
going into Marquette at twenty three and seven, you know,
trying to go I mean, excuse me, going in a
Seaton Hall at twenty three and seven and trying to
get our sixteenth win at the conference season. So I
know that it works both ways a little bit. And
we've had some fortune as well. But you know, we
really believe in this team and hopefully we can start
playing our best basketball right now.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Yeah. And when you wouldn't like this, Luke, you just
start to believe in each other, don't.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
You, absolutely absolutely? And you know, and I think individually,
you know, a guy like Alex who had you know,
has had some struggles throughout the course of the year,
ups and downs, you know, took some criticism, really lost
a little bit of confidence at times. I think moments
like this for him to step up and make that
shot one of the biggest shots of his career as
far as regular season games go, I think that that
(05:23):
will give him a great lift and you know, we're
gonna need the collective to be to be really strong here.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Yeah, and finally McNeely four of eighteen tonight. I mean,
a game like this, can that help him? It sounds
like a strange thing to ask, but you know what
I'm saying. You were always crunch time games. Yeah, he doesn't,
you know, score a bunch, but you win the ball
game anyway.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Yeah. I don't know that his performance today had much
to do with, you know, the game being tight or
it being a really good opponent. I just thought he
played poorly. You know, I didn't really like the way
that he played. I mean, he got off to a
good start, made some threes early in the game, and
I thought kind of fell in love with that a
little bit, and took two or three sort of semi
tested ones where I thought he could have gotten a
better shot, and because of those misses than when he
(06:04):
did get an open one later he was not really
in the same kind of rhythm, and then he missed
some shots around the basket that I know he can make.
But you know, defensively, they were breakdowns as well. So
you know, I have we as a coaching staff, have
tremendous belief in Liam. You know, we think he's one
of the best players in college basketball. And he had
a tough night, and I think, you know, it shows
the strength of the group. They were able to find
(06:25):
a way to get it done, and I know that
he'll be ready to bounce back against Seat Hall.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Yeah, maybe something like dismotivates a guy.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Right, Yeah, I think it's more that, you know, he
holds himself to a high standard. I know he's disappointed
in his play, and I expect to see a much
better performance next time out.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
All right, coach, can't wait to see you on the weekend.
Seat in Hall, We got a little business to do
with them.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
We most certainly do.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
All right, Murray, appreciate him. Your gun wins at seventy
two to sixty six.
Joined now by Luke Murray, you kind assistant. Well, coach,
we had three games in a row in this building
that came down to these final possessions, and the Huskies
get it done today. And I think the experience of
all these close games, somehow you can summarize it by saying,
you're learning as you go to play in these close,
tough games.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Yeah, I mean hopefully. You know, I thought we took
a big step forward in terms of taking care of
the ball, you know, first and foremost. That was obviously
something that plagued us in this building against Saint John's
not as much in the in the Creton game that
we lost here, but you know, a big step forward
obviously in relation to how we played out in Milwaukee
as well.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
The Huskies in this one trailed at halftime. Let's talk
about that, because most teams go in the locker room
you're down. You look at the stats around the country,
most teams don't bounce back from that. What do you
do at halftime to regroup even though you're down four,
you're still down. When you try to regroup and set things.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Right, Well, I know, you know, I lost my mind
on him at halftime, and so did Coach Haarley, We
were really disappointed with the way that we ended the half.
You know, we thought we played pretty good ball for
the first fifteen minutes or so of the first half,
you know, and built a little bit of a cushion,
and then just made some really timely mistakes down the stretch,
got beat to the ball two or three times, gave
up a series of offensive rebounds, and then we just
(01:13):
had a really breakdown. On the last possession. We had
two fouls to give and we had talked about in
the time out taking those fouls, and we didn't execute
that properly. We gave up a basket to end the half,
which was really disappointing.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Yeah, that stuff could cost you, boy, down the stretch
of any season. Second half, you come out, you shot
forty percent as a team. It's hard to win a
game shooting forty percent. How did you do that?
Speaker 2 (01:37):
I mean, we really battled on the glass, you know.
I think to be plus fifteen on the glass to
get nineteen offensive rebounds, to put ourselves in a position
to shoot fourteen free throws in the second half, which
we didn't shoot any in the first half. I thought
that helped us overcome you know, some of our struggles
from the perimeter, but yeah, I mean I thought the
guys really scrapped. It wasn't necessarily the most beautiful game
that we've played all year, but our ability to take
(01:57):
care of the ball was huge, And then I think
we were fortunate to agreed that they didn't shoot as
well as they're capable of shooting. But I thought our
switching defense, particularly in the second half, was really really good.
You know, we held them to five assists in the game. Obviously,
he was a tough three point shooting night from them,
So for us to guard the way that we did
in the second half was huge, and I think that
helped us overcome some cold shooting from our end.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Yeah, Luke Murray will us. You know, when you say switching,
when big guys have to stand there and look at
Cam Jones or people like that, that's a hell of
an assignment, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
It really is. I mean Cam Jones is, you know,
in my estimation, the best guard in the country, if
not the best, one of the best, and we have
tremendous respect for him, so it's tough. I mean, he's
such a good player. But for us, we found some
success with that, and there were times where, you know,
we didn't do it as well. You know, Samson had
three or four times in the first half where he
got scored on against the switch. Even without the switch,
our guards were getting driven at times by him. He's
(02:47):
an excellent player, I thought quietly, Terris Reed did a
really good job defensively and kind of the middle part
of the second half keeping the ball in front using
his size. I thought we were really disciplined around the basket.
Marquette does a great job of shot faking and creating
angles around the basket to draw fowls, and I thought
we showed a lot of discipline in and around the rim.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Yeah, seven block shots for the Huskies and playing this
kind of team where you had a crazy game the
first time with him, you shot lights out. You don't
shoot lights out, but you find a way to win
at this point in the season and the kind of
season you've had, But all these close games, is it
really about just finding a way to win?
Speaker 2 (03:23):
It really is. I mean, that's all it's about. You know,
we talked to these guys, I mean, the Hassans and
the Sampson's of the of the world that have been
here for four years or three years in Hassan's case,
and you know, you got two more games left in
your career in Gamble Pavilion. I mean, you got to
be willing to empty the tank and give it everything
that you possibly have. And I thought they did that,
you know, particularly in the second half. Alex was huge.
Sampson I thought did a great job of battling Hassan,
(03:45):
you know, was hobbled a little bit out there today,
but I thought he put up a great fight and
spent a lot of times guarding Jones. So really proud
of the guys. You know, again, I thought they really
showed late in the game how badly they wanted this one.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
And this team. And I've been saying this for a
couple of weeks. You may not agree with me on this.
I feel like this team could be dangerous because you've
had all these close games, You've been kind of beaten
down early in the year, you've been knocked out of
the rankings, no one's paying attention to you, kN forget
about two you know, national championships in a row. It's
(04:16):
now and it just feels like that this team could
be dangerous here in the next couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
I mean, I hope, so, I mean, obviously we think so,
you know, I don't know why people wouldn't necessarily be
paying attention to us. I think they should be. But yeah,
I mean we've had some some struggles along the way. Obviously,
Maley was challenging. You know, you look at where we
are now at twenty one and nine, thirteen and six
in the conference. How easily, how easily could we be
you know, with fifteen wins in the league, you know,
(04:42):
going into Marquette at twenty three and seven, you know,
trying to go I mean, excuse me, going in a
Seaton Hall at twenty three and seven and trying to
get our sixteenth win at the conference season. So I
know that it works both ways a little bit. And
we've had some fortune as well. But you know, we
really believe in this team and hopefully we can start
playing our best basketball right now.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Yeah. And when you wouldn't like this, Luke, you just
start to believe in each other, don't.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
You, absolutely absolutely? And you know, and I think individually,
you know, a guy like Alex who had you know,
has had some struggles throughout the course of the year,
ups and downs, you know, took some criticism, really lost
a little bit of confidence at times. I think moments
like this for him to step up and make that
shot one of the biggest shots of his career as
far as regular season games go, I think that that
(05:23):
will give him a great lift and you know, we're
gonna need the collective to be to be really strong here.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Yeah, and finally McNeely four of eighteen tonight. I mean,
a game like this, can that help him? It sounds
like a strange thing to ask, but you know what
I'm saying. You were always crunch time games. Yeah, he doesn't,
you know, score a bunch, but you win the ball
game anyway.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Yeah. I don't know that his performance today had much
to do with, you know, the game being tight or
it being a really good opponent. I just thought he
played poorly. You know, I didn't really like the way
that he played. I mean, he got off to a
good start, made some threes early in the game, and
I thought kind of fell in love with that a
little bit, and took two or three sort of semi
tested ones where I thought he could have gotten a
better shot, and because of those misses than when he
(06:04):
did get an open one later he was not really
in the same kind of rhythm, and then he missed
some shots around the basket that I know he can make.
But you know, defensively, they were breakdowns as well. So
you know, I have we as a coaching staff, have
tremendous belief in Liam. You know, we think he's one
of the best players in college basketball. And he had
a tough night, and I think, you know, it shows
the strength of the group. They were able to find
(06:25):
a way to get it done, and I know that
he'll be ready to bounce back against Seat Hall.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Yeah, maybe something like dismotivates a guy.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Right, Yeah, I think it's more that, you know, he
holds himself to a high standard. I know he's disappointed
in his play, and I expect to see a much
better performance next time out.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
All right, coach, can't wait to see you on the weekend.
Seat in Hall, We got a little business to do
with them.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
We most certainly do.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
All right, Murray, appreciate him. Your gun wins at seventy
two to sixty six.
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