Seg 2 - MBB Show Nov 13 w Dan Hurley

More on the first three games of the season

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Back with Dan Hurley the Yukon Men's Basketball Coaches Show.
UH headed to Boston now, where the Huskies had great
success in the NCAA Tournament a couple of years ago.
UH playing in Boston, and I know I worked up
there for a bunch of years. Not a great college town.
But I think when Yukon comes to town and brings
that brand up there and by us on the floor

(00:22):
with they're great players, I gotta feel this is going
to be a fabulous environment for that game.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Yeah. I'm not real aware like the tickets or any
of that, but you know, I think you're you're you're
trying to do. Uh. I just think about the you know,
the whole situation. B Why you you know, having a
team that you know, potentially compete for a national championship
final four, you know, with a with an incredible player
from the Boston area playing a TD Bank Yukon six

(00:52):
time national champs, you know two of the last three
years we won it. Yeah, I mean, you're you're hopefully
you're you're delivering, delivering, you know, like a great college
basketball opportunity for people in the region.

Speaker 1 (01:06):
You know, no doubt your success on the road obviously
you contass from great teams here in the last three
four years, but sixteen and seven and true road games.
I mean, most people are happy to be five hundred
on the road. I remember pat Riley saying that one time,
if we just go one game over five hundred on

(01:27):
our schedule on the road, I'll be happy. But that's
quite an accomplishment. Tell me about that, playing against you know,
ranked foes on the road.

Speaker 3 (01:35):
What is that?

Speaker 1 (01:36):
What does that tell you about the measure of a team.

Speaker 2 (01:40):
I mean that we've been good and I think that
you know, Kamani and Luke, you know, now with you know,
with Mike Nardi on board, you're beginning to help us
with the game preps. Those guys do a great job.
I think of, you know, helping me put together you know,
game plans, you know, and to be good teams. You know,

(02:00):
like we've been able to beat you know, I think
for the most part, we beat who were supposed to beat.
And then I think we're also having ability to you
to win big games in neutrals or rown environments because
we we we we we've got a good uh, you know,
we've got good good guys that you don't really want to.

Speaker 1 (02:16):
Win twenty two and ten the Huskies against ranked foes
since the start of twenty two twenty three. The importance
of these games and in the long term for your
you know, NCAA status and those kind of things. How
important are those games against the ranked teams?

Speaker 2 (02:36):
Well, I mean just you know, the games against teams
that are going to be NA tournament teams. They're just
you know, number number one, if you if you if
you win enough of them, you get in the tournament.
You got to qualify every year. And then you win
enough of them, you start really helping you seating and
seating matters. So from that standpoint, and then obviously the
ability to I think we all know what our vulnerabilities are.

(02:59):
We know what are we this is our But you know,
games like this they really, you know, expose the areas
that that you've got to address, because only the best
teams are able to really take advantage of the places
where you're weak. And for us, you know, guarding people individually,
one on one defense is going to come into play
versus BYU because they've got a couple of pros.

Speaker 1 (03:21):
Yeah, no question. I watched them against Villanova. Uh, they
have a couple of great players, no question. Defensively, you
talk about perimeter defense and getting out on people and
making it hard to drive the basketball. Did you do
you feel like going into this stretch now against these
really good ball clubs, that your back line guys are

(03:42):
going to be able to help you on the weak
side and get over the block shots and and make
it even harder for teams to score against Yukon.

Speaker 3 (03:50):
I mean, they are if they're doing what they're being
coached to do, if they're if they're if they're hugging
their man or you know, still.

Speaker 2 (04:02):
Disappointed about the three they just missed, or what you know,
like you're you know, you're, you're you know, these coach
these guys are coached to be in spots so that
if somebody gets beat or if someone makes a mistake,
that somebody's be able to help them. You know. It's
it's what it's called, like you know, team defense or
help defense or what have you. It's like, you know,

(04:23):
and I think that you know, especially in years like
the last year and this year, where we don't quite
have the perimeter defenders that would allow us to just
stay at home and guard the three point line and
let you know, Donovan clean up anything that went to
the rim. But for the most part, Steph and Tristan

(04:43):
Newton and Andrew Jackson would just lock up perimeter people
and anything that wasn't locked up would get blocked. You know,
now we're in a different you know, we're in a
different type of situation with how we need to play defense,
and the help is much more important.

Speaker 1 (04:57):
Yeah, Melachi Smith one of your transfer guards so far
twenty one minutes on average eight points a game. But
do you look at his case He's made five out
of seven threes. But do you look at his contributions
first on the defensive side or how do you view him?

Speaker 2 (05:13):
I mean how I want to view him as as
a six starter, you know, But I think this Malachi defensively,
I thought he was like, you know, really good against Lowell,
and I didn't like, you know, the you know, the
way that Malchi guarded versus Columbia. You know, I just
think that, you know, he's got to play like a

(05:33):
veteran and he's got to be smart and slick with
how he guards, and he's got to pick a spots
with pressuring. He's got to take less chances, he's got
to be more cerebral and in the right spots, because
I think he's going to be a guy who's he's
going to be a difference maker on whether this team
could get to its potential and whether we can get

(05:53):
from him what we need from him to really give
us great play at the point position with both the
starter and the backup.

Speaker 1 (06:02):
Yeah, he's a feisty dude, that's for sure.

Speaker 3 (06:05):
The State like to play him more.

Speaker 2 (06:07):
You know, if it's if it's a game where your
solo is not guarding and jalen Is is not guarding,
you would love the flexibility to be able to play
the two point guards together and see what that looks like.
But y know, we need Malak kind of take some
strides on defense.

Speaker 1 (06:24):
Yeah, you talk about the standard you're you're establishing here
and have established. He comes from Dayton good program. Obviously
we saw him out in Maui last year. They gave
us trouble. But Malachi Smith now playing at Yukon in
this level, in this stretch of games ahead of us,
what do you think we're going to learn about him?

Speaker 2 (06:45):
I mean, I think you'll learn it's tough and you
know and that you know he's here's a guy that
that wants to go out and make plays. I don't
think he's got any part of him that's that's afraid.
I think he's excited about these games. But it's you know,
it's I think every programing team plays differently. There's different
principles with with with how you play the game, you know.

(07:08):
I just think it's just over the course of this season,
you know. And obviously it's it's early, you know, it's
you know, it's not for the for a trip to
the Final four, you know, So it's like you got
to put kind of the game in its proper perspective.
It's a big game, it's exciting, it's a big opportunity
for both teams, but it still is early.

Speaker 1 (07:26):
Yeah, it's still November.

Speaker 3 (07:27):
All right.

Speaker 1 (07:28):
We'll take a quick time out back with Dan Hurley,
the Yukon men's basketball coaches show on lear Field in
a moment