12/12/23 - The Sean Miller Radio Show

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Episode Transcript

(00:01):
On the Xavier Sports Network from learField Live from the Dilly Bistro in Marymont.
Welcome to the Sean Miller Radio Show, presented by bud Light, Easy
to Drink, Easy to Enjoy,and by Try Health. Try Health provides
surprisingly human care that drives the besthealth outcomes. Be seen, be heard,

(00:24):
be healed. Visit tryhealth dot com. Now Here are Joe Sunderman and
Byron Larkin. Eighty four seventy nine, eighty four seventy nine, five in

(00:46):
a row now over the Bearcats andthat was a one wonderful game at Sentai
Center. I'm Joe Sunderman along withByron Larkin, head coach of the Xavier
Musketiers. The number to call inand talk to the coach five one,
three, seven nine fifty five hundred. It truly is a special night here
at Neally Bistro. Had birthday ByronLarkin. It's one of the reasons.
Happy birthday, Byron. Thank you. And you brought out your Christmas hat.

(01:07):
So this season's upon us. That'sanother momentous deal. And we have
three guests today for Sean Miller's here. But we have Sasha Shiani, Guidis
Namishka and Itzar Djokovic, we're joinus. We get a segment with each
of them. We're looking forward toI can't wait to talk to all three
of them and specifically how to correctlypronounce that we're going to go there,

(01:30):
but even more importantly their hometowns.That's what I want to know how to
pronounce. But anyway, I'm gladyou guys are here. Sean, I
thought that victory started when the kidsstart putting the tension up in front of
Centas. Yeah, no, Joe. I mean, you can't underestimate the
student section and just the crowd ingeneral. And you know, we we
talked to our team about that becauseyou know, our fans showed up for

(01:53):
that game. Everybody knows it's ait's a big game, and they showed
up in full force to support us. But we had not been playing well,
you know, coming off of losses, a couple of tough losses,
and so many fan bases, youknow, fracture early in the year when
things don't get off to a greatstart. It was just the opposite and

(02:13):
sint Us on Saturday. I thoughtit really rallied our team. That gave
our team a lot of pride andconfidence, and I don't know if there
was a better home court atmosphere ofthis past weekend, or really any weekend
to this point than the one wehad in the Centas Center on Saturday.
It was. It was remarkable.Thank you to the students and thank you
to everybody that was there. Youmade it. You you were worth points.

(02:36):
You gave us a huge home courtadvantage, and trust me when I
tell you it's meaningful at every levelfor our team and future. The energy
was incredible. And I've been broadcastingthere in Centas Center since it opened in
the year two thousand and I don'tthink I've ever heard it louder. Yeah,
then it was free and it seemedto be that way from the beginning.

(02:57):
It wasn't like we hit a marqueemoment where it just got incredibly loud.
Sometimes that happens. It just seemedto have that like you mentioned,
Joe, from the students camping outin cold weather to entering the building early
and moving moving right at the jumpball. But you know, and look,
just because the crowds like that doesn'tmean that our guys is going to

(03:17):
play well. But it was anight where we played better, improved.
I thought we got more confidence,and I think we'll call on a lot
of lessons we learned in that gamemoving forward with the rest of our season.
Sean, how did you prepare yourteam for that environment? I mean,
you've been coaching basketball a long time, You've been part of rivalries and

(03:39):
from the West Coast to the EastCoast to Xavier. But how do you
You can tell somebody that it's goingto be like this, but sometimes until
you experience it, you really don'tknow how you're going to react. How
did you prepare them? You know, that was the concern on our end
because really we only have one playeron our team that played in that game

(04:00):
before, and that's Dez. AndDez played in a limited role last year
in the Crosstown shootout. If youremember, he fouled that three point shooter
and it somehow went in and thatwas like a story from another day.
But he was a young freshman,you know, bright lights and played the
role that he did on that night. One year later, he has a
bigger role. But other than Dez, we didn't have a single player that's

(04:21):
ever played in a Crosstown shootout.So we tried to really talk to these
guys, I think they'll tell youwhen you ask them. We start talking
about that game and talk about,you know, the Big East Conference on
day one. You know, Ithink that's part of the attraction of wanting
to come here, to play ina game like the Crosstown Shootout, to
play in a conference like the BigEast. But Byron, all the talking,

(04:42):
all the videos and everything that wehave, that only goes so far.
You have to be ready. AndI thought a boul loosemin set the
tone on the court early in thegame on a loose ball where he stayed
with it, and his rebounding.You know, he had six offensive rebounds
ten in the game, a doubledouble. And his thought, his toughness,
his competitive spirit and him you know, I don't want to say not

(05:04):
backing down, but just competing ata high level was a real tone setter
for our team. Especially in thatfirst half. I thought the team came
out aggressive and confident, and afterthe previous two games, I think you
probably had to rebuild the confidence.How did you go about doing that?
Because you're sure was there from thetip off, Well, then these guys

(05:25):
will be able to answer it themselves. But we really went to work.
You know, the game ended andit's you know, I think my message
to them is, you know,we're not helpless. You know, we
lost the tough game. We hadour worst half of the season against Delaware.
We lost some confidence. That canhappen when you're playing the schedule that
we're playing and you pull up shorta game like Houston. You know,

(05:45):
sometimes it can almost be like amoral victory. You know what, They're
a really good team. You guysplayed them tough, awesome. But if
you're a player and you're a coachand you're in that game and you give
great effort, you don't win it, it doesn't sting any less. And
sometimes that can carry into the futuredays and the next game. And I
thought that happened a little bit forus this time around, and we really

(06:05):
quit talking about Delaware. We movedon to the next game, which was
U See and most importantly, wereally tried to have a great process,
you know, whether it's players talkingwith each other, coaches talking with the
players, the coaches with each other, and really having one, two,
three straight days in a row wherethe focus was for us to be the

(06:27):
best that we can be and putour best foot forward. And it really
happened. Our effort level was good. Look other than the first four minutes
of the second half, which isstill something we're hard at work to figure
out the rest of the game.The thirty five rest of the minutes,
you know, I thought we playedwith amazing effort and energy. We weren't
perfect, but that's how we haveto play moving forward. You talk about

(06:50):
the Crosstown shootout and that people say, oh, you got to throw all
the records out. It's a player'sgame. And I tell you what,
there have been some prolific performances.Trayvon Blewett comes to mind, but I
tell you the performance of Quincy Olavariwas just remarkable. It was in response,

(07:15):
especially because he's never played in theshootout before. To your earlier question
and point, you really don't knowhow somebody like Quincy's going to respond.
But you know, if you thinkabout how he played against Houston, remember
he had thirty four points against Delaware, and then you know he's playing with
great confidence, he's practicing well.One of the things I'm so proud of
Quincy, and I tell him thisall the time, is he may be

(07:39):
our team's best overall defender or ourbest perimeter defender thought his job guarding CJ.
Frederick, not giving him an openlook. You know, if you
let a guy like CJ. Frederickget open and get free, he can
really change the game in a positiveway for U. See. And you
know, I thought we were reallyresponsible. Some other guys did it,

(08:01):
but for the Lion's share of thegame, Quincy was the person in charge
of that. So he not onlydid what he did shooting and scoring,
that speaks for itself, but Ithought on defense he was razor sharp as
well. And I think his teammateshave learned to really appreciate Quincy adopting being
a two way player where you cancount on him on offense and that's great,

(08:22):
but we're also really counting him ondefense too. I thought he was
the confidence that he show when thatfirst three pointer that he made. It
was right in front of the UCbench, Yeah, and there was defender
right in his face and he justrolls up and it was all net.
I'm like, Oh, this guy'sfeeling good about himself. Yeah, Quincy
doesn't know that. I know thatphilm I do. Quincy doesn't lack for

(08:46):
confidence. And I mean that ina very complimentary way. I think Quincy
his confidence can go through our lockerroom and as as teammates watch him play
like that with the spirit that hehas, the enthusiasm that he as,
it can become contagious in a reallypositive way. And I think Quincy quietly,
or maybe not so quietly, isbecoming one of our leaders. All

(09:09):
right, up next, we'll bringup one of the three players. This
is the Sean Miller Coaches Show fromDilley Bistro and Marrimont on fifty five KRC
in the Varsity Network. Welcome backto Dilli Bistro and Marmont and the Sean
Miller Show. Xavier fans helped sincethat he cancer Advisors achieved victory over cancer.
At the next home game at theSintai Center, just grab a souvenir
cup for a chance to win greatprizes like a private VIP, SUEK courtside

(09:33):
seats or Xavier merchandise. And ourfirst guest is Saucage Siani, and I
have to ask you. You hadto steal at the top of the key.
You picked the pocket of a guardand you take off down the floor
and you made a beautiful pass toswing what was going through your mind.
That the whole process is you're asyou're running, you know, as quickly
as you can to stay away fromthe guard who's chasing you. Obviously,

(09:54):
it was a beautiful play. Iwas thinking today finished so that I show
the live so that I didn't knowwhat's going on there? Who am I
passing to? To be honest,and I just throw the ball and thanks
God, they won't they When Swayinwas there and he finished this player and
it was it was amazing. Ithought I heard Sean Miller saying, hey,

(10:15):
get it to a guard, getit to a guard. I didn't
hear from me that I'm the guardthis time. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
that was that was That was myturn and I took advantage of it.
You know, it's interesting during thatpoint you weren't sure who was on
your wing though, that you didn'tknow what swayn for sure. Yeah that's
why you want guys. I knowit was sway and I think it was
Davia and I just throw into thisphase there and someone caught it and it

(10:39):
was It was great. So Sasha, tell everybody you're from Slovenia. How
do you pronounce your home to Okay, I'll let you have that one.
I won't even try that one.So talk about how you ended up at
Xavier, your journey, How howdid you the recruiting process, and how

(11:00):
did you end up deciding the companyZaviers. Yeah, I mean coach Miller
and the assistant coach, David Millergot in contact with me and they they
talked with me all the summer,and I decided for that for for for
Xavier because I heard from a lotof people that that's a great program that
they do a really good job of. And also because of big guys.

(11:26):
I mean Jack Nanji was here lastyear and Zach Female and they're all like
take their game to the next level. So that was also a part of
my decisions. So yeah, Soand then I understand that this is the
first time you had ever been tothe States. Yeah, so how was

(11:46):
that? I mean, how scarydid that have to be that you're going
to leave your home and you're goingto come and play at the school and
in America. How did you feelabout that? I mean, it wasn't
scary, just a new experience becauseyeah, like like you said, I've
never been to the States before.So so yeah, when I came to

(12:07):
the airport. I was, well, that's that's a different world. So
it's it's not in my country.And my country has only two million people
there so it's a small country andpretty much even know, everyone knows each
other, so here it's it's notlike that. So and my understanding was
you had made a comment to somebodythat that this is what America looks like

(12:33):
when you played your video game GrandTheft Auto. That's that's what you had
to compare it to and that's isthat true? Yeah, that was the
first thing that came my mind whenI when I came here, when I
I used to play the GDA withmy older brother when I was young,
and that was the first thing whenI came to my mind. So,

(12:56):
yeah, all the big cars,all the lights, big buildings, and
that we don't have that back home. So it was was, yeah,
it's fun. What's your experience beenlike in the classroom for you? Is
that that a huge judgment or nota big deal. I mean, I've
been in school before, but uh, it's not, it's not It's not

(13:20):
hard. Now. Everyone helped me, all the all the classmates, teachers
taking care of me, also coachingstuff. They make sure I'm I'm on
track, so everything, Sacha,what about in practice? What's that like?
The competition playing against your teammates?And yeah, it's it's pretty hard.

(13:41):
It's it's it's different more back thanback in Europe because we really practice.
We are all young guys. Thereis no like some older guys who
doesn't need to run or practice.So we all need to practice. We
all need to compete every day.And and yeah, it's it's it's a

(14:01):
great feeling. So tell me thiswhat what happened? How is coach Miller
when he goes crazy on you?What's that like? I'd prefer not to
speak. He's a smart See,he's a smart guy. He's a smart
guy. It never happens, right, He's always got you. When you

(14:24):
when you played prior to get inhere, where part of the Florida's usually
played, you will play low post, high post, or on the perimeter
or everyone. When I was young, I also played on the perimeter.
Yeah, but no, I thinkmy main main job made position. It's
like on the center, maybe foursometimes, but mostly mostly a center.

(14:45):
Mandy's some versatile center. She likedto drive to the basket from the freezowe
line. Where you kind of makea world move and spind You have one
of those against you see where yousplit a double team, leaped in the
air and kind of I'm there fora moment and backed it off. Yeah,
you do a lot of that inthe past. Yeah, look like
so Sasha, what about expanding yourgame? Like, well, tell me

(15:07):
about like, is there anybody you'dlike to pattern your game after you see
somebody in the NBA or somebody youplay it against overseas? Is there someone
you try to what'sh your style?How do you try to play like?
Yeah, I mean I look allall the big guys and try to get
some some things they do really wellon the floor, So I don't have

(15:31):
like just one guy to do that. I can say he's my favorite player.
Obviously, Luca is probably my favoriteplayer, but I don't play like
him and nobody does, nobody incredible. So yeah, maybe there there are
some guys back home, I meanin Europe who are playing like kind of

(15:52):
similar than that I play. Som Yeah, when you started playing did
you start with basketball? Just startwith a different sport with karate? But
that was two weeks two weeks ofkarate. That was enough? Why is
that over two weeks got it downhe moved on. Yeah, it was

(16:14):
not on my sport, it's allthey were too too quick, and I'm
glad I decided for basketball. Well, we sure appreciate that you joined us.
Were thrilled your playing at Cincinnatia JavaUniversity and getting your first cross town,
winning your first effort. That's somethingyou always remember. I guarantee you
congratulations. This is a Deli Bistrothe Sean Miller Show our fifty five KRC.

(16:41):
This is a Sean Miller Coach ashow from Dilly Bistrow, Marrimount on
fifty five KRC in the Varsity Networks. We are visiting with Gidis the mixa
from Lithuania six eight senior, whowe just found out today that you were
awarded another year of eligibility. Congratulations. So that's good. So tell me

(17:10):
what's your Xavier experience. What it'sbeen like so far. It's amazing.
I mean everything here is great.Coach is great, like managers are great.
I really I don't need to doanything. I just need to come,
come to practice and just do whatI can at the best level.
And that's it. Everything else islike not on me. So I'm just

(17:34):
like practicing and that's it. Likebyron as prior, how did you How
did your journey start and how didyou end up behavior? What was the
process like and when did you firstget contacted and make your decision to come
here. So, yeah, socoach and coach Miller, Coach Miller and
coach David Miller, uh, getin touch with me, and I think

(17:56):
it's late June. So with me, it was kind of complicated because I
went to the university in Lithuania andthey needed to figure it out how to
how I can like get eligibility years. So it was kind of complicated.
But I'm very thankful for whole Xavierthat they put a lot of work in

(18:22):
me and like that I got thosetwo years of eligibility and that I am
here. So but yeah, itwas it was long, long road,
but I'm very thankful. Yeah,I know. I asked, I said,
have you've seen much of Cincinnati Ohio? Said, basically just the campus
and or Xavier, But you havebeen downtown. You said, you went
to the fireworks at the end ofthe summer. How is that? Yeah,
it was pretty I mean, butI hope I will see more downtown

(18:47):
and during the Christmas break because myfamily is coming here, so we will
rend the car. Yeah, that'sgood. So we will rent a car
and I hope we will see moreof the city around here, like downtown.
So gets, was this your firsttime in the United States or have

(19:08):
you been here before? No,that was my first time. And then
tell me a little bit about likepracticing. What's it like being part of
the team. You said you playedfor a team in Lithuania. Is it
kind of similar to your Xavier teamor is it a little different? No,
it was different because so I wasplaying for Charli Good's junior team,

(19:33):
but I was also practicing with CharltiyGerte's main team. Where are like old
guys, like like very physical andthey don't like to run, they don't
like to be on like high face. And when I came here, the
pace was so high. I wasso shocked. But after the couple of
practices, I was good and soyeah, but that was shocked for me.

(20:00):
The pace that was shocked for me. Yeah, I was gonna ask
you, like, what's the biggestdifference from playing your prior basketball and Lithuyneia
The plan kind of in the Statesand you say the pace, the speed,
Yeah, what about the physicality isit? Is it about the same
or when I was practicing with themain team, the physicality was at highest

(20:22):
level. I mean they are allguys like thirty years old or even older,
so they're strong and I need tocompete with them, so it was
very hard. But when I wascompeting with junior team, it was easier.
So to compare physicality, I thinkit's the same sometimes. Yeah,
like here are like really big dudeslike six' nine seven, like two

(20:45):
hundred and forty pounds or even more. But I'm good with that. I
like to I like to play physicalbasketball, and I'm good with that.
I was repressed with your shot latein the ballgame at a really clutch situation
against the bear Cashkin gradulations just towin, by the way, but that
little floating lane, that's not aneasy shot, and that was you picked
the right moment to nothing but neton that one. Congratulationship, Thank you.

(21:08):
So had you geeze, have youplayed in any game like that like
that loud, that environment? Whatwas that like to play in that game
like that? I never played inthat crowd, like ten thousand people call
me. I never played like that. But last year my junior team we
played in the finals, so itwas also like crazy and wierman. Everyone

(21:30):
was shouting like it was a biggame, big pressure. So I think
that's the top two games that Iplayed, Like crosstime shoot out on my
finals game. Final game. Youseem to be have the ability to use
pretty much the entire floor on youroffense, whether you're shooting a three point
or out near the top of thekey, driving lane, or posting up.
How did you develop that as aas a young player? Can you

(21:53):
repeat the question? Yeah, howdid you develop all your offensive skills that
basically cover the entire half court?You just post up. You do more
than shoot threes, You have awide variety in a ray of shots.
How did you develop all those talentsas a kid? Is that how you
were trained or is that just somethingyou enjoy doing naturally to you? Yeah,
When I was young, I playedat a I was like shooting guard

(22:15):
because I was skinny, I wassmall, so I needed to like get
getting better at my shooting. Butwhen I grow up, it was like
when I was I don't know,eighteen years old, like, so coaches
put me in the four position,and they wanted me to like learn how
to post and learn how to playat the four. So I think that's

(22:36):
how. Yeah, and I stilldon't know how to shoot, and now
I can't learn how to play atthe post, so I think that's good
to be a like player with moreof a variety is how to scores.
So and then I understand you havean older brother. How much older is
your brother? He is three yearsold? Three years Did you guys grow
up playing sports against each other?Oh? Yeah, yeah, because I

(23:00):
got two other brothers that used tobeat the crap out of me. So
I understand that. So when Igot to college, I was ready to
compete. What was it like playingagainst your brother? Yeah? We were
playing like we have uh at home, Like in our house, we have
like a court outside, so weplay like every evening there and sometimes even
my dad needs to come and likesay like it's done, like you don't

(23:23):
need to play again. Because Iwas so mad at him, like he
was bigger than me. He alwaysbeats me up. He always like talking
to me, and I can't beathim, so I was so mad and
I was sometimes you can give herthe first time you beat him, You
remember the first time you Yeah,yeah, I can't remember that. When
I grow up a little bit,I beat him, so I was very

(23:45):
proud of me. Yeah, orwell, you know what, We're proud
of you to get your first victoryover the Bearcats and your first croshdown.
Shoot that also, and thanks forjoining us tonight. All right, this
is the Shot Miller Coaches Show fromBili Pistro, Marymount on fifty five KRC
the DI Varsity Network. Come backto the Sean Miller Coaches Show from Billy

(24:06):
Pistro in Marrimont. We are pleasedto Havelzar Djokovic, a six foot ten
freshman from Serbia. How do youpronounce your hometown Gordon Mile? Okay,
yeah, I'll let you. Here'sthat every game, So Lazarre, welcome
the Zavier. Tell us a littlebit about what it's like to be a

(24:26):
part of the Musketeers right now,right now, it's amazing. I'm getting
way more versatile than I expected.Like I'm playing on the post. I'm
getting stronger, like a lot stronger. I gained twenty pounds since I came
here. How much do you weighnow right now? I'm at two thirty
five. Yeah, Okay, tellus your story. How you arrived here

(24:51):
at Cincinnati, Ohio, Are yourecruiting and so forth? Pretty much since
since I was a kid, Iwanted to make it to the NBA,
so I left the college as anoption, like a big option. Yeah,
And after the World Cup under nineteen, I decided I'm going to college
for sure. So I touched withDavid because he was talking like a year

(25:15):
before to me like to consider Xavier. I was really thrilled, Like I
really liked Xavier because of con Seanof course, because he had some NBA
players who are who I look upto, like Lauri Markanen. He's like
the biggest reason because of his versatility, Like I want to be like him.

(25:41):
I want to be able to playboth on posts, on perimeter,
everything. So I decided like Xavierwould be the way for sure, and
they were like able to give meminutes straight away. They were like play
as a freshman is a big thing, of course and biggest it's a huge
thing, so that I knew thatwas the right choice right away. And

(26:07):
then Lazare, you've got some alot of experience in the World Cup.
You played really well, and what'sthe difference between international ball or is there
a difference between international ball and ballover here in the States? Yeah,
In in college basketball, it's everythingis about bass, while in like europeing,

(26:29):
everything is like sets slower basketball.You move the ball, you wait
for the opportunity, while here everyoneis like thirsty to score. So it's
a good way to put it.Yeah, right, rite that down,
b score. I understand that youunderstand that it makes perfect sense. That's

(26:52):
right, that's right. So tellme what is what was the biggest adjustment
for you? Was this the firsttime you've ever played in the States before
coming to Zapory, So what's thebiggest adjustment at this level? Right now?
I'm adjusting like to play defense becausebefore Xavier, I was pretty much
a straight offensive player. I waslike thirsty to score. But since I

(27:18):
came here, I learned that thisis like a really physical game. So
I had to get stronger to beable to guard every position. Since I
was a kid, I was playinga point guard. Then I moved on
to the two, then a three, then a power forward. Then I'm
playing a little bit of center now, so I'm pretty much learning to guard

(27:40):
every position. So I think thatthat's my gift being able to guard everyone.
Uh, and I'm working now onguarding a center, which is like
the biggest thing right now. Howquick did it take to learn that being
able to guard is pretty port andthe coach Sean Miller? Do you learn

(28:03):
that pretty quick? I would imagineyou did. Yeah? Yeah, yeah.
What's the toughest part about learning howto play defense? All the angles
and just thinking ahead and sort ofrealizing what might happen in anticipation? Or
is it the physical part of justmoving quickly and staying out of foul trouble?
Uh? Yeah, it's fall oftrouble because the rules are a little

(28:25):
bit different, are they. Likeyou were allowed to do more hand stuff.
You were allowed to like rap playerslike hold them in Europe? Will
here? Everything must have be clear, Yeah, so like addusting to the
rules would be like the biggest thing. And like I never guarded like player

(28:47):
who posts up before this, soI'm getting adjusted to that. So yeah,
so those are who's the toughest playerto play against him? Practice?
In practice? This got to do? This is because he's just on offensive
board every time he's crazy, He'sgoing for every single board. So I

(29:08):
got boxed him out, I starteddoing that like before, when I got
here, he was bullying me prettymuch like he was getting every board.
I couldn't do anything about it.But you gained that twenty pounds, and
yeah it helps, like yeah,to put some thunder on him. You
know, before you box him out. How much is an additional weight that

(29:29):
you put on strength put on it? Can you tell a difference in your
ability to hold your position in thepost already? It's huge then, yeah,
for sure. Like first few daysI played on post against the Boo
Smile, it was just one dribbleand dunk on me. I couldn't even
do anything. But since I gainedthat twenty pounds, I'm able to hold

(29:52):
him like for four dribbles now.Yeah, so a lot of you being
able to put on weight got alot to do with. I would imagine
and Andy Kettler the strength coach,because he's an absolute maniac in the in
the weight room, INNI. Yeah, for sure, for sure, he
pushes you guys really hard. Yeah. I never experienced anything like that.

(30:15):
Yeah. The one thing that's beenimpressive about this group to cheer to night
and the entire team is how hardyou guys do practice in the pace.
If you get to go to apractice, I mean when you guys hit
the four, if you're done doingyour walking up and down stretcher where you
do that. Once you guys startgoing, you really don't stop for about
an hour and a half man sometimestwo hours. Yeah, and I think
it's timed out. Was that atransition in terms of something to get used

(30:37):
to for? Uh? You alsoin terms of practice? Uh? Yeah,
that was a transition because like sometimesin Europe we had like hard practices,
a lot of running, but youhave like two to five minutes to
drink war to calm down a littlebit. So that was cool. But
here everything is on base, whichI like you, I'm getting way more
conditioning than I used to. Like. I mean I was like on World

(31:02):
Cup thirty three minutes and I hadsome like how do you pull the like
ten to fifteen minutes when I wasjust walking around like deserving my energy for
offense. But here everything is onbase, Like I got to give my
one hundred percent to offense one hundredpercent in defense. All right, wellz
are We certainly appreciate you and youryour teammates taking time to join us.

(31:22):
Congratulations on being part of the winover the Bearcats. That was awesome.
We sure everyone here just loved asyou can tell. So look forward to
a few more and thanks for yourtime. We appreciate it. Yeah,
this is a Sean Miller Coaches Showfrom Dilly b Strill and Merriymount on fifty
five KRC in the Varsity Network.Welcome back to Dylli, b Strill and

(31:45):
Merriymount in the Sean Miller Show.But like Brown sponsor Xavier Athletics, easy
to drink, it easy to enjoy. On Saturday, December to sixteenth,
the Musketeer Club will have their annualmonetary collection for our daily bread soup kitchen
prior to the Xavier Went Through game. The physical collection point will be located

(32:07):
on the west concourse of the SentaCenter near the portrait of Father Hoff Sean.
Thanks for bringing the ball job well, you know, I mean I
brought them here and obviously for thegreat crowds that we have and thought that
they that you guys would enjoy gettinga chance to meet them and know the

(32:28):
difference between each of them where they'refrom, et cetera, and you can
tell they all have a different personalityand keep in mind they're all from a
different country, so you know,sometimes they get grouped in as if they're
right around the corner. I mean, you know, Lithuania and Serbia very
very different. Slovenia from those twocountries, very very very different. But
three amazing kids, and I we'rethrilled to have them. In Sasha's case

(32:52):
and Lazaar's case, they're freshmen andthey're get they're getting great game experience,
they're going to develop. None ofthose guys had a summer with us,
so you know, keep in mindthat it's difficult to transition to be a
freshman, especially in twenty twenty three. As you can see there aren't a
lot of freshmen playing anywhere, butthey weren't with us in June, July,

(33:15):
and August. So I'm really excitedabout the experience they're getting, their
work ethic where we go from here, but really allowing them to get the
spring summer next year into the fall, and I think what you'll see is
they're going to really develop and continueto develop. Getas is a little bit
older, but like you mentioned Byron, Geatis will return next year as well,

(33:36):
and you know that experience experience inage, but also experience in that
these guys have been here for ayear right now. It's easier in year
two than year one. And Ithink des Claude is a great example of
what I mean, Sean. Whenyou you've coached international players throughout your nineteen
year history of being a head coach, and when you have a situation like

(33:58):
that, three players from different partsof the world to mesh with your American
players, do you do anything separatethan you would otherwise if you just had
kind of a normal class of playersfrom the United States. We try to
do things off the court. Butagain, one of the great periods of
time for that, Byron, asyou know, is the summer, right

(34:20):
when they're not taking a full classload and you don't have the pressure of
games, etc. That's when theyreally You heard Geetas talk about he hasn't
really gone around Cincinnati a whole lot, because almost from the second he's gotten
here, he's gone full load ofclass practice, you know, tutoring,
identifying, learning in different language.Before you know it, here we are
playing games. So he hasn't reallyhad a chance to take a deep breath.

(34:44):
So I'm excited for all three ofthose guys to be able to enjoy
Cincinnati more enjoy Xavier. They allreally enjoy the university, as you can
tell. Keep in mind, withnone of the three of them ever coming
to the United States, they allspeak very well. I mean, imagine
if you and I had to speakLithuanian and read read Lithuanian, and you

(35:06):
know, listen to your teammates talkfast during a game. All three of
those guys are clearly in charge oftheir own language, and it's really remarkable
to watch. Although they're all proficient, they've gotten better. That's the one
thing that people in Europe will tellyou. When you come to the United
States and you have nobody else tospeak your native language, you're almost forced

(35:27):
to learn English. And just judgingsomeone like Gidas from late August to now
as we approach middle of middle ofDecember, he's really gained confidence. He
reads easier, he translates easier,he talks much more fluently, and really,
all three of them, that'll bea gift for the rest of their
life. I don't think any ofthem will ever lose what they gain by
coming here, learning English and gettingan education here at Xavier. Coach,

(35:51):
you are in a situation where youknow, they may say something back at
you in their native tongue and youdon't understand, but you know it's not
a good thing. Yeah, havethere ever been in those situations and vice
versa. Once in a while Isay some things they may not completely understand,
but they're they're such great kids.They they they want to do well.

(36:12):
They're about team, they're about theuniversity, they're about the win,
and they're about all the good things. And we're just we're thrilled to have
them as part of our our cultureand as we build, as we grow
our program and build it, youknow, I think that that ingredient is
something that we want to keep.It's just it's healthy across the board.
And uh, I really enjoy coaching. And you talked about we asked you

(36:36):
earlier this year about like why youlike international recruiting international players. After meeting
those kids and listening to and talkto them, I fully understand why.
Very very grateful I I had arewe we offered So another player that I

(36:57):
coached, his name is dus OnRisk Wristitch, and he's from Lazar's country,
and Lazar doesn't really know him,but he knows of him. And
again that gives you credibility of whyXavier or why can I trust Coach Miller
Because somebody from his country took theleap of faith, came to the United
States and played for me, andhe left his Arizona and still today all

(37:19):
time winning his player. But onetime I was mad at him. I
said, you know, dou,soon I'm gonna start calling you uson because
there's no D. You don't playme D. And then next morning it
came in. I got to knockon my door and he said, I'll
finish it next week. It wasa good ending. Thank you for joining
us for the Sean Miller. Hewrote the show from Dilly Bistro, Marrimant

(37:43):
fifty five RC and the Varsity NetworkLive from the Dilly Bistro in Marymont.
This has been the Sean Miller Radioshow presented by bud Late, Easy to
Drink, Easy Enjoy and buy TryHealth. Try Health provides surprisingly human care

(38:05):
that drives the best health outcomes.Be seen, be heard, be healed.
Visit tryhealth dot com. The precedinghas been a Learfield presentation on the
Xavier Sports net Work.