Memphis vs. SMU // December 27, 2016 // FedExForum // Memphis,

POSTGAME QUOTES

Tubby Smith, Memphis Head Coach Opening Statement… The physicality of SMU proved that we need to do a better job rebounding the ball. I have got to give them credit because we had a chance. Every time we made a run or took the lead they had an answer for it. That’s the sign of a veteran ball club. They are not going to panic and you have to beat them they are not going to beat themselves. We did some good things I thought in the game. I’m proud of how are guys competed because we were down five and we didn’t quit. Especially a kid like Jeremiah he’s got a lot of heart. They all do. We know were playing them a lot of minutes. 4 players had 40 minutes. I don’t think that has ever happened in my coaching career. We just didn’t have the physicality I thought coming into the game even at the end with Keon we thought he was about the only guy that physically can match up but he gives up so much height and size. That was our biggest concern coming in - their physicality.

You came with pressure to start the second half which gave you momentum and then you went on a 9-0 run and took the lead. Did you think you had turned the corner when you went on the 9-0 run? “They made a good coaching move there. They went to zone that 1-3-1 and it slowed us up. We started to get into our transition game which is what we do best. We were not able to get into transition. We need to learn how to attack the zone. They left Jeremiah open on a couple of plays and he just couldn’t get the threes to drop. They are long and athletic but the 1-3-1 gave us trouble. That’s where we really lost that momentum.”

With Chad Rykhoek going down you’re really working with a shorter bench. I know you have been searching for consistency with guys of the bench. Craig Randell has become a guy you seem to trust and Clergeot who had a good game the other day. He only played 4 minutes tonight? “I thought again the physicality. Even though he is a physical player he is just not ready for this type of play yet. At the time, it’s a 3-point game at half. I was thinking we needed as much experience as we could have on the court. That’s the only reason he didn’t get into the game tonight. I told him it’s not a matter of not trusting you it’s just that I look and see the beef they had and we just don’t have that right now. We got to get in the weight room that’s one of the things we’ve been promoting. We have been stressing to our guys to get the proper rest they need because they will be playing a lot of minutes. That’s why Keon or Christian or Jake didn’t get in. It was a nip and tuck game the whole time and tough.”

You talked about the 1-3-1 disrupting things obviously, you couldn’t get the dribble drive penetration like we’re used to seeing but also with Dedric the way he was being fronted a simple entry pass was hard tonight. How can you learn from that in future games when teams D you up this way? “The high low was there. I thought we took some bad shots early in the game. We took some out of character shots but that’s what happens when you play against a physical athletic team. They were really being physical with Dedric. He wasn’t able to just post guys up and move up the lane. We did have a good high low set going for a while and our best high low passer is Jimario and he was on the bench. We did try to through the high low we got an iso there one time for Markel. I got to get Markel to be more physical. He is one of the guys that can be physical and that’s one thing I need him to do more of. That’s why we were trying to go to him at one point in time. He doesn’t even get a free throw. He is a guy that needs to get 5 or 6 free throws a game. In this game that’s what we need from him. That’s one of the things we talked about. It’s like a boxing or wrestling match, if you’re fighting outside your weight class there are going to be problems. So, we have to use our quickness. Jeremiah did start attacking and beating his man off the dribble but we were hoping to get it inside, get a reverse, and attack. We did do that. We got it baseline and drove and didn’t get the call. Keon, he went in hard great play on his part should have been a and 1 but it wasn’t. it was a tough call there. I thought it was a goaltend. It was like a 3-point game both time but that’s the way it goes. We’ll find another way to overcome this.”

SMU Head Coach Tim Jankovich Impressive win to start league play… “Welcome to league play, right? Welcome to league play on the road in Memphis, Tennessee for gosh sakes. This is has always been traditionally one of the hardest places in the country, certainly the conference, to win at and I am so proud of our guys. Talk about fighting. Talk about hustle. We held them to 29 percent field goal percentage in the second half. We outrebounded them by 19. I thought we got some great shots that didn’t go down. We had a real chance to extend the lead in the second half and get a cushion, but I think we pushed it up to six and it felt like we could have gotten it to nine or 10. I’m so proud of this one. Not a great offensive performance and I don’t care a lick. This was all on heart and toughness and togetherness.”

15 offensive rebounds and only four-second chance points in the game, the positive in the game is you won the possessions… “Unfortunately we turned the ball over 13 times compared to their six, so that means they got seven more shots because of our turnovers. At the same time, we got 15 offensive rebounds and they got seven, so that means we got eight more shots. Turnovers and rebounds affect how many times you get to shoot the ball. That’s why those categories are so important. We really dominated the glass. I could not be happier about that.”

Didn’t start off easy, but it starts off on the right side… “It’ll never be easy, just look at college now. There are no easy road games. Every now and then, you might get a lift from somebody, but you just find a way to fight through it. It’s always hard.”