Coach Eric Musselman Did a Great Job on the Glass Getting Six Boards

NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Regional Semifinal: Oral Roberts vs Arkansas Saturday, March 27, 2021 Indianapolis, Indiana, USA Bankers Life Fieldhouse So you're asking Devo to guard at a high level. He goes Arkansas Razorbacks out and has eight rebounds, 16 points, two assists. His rebounding was phenomenal. Even Desi, I thought Desi Coach Eric Musselman did a great job on the glass getting six boards. We felt like we had a mismatch in the post with certain matchups. I Sweet 16 Postgame Media Conference thought Jalen Tate did a great job scoring points in the paint. Arkansas - 72, Oral Roberts - 70 We weren't great offensively tonight, but obviously found a way to win. I thought some of our steals helped us, but THE MODERATOR: Welcome, Coach Musselman. We're Devo was phenomenal on both sides of the ball, going to start with an opening statement. Make sure you're defensively and offensively. identifying yourself. Q. Coach, you mentioned the early deficits. Has there ERIC MUSSELMAN: Really proud of our team, especially been a common theme in these three games behind in the second half, with their effort. We've been down now those deficits? What's contributed to those, and what in three games and found a way to come back. Regrouped was the key tonight to digging out that have hole? again at halftime, changed up our defense a little bit more, where we wanted to trap and lead certain players. ERIC MUSSELMAN: You've got to keep searching as a team, as a coaching staff, for a matchup you like. We Give Oral Roberts a ton of credit. I thought they played worked all week on our pick-and-roll coverage. I thought it really, really well, played really hard. We made a decision was decent. Looking at the first two games Oral Roberts that we were going to try to limit No. 0 as best we could on played, I thought our pick-and-roll defense was probably a his pick and pops. I thought we did a really good job little bit more effective than what they saw in Games 1 and limiting him to seven field goals attempted, Justin Smith did 2. Not much, though, but slightly. a great job. We just felt there was no way we could let both 0 and 3 have big games. But I thought our trapping and trying to get the ball out of certain players' hands was very effective. We didn't want When they went to their bench, we kind of left the bench to do that going into the game because they have so many players and tried to trap the ball, and I thought that really surrounding pieces that are shooters. helped ignite our transition offense in the second half. Certainly, we'd all like to get out to a lead, but at the end of Q. Coach, congratulations. I was wondering if you the day, there's going to be runs. Right now we've been a could just talk about Devo's play tonight and obviously really, really good second-half team all year, and you've the big shot there at the end. got to be able to make adjustments at halftime. We basically resorted to our plan D coverage. I'm just glad we ERIC MUSSELMAN: I mean, we don't run any plays for had a full week to go through multiple coverages. Now, Devo, at least not right now. We will next year, obviously, that won't be the case heading into the next game on but he's just a guy that just balls. He just plays. You look Monday. across the board, and first of all, he guarded Abmas, No. 3. I thought he did a great job. Even though he had 25, he Q. Eric, I know that wasn't a designed play, Tate to took 19 shots. We held him to three threes, which he's Devo. They're obviously making plays in the flow of such a great three-point shooter with great range, but he the game. What did you see there, and is that did have five turnovers. something you guys kind of worked on? 106104-1-1222 2021-03-28 02:13:00 GMT Page 1 of 3 basketball, and you're going to have to be strong with the ERIC MUSSELMAN: We ran one of our go-to plays late in ball and make secure decision-making when you play the game, a fist out red. Part of the red is a snake action Baylor. on the weak side, and Devo just kind of read it and ran a snake action to kind of semi bend it or curl it. I thought Q. Coach, congrats on the win. The final position Tate made the right read. defensively, Devo said you kind of expected Abmas to banana cut and catch the ball. Did you give any Devo is just a guy -- you know, he's a shot creator. For a thought to just totally denying him the ball and making freshman, that's a pretty big stage to ask him to do what somebody else beat you? we ask him to do defensively and then to hit some of the shots that he hit. Even in the first half, I thought his dribble ERIC MUSSELMAN: We didn't deny it, but we didn't guard drive, when he sliced through the defense, was our best the inbounder. I think Thompson inbounded the ball. He's offensive play in the first half. I thought he played with a a good shooter. Tate and Devo were just trying to semi different energy, especially in the first half. use clock. He got a look obviously. We did not want to foul either, Jeff. That was the last thing we want to do is It's been really, really neat and cool to watch him continue foul one of the best free-throw shooters in all of college to grow and to watch his confidence continue to grow. basketball. And by the way, Devo's been walking around with But we felt like two defenders and trying to keep the ball in sunglasses. So he's feeling pretty good about the way he's front, what we didn't want to do is we didn't want to deny playing too. him the ball, have him flash the guy, and then hit off the deny where he now has a lane or an open shot with Q. Coach, Jalen Tate kind of kept you all afloat nobody in front of him. That's the reason that we didn't offensively in the first half. He scored pretty well in the deny. We talked about it, we discussed it, and felt like if second half and then finished with six assists for the we could just cup him with two guys, that was better than game. I guess could you just speak to the importance having him make a Z cut and end up with the ball off of of his play. He hit some pretty important shots down denial. the stretch before Devo's. Q. Your father, Bill, was a coach for 25 years. And ERIC MUSSELMAN: Yeah, he hit huge shots, and just his Scott Drew's father, Homer, won more than 600 games. size against their guards, that was one of the focal points And Wayne Tinkle coached his son, and Jim of the game plan offensively was to try to -- you know, with Boeheim's best player is his son, Buddy. What makes our bigger guards, was to score it. We needed him to play the father-son bond so special when it comes to well. basketball coaches? Desi provided really good bench minutes, but we didn't get ERIC MUSSELMAN: That's a great question. I'm sure that much out of our bench other than Desi coming in, and Desi each person that you just mentioned has their own story. did a good job defensively, and he did a good job My dad -- I mean, I can only speak for myself. My father rebounding the basketball as well for his position. It was was my idol, my best friend. For Halloween, I wanted to be just kind of their bench didn't score. Really unique game in a coach. After school, when I was in grade school, my that aspect. mom would drop me off at my dad's practices, and I'd stay until 10:00 or 11:00 at night until he'd finish breaking down But our free throws going from 13 to 15 from the line, not a film or having staff meetings. high volume of FTAs at all in this game. I thought there was a little more physical contact maybe. I just wanted to walk in his footsteps, and now I have my own son on staff here, and he obviously wants to get into But we converted our foul shots, which is extremely, coaching. I have a younger son in college, and I know he extremely important. And then I like the fact that we had wants to get into coaching when he graduates from seven steals to just ten turnovers, and a couple of those University of San Diego. turnovers were -- early in the game, we had two that we shouldn't have had, and then I thought we turned the ball Everyone's got their own story, but when you're around it, over in that transition segment back to back, just trying to you either fall in love with it -- and I know a lot of coaches' make home run plays, which were not -- we have got to sons that aren't in coaching because it's a tough life.

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