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Quotables: Brown Previews Norfolk State

12/7/2021 4:58:00 PM

At his weekly press conference, Isaac Brown discussed remedies for an ailing offense, Morris Udeze's improved play and took a look ahead at Saturday's opponent, Norfolk State. Read on for some of the highlights.
 
 
HEAD COACH ISAAC BROWN ON…
 
… Opening statement:
"Norfolk State is a good basketball team. They've already won nine games, so they know how to win. They've already won two games on the road. They went to the NCAA tournament last year and got a win over Appalachian State. They've got a lot of veteran guys coming back. It'll be a tough task."
 
… Craig Porter Jr. avoiding serious injury:
"Craig Porter Jr. is fine. We didn't know during the game. They got X-rays. It was fine, no ACL or meniscus. He just had a deep bruise on his knee when he fell on the floor, but he was riding the bike yesterday and we expect him to play in the game on Saturday."
 
… Losing to K-State and the team's mindset:
"This one stung a lot for me. It was my first time involved in a rivalry game. Even when I coached at Arkansas, we didn't have a rivalry, so this one stung a lot more. We didn't play well. Defensively, I thought we were solid: (holding K-State to) 33 percent from the field, 24 from from the three-point line. I'll take those numbers every night. I thought we did well. On offense, we just weren't disciplined. We didn't do a good job, we turned it over too much, we didn't go inside enough and we just have to learn from it. We have to learn from that loss. Sometimes it takes losing a game in order to get better, so hopefully this will help us down the line. "
 
… How the team responded in practice:
"Those guys were all locked in, talking about, 'We're not going to give excuses for why we lost. We didn't play well. We were in this situation last year losing to Oklahoma State and Missouri and we went back and we got better, and we've got to do that in order to finish up strong.' We've got to get better every game, we can't take bad shots, we can't turn it over, we can't go eight minutes without scoring and that cost us that last game."
 
… What he wants to see out of his team when the shots aren't falling:
"More movement, less dribbling, throwing it inside. We've got to do a better job of that. We talked about that last practice. We showed a lot more video, and I'm going to make sure I do a better job of running more continuity stuff when we struggle, where you have to pass it and you have to cut, so there will be some changes going on when we struggle. Going seven minutes without scoring, we've got to do something different."
 
… The importance of good ball movement and spacing on offense:
"We just have to get better and we talked about having more movement. When you go up against a good defensive team like K-State, the ball cannot stick. You cannot have 10 dribbles and be in the same spot. You've got to move it, you've got to cut, you've got to set more screens, you've got to try to get stops and get easy baskets in transition, and that's what we have to do a better job of. It's hard to go against a high major team and have to score in the half-court all night long. You've got to be able to get transition baskets to try to get some easy looks."
 
… On the importance of shot selection:
"We talked about our team, in general, having to get better shots. We have to push the ball in transition and try to get easy ones. We've got to set more screens for our guys that are shooters to try to get them better shots, and if you're a shooter and you're struggling from the three-point field goals or you're struggling with two-point field goals, you've got to try to get layups, you've got to try to get free throws, you've got to get to the free throw line and see the ball go through the basket. Overall as a team, we definitely have to take better shots when we struggle. That had a lot to do with it. We didn't take great shots. We've got to get better from it, learn from it and keep working."
 
… What he's been liking out of Morris Udeze lately:
"He's really playing well. These last three ball games, he's doing a better job of not turning it over, he's doing a better job of posting up, and he's been a problem (for opponents) on the block. We've got to go to him a lot more. When the team is struggling, we're not running sets for him. A lot of times, when we walk the ball up the floor, we run a set for Morris Udeze. Sometimes, when we push the ball in transition, we go right to a breakdown. When you're in a breakdown, we have to understand that even though we're running a breakdown offense, we still need to throw the ball inside to him. When we're struggling to score from the three-point line, he can help the guards and make their lives a lot easier because they're going to start to double him. Kansas State doubled him and he made some good decisions, kicking it to Joe Pleasant on the block. He made a good decision kicking it out for shooters, but we have to do a better job of just getting him the ball."
 
… Playing against Norfolk State:
"We circled it on the calendar because they played in the NCAA tournament last year and won the MEAC. They won an NCAA tournament game over Appalachian State. They're a veteran ball team with a coach that's been there for nine years. It'd be a big win because if we can win this game, I know they'll finish at the top of the MEAC, and you want to play teams that'll finish at the top of their league. We think those guys, Prairie View A&M and North Texas will all finish in the top three in their conference."
 
… Playing a home game at the Roundhouse for the first time since Nov. 16:
"Any time you can play at Koch Arena, it's a different atmosphere. We've got a sixth man here with our fans' support, and this is the gym we play in every day, so playing back in Koch Arena is definitely exciting."
 
… The importance of playing well over this next four-game stretch at home:
"The next four games are very important. Anybody can beat you in this day and age with the transfer portal. We saw that the other night with Florida losing to Texas Southern. Now we're playing a MEAC team that went to the NCAA tournament and won a game. North Texas won Conference USA and they're (going to be) in our conference. They won an NCAA tournament game. Prairie View A&M has been in three tournaments in the last five years, so we're playing some good basketball teams, and these wins will help you down the line
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