Wichita State's "new season" begins against an old, familiar face. Head coach Isaac Brown talked to local media earlier this week about the keys to beating Tulsa for a third time this year and what the Shockers must do to make a run in this weekend American Athletic Conference tournament in Fort Worth.
 
Read on for the transcript:
 

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HEAD COACH ISAAC BROWN ON…
 
… Opening Statement:
"New season, conference tournament. We're going into the conference tournament on a two-game win streak. We've got a little momentum going, which is always good. We talked about taking it one game at a time. Tulsa's a good basketball team. We're very familiar with those guys. We've got to be ready for their matchup zone and we've got to do a good job of attacking inside-out. We can't just settle for threes. We've got to try to get out in transition to beat the zone down the floor to get some easy baskets, and then we've got to defend at a high level. We've done a good job on Jeriah Horne, and that has to continue. He's a big-time player that can change the game. That was a big-time shot he made against Central Florida (in Sunday's regular season finale. Overall, we've just got to play well"
 
… The advantages or disadvantages of preparing to play Tulsa for the second in eight days:
"I think it's an easier scout for both teams. We're familiar with them. They're familiar with us. The conference tournament is always tough. It's 0-0. Nobody's got any wins or losses. It's win or go home, which puts a lot of pressure on you. We just know we've got to defend at a high level. The team that's going to win the conference tournament is going to defend, rebound and play with toughness. Sometimes, when you're in a conference tournament, your shots don't always fall, so you've got to be able to defend at a high level."
 
… Whether he plans to manage the rotation any differently, knowing he needs to win four times in four days:
"I've got to play to win that first game. If that's playing guys for 40 minutes, we'll do that. I can't focus on the conference tournament being a four-game stretch, because if you don't win the first one, it's over. So it just depends on how the ball bounces, who gets in foul trouble and who's playing well."
 
… What has impressed him in the last two games:
"Number one, (we've been) getting the ball inside to Morris [Udeze]. I think Ricky [Council IV] and Craig Porter Jr. are really driving the basketball. I talk to those guys all the time about, '65% of your shots should be in the paint. The other 35% should be from the three-point line, and I want you guys, every time you catch it, to shot fake and drive it,' and both of those guys have been doing that."
 
… Council taking his game to the next level:
"Number one is defense. His defense has gotten better. Last year, we talked about Dexter [Dennis] playing a lot of minutes, and I told those guys it was because of his defense, and Ricky heard that, and he started defending. He's keeping guys in front, he's rebounding and he's getting better at taking care of the basketball. That's the thing he has to work on now, just valuing the basketball, having a better assist-to-turnover ratio. But he's one of the best players in the league and one of the most-talented guys at going to the rim. He can really score. He's had some big games."
 
… What makes Council so good when he's driving to the rim:
"He's a great finisher. He's very athletic. He can finish with his left hand, his right hand, and he has a lot of confidence."
 
… The importance of protecting the basketball to limit turnovers:
"That's one of the keys. We want to keep that under 13 turnovers-per-game. If we can take care of the basketball, we've got a good chance of winning the game. If you're turning the ball over a lot, the other team is probably getting out in transition and getting some easy baskets. You can't get back and set your defense when you're turning the basketball over, so we've got to value it and we've got to take care of it. We've got to be a smart team that takes good shots, that defends at a high level and doesn't turn it over."
 
… The importance of protecting leads:
"Without a doubt, [it's crucial for this team.] We've had several games this year where we had double-figure leads, and we lost those games. Most of them were caused because we had turnovers. We didn't value the basketball. So during every timeout (on Saturday), when East Carolina made that run, we talked about that. There are two things that can happen when you get a lead: either you're going to put your foot on the gas and take it to 20 or you're going to let them get back in the game by taking bad shots and turning the basketball over. I thought, down the stretch, we did a good job of taking good shots and not turning it over."
 
… The value of Porter and WSU's ghost screen action in crunch time:
"It's been really good. Porter's great at driving the basketball to the rim, and when we have Kenny Pohto in the game, we put him in the three-point spot, so that takes the big away from the basket, and Craig is able to drive and score the basketball. Ricky is able to do the same thing, and sometimes when Craig drives the ball, they'll double him, and Tyson [Etienne] is right there to make a wide-open jump shot. Those guys have been doing a fantastic job getting in the lane, drawing fouls and making the free throws. I think that's something that's been huge. The guys have really been making free throws down the stretch."
 
… How he's handled some of the struggles as a coach:
"I'm trying to let certain guys play through mistakes. When you're out there on the basketball floor and they make a mistake, I call them to the sideline and I talk to them about just taking care of the basketball. 'I'm going to let you play through this one, but you've got to make sure you're taking care of it.' We can't have any silly plays, because that's how teams get back into the game, when we turn it over. If we take care of the basketball, we rebound and we defend, we've got a good chance of winning all of the games."
 
… The quest to become the first AAC team to win four tournament games in four days:
"It's happened before, maybe not in our conference, but I've seen it where teams have won four games. You've got to take it one game at a time. Right now, you can throw out the records. I think these guys are confident. They feel like we can beat anyone when we play well, and when we don't, we can lose to anyone. Those guys have had a great week of practice. They've got some momentum going. We're getting ready to play a team that we know is a good basketball team, but if we go out and play well and take it one game at a time, and Tulsa's the first game, so we've got to play well."
 
… How going through some adversity has helped this team.:
"I think the number one key is we've got good kids, good leaderships. Those guys are high-character guys, and they never get down. Even when we lose, they're down after the game, but the next day, they all rally together to have a great practice, so practice has been really good. They're getting better and better these last two games. They know what we have to do in order to win basketball games. They know what the keys are: don't turn it over, rebound, defend. If you can do those three things, you've got an opportunity to win games."