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Quotables: Brown Previews Memphis

2/22/2023 4:59:00 PM

There are a whole lotta gottas, when facing a team as athletic and experienced as Memphis. Wichita State head coach Isaac Brown ran down the full list of keys for Thursday night's matchup with the visiting Tigers (6 p.m. CT, ESPN2) during his weekly media session. Read on for the transcript.
 
 
HEAD COACH ISAAC BROWN ON…
 
… Thursday's opponent, the Memphis Tigers:
"They've got two of the better players in the league in (Kendric) Davis and (DeAndre) Williams. We've got to do a good job defending those two guys. They went for a combined (49) points and 15+ rebounds in the first meeting. They're a veteran basketball team with 11 seniors, probably the oldest team in our conference. A team that's on the NCAA bubble right now and a team that you've got to value the basketball against. You can't turn it over. You can't allow them to get out in transition. And then we've got to rebound."
 
… Avoiding a repeat of past mistakes against the Tigers:
"The last game we played them, with 8:00 to go in the game, we were down one. We did a great job of valuing the basketball, not turning it over.... We've just got to do a better job on Williams and Davis. We didn't guard those two guys well. They basically showed that they were two of the top five players in our conference. They took the game over. We've got to try to limit their touches and do a better job guarding those guys."
 
… Keys to scoring in transition:
"We've got to get stops in the half court. If we can get stops and be able to get out in transition, that helps us not have to go against a set defense. And then we've got to rebound. Memphis is one of the most-athletic teams in our conference, so every time the ball is shot, we've got to have all five guys gang rebounding. Nobody can leak out. Everybody's got to find somebody to hit, and then we've got to go rebound the basketball."
 
… Excelling at two mutually-exclusive tasks: crashing the boards and running the floor.
"We've just got to do a good job of both. We've got to be able to get out in transition. You don't want to go against a set defense all night long. It's hard to score… in the half court. But you've got to rebound. All five guys have to rebound. We've got to get all the 50-50 balls, the loose balls at the top. We've got to rebound, check out and not allow them second-chance points."
 
… The quest for a first-round bye at next month's conference tournament:
"All the games are important, and this is the next one up. We've definitely got a tough schedule (ahead)… The guys are focused."
 
… Maintaining production from the starters:
"We've got to continue to take good shots, get out in transition to get easy baskets. We've got to continue to throw it inside to Kenny Pohto and James Rojas. All those other guys (have to) get their feet set and be able to make stationary wide-open jump shots. We've got to continue to put the ball in Craig Porter's hands, and he's got to go make plays like he did at Temple in order for us to be successful."
 
… What's changed since the Jan 19 meeting with Memphis:
"The ball is going inside a lot more. Kenny (Pohto) and (James) Rojas are doing a great job scoring with their backs to the basket. They're drawing a lot of fouls, which is getting us in the bonus early. They're finding cutters going to the rim. They're kicking it out to wide-open three-point shooters, and all they have to do is make stationary threes. Our offense has definitely been running through those three guys: James Rojas, Craig Porter and Kenny Pohto, We've just got to do a great job of getting them the ball and making sure we don't turn it over. That's always the key against Memphis, being able to take care of the basketball, attack in transition, get some layups, and not allow them to get layups in transition, as well."
 
… Keys to limiting turnovers:
"The key is just playing smart basketball and doing what you can do, meaning don't go out there and try to do something that you're not comfortable with doing. I know that sounds simple, but we tell guys that all the time. 'If you're a guy that rebounds, just go rebound. Don't try to handle the basketball. Guards, you've got to take care of the basketball, you've got to be sure of your passes, you've got to try to attack them in transition and make them pay for pressing you. But it's going to come down to us valuing the basketball, us getting back in transition and guarding those two big-time players that they have."
 
… Memphis star Kendric Davis' absence at Houston and whether it has any effect on the team's preparations:
"Without a doubt, I think he'll play. Alex Lomax is back, and he's still one of the better guards in our conference. He's caused a lot of problems the last four games. He's played really well every time we've played them. They're deep at that position. They've got 11 seniors.  They've got other guys that'll step up. They're still a really good basketball team (without Davis), so we've just got to be prepared no matter who they play."
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