The Shockers have some pep in their step heading into the American Athletic Conference Championship but also a lot of ground to traverse, needing four wins in four days in order to reach the NCAA tournament. Head coach Isaac Brown and senior point guard Craig Porter Jr. sat down with local media Wednesday afternoon for a pre-tournament Zoom call. Read on for their answers.
 

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ALL-CONFERENCE GUARD CRAIG PORTER JR.
 
... Being named to The American's all-conference team:
"I was definitely happy. No surprise there. It was something I felt like I deserved after this year, just the things we've done as a team. I know it's an individual award, but I my teammates helped me get that award, for sure."
 
... Being on the third team and whether he felt he deserved better:
"There's a lot of good guards in this league... Anybody could have fell anywhere. I'm just happy to be recognized.
 
... The WSU women's team's run in Fort Worth:
"We're in the same hotel, so we've seen them. They were fired up the whole day... They were just enthused. I could see the joy on their faces. It gives us that much more confidence. Just seeing them do things like that, it can only make us play that much better."
 
... Keys to making a run of their own this weekend:
"We're playing our best basketball right now. It's really just putting a full 40 minutes together each game and knowing that we're going to face adversity. That's just basketball. Really just staying together as a team and doing when we've been doing: moving the ball and just playing for each other.
 
... Teammate Jaykwon Walton:
"He's just one of those players who knows how to insert himself in the game, whether it be scoring, rebounding or defending. He's just a high-level player."
 
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HEAD COACH ISAAC BROWN ON...
 
... Opening statement:
"We had a good practice yesterday and good practice today to get ready for a good Tulsa basketball team. The keys are real simple anytime you're in a conference tournament: value the basketball, get good shots and defend at a high level."
 
... Avoiding the temptation of looking ahead:
"You've got to win that first game in order to advance. We're locked in and focused on Tulsa... I know we played well against them the first two times but it only takes one loss to end your season. So we'll just focus on going in with a game plan and the scouting report we've got. Coaches have done a good job preparing the players."
 
... Handling the added pressure that comes with postseason play:
"There's always pressure. Every game of the year. I always feel pressure, because you want to win the basketball game. You want to play well. Conference tournament time brings more pressure because you're focused so hard on winning and advancing... Today was a good practice, and I thought the guys were calm, energetic and ready to go. That's what we need."
 
... Leading scorer Jaykwon Walton's availability for Thursday after missing the last two games due to illness:
"I have no comment on that. I don't talk about who's going to play and who's not. You've just got to come to the tipoff and see who's out there."
 
... Changing their style of play during the second half of the season:
"We didn't necessarily change anything. Guys just started turning down three-point shots, because they were open for a reason... because they weren't shooting at a good percentage. They trusted the process and started to play inside-out, throwing the ball to (James) Rojas and Kenny Pohto on the block and turning down wide-open threes early in the shot clock to get a better shot. We're valuing the basketball late and not turning it over. That's why we became a better offensive team. And we've got to continue to do that. Play inside-out, take good shots, try to get stops and get out in transition for easy baskets so we don't have to do against a set defense.
 
... Outperforming their preseason projections:
"We always want to contend for conference championships. Obviously, we didn't get one this year, but I think those guys -- even though they got off to a slow start -- I just love the fact that they trusted the process. They came in every day ready to work. A lot of high character in that locker room. They could have easily pointed fingers, but they stuck with it after going 0-3 to start the conference they ended up going 9-6 (the rest of the way). Those guys continued to come in and every day and work, and they got better and were more-competitive. We lost some close games early, but in the last five or six games we were able to win some close ones... They've put themselves in position to be ready to play in this conference tournament.
 
... Whether the team is hitting its peak:
"I definitely think we've hit our stride on the offensive side. We're really starting to score the basketball. James Rojas is really scoring it on the block. I think that's the biggest jump the team made. He went from averaging 6.0 points-a-game to 14. Kenny Pohto has a (strong) assist-to-turnover ratio. Anytime we get the ball inside to those guys, good things happen. Jaykwon (Walton), (Jaron Pierre) and (Xavier Bell) are starting to make wide-open shots, and Craig Porter has had a great year throughout, running our basketball team."
 
.... His growth and lessons learned in year No. 3 as a head coach:
"I'm still excited. These guys that we have on the basketball team are great to coach. That's the biggest things, having people around you: assistant coaches, our players. Like I said, early on we lost a lot of close games. My No. 1 thing to all of those guys was to just stay together, continue to work and trust the process. And they've been a joy to coach all year long. I like this team. They continue to get better, and I think the future is bright."
 
... The WSU women's team's upset of top seed USF on Tuesday:
"I'm just excited for the women's team and their staff. That was a big win yesterday. I'm wishing them good luck today against Houston. They played really well in the first two games... I'm pulling for those young ladies today."
 
... Putting together four straight wins in a season after failing to win more than two-in-a-row during the regular season:
"No. 1, we've got to take it one game at a time. Again, Tulsa's the first and you can't look ahead. We've got play really well. We've got to defend, rebound and play with toughness. Not turn it over. The biggest thing stopping us from making those streaks is that offensively we didn't score the basketball well. When you go three and four minutes without scoring against teams from our conference, it's difficult to win games... If we can just value the basketball and not turn it over and be able to score 70+ points, we have a chance to win games in the tournament."