South Wichita News

Quotables: Brown and Players Preview Houston

HEAD COACH ISAAC BROWN ON…

 

…Thursday's opponent, the Houston Cougars:

"They have a culture. Those guys play hard. Against a Houston team, you've got to be ready to play for 40 minutes. You've to rebound, number one, because every time the ball goes up they're going to send four guys to the glass. You've got to value the basketball, because any time you're involved in a ball screen, you're going to get double-teamed or ambushed. Any time you throw it to the low post, they're going to get double teamed or ambushed. So you've got to be able to take care of the basketball… We've got to be able to execute in the half court and get good shots."

 

…What went right the first time around against Houston:

"Offensively, we really moved the ball. The ball didn't stick. We played inside-out. Even though, they double-teamed us, [James] Rojas and Kenny Pohto did a great job of getting the ball back out to our shooters. We didn't shoot it great that night. We defended for the most part. I remember it being a (six)-point game with (11) minutes to go and the big kid, [Jarace] Walker, banked in a three. After that, it just seemed like they started to make shots and we couldn't hold on. We had to defend better in that game. We've got to defend better (this time)."

 

…WSU's ability to hang with top tier teams:

"The character in the locker room. We've had some tough losses, games we thought we could win… But those guys came back the next day, didn't point fingers, came ready to work. It seems like we've battled back after tough losses every time, especially on the road. We've been playing really well on the road. This will be a hostile environment, probably the best we've played in this year. Houston is always a tough basketball team, well-coached, No. 1 in the country for a reason. You've got to play well for 40 minutes. It can't be 35, 37; it's got to be a full 40."

 

… Closing out Sunday's win at Tulane:

"In the last four minutes of the game, you've got to… be able to score the ball, you've got to take care of it, and you've got to get a shot at the rim every time. In the Tulane game, the last four or five minutes of the game, we were able to execute, not turn it over and get some key rebounds."

 

… Improvements on offense:

"This team is getting better playing inside-out. All our percentages are going up: in the half court, from the three-point line. We're throwing the ball inside to Pohto, Rojas and Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler. When those guys can get touches, we play better offensively, so we've got to continue to do that."

 

SENIOR GUARD CRAIG PORTER JR. ON:

 

… Facing No. 1 Houston on the road:

"It's exciting for all of us, even the coaches. We've got the opportunity to do something we haven't done since I've been here: go there and win. The No. 1 team, taking them down would build a lot of confidence for us going into the (conference) tournament."

 

…The current state of the team:

"We're a little behind where we want to be, but at the same time, we're in a good position to get a bye going into the conference tournament. It's going to depend on a couple other teams taking losses, but we're in a good spot as far as where we've come over the last seven weeks."

 

… Getting a Twitter shoutout from Fred VanVleet after his triple-double:

"I've talked to Fred a couple times. At TBT both summers, I talked to him. It was really just small talk, but he's given me pointers, a little advice. I've tried to mimic everything that people have told me about him and everything he does to be the great player he was here."

 

SENIOR FORWARD ISAIAH POOR BEAR-CHANDLER ON…

 

… Facing No. 1 Houston this week:

"It would be a lot for our season, going forward. We're prepared for it mentally. Everybody's been talking about it since conference started. After the first time, we're like, 'Yeah, we could've beaten them. We're looking forward to this next fight."

Original source can be found here.