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Men's Basketball
vs #19 Texas Tech
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Quotes: Duke 80, Yale 61
11/25/2015 10:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski
Opening Statement:
“We played a really good team tonight. I can see why they're picked to win the Ivy League. [Justin] Sears is really good. He could be an outstanding player in our league. Their two guards demand attention on them all the time. [Makai] Mason did a great job beating us off the dribble in the first half. That's one of the reasons we went to the 1-3-1 zone, to keep him out of the paint. [Jack] Montague spreads you out the whole time.”
On The Team's Consistency This Season:
“I thought our guys were ready to play. We're young. I thought we were tired from last week. We needed a pop from Brandon [Ingram] and Luke [Kennard] and we got it tonight. I think that's who we're going to be for a while. It's going to be tough to get them all to play at a consistent level we'd like. We have to play with energy. We're getting better. That's growing up. They [young players] haven't been through anything like this before. We were playing hard, but there was something missing.
“The 1-3-1 was great for us. Our big guys were not very good in the first half. In the second half, Amile [Jefferson] almost had a double-double. Getting the emotional energy from Brandon and Luke was really key.”
On His Approach To This Year's Team:
“There's an evolution with each one of these kids. We have to be patient up to a point and hard up to a point. Overall, we have to be understanding of the process. I am.
“I have to be much more outwardly emotionally invested in this year's team than last year's team. I have to. With my staff, I can be the consistent thing. They need that. This team needs that more than last year's team. I'm pleased with my group. I think they're busting their butts and paying attention. But there are inconsistencies because of youth. They're human.
“I have to be more outward in huddles and on the sideline. I can do that. That's what I do. You have to do what your group needs. My group needs that. I told them, I'm there every second with a hug, yell or whatever it is they need. My staff is there. We have a lot of growing up to do. That'll be a cool thing to do to grow with this team.”
On The Team's 1-3-1 Zone:
“As we learn more about it, we have good length and can go after some balls. We got one or two and we almost got a few others. All of a sudden, they're not attacking as well. I think Grayson [Allen] started that.
“I think you have to constantly adapt. I'm really good about that. The last couple years, I've said there was going to be more slippage because we had young guys. We had to figure out what to do. The last two teams we've played, their man offense is ahead of our man defense. It should be. Georgetown is a precision offense and these guys have played together forever.
“In a short period, you try and see if your defense can play against it. We were going to get beat [playing man-to-man]. That doesn't mean we're not going to play man-to-man. We really haven't practiced much in a week-and-a-half because of games. We'll learn from that. We have practiced the 1-3-1 a lot. We have personnel that it fits, especially when we have Brandon [Ingram], Amile [Jefferson] and Marshall [Plumlee]. That's one side with a lot to look over. We're just trying to figure it out.”
Duke Senior Matt Jones
When asked why he thought Duke started out slowly in the first half:
“It's been a couple of games now that we came out kind of sluggish. To be honest, I don't really have the answer right now. We just have to continue to watch film and continue to just talk to each other and figure out what's been holding us back at the beginning of the game.”
On what adjustments Duke made in the second half to pull away:
“We just kind of had to come out with a sense of urgency. We have to start games better and that's on the captains. With three of us in the starting lineup, there shouldn't be an excuse for us to come out and be all sluggish. [Yale] came out and they hit us in the mouth. Obviously they're a confident team, so we just had to match their intensity and match everybody else's intensity going forward.”
On the play of Brandon Ingram tonight:
“He definitely had a lot more energy. He was on the glass, and that kind of toughness on the glass led to other things, like him making shots and him attacking very strong on the offensive end.”
When asked what it was like to play the bottom position of the 1-3-1 zone defense when Duke has the length of Amile Jefferson or Brandon Ingram at the top of the zone:
“It's easy when they're active and energetic. With their length, they can really bother small guards like Yale had. For me, being down low, I can just look at it and know that my job can be a little easier knowing that they have a good chance of deflecting the ball.”
Duke Sophomore Grayson Allen
“We started the game flat so we wanted to start the second half with a lot more energy, and that's what Coach [Mike Krzyzewski] was hitting on at halftime. Thankfully, we responded to that and came out with a lot more energy and a lot more fight in us.”
“We just came out flat. We didn't come out strong and we didn't come out with energy. When the game starts, we've got to shoot out and play hard, and we didn't do that tonight. As the game went on, I think we finished out the first half with that energy that we needed. At halftime, after Coach [Mike Krzyzewski] told us, 'Hey, we need to play with energy in the second half,' we started the second half off that way. We can't do that – we have to come out firing from the get-go.”
Duke Senior Amile Jefferson
“I'm not sure why we've been starting games slow. We have to get over that though. I think we will. I think we'll be ok. We've just got to start talking more and coming out with more energy, more enthusiasm, just jumping right to it, not trying to let the game come to us. In the second half, our guys are lining up ready to go. We knew we had to respond or we were going to lose the game – we were playing a really good team. All our guys did just that.”
When asked how effective the 1-3-1 defense was for Duke tonight:
“It really helped us. It allowed us to get stops and it helped us to be connected and talking. That 1-3-1, we're able to be big in it. Having a group with Brandon [Ingram] and Marshall [Plumlee] and me in it, with Matt and Grayson – having big guys helps us to be really big and stand guys up. And we're really just playing it hard. That's the thing – when we're doing something hard, we're a really good team.”
On this stretch of multiple games over few days:
“We've got to get rest. Our guys have to get fresh. Guys are playing big minutes, guys are laying it out, diving on the floor, grabbing loose balls, doing all the things we need to win games, and it's taxing. It's taxing on your body and it's taxing emotionally. We've got to take these couple of days, be thankful for being here. Tomorrow is a day where we give thanks to each other, to our families, and then we just have to jump back on it.”
Yale Head Coach James Jones
On Duke's 1-3-1 zone defense:
“The last game, against Georgetown, they played the 1-3-1 primarily in the second half, so we figured that they would show it, especially if there was going to be something where it was competitive and they figured that we could be competitive and we might see it.”
“I thought there were times where we didn't make good decisions against it, but I thought we had some really good shots that didn't go down. I can think of several layups that just rimmed out. Justin Sears had a couple jump shots that didn't go down. Jack Montague, who came to the game shooting 58 or 60 percent from the arc, had three or four wide open three-point shots that didn't go down. It's one of those things, if you make your shots, it is a whole different ball game, in terms of being able to stay competitive.”
On the team's senior leadership:
“It's everything. You talk about having senior leadership and having guys that are going to be out there who know what you're doing, especially when you're playing in a place where your kids can't hear and you're in a situation where they know what to do. I don't have to do a lot of coaching because that is done in practice. Over the years, they know what to expect and they know what to do and go out and do it, regardless of what I'm trying to get to them on the bench.”
On the back court's composure in the first half:
“It wasn't so much the 1-3-1, it was the fact that we had some guys in foul trouble. Brandon Sherrod had a tremendous first half. Did you see him in the second half? No, he was on the bench. He had five fouls and fouled out of the game. That's a big part of who we are. When they're driving the ball and they're able to get it to an experienced guy like Brandon Sherrod, it makes a difference, but Makai Mason and Jack Montague. Makai is beyond his years, he is only a sophomore, so he is beyond his years in terms of savvy. Jack Montague, he couldn't guard my son two years ago, especially his sophomore year, he's gotten big and strong. He's become a man and he knows what to expect and what to do and he's got a good head on his shoulders. He's got a really good basketball mind.”
Opening Statement:
“We played a really good team tonight. I can see why they're picked to win the Ivy League. [Justin] Sears is really good. He could be an outstanding player in our league. Their two guards demand attention on them all the time. [Makai] Mason did a great job beating us off the dribble in the first half. That's one of the reasons we went to the 1-3-1 zone, to keep him out of the paint. [Jack] Montague spreads you out the whole time.”
On The Team's Consistency This Season:
“I thought our guys were ready to play. We're young. I thought we were tired from last week. We needed a pop from Brandon [Ingram] and Luke [Kennard] and we got it tonight. I think that's who we're going to be for a while. It's going to be tough to get them all to play at a consistent level we'd like. We have to play with energy. We're getting better. That's growing up. They [young players] haven't been through anything like this before. We were playing hard, but there was something missing.
“The 1-3-1 was great for us. Our big guys were not very good in the first half. In the second half, Amile [Jefferson] almost had a double-double. Getting the emotional energy from Brandon and Luke was really key.”
On His Approach To This Year's Team:
“There's an evolution with each one of these kids. We have to be patient up to a point and hard up to a point. Overall, we have to be understanding of the process. I am.
“I have to be much more outwardly emotionally invested in this year's team than last year's team. I have to. With my staff, I can be the consistent thing. They need that. This team needs that more than last year's team. I'm pleased with my group. I think they're busting their butts and paying attention. But there are inconsistencies because of youth. They're human.
“I have to be more outward in huddles and on the sideline. I can do that. That's what I do. You have to do what your group needs. My group needs that. I told them, I'm there every second with a hug, yell or whatever it is they need. My staff is there. We have a lot of growing up to do. That'll be a cool thing to do to grow with this team.”
On The Team's 1-3-1 Zone:
“As we learn more about it, we have good length and can go after some balls. We got one or two and we almost got a few others. All of a sudden, they're not attacking as well. I think Grayson [Allen] started that.
“I think you have to constantly adapt. I'm really good about that. The last couple years, I've said there was going to be more slippage because we had young guys. We had to figure out what to do. The last two teams we've played, their man offense is ahead of our man defense. It should be. Georgetown is a precision offense and these guys have played together forever.
“In a short period, you try and see if your defense can play against it. We were going to get beat [playing man-to-man]. That doesn't mean we're not going to play man-to-man. We really haven't practiced much in a week-and-a-half because of games. We'll learn from that. We have practiced the 1-3-1 a lot. We have personnel that it fits, especially when we have Brandon [Ingram], Amile [Jefferson] and Marshall [Plumlee]. That's one side with a lot to look over. We're just trying to figure it out.”
Duke Senior Matt Jones
When asked why he thought Duke started out slowly in the first half:
“It's been a couple of games now that we came out kind of sluggish. To be honest, I don't really have the answer right now. We just have to continue to watch film and continue to just talk to each other and figure out what's been holding us back at the beginning of the game.”
On what adjustments Duke made in the second half to pull away:
“We just kind of had to come out with a sense of urgency. We have to start games better and that's on the captains. With three of us in the starting lineup, there shouldn't be an excuse for us to come out and be all sluggish. [Yale] came out and they hit us in the mouth. Obviously they're a confident team, so we just had to match their intensity and match everybody else's intensity going forward.”
On the play of Brandon Ingram tonight:
“He definitely had a lot more energy. He was on the glass, and that kind of toughness on the glass led to other things, like him making shots and him attacking very strong on the offensive end.”
When asked what it was like to play the bottom position of the 1-3-1 zone defense when Duke has the length of Amile Jefferson or Brandon Ingram at the top of the zone:
“It's easy when they're active and energetic. With their length, they can really bother small guards like Yale had. For me, being down low, I can just look at it and know that my job can be a little easier knowing that they have a good chance of deflecting the ball.”
Duke Sophomore Grayson Allen
“We started the game flat so we wanted to start the second half with a lot more energy, and that's what Coach [Mike Krzyzewski] was hitting on at halftime. Thankfully, we responded to that and came out with a lot more energy and a lot more fight in us.”
“We just came out flat. We didn't come out strong and we didn't come out with energy. When the game starts, we've got to shoot out and play hard, and we didn't do that tonight. As the game went on, I think we finished out the first half with that energy that we needed. At halftime, after Coach [Mike Krzyzewski] told us, 'Hey, we need to play with energy in the second half,' we started the second half off that way. We can't do that – we have to come out firing from the get-go.”
Duke Senior Amile Jefferson
“I'm not sure why we've been starting games slow. We have to get over that though. I think we will. I think we'll be ok. We've just got to start talking more and coming out with more energy, more enthusiasm, just jumping right to it, not trying to let the game come to us. In the second half, our guys are lining up ready to go. We knew we had to respond or we were going to lose the game – we were playing a really good team. All our guys did just that.”
When asked how effective the 1-3-1 defense was for Duke tonight:
“It really helped us. It allowed us to get stops and it helped us to be connected and talking. That 1-3-1, we're able to be big in it. Having a group with Brandon [Ingram] and Marshall [Plumlee] and me in it, with Matt and Grayson – having big guys helps us to be really big and stand guys up. And we're really just playing it hard. That's the thing – when we're doing something hard, we're a really good team.”
On this stretch of multiple games over few days:
“We've got to get rest. Our guys have to get fresh. Guys are playing big minutes, guys are laying it out, diving on the floor, grabbing loose balls, doing all the things we need to win games, and it's taxing. It's taxing on your body and it's taxing emotionally. We've got to take these couple of days, be thankful for being here. Tomorrow is a day where we give thanks to each other, to our families, and then we just have to jump back on it.”
Yale Head Coach James Jones
On Duke's 1-3-1 zone defense:
“The last game, against Georgetown, they played the 1-3-1 primarily in the second half, so we figured that they would show it, especially if there was going to be something where it was competitive and they figured that we could be competitive and we might see it.”
“I thought there were times where we didn't make good decisions against it, but I thought we had some really good shots that didn't go down. I can think of several layups that just rimmed out. Justin Sears had a couple jump shots that didn't go down. Jack Montague, who came to the game shooting 58 or 60 percent from the arc, had three or four wide open three-point shots that didn't go down. It's one of those things, if you make your shots, it is a whole different ball game, in terms of being able to stay competitive.”
On the team's senior leadership:
“It's everything. You talk about having senior leadership and having guys that are going to be out there who know what you're doing, especially when you're playing in a place where your kids can't hear and you're in a situation where they know what to do. I don't have to do a lot of coaching because that is done in practice. Over the years, they know what to expect and they know what to do and go out and do it, regardless of what I'm trying to get to them on the bench.”
On the back court's composure in the first half:
“It wasn't so much the 1-3-1, it was the fact that we had some guys in foul trouble. Brandon Sherrod had a tremendous first half. Did you see him in the second half? No, he was on the bench. He had five fouls and fouled out of the game. That's a big part of who we are. When they're driving the ball and they're able to get it to an experienced guy like Brandon Sherrod, it makes a difference, but Makai Mason and Jack Montague. Makai is beyond his years, he is only a sophomore, so he is beyond his years in terms of savvy. Jack Montague, he couldn't guard my son two years ago, especially his sophomore year, he's gotten big and strong. He's become a man and he knows what to expect and what to do and he's got a good head on his shoulders. He's got a really good basketball mind.”
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