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—The first game against Miami was so long ago that it has little bearing on this one. We played really well in that game for a season opener, but we’re also fully healthy now.
—We’re not playing very well right now. Two weeks ago if we just shot free-throws better or gotten a defensive rebound, we win. Against FSU, they dominated us with their size and athleticism. It’s no secret that we’ve struggled when teams pressure us. We’re handling it better this year than we did last, but still not well enough. FSU game was more evidence of that.
—We need more consistency. We also have to be better learners. They ran that runner action five straight times against us and we trailed it every time. We have to be able to learn on the fly better.
—This team’s not getting any bigger. They can’t control their size. They can control what’s between their ears.
—I’m not down on our team. This team practices hard and competes every day. We just have to be better, and awe also have to be more resilient when we’re not better. That was the disappointing thing against Florida State.
—How we played against Kentucky was very different than how we played against FSU. There’s no trend. We fought back against Kentucky with grit and determination and without getting much from Jordan. Then on Saturday Jordan plays his best game of the year and other guys didn’t do what they needed to do.
—”We have to be able to be more resilient when things aren’t going our way. That’s been an issue for two years and it needs to get corrected. If this team wants to have a better outcome than last year’s team, they’ll correct it.”
—Not sure how much experience really helps this team. A lot of the guys that are juniors and seniors didn’t play a whole lot early in their college careers or played at smaller programs.
—Expectations are absolutely different here. Xavier fans are as passionate as any fan base in the country, but it’s a smaller fan base than this one. I came here because of the traditions and the expectations. That stuff doesn’t bother me. What bothers me is what happens between the lines.
—I love my guys and that’s why I’m critical of them. I know they have it in them to get where they want to go, it’s my job to get that out of them.
—Sam (Williamson)’s gotta do a little better job on defense. I’ve also gotta get him on the floor more if other guys aren’t doing their jobs. I’ve got to allow him to play through his bad defense at some times, but at the same time, he’s gotta get better in that area.
—Miami plays with a lot of freedom. They can get really hot offensively out of seemingly nowhere.
—Steven Enoch’s playing the best basketball of his career, and I don’t think it’s close. He’s always going to be a focus of ours and a primary scorer for us.
—We need Malik Williams to transfer the intelligence he uses on the defensive end to the offensive end. He doesn’t need to be Steve dunking on everyone, but he needs to be smarter on that end.
Darius Perry video available here.
