Utah Postgame Press Conference | 2024 Pac-12 Men's Basketball Tournament First Round

Utah Postgame Press Conference | 2024 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament First Round

All right coach we’ll go ahead and let you have an opening statement here and then we’ll open up for questions that’s uh a very good win for us I thought our guys really competed uh well you know Arizona State beat us the first two times um obviously at their place and

Then at our place and so they had our number here a little bit but really proud of how we played I thought we played Super connected on both sides of the ball um going into the game number one key without a doubt uh was take care

Of the ball um Sprint back on defense and so you know I think we shot 70% or right in that um area in the first half so your transition defense is a lot better when the ball goes through the net and the first two games um these

Guys had shot 40 42% of their points were from our turnovers and their transition offense and so I thought we did a really really good job um with that obviously you know the way we shot the three I just thought we played Super connected and just made really simple

Plays and the right play uh you know basketball it’s not rocket science out there right and with their pressure and deny you just got to hit the first open man and trust each other uh it really helps when you see the ball go through

The hole we you know go 12 for 26 from the three and then you flip it um the first two games in the regular season these guys really really shot it well against us and so that was a focus for us and we were fortunate to be able to

Hold them to for 19 um from the field I thought it was a great team effort I thought all the guys that stepped on the floor really played well um obviously these two guys were outstanding tonight um you know it’s great to see Brandon come out there it was a tough injury and

He’s obviously it’s he’s not over it but I think that kind of helped us as well as a team and he was able to stick two threes uh and just be solid so uh but great team win um you know uh just like every team here they’re trying to cut

Down the Nets order do that you got to win the first game and we’re able to take care of business tonight all right you have a questions you can raise your hand we’ll start with uh Josh back here in the fourth row Josh forong long.com Craig this felt

Like maybe one of your most complete games on both sides of the ball was there anything that maybe changed after last week that kind of allowed you to be able to have maybe that kind of a a performance in this tournament well you know oh little little difference there

Huh uh you know like last weekend I don’t want to dwell on last weekend but you know I I thought uh the Oregon State game after the you know during the last 30 minutes I thought or we had when we went to our bench I just thought we kind

Of weren’t great um early on thought we played well the second half but we didn’t defend the way we needed to defend it’s really simple and and that’s comes from communication obviously mindset etc etc now you go to the next game against Oregon we played we played

Really really well we defended well we were very good offensively um you know I think we had a 7 or eight point lead when when Brandon went down but we did a lot of really good things that game and in a hard place to win so um you know I thought we

Kind of carried that over our guys had a really good week of practice obviously a short week with two days you know at prep Jaden Olson had the Scout for today but our guys just had a great mindset you know they knew like these guys are competitors they knew Arizon State and

You know taking care of business against us and and um but we just had a good very determined look to us um obviously sometimes when you see the ball go in the hole early and at the rate it was going in you know with our team I think

We defend a little bit better and I don’t always want to be that team be we have to be able to guard no matter what and have energy on that end the floor because when you get to March if you’re not guarding it’s hard to to advance and

So uh but we did we had a lot of great efforts from from a lot of people and like I told our guys at halftime I thought our communication was outstanding on both sides of the ball you’re in the front row scottson dly Devil’s digust uh for

All three of you guys what does it mean to you to be able to play in really the last pack 12 tournament at least of its kind why don’t you guys go ahead uh for me um it’s kind of special for me because I’ve only gotten half of the season

Um here with these guys um it’s just super special it’s coming to an end quick um of course we’re we’re not looking forward to next year yet we got to finish what we have here but um it’s a special thing I think we could be special in these last few games and and

We have the talent and enough to win the championship here so I think we’re ready for whatever yeah kind of what Devon said I this is my fourth year in the Pack 12 being the last year kind of we want to make our Mark want to end it well and just keep

Advancing well it’s a historic year right um uh and not one that you know everyone always wants to talk about but um you know I’m a lot older than these guys uh obviously this is davon’s first year in the league and Cole is a a real veteran right playing for and growing up

In Washington um so you know I grew up in Minnesota but just growing up and I love sports no matter what and so just following the Pack 12 for all these years it’s a it’s a Bittersweet um it’s a Bittersweet deal and so um but like any year when you get

In the conference tournament play you know you want to put your best foot forward and these guys are young men and these guys get four to five years both these guys will get five years of Eligibility right Cole’s in his fifth year davon’s in his fourth um if if

Devon chooses to play five but you only have four to five opportunities in your lifetime to be able to play in March Madness is and so to be able to play in a conference tournament and win g a game or multiple games these opportunities don’t happen very often but for 18 years

Of their life or 19 years in their life or 17 they grow up dreaming of playing in this kind of an environment and this kind of facility a world class Arena and a big-time conference and so uh they’re magical moments you’re in the back left uh Coach

K molat uh Blaze radio um obviously every game in March is very important they’re all big games tomorrow you guys get Colorado how much energy and how much more does it mean to get a game in March with a spot in the semi-finals on the line against a fellow

Mountain School well um we we still got you know a lot of work to do obviously Tomorrow there’s you know four teams in the Pack 12 went home today and there’s eight teams still alive um as we head into tomorrow Colorado’s really good right um you know we were able to beat

Them at our place they really really handled us um really from start to finish at their place and Tad Bole has been around this league for a long long time um and he’s a very good coach and their players they are very talented I mean KJ Simpson has played at an elite

Level all year long Tristan D Silva has been around this league a long time and can do everything and and they really understand you know Javon Hadley’s excellent Luke O’Brien those guys really understand who they are and what they are and uh they play still there I identity and they play tough-nosed

Defense as well so they’re a complete team they’ve won I think six or seven in a row or eight in a row I don’t know it’s a lot in a row uh and like I said they they from start to finish handled us so we got to work cut out for us um

But it’s March and anything can happen one more for Josh in the back Co when that first three-pointer goes in how much easier is it just to kind of get into the flow of your game knowing that you at least got one in I mean it definitely helps to see the ball

Go in your first shot of the game or whatever it is kind of just gets your confidence going and but credit to my teammates especially Devon I think nine assist someone like that he’s always out there looking for me Gabe Ben whoever it is they’re all we’re all just looking

For each other that’s what we got to keep going keep doing with tomorrow so it’s definitely good but U got more work to do so we got time for one more here Brandon Jud desert news this is for Devon and Cole just connectiv and wise from the guards

Tonight there’s a lot of guys that stepped up you guys Hunter Gabe comes out and he scores eight points to start this game did you kind of feel like that was the most connected that guard lineup has has played all season you got it sure I start I mean

Yeah kind of what he touched on I thought Hunter gave us a really good spark Off the Bench I think he hit two threes pretty early on in the first half and uh it was good for him and um daon was finding them Gabe got it going a

Little bit not necessarily from the three-point line but uh doing other things defensively looking for other guys and whatnot so I I think we’re pretty well connected but um still got to do that tomorrow so uh me I think we just have a lot of depth from each and every position um I

Feel like tonight was one of we have a lot of games where we really connected but tonight it really showed like from the jump um we trusted each other we trusted each other’s work and and we had confidence to pass the ball to whoever it was that was putting the shot up and

Tonight it showed um we shot the ball pretty well and everybody was together so that’s what we need to advance all right thank you guys and a reminder Utah’s locker room is still open right now so thank you

Utah head coach Craig Smith along with student-athletes Deivon Smith and Cole Bajema caught up with the media after the Runnin’ Utes secured a spot in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament, presented by Acura, on Wednesday, March 13 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Utah Postgame Press Conference | 2024 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament First Round

Utah’s Cole Bajema, Craig Smith and Deivon Smith join Pac-12 Network | 2024 Pac-12 MBBT First Round

Tocchet Calls Canucks Soft

Write A Comment