It is showtime, Darry Pleas. Good evening, everybody, Greetings from the original Montgomery in home of the world's Greatest ReBs. I'm Dan Horde with former Bearcats stand out Terry Nelson and the star of the show, the head coach of your UC Bearcats. Let's hear at four Wes Miller. Great win for the Bearcats last night, eighty eight to fifty
one the final score over Alabama State. I'm sure some people listening that might not know much about Alabama State kind of roll their riyse and think, well, they can't be very good. Well, it's a team that went to the NCAA Tournament last year, won a game in the NCAA Tournament last year, beat UAB on the road. This year. We know Andy Kennedy always wins twenty games a year at UAB. They almost beat New Mexico in the pit, which is one of the toughest places to win in
the country. Their previous game before Cincinnati an eight point game against Missouri. So yes, Alabama State is from the sweat, but they've got some good players and to beat them by the biggest margin that any team has beaten them this year says a lot about your team's performance last night.
Yeah, well, certainly you know you guys know this. Mike Roberts, who's as close as I am to anybody and coaching him, was an assistant here our first two years here as an assistant at New Mexico, and he had the scout and I called him after their game and I said, hey, we get ready to play those guys. I'm gonna call you back, and he said, let me just tell you something. Get your guys under the pretense now that they're a
hell of a lot better than their name. They're really good, and there's two guards that can go for thirty against anybody, and so they are a better team than their name. I thought, we did some nice things and we're more consistent last night, and so that's something that we can build off of moving forward.
Talk about doing some nice things. Bobba Miller did some really nice things. I mean, you got a career high at twenty six fourteen rebounds, you know, career high seventeen rebounds a couple games, but fourteen rebounds and multiple don't think he had seven or eight, eight, eight, So he was absolutely going to work. We got Santa Claus coming down the Chimney in their headphones.
Joe is on the case.
He's fixing it.
But what's it like having a guy like You've had good teams, but good teams that don't have a guy. It makes it tough to coach because you're trying to figure out how to get a good shot when you need one, Baba, you just he finds himself with his hands on the basketball all the time.
Yeah, he uh, his ability is it just jumps off the page. I think anybody that watches him run up and down the court and makes some of the plays he makes, it's it's very noticeable to the eye. Getting him to play with force so that ability affects every possession has been the goal since he got here. I think he's had stretches year where he's done it consistently, you know, And I mean this because he's I'm really proud of his development. I'm proud of his start to
the year. But in our previous two games, I thought he did it in the first half and he dipped in the second half. I thought he sustained it last night. He sustained his effort on the board, He put pressure on the rim in different ways, he ran the floor hard. He did a nice job in screening roll and then you know, all of a sudden, you look up and he has a line that was historic. Actually I think there was. He made some history with his line last night.
So, as I mentioned to Terry, eight dunks, team had thirteen. I don't ever recall seeing a Bearcat have eight dunks in a single game. And over the last thirty years this program has had some of the best dunkers ever. James White, you know, I don't know. Well, we had a debate on the radio last night. The three of us tried to say, who do you think might have had eight dunks in a single game. Eric Hicks came
up Sea that was Steve Logan's pick. Moegger said, Kenyon, I went with Jason max Siel because he was close to the basket and he never laid it up.
The last person I've seen dunk eight in the game was Obi Topping a couple of year that shut it down. He actually had eleven dunks in that game. It was Windmills through the legs. Nevertha. This guy's number one pick and then the season shut down. But he was he was phenomenal.
Your Carolina days. Somebody must have been closed to eight dunks in a game, I would think.
Not that I can recall him. I played with the guy named Tyler Hansbro and he he got the ball within two three feet. It felt like thirty times a game because you weren't allowed to do anything until he touched it, and he wouldn't get a pascet, but he never He didn't dunk it a lot. He'd get fouled and kind of fists. Yeah. Yeah, but eight dunks in a game significant, Yeah, But I think more than the dunks, it's the mentality did he played with. That's what he
has to sustain, and I think he can. He can continue to have great impact.
Corey and I were having this conversation. Other than Kenyon Martin and Corey Blunt, I can't remember a center that or a guy over six ten, whether it be forward or center, that ran the floor like Baba Miller, like every transition play, he's in the play, Like when I watched Lebron James, which one of the reasons that makes them so good. He's on every fast break. Same with you know, whether it was Jordan Kobe, Shaquille O'Neill, karmelone. They lead the break or they get out because they
want to be a part of that action. In the open court, he runs every play and somehow it finished. He finished his plays in spectacular fashion, and it seems like he can.
Go for at a high level for a long period of time.
Well, I've really been pushing him to run more consistently and to kind of win those first three steps. James Worthy will say that, yeah, last break, when we get when we get the ball right, that that split second to get him out and win those first three steps, And that's been very unnatural for him. He's been a poor conversion guy. Now, once he starts running, he's extremely fast, and I think that the eye sees that when you
watch us play. But getting that conversion in that moment and winning those first three steps, I think is the key because you don't realize that, but that split second it's probably the difference in about ten or twelve feet running the floor absolutely red. So I think he's improving that it was better last night. It's something we're hard on him about. The Other thing I think that I noticed in the open floor with his dunks last night was other guys were down the floor as well, so
there was pressure on the baseline, corners were filled. Maybe somebody ran a lane in front of him and took a defender with him. So it's always the collective group, not just the player. But he's really good at finding those lanes when he's out running.
It was an awesome night for Gisel James. He entered the game, got a huge ovation, a standing ovation for many people in the lower Bawl, and then he went out and brilliantly looked like he hadn't missed a practice, much less the game. Sixteen points in twenty minutes. You acknowledged on the postgame show. He even exceeded your expectations a bit for his first game back.
Yeah.
I didn't have a lot of basketball expectations for him last night and didn't want to put that kind of pressure on him. But he has been practicing. We kept that very quiet, mainly for the other players. We didn't want questions at every day and every game and on their phones about win's all that kind of crap going on.
But he has been practicing for weeks now. I don't know the amount of days, A couple of weeks, three weeks, something like that, so it's not as if he hasn't been playing basketball, but for not playing in a game, and as long as he has to come out and play like that, I was I was surprised.
I thought you guys coming out and making a conscious effort to get the ball down low to start the game really.
Opened it up.
Before you you said this thing where you like playing inside out instead of outside out. Did you feel like you had? But once you threw it into Mustafa, he kicked it back out to Baba, and Baba hit the three. That's the kind of offense you want to see going forward.
Yeah, I think you know you're gonna make more shots when you get a higher quality shot. And when the ball comes inside out, it touches the paint, it gets relocated. Guys are stepping in. You're gonna good shooters are gonna make shots at a higher level. Pats shooter's gonna make shots at a higher level. And so the first possession of the game, we did a nice job of getting it into Mustafa from the top of the key. We
call those top downs, and he did a nice job. Again, I'd have been fine if he turned and shot his jump hook there, but he kicked it right back out to Baba. And inside out in rhythm, and Baba's can really shoot, but it's about taking the right ones, and that was the right one and it was good to see it go down to start the game.
In the practices that I've attended since Chisel has been practicing again, it looked like to me he was just trying to be part of the team. Wasn't taking a lot of shots, was really passing the ball, trying to play good defense, almost taking like a subservient role for lack of a better expression. Then he got out in the court in the game and it looked like his just natural instincts took over. Is that about how he's looked.
Yeah, I think Gisel's done a great job of trying to assimilate back into our team. You know, the first thing he did, we didn't just bring him back to campus and he started practicing. He came back to campus. He wasn't allowed in the locker room, he wasn't allowed in practice, but he was allowed to work out and he sought out all the players on the team and apologized to him personally, told him that he just wanted to be a part of the team again, that he
missed the team we had Thanksgiving at my house. And you know, my girlfriend Lauren made this board and they had she put sticky notes, and she asked everybody that came through the door to write on a sticky notes something they were thankful or grateful for and stick it
on the board. Kind of is an idea for Thanksgiving, which was a terrific idea, and I was looking at after all the guys left, wrote I'm thankful to be a part of a team again, you know, like I think he just it's really just he just wanted to be a part of it. And uh, I think he's had that. He just wants to fit in and assimilate. So I give him credit. I give our players credit for accepting him back.
And Dan just wrote his name on the security board. He didn't do any of that stuff.
I just wondered if anybody put up a sticky note that said I'm glad Terry didn't show even after he got invited.
Powhouse shots fired.
Oh my goodness, it's about the time I got even te Now, all right, we're gonna take a time out. We are live with the original Montgomery in the home of the world's greatest ribs. It's the West Miller Radio Show in seven hundred WLW Reginal Montgomery in home of the world's greatest Ribs and the West Miller Radio Show. Appreciate the Bearcat fans who are here with us to night. We've got some stuff to give away at the end of the show, that is always the case, usually some
Bearcat gear, some tickets. So if you want to come out and join us in the weeks to come, typically Thursday nights, although we've got a show coming up on Tuesday, December thirtieth, but for the most part, Thursday nights eight to nine here at the original Montgomery and the Bearcats winners. Big last night, thirty seven point victory over Alabama State Cincinnati now seven and four this year and getting set for a tough game coming up on Sunday on the
road in Greenville, South Carolina against Clemson. Technically not a home game for Clemson, but it is that's very close to their campus. They've got to win over Georgia this year, the only team that's been able to beat Georgia. That was an overtime win for the Tigers. So another excellent test for your team on Sunday afternoon.
Yeah, they're very good it's we wanted to schedule up in this non conference slate, and you know, this is one of those games that I think allowed us to do so. So it is a road game. You know, Greenville's there's more Clemson fans in Greenville than there are in Clemson. His Clemson's a really small town if he hadn't been there before, but Greenville's forty minutes away. So
I think it's a great opportunity. We're geared up and excited for it, and we were at work today and we'll be at work the next two days preparing.
You have your leading score back from last season, and it seems like his positioning puts everybody else in position that we're playing out of position, or minutes that they shouldn't be playing past what they can contribute to the team.
What's it like.
Having your lead dog back knowing that at any moment, yes, he can run the team with any moment, he can also power you with scoring and playmaking for others.
Well, I don't want to put too many expectations on Jisel to start. I think we have to allow him to kind of find his way, and I think that's the best way to approach it. But you know, I do think it's it's pretty obvious that having somebody with his physical presence in the backcourt is noticeable. It allows you to play different kinds of lineups, Like we're playing with a little bit of a smaller lineup and he's
out there. You still don't feel quite as physically insignificant, you know, because he has physical presence.
Did he did he gain weight? It looks like five to ten pounds heavier, like more muscle.
He's been working out like crazy, So I don't know, but uh, but no, And I think Terry. The other thing is he can play, you know, multiple positions on and off the ball, and he can make make a lot of reads in a pick and roll. It's hard to speed him up, it's hard to get underneath him, and then he can shoot off the ball. So no, listen, we all have known that Jisel. He was an All League player last year honorable mentioned. Certainly there's going to be some positive impact there over time.
Kirk Rees alled your team with seven assists last night. He was also one for nine from outside the arc. You know he can shoot. He's got a proven track right in college basketball. My question for you is there were a couple of instances last night where he took a three, missed it, somebody got an offensive rebound, kicked it right back to him. He shot another three and missed it. Is he one of those guys that you just tell him keep shooting, you're good, it's gonna go in.
Yeah. Yeah, But I don't think with Curry you have to, because he has tremendous self belief. He's got I don't want to. Can I say it on air? Don't you say it?
For him?
Man? He's not afraid of the moment. He's not afraid of a mistake, and I think that's going to service well in conference play and finishing off our non conference slate.
We gotta get your video guys to send YouTube videos of Dennis Robin to Halven because they almost to the.
How they look, how they're built. Halven gets opposite.
Side almost every time whether he gets the rebound.
He only had one last.
Night, but he was active on several attempts trying to get offensive rebounds.
He runs the floor very well.
But Dennis Rotmins would have had a similar role where his job was to go in there and mix it up, grab a rebound, kickingback out, grab another rebound, kickingback out and play tough defense.
I'd say started sending those reels over there. Yeah.
I think if anybody turned into Dennis Rodman on our team, that'd be great. But I think Calvin's improvement from last year to this year is so incredibly significant, and we've
been seeing that all fall and in our practices. I think last night everybody else got to see it, and I thought that was really cool because he hasn't necessarily shown that in the opportunities he's had up till last night, but he was able to give us really positive I thought his defense, his pick and roll defense was excellent. I thought he made a couple of really timely plays. I love that he caught a love in transition running
the floor. He actually ran the floor really well to create some of those opportunities for Baba that you were talking about. He won our Defensive Award for the game, and so it was good to see the things we've seen in practice happen. Now. We really we really miss Tyler McKinley. I mean, the second half of the Georgia game, that was a massive blow, you know, to come out of halftime and realize that he can't play. He's such
an important piece to our team. But you know, like anything, they're silver lining, it's giving hal Being some extended minutes and he's he's really making the most of them.
It's a lower body injury for Tyler. Do you expect him back soon?
I hope and pray and whatever you can do. I'm doing it. I mean, you know, like if I was Catholic, what do they call it? The hillsiers and all that stuff, like you do it all okay, but uh, you know, one of these days we're going to coach a team that we put together full a hole and that'll be that'll be fun. But uh but no, I really do, I really do hope that he's gonna be okay, and he's gonna he's gonna try to do some things here over the next couple days. So we'll see.
What is the bug Celeste that makes some such a clutch shooter at the end of shot clock situations.
I think, is he like he is there like some situations where at the end of the clock you've.
Seen that he's the bailout guy.
I think the thing about JC is he's got a lot of experience. It's it's he's just now finding his sea legs a little bit. Like he won our deflection total, which is another defensive category regrade last night. He was so happy about it in film. He said, I promised Coach Stowe I was gonna win it, and he said I couldn't. Then he got five last night. But he's starting to get his sea legs and he's starting to
move with athleticism. There's a play last night where they tried to drive him on the right wing and he just turns and beats a kid to the spot and gets some positions, goes up to shoot a jumper and he didn't leave his feet and blocked the shot. And it's like, that's an athlete, you know. I've been telling him. I'll always tell him every day, play like an athlete, like because he's an athlete.
But Bob Huggins never told me that I did the same thing against Donald Williams at North Carolina in the lead eights right to go to overtime. I blocked it when I was jumping, and Hugs just got over here and said, rebounded damn ball, Like he didn't even acknowledge the fact that I blocked this shot.
That sends it the overtime. But you said he was a hell of an athlete.
No, no, no, I said retro play like an athlete.
Come on, but you can't keep changing up and just say go back retro. I'm an athlete now.
Uh Donald Williams, that's my that's my voice. That's a good mention tonight. He's different, but uh no, So, I think the thing about him is the more he gets his sea legs. He's a great shooter. He knows how to find a shot. So when he's playing around action, he has these little ways to separate, to shoot a catch and shoot shot, to separate with a little dribble. So it doesn't surprise me that you feel like he's been able to find some shots late in the clock. I think he can find him at any point.
I want to get back to healthy and zella for just a moment. He did something last night that I'm not sure that I've seen before. I thought he boxed out a guy too well. He looked like Michael Orr in the blind Side blocking a kid right out about It's like he was so intent on boxing this guy out he actually wound up like.
Too far from the ball.
You remember what I'm talking about can't box well exactly if you get exactly, that's part of it, right.
We always use the term box out plus pursue. That's when we teach we see, he's got to work on that box, box out plus pursue because just blocking out ain't good enough the goals to get the damn thing Dan And but uh no, he's again, his improvements significant. I think he he's going to have to play really important minutes for us here moving forward, and I'm I'm proud of the fact that he was able to do it in the real game last night.
We didn't see much of Buck Harris last night. He had like a heating pad on his back in the second half, what's his status?
Took that spill against Georgia and after his first rotation he just felt like he couldn't move, so respected him trying to give it an effort. But uh but again, I'll shoot that. It's like almost laughed that one last night, because you don't know from time out to time out who you got type of thing. But uh so, anyway, but you know, hopefully, hopefully he'll be feeling a little better by the time we take the floor in Greenville on Sunday.
Isn't the assignment of Kissan Tillery to probe into paint and make sure that he keeps his dribbling fine, guys instead of you know, just sort of sitting the top.
Yeah.
I think you know, you guys, the hardest the hardest position to plays freshman point guard, and that's that's a difficult position. Kishan is a playmaker and so trying to find that balance of making plays but valuing the ball, which is also so important from the point guard position. He's working through that and uh, he's he's doing a nice job of improving. But I think when he does get really deep into the paint, not leaving your feet,
you know, not throwing it away. Uh, if you have nobody to throw it to, keeping your dribble a lot. We call that gnashing because Steve Nash used to do that so much years and years ago.
Yep, Nelson Nelson for any it takes a charge nelsoning.
Yeah, you need the little chart.
T Nelling Kerr is leading.
He's got like ten one per game.
Yeah, the terminology is funny, but the no, I think that is a key for him is to continue to value the ball but still be himself.
T Nelling either can be taking a charge or saying yes to another glass of red wines. That's it, the two possibilities for t nelling yes.
I like the basketball analogy better.
All right, we'll take a time out. Questions from the audience when we continue. This is the West Miller Radio Show. We're live at the original Montgomery In, Home of the World's Greatest Rips and seven hundred WLW. We are back at the original Montgomery In, Home of the World's Greatest Rips and the West Miller Radio Show. Appreciate the Bearcat Fancer with us here tonight. We'll give away some stuff at the end of the show. You have to be here in order to win. Now, let's get some questions
from the audience. We go to section two six with the what is it two O seven? I always say two six and it's two o seven. All right, it's the coach who does her work from section two O seven. At least take it away.
Well, my first question is as a fan, so you kind of mentioned a bit how Gissel had to apologize to all of his teammates before coming back. Was there any conversation that you had with the team to make sure they were okay with him coming back knowing with whatever what all he had said and put out on social media to the world.
Yes, yeah, and some of some of its family business guys like some of it doesn't need to be public, but certainly the team heard from me and we talked together before he was back in Cincinnati, and then before he was able to practice. I actually met with each Perst player individually to make sure that that was comfortable for them, and then I met with the team again before we decided to allow them to play, to make sure everybody was supportive of that. So yeah, the teams
had a lot of say in it. I love that.
So my question is coach assistant coach. I was at the Atlanta in Atlanta for the game, and so I got moved, I got upgraded to just behind the bench. I tried to get down to the bench, but they wouldn't let me.
They draw the line.
Eventually they did.
I think it might have been because I had on regular street clothes. But so I was watching more of the warm up. I kind of just wanted to see what was going on because I was so close and growing up, you know, watching the teams of old your predecessors, Huggins grown in. Like I remember being at games for everyone because I worked in athletics, and you would see them out with the bags and like going up to the big men and doing those kind of warm ups. I don't see that from how they warm up now.
I see a lot of jumpers, three pointers, what have you? What kind of warm up are those big men doing. I saw improvement and in an Alabama State game, but with Houston in the league games coming up, I just the inside presence is what we need, and that's all.
I don't know what time you got there, how early you were. I'm not out there. I don't come out during their pregame warm ups, but I do have a lot of say in what goes on during them. Obviously they do pad work, and I say pad work, sometimes it's actually a grad assistant or a coach that gives them physical resistance without a pad. But it's the same thing. They do resistance work on the interior, whether it's post moves, duck ins, wedging, weeks out rebounding, which is like a
They do that and shoot around every game day. They also do it in their post perimeter breakdown in the early part of their warm up but as they get to the I don't know the end of their warm up, it's layups to get their blood flowing and then free shooting, which we kind of added this year to see who help our shooting? That was an assistant coach's idea. But they do do that as part of their warm up, the pad or the resistance work in their post perimeter breakdown.
I just don't know what time he got there.
All right, where are we going next?
Yes, sir, hey coach, I'm a student, so hopefully you'll see me in the student section and upcoming games.
Love that. I had a question.
We saw Gigsel James come in and he clearly had a spark and the team seemed to feed off of his energy coming in this game. How do you expect to roll that over into the future games coming up and the rest of the schedule, especially going at a big twelve plat.
Well, I think I think Gigsel just has to continue to do what he's done here for the last two or three weeks, and that's keep his head down, have the right mentality and practice every day, keep building a rapport with his teammates and the opportunities that he gets and Honestly, That's what I told him last night when he checked in. I said that no pressure, but go play like Gigsel James, you know, and Gizzl's always had a little flare when the lights come on. So as
as Dan mentioned earlier, he was better. He was better last night than he wasn't any practice, which kind of surprised me. But uh, uh no, I think he just needs to keep taking the steady steps and Gizzle Gizzle can do great things. Everybody already knows that about him. That's gonna happen over time here. But I don't want to put too much pressure on him in the first couple of weeks that he's back playing same table.
Hey, coach, Uh, you'll be going against a former Bearcat in Victor Lockin Uh this Sunday.
How do you anticipate skip? I guess Victor.
Victor would love to get like an eighth year of eligibility. I'm sure of it. Uh. And if he ever hears that, he'll laugh great sense of humor.
He's he is.
He's with the Oklahoma City Thunders Uh organization. He did have a bad injury. He made he made it through his first injury less season at Clemson last year, no injury, and then he got He got hurt a couple of weeks after the season in a in a in a camp for seniors that graduated Portsmouth Imitational, which was really sad because he was in a really good position professionally, but Oklahoma City still still took him. I don't know
in what capacity, but Victor loves Cincinnati. He also played that last year at Clemson, so he'll be tuned in. I'm sure he texted me when he saw the game was released.
Brian, coach, you mentioned Bobby Miller's line, and it was a pretty good line. I'm gonna go back a little bit because we've kind of been talking about some stuff from the past, and this might be more for Dan and Terry than you.
I'm not sure if you're aware of this.
How do you pull him out when he's so close to a Barbara Walters.
A twenty twenty very good, very good, Dan very good had twenty twenty.
The truth is, guys, I I it during the game, wor coach, and I have no idea like the individual player stats. I mean, I know who's playing well and who's not, and who's shooting it well and who's not. And if you said, you know, what were they, I could probably give you a good guess. But I didn't know that he was that close. That's that's somebody else's job. You know. If there's a chance to get one more rebound or one more assist or something special, somebody should
come mention it. He wasn't that close, but I did. I did. I don't remember what it was, but our sid Brett Rybak, who does a terrific job, came up to me walking into press conference said it was one of the best stat lines in the history of the program, which is saying something, Yeah.
I wondered if you have somebody, you know, kind of a lower level assistant, who would say, hey, this guy needs one more assist for a triple double or something like that.
Yeah, And in most nights you wouldn't care. But if you if you had a game like last night and somebody was that close, you might run one more play and see if they can. If you can see him up for something, all.
Right, who's got the mic way.
One of the things I enjoy the most watching college basketball is a team that does a good job of interior passing with the big guys and it seemed like last night, I've seen a little more of that than typical. I don't know if I just noticed it more, or is that something you've kind of worked on to try to get him doing.
It's it's so interesting that you asked that question in our October summer practices. In October practices, I thought this was the best interior passing team that I've ever been a part of playing coaching because Jalen Haynes had like a twenty five percent assist ray last year at Mason. He's like a wildly good passer and an interior passer, Baba has that ability to kind of pass over the top and make quick decisions how he can also catch over the top and catch low, and you know Boba's ability.
You could see that MoU Is is a better passer than he looks because his fundamentals don't always look as clean, but his touch is good, so he's improved there. And then the best interior passer on our team is Tyler McKinley.
He's elite and he didn't play last night. But one of the things that we've identified that we've done really well on offense when we've had good possessions is we've played really well in the pocket generally with Tyler and Meu and Baba, where they catch it in the middle of the floor and they make a really really nice play to somebody for a dunk or somebody for an open shot. We need more of that, and then certain
defensive coverages allow for that. When people get really aggressive in the pick and roll, that pocket pass is open. And so again I do think that's the strength of our team. We got to get more out of that strength. I think would be the thing I'd say, play more consistently.
There was it sean of byaps best passing game.
Yes, said as much to him today. You know he's going through that process of trying to figure out how much to shoot, how much to drive, how much to create, when to pass. And it's pretty fun because he's you know, you're watching him evolve in front of our eyes. But I think he's figuring out how important it is to play downhill. He got to the foul line last night, how important it is to facilitate and make good decisions
and then the shots will come his way. And I thought, other than maybe a couple there at the end of the game, I thought his shot selection was much better last night.
All right, we'll take a time out or from the original Montgomery In, Home of the World's Greatest Ribs. Whant we continue? This is the West Miller Radio Show. I'm the Home of the Cats, seven hundred WLW. We are back at the original Montgomery In, Home of the World's Greatest Ribs and the West Miller Radio Show here on News Radio seven hundred WLW. I'm looking over at TL. Do we have another question for the audience?
Yes, we have a question from the audience, but the person doesn't want to be identified, so they anonymously gave me the question. So the question is, coach Wes, what's your philosophy on end of halftime plays?
So if it's not to throw it to the other team.
No, I think the question was if it's you know, seventeen and you're counting it down all the way to seven or eight before you make your move, this person says, it seems like there's some chaos at the end of it. You end up throwing up a shot instead of just going with seventeen seconds and trying to score and then let put the pressure.
On them to score on defense.
Well, last night it was good, we called time out, we called time out, we scored. Then we actually double team so they couldn't hold for the last shot and we dunked it at the buzzer. So we had a four run to finish the half last night. So last night it was good at the end of the half. But no, I think I don't want to say too much in case somebody's listening, but I think I think it's a possession game. So what you're trying to do is make sure that you don't give the other team
last shot. So I think that's the goal. But when you when you don't execute or you don't get And I'm not going to tell you what my execution rules are because right now you can't tell from watching our team anyway. So it is a mystery. But there is a method to the madness. And by the way, I mean, there's been some years that I think it's been a massive differentiator how we play the last minute, the behalf, and how we play the possession game. Last night was
the first example of that that have this year. We did we were masterful at the end of the end of the half last nast night, but it has not been that way. But you don't want to settle for a leaping heaping three pointers step back. You want to put some pressure on the rim and have a chance to get foul.
All right, I'm glad this came up because last night you called a time out, maybe thirty seconds left in the half, okay, and naturally.
We actually are supposed to kill the two for one, which is really interesting. And our bench did a great job practice this all the time. If somebody scores at the end of the half, the clock doesn't stop. Not at the end of the game, the clock stops. So we got scored on okay, with like forty one seconds left, and we teach our bench because it's always in front of our bench at the end of the half, to scream kill it. And what we do is we don't take the ball out. We just kind of let it bounce.
We walk over to it, you know, and you try to make sure you imbound it and then collect the ball with under thirty so you get the last possession of the half. So it was great. Jalen Haynes, actually, who's such a bright player, He's screaming kill it, and Baba just kind of didn't listen, and then he picked it up and then he heard it before he inbound it, so he froze for a second. But once you are taking it out, you can't hold it for ten seconds.
And then instead of like letting it just like slowly bounce up the floor so Kirk could pick it up, he threw it towards the socket and then we we had to pick it up and it was like still an eight second differential. So then we took our thirty once we crossed half court, but we did. We did score four straight at that point, and that was pretty good. So we ended up getting the two for one.
Ironically, here's my question, because when you called that time out, naturally, we kind of speculated, all right, he's drawing up the you know what he wants on offense for the final possession. And then after you scored, they come up the floor, cross center court and immediately double team the ball handler right there.
We didn't want them to hold right, you know. And you know, again, there's not as much in with so many new players guys, so like we don't have a lot of our double team stuff in that we might have had at this point in previous years. But for years, like we had teams that just knew if anybody was holding for the last shot of a half, we're running at it. We'd practice it. We've just gotten into a little bit of Last night's the first time we executed in the game.
So so the defense was also part of the time out. Here's what we want on offense, and then when they come back, we're gonna team.
We got fouled, so we were on the free throw line and then you could look at the differential, so they're going to hold, and we called a double team. So if Brad Brownell at Clemson's listened to and you have the ball, we're gonna double you.
All right, Brian, back to you.
Well, after all of this end of half, end of game talk, my question seems really trivial. Every game this year that I remember, Bobba Miller's jumped at the tip and last night it was Chum. I was just wondering, what was the reason to change it up.
Hell, you guys don't have as good a memory as I thought you guys did. Bob Mustapha has jumped the last four games, is that right? Five?
Yeah, I'd say about that. And he had the forward tip in the Georgia game that led to an alley oop dunk at at the beginning of.
The game, which was a design.
So when Boba missed the two games with the injury, chom began jumping and he's continued since.
Correct. So when Baba missed a game and then I told MoU didn't like it. When I told the first game, I said, Bob was jumping because when we scrimmaged in the preseason, Baba won the tip. So I said, shoot, I like winning the tip. That's a possession. So MoU didn't like that that he wasn't jumping. So when Boba got hurt, I said, are you win it tonight? You can keep getting it until you don't win it again. And he's won everyone since.
And that was awesome. At the beginning of the Georgia game. Clearly that was something you must have seen too. Yeah, clip it forward instead of backward and getting out of it.
Was actually a really impressive play because it was a tip play and it takes some really really nice touch in athleticism to tip it the way he had to tip it to let data run underneath it. And again we had a three on one on that one. So the kid the kids did a really nice job executing the first play.
Bob Hey coach, that was as close.
As I hope, you know, at the beginning of the season looking at the talent performance on the court last night was as close to what I expected to see from the team I think I've seen this season.
I hope we can sustain it.
But I think one of the key stats was seven turnovers. They're over and three of those were long lobs that were almost connected and just missed. So the ball handling was really tight, really took care of it, and I think that, well, if we can do that on the this weekend, I think it will help.
Us a lot. You know, there's been a lot of talk about the offense, and you know, you can think about it every way from sideways. The first thing is you can't give it to the other team because you got no chance to make it if you don't ever shoot it right. And so cleaning up the turnovers to
me has been priority number one. Ironically, one of the biggest mistakes we made with our offense last year was we were having some turnover issues really early in the year before games started, and we went bananas about taking care of the ball, and I thought we missed some opportunities to get the ball out and take advantage of our athleticism and the open court last year because they were so secure with the ball. And so one of the things I said this year, I said, hey, you're
going to get the league. You got to be able to convert defense to offense. And we weren't able to do that well enough. And I thought part of the reason was we were so crazy about not taking chances and turning it over. We were top ten of the nation last year and taking care of the basketball and the whole country, and so we still need to be aggressive, but we cannot be a high turnover team, and I thought we made a huge emphasis of that for the
last month. I thought we made a step in the right direction in a game last night.
Fellas just it's more.
Of an observation or a question, however you want to take it. But my observation is that's probably one of the most together games I've seen players play together for a while. And there's some kind of secret sauce you used wherever you store it. Really enjoyed that lot.
If I had secret sauce, they've been used along.
Right here actually for the chips every night.
No they're capable. I mean, I think in every game we played, there's been great segments of the things that you saw. I thought it was more consistent last night. He's got to continue to be more consistent. But the unselfishness has been there. How many assists do we have last twenty five? Twenty five assists We've we've been one of the better teams in the country and assists rate and field goals that are assisted, so that's not a new thing. But we got to take care of the
ball better. We got to make better decisions, We got to execute better offense more consistently.
All right, we got just a few minutes left. As I was doing some homework for the game last night, I was looking back at last year's game against Alabama State, your leading scorer in that game with Simas Lukasis, Which leads to this question where a semas these days?
Simas is playing in Lithuania, so playing in his home country for a really, really good club at a really high level. He had a lot of ops to go on and play professionally. He could have explored the Exhibit ten route, like what what Vick is doing with the Oklahoma City. He had options to do that. But if he didn't have a guaranteed NBA contract, he said he wanted to go, uh play at a really high level back in Europe. So you know he's he's doing really really well.
What are your keys to the victory on Sunday?
Well, I'm gonna leave here a little more abruptly than normal because I got a lot of film to watch tonight of Clemson. We have an earlier practice tomorrow, so I gotta get to the film and and and get to work here tonight. But so I'd probably be more equipped to answer that question tomorrow morning.
Uh.
But what I'll say, they're very positionally sound, defensively, very physical. I think at least asked a question about physicality, uh in league play that this is a game like that. So it's it's like it'll be like a Big twelve game physically. So they're gonna be in position. Uh, we're gonna have to do a great job of executing, making decisions, like you're not going to just make one pass, drive the ball and get a good shot. Like they are
a very positionally sound defense, very physical defense. Offensively, they don't beat themselves. They do not turn the ball over. They do a good job of turning things over side to side. So this is a this is a big twelve type game and in a very well coached and disciplined team, and so we're gonna have to match those things.
I'm one of five kids, three sisters and a brother. My brother lives in Greenville, South Carolina. So it's very nice of you to schedule a game there that I can't attend because I'll be a the Bengal Dolphins game on Sunday. Unfortunately, so I don't get.
To see my brother and in Miami or is that here?
It's in Miami.
I don't feel bad.
Yeah, nor should you. So I wish I could see my brother, but I hope to get back and watch on tape a great Bearrickhead victory over Clast.
Let's leave them tickets. Let's end this though. Let's let's end on this tonight. He's obviously welcome. We'll put him behind the bench. But the for the most part, it'll be a blownot to have you there. I mean, like we we love Dan Horde. Enough set there, that's kind of you. You're the greatest.
However, However, there it comes, there's a whole and it's a deserved.
However, however, I will not be interrupted with music during my press conference.
Yes, we learned officially last night that I'm old because my cell phone goes off in the middle of his news conference and I start slapping at this phone like I'm wearing upn mits. I can't find the button to just turn it off or turn the sound down. I'm like slapping at it. That was the most embarrassing thing in my life.
It happened like three times twice. Went running out of the room in the press conference. It was great.
Shut it off.
Then I said nice things about you the.
Water as she did, and I appreciate it. All Right, we're out of time. Stuff to give away momentarily. If you're listening on the radio, thanks for tuning in. This has been the West Miller Radio Show on seven hundred. What do you want to double you