Hoops HD

Last Saturday Middle Tennessee beat Marshall in the C-USA title game to earn an automatic bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Blue Raiders made quite a splash last March by upsetting Michigan State as a #15-seed, and now they are back in the NCAA tourney as a #12-seed to face #5-seed Minnesota in a South Region match-up on Thursday afternoon in Milwaukee.  Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with SR PF JaCorey Williams about making a game-winning shot in his hometown and being named conference POY.

You began your career at Arkansas, where you beat Wofford in the 2015 NCAA tourney before losing to North Carolina: what did you lean from that experience that you think can help you this time around? I learned that the idea of survive/advance is so critical: teams will give you their best shot regardless of the name on the front of your/their jersey.

Why did you decide to transfer after that season, and what made you choose the Blue Raiders? My AAU coach talked to Coach Davis 1st and then I talked to him myself. He told me how good I could become if I worked hard and was a good teammate while sitting out for a year. I also worked on my individual skill set a lot.

You play for Coach Kermit Davis: what makes him such a great coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? He never lets up no matter who on the team he is talking to: we are all accountable. We never take any opponent for granted and always stay focused. He taught us that when you are preparing for a game you cannot skip any steps in the process no matter which game it is.

In November you scored a career-high 31 PTS in a 3-PT OT win over Toledo: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? It had a lot to do with my teammates having confidence me, but I definitely had it going that night and just tried to keep making plays to help us win.

You played several good non-conference teams this year like UNC Wilmington/Vandy/VCU: which of these teams impressed you the most? UNC Wilmington can shoot the 3-ball and can drive against bigger defenders: they can play with anybody. Their big man (Devontae Cacok) rebounds and shoots about 80 FG%: you need guys like that on your team.

On February 26 you scored 15 PTS including the game-winning jumper with 5 seconds left in a 2-PT win at UAB (which happens to be the city where you grew up): did you think that your shot was going in, and where does that rank among the most clutch shots of your career? About 2/3 of my shots are mid-range jumpers so it felt good when I released it and I was not surprised that I made the shot. It was big to win the game in front of so much of family/friends in attendance.

Last week you were named conference POY: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It just shows all of the hard work that I have put in since I came here from Arkansas. I have improved as a person/player/leader and let my game speak for itself. I worked hard in the summertime on my ball-handling/jump shot, but if it was not for my teammates then I could not have won that award.

Last Saturday you scored 17 PTS in an 83-72 win over Marshall in the C-USA title game: how were you able to pull out the win after the Thundering Herd cut your lead to 2 PTS with 12 minutes left, and what was the reaction like when you got back to campus? When they cut our lead to 2 we still felt confident because we knew that they would make a run at some point. We then went on a run of our own and then I figured the game would stay in our favor. I was very tired when I got back to campus after celebrating the win but I was excited to see us announced on the selection show.

You have only lost 3 games since Thanksgiving by a combined 14 PTS: how has your team able to remain so dominant throughout the entire season? Coach Davis is not satisfied by getting a couple of wins in a row: he wants to win every game and holds us to that standard. If we are slacking at practice he will call out the leaders to get the whole team going.

How do you feel about getting a #12-seed, and what do you know about Minnesota? I do not mind a #12: we were a #15 last year so this is a step up for us. I know that the Gophers have some good big men, a good PG, and a coach named Pitino so it will be no small task to beat them, but I like our match-up.

Last Sunday Princeton beat Yale at the Palestra in the 1st-ever Ivy League title game to earn an automatic bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Tigers joined Vermont as the only 2 teams to not lose a conference game all season, and after playing in the NIT in 2016 they are back in the NCAA tourney where they will face #5-seed Notre Dame in a West Region match-up on Thursday afternoon in Buffalo. Yesterday HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with SR SF Steven Cook about being an Academic All-American and the fact that his team still had to win its conference tourney to make it to the NCAA tourney.

You play for Coach Mitch Henderson: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have ever learned from him? He adds so much value to our program because he was such a successful player here himself. He went to 3 NCAA tourneys and was on a team that at 1 point was ranked in the top-10 in the nation. He taught us how hard it is to win so victory demands that you bring it every day in practice/games: you need a constant drive for success.

In the 2016 NIT you scored 22 PTS in a 5-PT OT loss to Virginia Tech: how close did you come to winning the game, and what did you learn from that game that you think will help you in the postseason this year? 1 of our advantages is that we have so much experience, which has helped us win in so many ways this year. The NIT felt like a big stage last year in a hostile environment, so we will be ready for anything this year on an even bigger stage.

In December you lost SR SF Henry Caruso for the year with a toe injury: how was your team able to overcome this obstacle? We also lost Hans Brase after he re-injured his ACL so those were 2 big hits to our team. It was a hard adjustment early in the season, which is why we struggled a bit, but it allowed younger guys like Myles Stephens/Devin Cannady to contribute in ways they did not have an opportunity to do in the past.

You had a tough non-conference schedule this year with teams like BYU/VCU/Cal/Bucknell: which team impressed you the most? All of those teams impressed us but VCU was probably the toughest team that we faced: it was such a hostile environment at their place due their great crowd. When you face tough situations early on and can look back on those games later in the season it helps you realize what it takes to win.

Your team swept most of the Ivy League awards this year (POY/DPOY/COY): do you think that you went 14-0 in conference play because your team was just better than everyone else? 1 thing about awards is that they tend to go to people on winning teams. There is a lot of talent around the Ivy League but we are a senior-driven team. We play together and can succeed as a cohesive unit, which is what separates us.

In any other year that would have been enough to earn a bid to the NCAA tourney, but for the 1st-time ever you had to win the Ivy League tourney to do so: did you think it was an unfair situation? I would not say that it was unfair. Our senior class always wanted to play in a conference tourney because it gives us more exposure and is 1 of the most exciting parts of March Madness. Playing against Penn on their home court was not easy, but as a competitor it is hard not to love those environments so we were still excited.

Earlier today you scored 15 PTS in a 71-59 win over Yale to clinch the conference title: what was the feeling like in your locker room afterward, and what was the reaction like when you got back to campus? It was unbelievable and pretty surreal for all of us: it has not really sunk in that we went 16-0, which is what we set out to do at the start of the year. There was a lot of hype/hysteria in the locker room so we just tried to appreciate the moment: even though it was just the day before it feels like it happened a week ago! The campus was really supportive with everyone congratulating us when we returned.

You are 1 of several seniors on the roster: how crucial will all of that veteran leadership be to your team’s success? That is what has carried us all year so I think it will continue to be a big factor for our team.

Earlier this month you were named a 3rd-team Academic All-American due to your 3.51 GPA in economics: why did you choose economics, and how do you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? I chose economics because it is a subject that has interested me since high school. I love it because it gives you a structured way to solve problems and look at the world in general. It is definitely a struggle to be a student-athlete at times but 1 of the most important things that I have learned during college is time management. You have to plan out your day and make time to fit in everything.

How do you feel about getting a #12-seed, and what do you know about Notre Dame? We are happy with whoever the committee matches us up against. Notre Dame is a great team with a lot of talent, which is why they made it all the way to the ACC title game, and I am looking forward to playing them on Thursday.

Last Saturday Vanderbilt lost to Arkansas in the SEC semifinals but was still good enough to earn an at-large bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Commodores became the 1st team to ever make the NCAA tourney with 15 losses, mostly because their strength of schedule was 1 of the best in the nation.  They will face #8-seed Northwestern in a West Region match-up on Thursday afternoon in Salt Lake City. Yesterday HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with SR PF Luke Kornet about being an Academic All-American and following in his father’s footsteps.

In the 1988 NCAA tourney your father Frank (an All-SEC player at Vandy) had 20 PTS/10 REB in a 3-PT win over Utah State and then played 40 minutes in a 6-PT OT win over Pitt that was helped by Barry Goheen’s 24-footer at the end of regulation: who is the best athlete in the family, and does he talk about that tourney run all the time?! My dad probably would have qualified back in the day and was a good athlete. I have heard about it but he talks more about the Sweet 16 game when they lost to Danny Manning and eventual champion Kansas.

You grew 7” as a high school senior in Texas: how did that affect your game, and what made you choose the Commodores? I was very behind athletically so it was difficult for me to even run/jump. It took awhile for me to improve: it was a big switch to go from playing on the wing to guarding ball screens and battling in the post for rebounds. I had to develop my body before I could play against D-1 players and become a solid big man. Both of my parents went to Vanderbilt and I was pretty familiar with the place. It was an obvious choice to me because it is such a good school.

You play for Coach Bryce Drew: what makes him such a great coach, and how many times have you seen video of his famous shot from 1998? He is great at setting the tone for the whole program. He works very hard but is always trying to figure out the best way for us to get better and grow on a daily basis. I have seen his shot quite a few times but he does not talk about it a lot: it is the media who mentions it all of the time.

In January of 2016 you had a triple-double (11 PTS/11 REB/school-record 10 BLK) in a win over Auburn: where does that rank among the best all-around performances of your career? It is probably my best game from a blatant statistical standpoint, but I feel that I have had some better games in terms of big games against good teams, such as Senior Night when we beat Florida. There were other games where I played a smaller role but helped us get a big win.

You faced a ton of NCAA tourney teams in non-conference play including Bucknell/Butler/Dayton/Iowa State/Marquette/Middle Tennessee/Minnesota: how brutal was that schedule, and which of these teams impressed you the most? It was difficult because it seemed like we could not go more than 1 game before having to face another tourney-caliber team. It was hard to build up any momentum due to all of those constant tests, although it did help us improve. Middle Tennessee was a very talented team: they do not get a fair say because they are a mid-major but it will be fun to see them play a 5-12 game vs. Minnesota, who we also played this year. I think it will be a pretty cool match-up to watch.

You started conference play 5-7 before winning 7 of your next 8 games: how were you able to turn things around so dramatically in February? It finally started clicking for us even while we were losing. We began to play a higher quality of basketball so we felt like we were getting better rather than simply getting discouraged by focusing on the results. It kept building on itself and we fought through the losses and then started to string together some wins: our attitude was important.

You have beaten Florida 3 times in the past 7 weeks: what advice do you have for your fellow in-state tourney team East Tennessee State who gets to play them on Thursday? The Gators are a team that you never look forward to playing. They have talent all over the court and are fast so 1 big thing is to keep their guards out of the lane.  You have to grind out a lot of possessions and expect a fight for 40 minutes, and you cannot get discouraged when they make a run.

In the 2016 1st 4 you had 8 PTS/9 REB in a loss to Wichita State: what did you learn from that loss that you think will help you this time around? I learned that we have to give a full 40-minute performance. The Shockers did not break away from us until the final 8 minutes so you cannot get overconfident if you make a run early: you have to stay committed and not let your emotions get the best of you.

Earlier this month you were named 2nd-team Academic All-American due to your 3.71 GPA in a double-major of computer science/math: how do you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom, and what is your plan after you graduate this spring? Early on it seemed like I just went from class to practice to homework. You can never let yourself fall behind: you definitely have to get your work done whenever you can. It was not easy at first but I was committed to never slipping in my schoolwork. I am planning to play basketball for as long as I can, hopefully in the NBA or professionally somewhere else. After that I might take a computer science job, or become a coach, or work for a non-profit.

How do you feel about getting a #9-seed, and what do you know about Northwestern? I think a #9 is great for us: I heard that we were predicted to be anywhere from a #8 to missing the tourney entirely. Northwestern has been pretty amazing this year: they are a well-balanced team without many weaknesses. It will be a tough/physical game: I expect them to be fully locked-in for 40 minutes so we will have to be focused as well.