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Here is an article on Sean Miller's post-game comments:
What did Sean Miller say after USC?
ByJASON SCHEER
(Photo: Arizona Athletics)
Arizona lost 87-73 to USC on Thursday night and Sean Miller started off his postgame press conference by pointing directly to the defense.
“This isn’t a stat sheet that you see very often,” Miller said. “USC was 21 for 28 in the second half from the field. I give them a lot of credit, especially Isaiah White. Coming into the game, he was a borderline double-figure scorer. More of a power forward playing a small forward position and doing a really good job for their team, but he went 3 for 5 from 3 and had 22 points.
“Isaiah Mobley and Evan Mobley, those two guys are a handful. You start mixing in Chevez Goodwin and someone like Isaiah White does what he did tonight, I mean, it’s tough for us to beat a team that goes 21 for 28 in the second half from the floor, 4 for 6 from 3, 6 for 8 from the line. I mean, they had 31 field goals and shot 58%. They were also eight for 14 from three, so our defense was porous.”
When the Wildcats would finally get going offensively, it could not get the stops necessary to cut the deficit.
“There may have been times when we were in the right position, and maybe they hit a tough, hard-earned shot, but for the most part they got whatever they wanted,” Miller said. “In the first half, it was our fouling.
“In the second half, when we needed the big stop, or consecutive stops to really make this a one possession game or a game where we could win, we never could quite get that.”
It also did not help that the Wildcats’ starting guards played their worst game of the season.
“Jemarl Baker and then James Akinjo have been very good for our team,” Miller said. “Not every game is going to go a player’s way, but in the Pac-12, it’s going to be hard for us to overcome 1 for 15 from our starting backcourt. One for 15, 0 for 7 from three.
“The loss doesn’t fall on their shoulders at all. It’s just every team in the country starts a backcourt, a point guard and a two. And if that starting backcourt goes 1 for 15, that’s an uphill battle.”
The Trojans are a strong defensive team, but Arizona’s offense also just did not have the shooting night the Wildcats needed.
“Well, USC is a good defensive team,” Miller said. “I would say that their defense is ahead of their offense until tonight, but you have to watch the film, no question.
“You have to give credit. Their length can bother every team that plays them, but we also had some good looks. We had some good drives. We had some shots around the basket. We had some open opportunities from the perimeter.
“Obviously it wasn’t just Jemarl or James, I’m not here playing the blame game. It is what it is. Like I said, those two guys are a terrific backcourt for us. We’ve won some games because of how good they have been.
“Tonight, they just didn’t have it shooting and in a game like USC, we have to be good on offense. We have to make shots. We have to take care of the ball and we have to be much, much better on defense.”
As much as the guards struggled defensively, the interior was not any better.
“I’m not going to say it was a miscommunication as if all of a sudden teams are scoring and we can’t communicate,” Miller said. “They executed. They were simple in what they did. They were better at their execution than us.
“Look, they have some good players. You get the ball in and around the rim to a number of guys on their team, they will deliver. Tonight when they kicked the ball out, when they made the one more pass, they drilled three-point shots.
“I thought a big segment in the game was in transition, without them running any offense, they had back-to-back three-point shots. That’s a breakdown for us going from offense to defense, right?
“You’re on offense, the ball doesn’t go in or you have a turnover, you’ve got to turn, point, sprint, fix it, and identify the ball, find shooters and get back. That becomes more difficult as you keep missing shots. I really thought that our missed shots started to affect us on the defensive side of the ball.
“It affected our energy, it affected our cohesiveness, and basketball just it’s not a fun sport when you can’t make a shot. I thought we went through long stretches tonight where we had that and we were playing against a team that was too good on offense for us to be able to overcome that.
“Again, I could point to our shooting, but they were 31 for 53 from the field, 21 for 28 from the field in the second half. Clearly they got what they wanted. They scored a lot of their points in and around the basket. When they made the kick out pass, their shooters delivered.”
What did Sean Miller say after USC?
ByJASON SCHEER
(Photo: Arizona Athletics)Arizona lost 87-73 to USC on Thursday night and Sean Miller started off his postgame press conference by pointing directly to the defense.
“This isn’t a stat sheet that you see very often,” Miller said. “USC was 21 for 28 in the second half from the field. I give them a lot of credit, especially Isaiah White. Coming into the game, he was a borderline double-figure scorer. More of a power forward playing a small forward position and doing a really good job for their team, but he went 3 for 5 from 3 and had 22 points.
“Isaiah Mobley and Evan Mobley, those two guys are a handful. You start mixing in Chevez Goodwin and someone like Isaiah White does what he did tonight, I mean, it’s tough for us to beat a team that goes 21 for 28 in the second half from the floor, 4 for 6 from 3, 6 for 8 from the line. I mean, they had 31 field goals and shot 58%. They were also eight for 14 from three, so our defense was porous.”
When the Wildcats would finally get going offensively, it could not get the stops necessary to cut the deficit.
“There may have been times when we were in the right position, and maybe they hit a tough, hard-earned shot, but for the most part they got whatever they wanted,” Miller said. “In the first half, it was our fouling.
“In the second half, when we needed the big stop, or consecutive stops to really make this a one possession game or a game where we could win, we never could quite get that.”
It also did not help that the Wildcats’ starting guards played their worst game of the season.
“Jemarl Baker and then James Akinjo have been very good for our team,” Miller said. “Not every game is going to go a player’s way, but in the Pac-12, it’s going to be hard for us to overcome 1 for 15 from our starting backcourt. One for 15, 0 for 7 from three.
“The loss doesn’t fall on their shoulders at all. It’s just every team in the country starts a backcourt, a point guard and a two. And if that starting backcourt goes 1 for 15, that’s an uphill battle.”
The Trojans are a strong defensive team, but Arizona’s offense also just did not have the shooting night the Wildcats needed.
“Well, USC is a good defensive team,” Miller said. “I would say that their defense is ahead of their offense until tonight, but you have to watch the film, no question.
“You have to give credit. Their length can bother every team that plays them, but we also had some good looks. We had some good drives. We had some shots around the basket. We had some open opportunities from the perimeter.
“Obviously it wasn’t just Jemarl or James, I’m not here playing the blame game. It is what it is. Like I said, those two guys are a terrific backcourt for us. We’ve won some games because of how good they have been.
“Tonight, they just didn’t have it shooting and in a game like USC, we have to be good on offense. We have to make shots. We have to take care of the ball and we have to be much, much better on defense.”
As much as the guards struggled defensively, the interior was not any better.
“I’m not going to say it was a miscommunication as if all of a sudden teams are scoring and we can’t communicate,” Miller said. “They executed. They were simple in what they did. They were better at their execution than us.
“Look, they have some good players. You get the ball in and around the rim to a number of guys on their team, they will deliver. Tonight when they kicked the ball out, when they made the one more pass, they drilled three-point shots.
“I thought a big segment in the game was in transition, without them running any offense, they had back-to-back three-point shots. That’s a breakdown for us going from offense to defense, right?
“You’re on offense, the ball doesn’t go in or you have a turnover, you’ve got to turn, point, sprint, fix it, and identify the ball, find shooters and get back. That becomes more difficult as you keep missing shots. I really thought that our missed shots started to affect us on the defensive side of the ball.
“It affected our energy, it affected our cohesiveness, and basketball just it’s not a fun sport when you can’t make a shot. I thought we went through long stretches tonight where we had that and we were playing against a team that was too good on offense for us to be able to overcome that.
“Again, I could point to our shooting, but they were 31 for 53 from the field, 21 for 28 from the field in the second half. Clearly they got what they wanted. They scored a lot of their points in and around the basket. When they made the kick out pass, their shooters delivered.”
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