ON UPCOMING EMOTIONS ENTERING A RIVALRY GAME:
“We have been in a lot of big games. The rivalry will have some extra juice and having our crowd. There are a lot of great things that go along with playing a program that has the track record and success that Arizona has. So, it is on the same level as to when we had Kansas here just in terms of the magnitude.”
ON KEYS TO BEING SUCCESSFUL AGAINST A SEAN MILLER COACHED TEAM:
“You know they will be very well coached. They have good position defenders. Technically, they are very sound on defense and you can tell they work really hard at it. He has a distinct style with how they defend, ball screen coverages, and being in the right position. It is amazing watching film to see how effective they are at taking charges in the paint. So, they focus on protecting the paint.”
ON ASU POTENTIALLY NARROWING GAP WITH ARIZONA:
“They are still an elite program. They are having a very good season considering what Sean (Miller) lost so much with guys going to the NBA and graduating. So, he has done a fantastic job with where they are and how hard his team competes. I do not try to get caught up in if I am getting closer to being as good as someone else. I just try to focus on what we are doing here.”
ON STATUS OF TAESHON CHERRY:
“Taeshon is still in the final stages of concussion protocol. We are still not 100%, but when we know, we will let you know.”
ON HAVING A WEEK TO PREPARE FOR A TEAM:
“It is an all in type of game. I think we did that anyway last week against UCLA. Watching a lot of film is important. We may finally see a team that plays man defense again unless Sean decides to do something that we do not expect. That is nice. We are actually looking forward to that. We have faced a lot of zone lately.”
ON THOUGHTS OF PLAYING AGAINST ZONE LATELY:
“I do not mind it to be honest. We have good size and lengthy athletes. Our offensive rebounds improves a lot against zone just with guys missing block out responsibilities. We have got guys that we can put in the high post who can attack. I did not particularly mind it. I thought we could have shot better against USC and that would have helped us out a little more against that defense. But, I think we have done okay with it during the last seven games.”
ON LUGUENTZ DORT’S SHOT SELECTION OF LATE:
“It will come down to the percentage of his shots that are threes and the quality of his shot. I think he has to focus on what he does very well. We had time to work on his shooting early in the week. We are hoping that with some minor tweaks that it will make a difference for him. But, I am certainly not going to tell him to not shoot because if you remember back to the Nevada game and several others. He (Luguentz Dort) was making baskets from behind the line and we are hoping that his percentages will go up in the final stages of the season.”
ON REMY MARTIN’S PROGRESSION IN RECENT WEEKS:
“He really has some good pop in his legs. He has dunks in practice. He had a great dunk at UCLA. His defense on the ball and getting guys involved have been important for him. His playmaking has been outstanding and he has found his opportunities on offense to score. We definitely will need his scoring punch.”
ON ELIAS POSSIBLY EARNING EXTRA OPPORTUNITIES IN UPCOMING GAMES:
“Yea. It will depend on the game and the situation. He has done a great job at just staying ready. It is not easy to go that many games without playing. I am not sure whether he knew his number was going to get called. He had the one turnover, but he did not allow that to affect him and made a big three for us. I am gaining more confidence in him, but they way he has been practicing during the last few weeks has been impressive. It is a testament to how well he is doing on the practice floor.”
ON REMY DEVELOPING INTO ONE OF TEAM LEADER’S THIS SEASON:
"I think Remy (Martin) has always had great charisma and personality. As the point guard, you are the natural leader on the floor, you have the basketball so much, and are making so many decision. His communication is outstanding and how he talks with his teammates. Zylan is another guy who speaks a lot. So, it is great to have guys that lead when they are out on the floor.”
ON REMY LEARNING HOW TO BE A FULL TIME STARTING POINT GUARD THIS YEAR:
“We asked Remy to be a spark last year when he came in to pressure the ball and push the basketball. This year I think he has taken another step in his development and his role has gotten bigger. The biggest change that he has made during the past few weeks is his passing. He had a great pass to Zylan (Cheatham) in the USC game and Kimani (Lawrence) in the UCLA game. He is really looking for his teammates in addition to finding his own scoring opportunities.”
“We have been in a lot of big games. The rivalry will have some extra juice and having our crowd. There are a lot of great things that go along with playing a program that has the track record and success that Arizona has. So, it is on the same level as to when we had Kansas here just in terms of the magnitude.”
ON KEYS TO BEING SUCCESSFUL AGAINST A SEAN MILLER COACHED TEAM:
“You know they will be very well coached. They have good position defenders. Technically, they are very sound on defense and you can tell they work really hard at it. He has a distinct style with how they defend, ball screen coverages, and being in the right position. It is amazing watching film to see how effective they are at taking charges in the paint. So, they focus on protecting the paint.”
ON ASU POTENTIALLY NARROWING GAP WITH ARIZONA:
“They are still an elite program. They are having a very good season considering what Sean (Miller) lost so much with guys going to the NBA and graduating. So, he has done a fantastic job with where they are and how hard his team competes. I do not try to get caught up in if I am getting closer to being as good as someone else. I just try to focus on what we are doing here.”
ON STATUS OF TAESHON CHERRY:
“Taeshon is still in the final stages of concussion protocol. We are still not 100%, but when we know, we will let you know.”
ON HAVING A WEEK TO PREPARE FOR A TEAM:
“It is an all in type of game. I think we did that anyway last week against UCLA. Watching a lot of film is important. We may finally see a team that plays man defense again unless Sean decides to do something that we do not expect. That is nice. We are actually looking forward to that. We have faced a lot of zone lately.”
ON THOUGHTS OF PLAYING AGAINST ZONE LATELY:
“I do not mind it to be honest. We have good size and lengthy athletes. Our offensive rebounds improves a lot against zone just with guys missing block out responsibilities. We have got guys that we can put in the high post who can attack. I did not particularly mind it. I thought we could have shot better against USC and that would have helped us out a little more against that defense. But, I think we have done okay with it during the last seven games.”
ON LUGUENTZ DORT’S SHOT SELECTION OF LATE:
“It will come down to the percentage of his shots that are threes and the quality of his shot. I think he has to focus on what he does very well. We had time to work on his shooting early in the week. We are hoping that with some minor tweaks that it will make a difference for him. But, I am certainly not going to tell him to not shoot because if you remember back to the Nevada game and several others. He (Luguentz Dort) was making baskets from behind the line and we are hoping that his percentages will go up in the final stages of the season.”
ON REMY MARTIN’S PROGRESSION IN RECENT WEEKS:
“He really has some good pop in his legs. He has dunks in practice. He had a great dunk at UCLA. His defense on the ball and getting guys involved have been important for him. His playmaking has been outstanding and he has found his opportunities on offense to score. We definitely will need his scoring punch.”
ON ELIAS POSSIBLY EARNING EXTRA OPPORTUNITIES IN UPCOMING GAMES:
“Yea. It will depend on the game and the situation. He has done a great job at just staying ready. It is not easy to go that many games without playing. I am not sure whether he knew his number was going to get called. He had the one turnover, but he did not allow that to affect him and made a big three for us. I am gaining more confidence in him, but they way he has been practicing during the last few weeks has been impressive. It is a testament to how well he is doing on the practice floor.”
ON REMY DEVELOPING INTO ONE OF TEAM LEADER’S THIS SEASON:
"I think Remy (Martin) has always had great charisma and personality. As the point guard, you are the natural leader on the floor, you have the basketball so much, and are making so many decision. His communication is outstanding and how he talks with his teammates. Zylan is another guy who speaks a lot. So, it is great to have guys that lead when they are out on the floor.”
ON REMY LEARNING HOW TO BE A FULL TIME STARTING POINT GUARD THIS YEAR:
“We asked Remy to be a spark last year when he came in to pressure the ball and push the basketball. This year I think he has taken another step in his development and his role has gotten bigger. The biggest change that he has made during the past few weeks is his passing. He had a great pass to Zylan (Cheatham) in the USC game and Kimani (Lawrence) in the UCLA game. He is really looking for his teammates in addition to finding his own scoring opportunities.”