Dec. 8, 2012
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
COACH SENDEK
ON CALL STATE NORTHRIDGE BEING AGGRESSIVE
"We were aggressive and equally important, we played without fouling. This is a team that came into today's game averaging 81 per contest. They were averaging 25 free-throw attempts per game. They're an excellent free-throw shooting team. They average scoring nineteen points per game from the line. We knew we had to keep them off the line. We did a very good job of getting there ourselves but once again, we are still leaving far too many points. Not only did we miss fifteen, but we missed three front-end to one-on-ones. The grand total is eighteen possible points left. I know we're not going to shoot 100 percent, but I would like to see us make some greater portion of those eighteen that we missed. We did a good job of getting to the line and a good job of keeping them off the line. The other thing is that we started with a rash of turnovers early. We had seven at the half and four in the second half. I think a disproportionate number of those seven came early. We talked about taking care of the ball because coming into this game, our opponent was forcing seventeen a turnovers a game on ten steals. They rely on surprise and change; obviously playing multiple defenses. They trap ball screens. They mix in their 1-3-1, their 1-2-2 and their man, so we knew we had to take care of the ball. Eleven turnovers; third consecutive game we've had ten or eleven turnovers. That's a positive. We got out to the line. That's a positive. Balance scoring was another real highlight for our team tonight. It was obviously a career night for Jordan (Bachynski). He got the first triple-double in school history. Usually when you see a triple-double, it's obviously points, rebounds, and assists. Rarely do you see it when someone gets ten or more blocked shots."
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO THE DEFENSE TO HAVE JORDAN BLOCKING SHOTS
"It means a great deal. Northridge is very good at getting to the dribble and getting to the basket off the dribble like a lot of teams we're playing. They size down many lineups. Even their front court guys are pretty good off the bounce. Having Jordan back there to save us on a number of occasions makes a world of difference. Any time you have a shot blocker like that, it's not just the ones he gets, but the opponent can't help but start thinking about it a little bit. He's also changing some other shots as well."
ON THE BACKCOURT
"We got really good play from them. The guys responded really well once the lead was chiseled in the second half. We're still striving as a team to put 40 minutes together. We have a great deal of respect for Northridge. I think they're a team that can win their conference. We knew we had to play well today."
ON JORDAN'S DEFENSE
"I think `knack' is a great word for it. It's not something that I think is easily taught. The great shot blockers that I've had a chance to be around simple have that knack. It's not something that you typically show film on or try to teach someone to do. Some guys just have the knack and some guys do not. It's very valuable. It really helps your field goal percentage defense. I think for the most part, our defense in the second half was substandard. I don't think it was nearly as good as it needed to be, even though I've been very complimentary towards or defense as a whole."
ON THE THREE-POINT SHOOTING
"I don't think we necessarily moved the ball real well in the first half. We did shoot the ball pretty well, but we felt the ball didn't get reversed enough in the first half. We talked about that at half time. The number of threes as opposed to the number of twos isn't something we put a goal on. We just really try to play good basketball and take the first really good open shot we can get."
ON THE PLAY OF CARRICK
"The drunks were a key turning point in the game. Once again, how fun is he just to watch? His energy level is incredible. Right now, he radiates joy when he plays. You just feel good watching him compete. Unfortunately for us, he got in foul trouble early and then he got back in foul trouble in the second half, picking up his third. He is just so important to us, hopefully we can keep him out of that area."
ON LOOKING BACK TO THE DEPAUL GAME LAST YEAR
"Our guys who were last year remember it. They know DePaul beat us. It was a close, hard-fought game. We start a two-year series with them now with the first one being here Wednesday night. It's obviously a big game. They're a Big East opponent coming in to Wells Fargo. We're looking forward to having every seat in the house filled."
QUOTING JORDAN
ON HIS PERFORMANCE TODAY
"It was a long road, from my mission taking two years off. From last year coaches were patient with me. From freshman year and not playing much at all and the development I've gone under is a testament to the great coaching staff here. They do a phenomenal job developing players. I feel fortunate, being able to do that."
ON KNOWING HE WAS CLOSE TO A TRIPLE DOUBLE
"The only reason I knew I was close, was when coach Larry Greer pulled me aside at the beginning of the second half. He told me I had a chance for a triple double, just go and play your heart out."
ON THE FEELING ON HEARING THE CROWD
"I had no idea that was announced. When we are in the huddle, I give all my attention to coach Herb Sendek. I try to block out the crowd, because you can't be focused on two things at one time. At the last time out, there was plenty of time, had they hit a few more three's, that would have been a close game. So you can't just lose focus even for a second."
ON FEELING LIKE IT WAS HIS BEST GAME EVER
"I played hard. I have players around me, who help me do that. Pretty much all the baskets i got, were assists. Jahii.Carson, Chris Colvin, Carrick Felix, and Evan Gordonare all great players, who feed me the ball at the right time. My points were a big part, and that comes from my teammates. I don't bring the ball up the court, I can't make my own shot, it comes down to my players doing a good job."
ON THE BALANCE OF THE TEAM
"We have great players. I didn't play much last game, because Eric Jacobsen went off, and did really well. That just shows you how deep we are, we got Eric Jacobsen, Jonathan Gilling, Bo Barnes, all are great players. Evan Gordonwas a bench player for a long time, he really stepped up, and now he's performing really well. So we have a great team, and I'm excited."
ON BEING ASSERTIVE
"Coach Herb Sendek, took my aside a few games ago when I was averaging about 7 rebounds a game. He gave me a note that said in big bold letters "10 rebounds a game". So that's my goal, but in order to get those 10 rebounds you have to be aggressive. I feel like at the beginning of the season I did a great job with that, and then a kind of slacked off at being aggressive, but I felt like i was able to bring that today."
ON BLOCK TO FOUL RATIOS
"A big part of it is, not trying to block your man's shot. Occasionally, I'll block the big man, but a lot of my blocks come off the help side. Not putting your body into them and reaching out, so I think that's what helps me out a lot. No one taught me how to shot block, it just happened naturally."
ON EXTRA MOTIVATION FROM WEDNESDAY'S GAME
"I'm proud of Eric Jacobsen stepping up as a freshman, he did a phenomenal job. I'm not going to lie, not being able to play to second half, I took it personal. I'm happy for Eric Jacobsenand the great job that he did, and if i wasn't happy for him I wouldn't be a good teammate. But that was definitely motivation. I think any good team would feed off that. Not playing is just motivation to get better."
ON GOING INTO CHRISTMAS BREAK ON A POSITIVE NOTE
"I think it is very important. Basketball is a game of momentum. If we continue to build on momentum up until the Pac-12 season, we have a chance to be unstoppable.
ON HEARING HIS STATS
"I knew I was doing a really good job on the block shots. I just continued to play hard, and not let it effect me. If you start thinking about it you going to get nervous and you're going to think I don't have enough block shots, what am i going to do? You can't have that in your mind. It'll be in the back of your mind, but you have to continue to play hard."
ON Jahii Carson
"That guy is lighting fast, he just blows by guys. Not only that, speed is great, but if you can't finish at the hoop it's nothing. He does an amazing job, sneaking in the lane, and finding the open shot. He's a great passer, at the last game he had six assists and that's great. He's athletic, in practice he'll show dunk he could do, and it looks like he's on an elevator. I love playing with Jahii Carson. He takes it to the hole hard, passes the ball really well and always has a positive attitude."
ON MAKING A STATEMENT AGAINST DEPAUL AND POWER CONFERENCE
"I think it's a great opportunity. This to me is a personal game, because last year the took it to us in Florida. We are going to get that win. I'm going to work as hard as i can to get that win. We have great coaches who prepare us really well. Everyone who was here last year still have that bitter taste in their mouth about that game."
ON JORDAN'S TRIPLE-DOUBLE
"J.B. definitely played his butt off. It's obviously a great accomplishment by him but he can't settle. He has to continue to work and hopefully do it again. I think Evan Gordon played another good game for us and so did Jahii Carson. I think Jahii definitely set the tempo for us."
ON THE PLAY OF THE TEAM
"I think we're all just trying to play together. Honestly, outside of basketball, we're all like brothers. We're all family. The biggest thing I can say is that we definitely all love each other. You can see it translate onto the court. We all play for each other and at the end of the day, that's all that matters. We always talk before and after the games on what we can improve on and what we can do better. We just make sure that we all come together when the time comes."
ON PLAYING HIS SENIOR YEAR
"There's most definitely a sense of urgency. Since this is my last year, I definitely have a lot to play for. I always feel like I have a little chip on my shoulder. I try to be the energy guy for the team and make hustle plays. When it comes down to it, it's going to be the little plays in the game like the tipped balls, the loose rebounds, and offensive rebounds, so we try to do that."
ON HIS PLAY AGAINST CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE
"The steals were the best. Defense is probably one of my favorite things to do when it comes to basketball. The steals luckily led to some nice dunks."
ON THE TEAM'S 8-1 START
"I'm really excited. I feel like it's been a long time coming. I feel like we definitely worked hard for it, but at the same time, we have to keep working for it. I'm excited, but I know as the season goes on, it's always going to get longer and teams are going to get better and better. We played a good team tonight but we have to get ready for conference coming around here. I feel like the record is a validation of this team. A lot of people underestimated us in the beginning of the year. We're starting to gain some respect, but we have to continue to stay humble. We have to play hard every game. We put our passion and our love into the game and it's showing."
ON THE DEPAUL GAME FROM LAST YEAR
"That game is like a nightmare to me. I know them coming into our house is going to be a different story. We definitely have something that we need to prove. They're a really good team but we have something to give back to them. Last year in the Old Spice Tournament, they gave it to us, but this time around, we have something to prove. We want to go out there and give them what we got. It's good that we have a lot of new players and this is a new team so we're excited."
WHAT IT MEANS TO HAVE A SHOT-BLOCKER LIKE JORDAN
"It helps out so much. Sometimes we will have late close-offs or one of the guards will have a slip-up and their guy will go by them. Jordan being 7'2, all he has to do is stand there. By him becoming a basket presence, it's wonderful. It gives us a lot of chances to get out on a break and get more burns and offensive transitions. It's definitely good."
ON HOW IT FEELS TO HAVE THE CROWD CHANTING HIS NAME
"It definitely feels good. I would say obviously the past two years, there wasn't anything like that. It's a good feeling now coming around and seeing that we have more fans and more school spirit around ASU. It's a good feeling that our coaches changed."
ON JORDAN PLAYING WITH A CHIP ON HIS SHOULDER
"He's playing with a little more anger and chip on his shoulder. That's something we've been emphasizing to him since the beginning of the season and throughout the summer. I think he's starting to understand it more and he's carrying it onto the court more."
ON HAVING ZERO TURNOVERS
"I played well. I wasn't trying to force anything that wasn't there. Luckily, I didn't put myself in any position to turn the ball over today. It's definitely been a point of emphasis throughout Coach Sendek. We try to play with ten turnovers or less. We had ten last game and eleven tonight. That's not bad, but we just want to continue to try to stay under ten because when games become close, you're going to want to have more possessions."