J. Horton
J. Horton
chance close couple face finish games hurt left lost realize season somebody strong toward
You have to kind of look yourself in the face and realize you're a part of it. We didn't finish the season well, and I think that hurt us. We feel like we left it in somebody else's hands. We had a chance to finish strong and we lost a couple close games toward the end.
confidence expect games gives level maintain outside people program stay teams week winning
Right now it's up to us to maintain our level of play and stay in first place. Winning these two games this week gives us a lot more confidence because these are teams that people outside our program don't expect us to beat.
expecting facing games grind knew national ncaa people point success winning
People were expecting a lot of things from this team, and they don't realize, before we got here, they were winning 11 games and facing NCAA sanctions. They wanted national championship success right away, and we knew it wasn't going to be like that. It was going to be a long grind and process. We've done that really well, to the point where we expect to win.
basically finish games left next regardless six somebody tough year
Regardless of what you all were told, when you basically tell somebody with six games left that they?re not going to be here next year, I think it?s pretty tough to finish the year out.
games guard guys kidding lucky saw stopping
That was our focus, stopping him. I saw the film from other games and I went, 'Oh, are you kidding me? This kid is for real.' We have two guys who can guard a guy like that and we were lucky we did.
came game left lost short tournament
I'm hurt. We lost in a championship game of a tournament that was very important for us. We left it all out on the court. We came up short but like I've always said, everything doesn't always go your way in life.
best effort everybody followed game happy plan team three throughout
I was very happy with the finish. We followed our game plan to the tee. It was the best team effort of the season. Everybody contributed their best throughout all three rounds.
couple fixed game halftime matt midfield moved physical playing secondly talked
We talked at halftime about a couple of things. First thing we fixed is that we weren't playing a physical game in the first half, and secondly we moved Matt Mikhail to midfield to get more possessions on the ball.
defend effort game mental
We didn't defend again. We have to find a way to buckle down. This game it wasn't so much effort and hustle. It was more mental lapses.
accept compete games move opportunity situation somebody step
We had to step back and re-focus. We had to accept the situation we were in, and not look for somebody else to blame, and then move on. We still had games to play, and the opportunity to compete for a championship.
adversity coming game last means sanctions says standing
But to be here and able to play for a championship and have a say when our last game is going to be means a adversity that we've faced. Coming here as freshmen, going through the sanctions and the injuries, everything. ... And for us to still be standing here and able to play for a championship at the end of it says a lot about who we are as people.
game irrelevant practice step three
Once it's game day, once I'm on that practice field, once I step into the stadium, everything else is irrelevant for about three hours.
emphasis free game good point situations staple team throws work
Being a good free throw-shooting team has always been a point of emphasis for this program. We work on free throws in game situations as well. It is a big staple of this program.
chance coming game glad influence knew last life page sad satisfied senior time turn
I'm just glad I had a chance to influence when my last game was going to be. I knew when it was coming and I'm satisfied with that. Like I said before Senior Day, I'm not sad about it or anything like that. There comes a time in life where you turn the page and that's where we are as seniors. We want to end right.