Mike McAfee
Mike McAfee
defense defensive felt game good hard job needed offense playing second starts talked turned
It was a really good game and Taft has a good team. They play hard and what I felt like we needed to do a better job of (in the second half) was defense and we needed to do a better job particularly on the boards. Playing better defensively was what we talked about at halftime. And I thought we did. Our offense starts on defense. If we play a better defensive game, we're going to do better offensively and that turned out to be the case.
alone both difference felt finished fourth game good guards happy hard involved jackson job kids knocking maintained night nine proud quarter stayed within
That fourth quarter was like a game within a game. Jackson was working hard, and knocking down shots, and I felt our kids were working hard too. I was really proud of the way we maintained our composure. We stayed on the attack, on both ends. That made the difference for us. Our guards did a good job of controlling the ball, and getting everyone involved in the game. We finished the night with just nine turnovers, that stat alone is significant in our success. I'd be happy with that just about any night.
cut hit hoping ideal mindset playing point shift single start team win
They hit enough. At that point you can't play trade-off. We've got to be outscoring them all the way through if we're going to be successful. If we could have cut that (lead) to single digits, that would have been the ideal because at that point they're going to start getting worried. And what you're always hoping a team will do (in that situation) is shift their mindset from playing to win to playing not to lose.
approach best certainly defense defensive focus good great high key kids momentum offensive power quarters shot stand swinging understanding work
We try to approach the end of the quarters on a high note, and that can be a great defensive stand or a good offensive opportunity. I think our kids are understanding the power of momentum more and more and we certainly want the momentum swinging our way, so we'll play good defense or work for the best shot or both. Maintaining our focus was a key to our success.
best bill floor games heart leaders played takes talk
Bill played one of the best games he's played all season. He's one of the leaders on the floor and he's one that when we talk at halftime, he really takes it to heart and he takes things as a challenge.
bill bread butter far
Bill and Jay, they're our bread and butter as far as rebounding goes.
afford average half hurt smarter squander team
Turnovers hurt us and especially in the first half. We had our team average in the first half for turnovers. We can't afford to squander that many opportunities to score. We have to be smarter with the basketball.
best chris defender guys hard heads played putting shut team trying
Every team that we play is putting their best defender on Chris and they're trying to shut him down. But we've got a lot of guys out there we feel can score. We're also working really hard to get Chris open. I thought he played a pretty heads up game.
asks aspects ball certain confident dial game handling improved kids shooting smart spencer turned works
Spencer is our most improved player. He just turned up the dial this year. He got more confident in his ball handling ability. He got more confident in his shooting ability. He's a smart kid. He works hard. He's one of those kids that always asks how he can improve certain aspects of his game and then he's out there working on it.
anywhere central friday quick ready start top
As a team, we know that we've got to come out and be on top of everything from start to finish. If we're going to get anywhere down the road, in the playoffs, we need to refocus really quick and get ready for Central Friday night.
defense four kept kids played playing pleased proud
I was pleased with the way our kids kept playing defense. I'm proud of the way our kids played all four quarters.
accurate based floor focus free great hit line listens people throw throws
I make substitutions based on who can hit a free throw. Keith Cochran is our most accurate free throw shooter. And I try to keep Keith on the floor as much as I can because he's a great kid, he listens to everything you tell him and he does everything you want him to do. We need to have people going to the line who can hit free throws. We focus on free throws every day in practice.
effort game half hard kids places played second turned
I can't say enough about how hard they played in that second half. If we could have done any of that in the first half, I think we could have turned the game around. In the second half there were so many places we could have turned it around, too. I can't say enough about the effort that the kids put out. It was amazing, it really was.
appreciate basketball bill cheer floor game gives great group guys heart initiative leader match together took
You can't match him on heart - he gives everything. Bill was a leader on the floor too. He was the one before every game that got the guys together for the group cheer - 'Who's house? Our house.' He's the one that took the initiative to make the warm-up CD. He's just a great young man. I can't tell you how much I appreciate everything he did for our basketball team.