Noon, CBS. No Bijan Cortes, no Marvin Johnson.
And now we start talking Bracketology, where OU is either considered the Last Four Byes or the Last Four in.
Porter Moser
I ask about Alston/Mo as backup PG?
Mo knows. Once we get the offense going, it’s not a factor. Mo can do it. Heck, different guys can do it. Even Jalen Hill brought it up a couple of times. But it was important to get Alston into the mix. To get those minutes where you’re on the floor when it counts. Have to keep trying to groom him. I know it’s a big test for him going home. He’s from Kansas. He has an opportunity to continue to play. We need some minutes from him.
I ask about Tech win validating effort?
Absolutely. I don’t know if validate was a great word that I used. It gives them the purpose that this is paying off. To keep studying in the film room. To keep grinding in practice. Our attitude in practice has been awesome every day. I know you guys have kept asking about how’s the locker room? How’s the locker room? And I’ve had the same answer, it’s been great. It’s been tough because we all want to win. We keep pushing. I don’t know if validate was the right word, but it was great to see them get some reward to them being able to stay positive.
I ask about Bracketology?
It’s so hard not to see it now. They’ve been talking about it since Jan. 1 it seems. To say we don’t look at it is a little bit naïve. But we all understand it’s part of it. You get a good win, you put it in the bank. That’s the joy of the Big 12. It’s really hard to go through the Big 12. But it’s opportunities. You get wins, you put them in the bank. It’s different than other leagues that don’t have all these opportunities. Guys know it. Everybody knows it. You act like you don’t. It’s everywhere. It’s social media. Every sports channel talks about it. Our guys have for focus on the task at hand. You can’t just worry about that and stare at all that. What do you have to do to win? I thought we did a great job of focusing on what we had to do to win that last game.
The Phog?
We talked to our guys about the noise and the opportunity for leadership. When you hear that, it should register that this is an opportunity for leadership and to lead, to communicate with your team and let them know you are under control. The Phog is one of the elite of the elite atmosphere. We've played in some good atmospheres. They’ve played in some noisy atmospheres. It’s an opportunity for leadership. We can’t let … they get running in that environment and you have to really control the pace if it gets loud. We’ve played in some loud atmospheres and we need veterans to step up. To your point with Jordan, you need guys who have been in those atmospheres to have a calming effect on the whole team.
First time vs. KU compared to now?
You learn a lot watching the game. For them, they're going to really be physical. They execute their stuff and I personally think they run a lot faster at home. I think they really get that thing going. I mean, their transition, it's been noted by a lot of people. Anybody can bring it out and they just go. And so you really got to get back and control that tempo, that crowd in that arena. They really get that thing flying up the court, especially at home. They do that on the road too, but at home it's really amped up. Gotta be ready for that.
And now we start talking Bracketology, where OU is either considered the Last Four Byes or the Last Four in.
Porter Moser
I ask about Alston/Mo as backup PG?
Mo knows. Once we get the offense going, it’s not a factor. Mo can do it. Heck, different guys can do it. Even Jalen Hill brought it up a couple of times. But it was important to get Alston into the mix. To get those minutes where you’re on the floor when it counts. Have to keep trying to groom him. I know it’s a big test for him going home. He’s from Kansas. He has an opportunity to continue to play. We need some minutes from him.
I ask about Tech win validating effort?
Absolutely. I don’t know if validate was a great word that I used. It gives them the purpose that this is paying off. To keep studying in the film room. To keep grinding in practice. Our attitude in practice has been awesome every day. I know you guys have kept asking about how’s the locker room? How’s the locker room? And I’ve had the same answer, it’s been great. It’s been tough because we all want to win. We keep pushing. I don’t know if validate was the right word, but it was great to see them get some reward to them being able to stay positive.
I ask about Bracketology?
It’s so hard not to see it now. They’ve been talking about it since Jan. 1 it seems. To say we don’t look at it is a little bit naïve. But we all understand it’s part of it. You get a good win, you put it in the bank. That’s the joy of the Big 12. It’s really hard to go through the Big 12. But it’s opportunities. You get wins, you put them in the bank. It’s different than other leagues that don’t have all these opportunities. Guys know it. Everybody knows it. You act like you don’t. It’s everywhere. It’s social media. Every sports channel talks about it. Our guys have for focus on the task at hand. You can’t just worry about that and stare at all that. What do you have to do to win? I thought we did a great job of focusing on what we had to do to win that last game.
The Phog?
We talked to our guys about the noise and the opportunity for leadership. When you hear that, it should register that this is an opportunity for leadership and to lead, to communicate with your team and let them know you are under control. The Phog is one of the elite of the elite atmosphere. We've played in some good atmospheres. They’ve played in some noisy atmospheres. It’s an opportunity for leadership. We can’t let … they get running in that environment and you have to really control the pace if it gets loud. We’ve played in some loud atmospheres and we need veterans to step up. To your point with Jordan, you need guys who have been in those atmospheres to have a calming effect on the whole team.
First time vs. KU compared to now?
You learn a lot watching the game. For them, they're going to really be physical. They execute their stuff and I personally think they run a lot faster at home. I think they really get that thing going. I mean, their transition, it's been noted by a lot of people. Anybody can bring it out and they just go. And so you really got to get back and control that tempo, that crowd in that arena. They really get that thing flying up the court, especially at home. They do that on the road too, but at home it's really amped up. Gotta be ready for that.
