Wendell Jeffries
Wendell Jeffries
emphasized lead looking nine quarter slow third tonight
One of the things we emphasized tonight was the third quarter. Usually we have a slow third quarter with or without the lead and we outscored them by nine and that was something we were looking for.
came credit game played playing
I think you have to give them credit for playing well. They came in here in a seventh-place game and played about as well as they can play.
both court effort ends guys helps rotation starting teamwork
I thought the effort at both ends of the court was there tonight, and I thought the teamwork was there. We're starting to get some guys back healthy, and Isiah (Anderson) is back in the rotation which helps stabilize things.
came clock energy fire hurt learn mastered pressure run time transition trying
That (concern) was warranted. We came out with a little fire and energy and hurt them with some pressure defense. We got up to, what, a 10-point lead? But we're in a transition period, trying to learn how to play with a lead. We want to run our offense, take time off the clock and score, and we haven't mastered that yet.
academy guys shoot
I give these guys a lot of credit. Wheaton Academy is a very well-coached team. They are very disciplined and can shoot the ball.
effort home played state team valiant
We played (with) the fifth-ranked team in the state on their home floor. It was a valiant effort by the kids.
ball defense good hard matter people played preach shoot team
We played hard and we played good defense. We just didn't shoot well. People can preach team (play) and people can preach defense, (but) it doesn't matter if you can't put the ball in the hole.
challenge future looks
We'll still compete, but it will a challenge because we're so young. With all our young players, the future looks bright.
beaten chicago extra knew mean points ready rest west
It didn't really mean anything. They'd already beaten West Chicago by 26 and 36 points in the first two meetings, so in the back of their minds, they knew they could just show up and win, and that's what they did. With an extra day of rest and preparation, they'll be ready to go.
home looking people run sign start team west
You have to give West Aurora credit, when a team makes a run on you like that, and you're favored on your home floor, people start looking over their shoulders. They just responded. That's the sign of a championship team.
credit guys step taking
You have to give them credit for taking Shaun out of the game. We didn't force-feed Shaun. We thought the other guys would step up, and they just didn't step up.
adversity both came fight guys lost point time turning
We just had too much adversity to fight through. That was the turning point when we lost both of those guys at the same time. By the time they came back, it just wasn't the same.
good kids practice yesterday
We had a good practice yesterday (Thursday) and the kids we focused. It was one of those things.
adversity excuse fighting giving great pull together trying
There's no excuse for giving up so many points. But right now we're battling, fighting through a lot of adversity and trying to pull together as a team. All things considered, it was a great effort.