Leggett and Jeffress on the win, the defense, the freshmen and more

Will, they won points in the paint in the first half; what did you guys have to do to re-establish control inside?
Jeffress: I think as a team we just had to lock in and understand that that’s not who we’ve been since the summer, since Spain, since our first two games. We’ve been a great defensive squad as a unit and I feel like we just had some mental lapses, where we came together as a squad and just said, ‘We have to tighten up so we could change the game.’

Ish, coming into this one, they had taken 65 three-pointers. Was defending the perimeter a big point of emphasis today and how do you think the team did?
Leggett: Defending the three was definitely something we tried to lock in on the scout, and I think we did a pretty good job. There’s always room for improvement, but that was definitely one of the things we tried to key in on, just running them off the line. So I think we did a good job but there’s always room for improvement.

Will, your coach said by the end you were defending everybody. What was your mentality as you went through the second half and stayed out there? Particularly on defense, what was your mindset?
Jeffress: I think my mindset at all times is, I just want to win ball games. When I come in a game, no matter where I’m put, who I’m guarding, no matter where I’m at offensively, I just want to win, and whatever I can do to help our team do that, that’s what I’m here to do.

Ish, what can you say about the play of the two freshman guards today, especially Jaland coming off the bench?
Leggett: They’re special. I told you guys a long time ago that these freshmen, they’re a great group of freshmen and they’re sponges and they know how to hoop, for sure, and that showed tonight. I think J-Lowe, like Coach said, he had a great first half and second half, and Bub, he’s a ball-player, as I keep saying. Their work is showing, and it’s going to continue to show. I’m proud of them.

Did you feel like Jaland had a different kind of confidence going into this game than in the previous two games, and maybe he found his feet a little bit more?
Leggett: Yeah, he saw a couple shots go in and I think that really just showed him, like, ‘I belong out here.’ We have 100% trust in him, so his work just came to light.

Will, as one of the team’s leaders, how do you think the freshmen have taken those teachable moments?
Jeffress: I think they’ve done a great job, just coming in since Day One, they’ve been locked in and they’ve bought into what we want to do as a program. They’ve had their head on straight, and as you see, there’s a lot of big moments and big-time plays that they make within these games. I think that they’ve been ready since the beginning.

Is the culture that’s been developed here so far pretty much the same as it was last year?
Jeffress: Last year, yes, that’s exactly what we’ve tried to instill into the guys and everybody who’s transferred in or incoming freshmen. Like I said, Coach has our pillars and every day we try to come in and have as best of a culture as we can have, because at the end of the day, that’s what being a team is about.

Does it feel like you guys have missed a beat since last year? It feels like there really haven’t been a lot of bumps since the transition in the roster.
Jeffress: I feel like we haven’t missed a beat. I feel like we’ve had momentum coming into the season since last year, and momentum is one of the most powerful forces you can have, and as long as we keep that ball rolling, yeah…

Ish, you had the ball in your hands with two minutes left or three minutes left and you hit that big shot on the right side. What was going through your mind in that moment when you look up and see 10 seconds left on the shot clock and it’s your time to shine?
Leggett: Just make the right play. If the defense bites, get off of it. If nobody bites, just make the right play, and the right play was to spin and make the layup.

Ish, what makes you a good rebounder?
Leggett: I think I just know how to read the ball. And like I said last game, the bigs do a great job of boxing out the big guys, and as lot of guards don’t crash, so we just clean it up. The guys clean it up.

You used three guards tonight for the first time all season. What’s the dynamic like when you have you, Bub and Jaland out there together?
Leggett: It’s great. Any one of us can get it. The guards love to rebound and it just starts to break for us when the ball is in the guards’ hands. It gives us momentum and we feed off of it in transition.

So, Bub made that logo three at the end. Do you think Blake is going to try to one-up him?
Jeffress: Hey, if the opportunity presents itself, whether it’s Bub, Blake, no matter who it is. When that ball goes up, we think it’s good.