NC State head coach Wes Moore met with the media following the 68-63 loss to Rhode Island.
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Opening statement...
Oh, again, great job by Rhode Island. I think the coach does an awesome job and they were well prepared and they played really, really well. And, we're obviously going through a tough stretch right here. Just got to be a little more bought into details, paying attention, again, scout, how we're defending certain things, how we're running certain things offensively. We spend a lot of time on those things, but obviously it's not getting through. So, yeah, it's just very frustrating. We're not playing well right now. And, again, that's my fault. So, we've got to clean it up, figure it out.
Wes, you were at Chattanooga for a long time. That was you, Rhode Island. Those are games similar to what you had to go face. In your experience when you go face those schools, how motivated are you? How motivated? How do you match that?
Yeah, I mean, again, we stressed all week how good they were. Our final 14 two years ago, we were down three with five minutes left to Rhode Island. So, I knew how good they were. And, I don't know. Like I said, we've got to be able to put 40 minutes together. I think we did a great job, came back, took a five-point lead.
Then we had six turnovers in the fourth quarter. Some other breakdowns. It seemed like every time we'd make a little run, play well first stretch, we'd kind of go off grid. And, that's why you have 11 assists and 16 turnovers. It's not real pretty right now. So, like I said, just, whether it's changing the lineup or, changing the way we do things and prepare, I'm not sure. But, at some point everybody's got to buy in to details and doing little things. So, we're going to keep experiencing this. At this level, you cannot just go out and play pickup. So, we've got to, figure out a way to play better as a team on both ends.
What does buy-in look like to you?
Engaged. And, again, it starts in practice, when we're going over to scout. We've got great scout guys that really do an awesome job of simulating the other team's offense and personnel and, buying in to taking away what people want to do. And, we gave up, I think, the first half especially.
They, got a lot of points in the paint, which that was one of our goals was to try to keep them in front of us, try to clog it up, make them shoot jumpers. And then I look back at us, when we came off pick on the ball, we settled for jumpers instead of getting down heels. So, really, we ended up doing what we wanted to try to do to them. So, like I said, I don't know. We'll watch the film here in a minute and try to figure it out.
What else? Success breeds pace increasing in terms of everything, how you look at things, how you review things. Look back. You take the experience that you have as a coach over all these years and look back if you have a chance right now, maybe a chance to take a breath, to look back and when you had squads like this at this point where they are in their maturity, basketball and gone through that, and kind of reflect on that and give yourself a chance to do that. That could be a little bit more helpful to see how to help this group, get to that next step. I'm not sure. There's a lot to pack.
Different players. Yeah. I don't want to make excuses again because they've all played enough to know, what it takes. But, we just don't have quite the experience. I mean, let's face it, Saniya, Aziaha, Madison, they were all very talented, very special players. So, you take them out of the mix.
Some other people really have to step up. And, it's just like I said, the things you can control, we're not controlling. And that's the scary part. Had teams that bought into the scout, want to take away the other team's best offensive set or scheme or want to take away the other team's best player and take pride in doing that. Pay attention to what we're doing offensively in practice enough that when we get out there we don't have to try to walk people through what we're doing. We should be able just to call it out and go out and execute it.
Which, again, if that's not happening, then it's on me. And we got to continue to try to drive that message home and spend the time on it it takes. But, yeah, I think culture is a good word. I don't think right now we have the culture we're used to having. And the buy-in and commitment and, just hate and losing, love and winning. We're not there right now. And that's something that's got to be fixed if you're going to have a chance.
You guys were a hop, skip, and a jump from beating USC. I mean, you almost got them. So, I mean, in a sense you weren't miles away. So do you kind of hang your hat and say, look, we can do this? How do you have to provide that confidence to let them know?
It's that exact message I told them this week. We're eight seconds away from being 4-1 and having played three top-20 teams. But even there, again, the side bounce play that we gave up the bucket. Some people, a couple people didn't do their jobs, and we gave up a layup. So it's very frustrating. And like I said, though, at the end of the day, I'm not doing something right, whether it's teaching it or demanding it or maybe changing your lineup and, go with those that are committed to getting it done.
You got this trip coming up. Now, obviously, the kids have earned the right to have a good time, and you want to have a good time. But at the same time, you've got to sort it. How do you find that balance on this trip?
Yeah, again, there's a lot of teams over there. When we first get there, there's men's games going on, women's games towards the end of the week, but all the teams are there. So it makes it really tough because you don't have a ton of practice time. But again, you can do stuff off the court, walkthroughs, film, that sort of thing, hopefully get the mental part of it down. But, yeah, it does. Takes a little fun off of the trip, for sure, going into it after a loss and playing the way we are. But, again, tomorrow we travel all day, and then hopefully we get there, refocus, and try to fix it and prepare, back-to-back games for the first time. So that'll be a great opportunity as well to maybe fix some things and get a little momentum.
