Here is everything Miami Hurricanes mens basketball head coach Jai Lucas had to say after the team and him fount out they will play the No. 10 seeded Missouri Tigers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament:
On the draw against Missouri...
I've watched them for a while, 'cause I know Coach Gates for a while, so I kind of know a little bit about him. I'm watching a ton this year, but kind of just the I guess the base of their program and how they play and what they do, of course, we have some people on staff and former players from Missouri. So hopefully they can come up with some type of scouting report. Yeah, exactly. But, you know, for us, business as usual, you know, we'll play road games, and this will be a road game. We've been in big environments before, like this, so we'll just go and do what we do.
On making March Madness year one as head coach...
It feels good, this is what you always want to give the program and your team the opportunity to compete for a national championship, and that's what you do the whole season for. So for the guys that put us in this position to be able to get picked, to get a seventh seed, to continue the season, and continue to play basketball is all you can ask for.
On what Missouri stands out at..
They have a lot of speed in the backcourt, knowing some of their guys, and I coach one of their actually one of their best players, Mark Mitchell. I coach him at Duke. So I've seen how he has progressed throughout his career and how he's been there, and he's a big part of the team. You know, so I'll get a better feel of him tonight and moving forward, but, you know, for us, we play a certain brand of basketball, so we just have to stick to what it got us there.
On Coach Gates...
They're gonna be competitive, they're gonna play hard. They're gonna fight every possession. You know they're gonna crash. He's one of the coaches that sit all five to the glass, and then just defensively, they'll pick up, kind of extended pressure, some of the stuff was seen before. So we'll kind of see, but I know it's gonna be more of a defensive-minded battle. And before him, coming from Leonard Hamilton in Florida State tree, so it's a lot of stuff we'll see.
On Miami's senior leadership heading into March Madness..
It's huge because it is a different environment, it's a different feeling, and it's hard to emulate if you haven't been there before, so having guys who have played in that environment and been in those moments before kind of helps everybody.
On the ACC semifinals loss to Virginia...
When we don't play to our identity as shows, it's obvious, and it puts us at a disadvantage in the game, so we have to fight for that every game. And so we didn't have it on Thursday. We didn't, and they beat us at what we do, and they're really good. You know, nothing against Virginia, they are really good. But for us to be competitive in high-level games playing against high-level teams, we have to fight for who we were, and I didn't think we did it to the level on Thursday
On the new message to the team, turning the page...
Season's over. It's a whole new season. Uh, you get the opportunity to play against people who don't know you, people from different conferences, and people who aren't as familiar with you. So it's exciting to play a new brand of basketball and everything we did put us in this position, but now none of it matters. It's a clean slate, and so we just got to take it game by game and possession by possession.
On the tournament...
It puts a lot in perspective. A big part of it was when we went to our, like, open practice at the ACC tournament, everybody's pulling their phones out and taking pictures. You've got to remember, uh, it's a lot of their first time, and it is one of those experiences that just makes you smile, because you understand how big a moment it is, and it'll be the same thing when we get to St. Louis. Like, you take it for granted, but it's hard to do, and so for our guys, I want us to just embrace it and enjoy it, but then also just go out there and attack it and have fun
On not having to play in the first four in Dayton...
Yeah, it does. Get the extra day of preparation, extra day arrests, and the travel. I also like that the tournament is kind of flowing a little bit, so emotion is kind of already going through, watching other people win, lose, and things like that. And then, you know, I'm most excited about playing on the road, because we've played really well on the road. And so I see this as a road game, even though we're at the highest seed, but, you know, that's the most exciting part for me.
On the draw against Missouri...
I've watched them for a while, 'cause I know Coach Gates for a while, so I kind of know a little bit about him. I'm watching a ton this year, but kind of just the I guess the base of their program and how they play and what they do, of course, we have some people on staff and former players from Missouri. So hopefully they can come up with some type of scouting report. Yeah, exactly. But, you know, for us, business as usual, you know, we'll play road games, and this will be a road game. We've been in big environments before, like this, so we'll just go and do what we do.
On making March Madness year one as head coach...
It feels good, this is what you always want to give the program and your team the opportunity to compete for a national championship, and that's what you do the whole season for. So for the guys that put us in this position to be able to get picked, to get a seventh seed, to continue the season, and continue to play basketball is all you can ask for.
On what Missouri stands out at..
They have a lot of speed in the backcourt, knowing some of their guys, and I coach one of their actually one of their best players, Mark Mitchell. I coach him at Duke. So I've seen how he has progressed throughout his career and how he's been there, and he's a big part of the team. You know, so I'll get a better feel of him tonight and moving forward, but, you know, for us, we play a certain brand of basketball, so we just have to stick to what it got us there.
On Coach Gates...
They're gonna be competitive, they're gonna play hard. They're gonna fight every possession. You know they're gonna crash. He's one of the coaches that sit all five to the glass, and then just defensively, they'll pick up, kind of extended pressure, some of the stuff was seen before. So we'll kind of see, but I know it's gonna be more of a defensive-minded battle. And before him, coming from Leonard Hamilton in Florida State tree, so it's a lot of stuff we'll see.
On Miami's senior leadership heading into March Madness..
It's huge because it is a different environment, it's a different feeling, and it's hard to emulate if you haven't been there before, so having guys who have played in that environment and been in those moments before kind of helps everybody.
On the ACC semifinals loss to Virginia...
When we don't play to our identity as shows, it's obvious, and it puts us at a disadvantage in the game, so we have to fight for that every game. And so we didn't have it on Thursday. We didn't, and they beat us at what we do, and they're really good. You know, nothing against Virginia, they are really good. But for us to be competitive in high-level games playing against high-level teams, we have to fight for who we were, and I didn't think we did it to the level on Thursday
On the new message to the team, turning the page...
Season's over. It's a whole new season. Uh, you get the opportunity to play against people who don't know you, people from different conferences, and people who aren't as familiar with you. So it's exciting to play a new brand of basketball and everything we did put us in this position, but now none of it matters. It's a clean slate, and so we just got to take it game by game and possession by possession.
On the tournament...
It puts a lot in perspective. A big part of it was when we went to our, like, open practice at the ACC tournament, everybody's pulling their phones out and taking pictures. You've got to remember, uh, it's a lot of their first time, and it is one of those experiences that just makes you smile, because you understand how big a moment it is, and it'll be the same thing when we get to St. Louis. Like, you take it for granted, but it's hard to do, and so for our guys, I want us to just embrace it and enjoy it, but then also just go out there and attack it and have fun
On not having to play in the first four in Dayton...
Yeah, it does. Get the extra day of preparation, extra day arrests, and the travel. I also like that the tournament is kind of flowing a little bit, so emotion is kind of already going through, watching other people win, lose, and things like that. And then, you know, I'm most excited about playing on the road, because we've played really well on the road. And so I see this as a road game, even though we're at the highest seed, but, you know, that's the most exciting part for me.
