The finale of Stranger Things isn’t for a few more days, but Arizona fans got their own taste of an unusual sequence of events Monday night. Mabil Mawut was ejected from the bench in the Wildcats’ win over Bethune-Cookman. Moments later, a fire alarm sounded throughout McKale Center. “I don’t know, maybe it’s a right […]
The finale of Stranger Things isn’t for a few more days, but Arizona fans got their own taste of an unusual sequence of events Monday night.
Mabil Mawut was ejected from the bench in the Wildcats’ win over Bethune-Cookman. Moments later, a fire alarm sounded throughout McKale Center.
“I don’t know, maybe it’s a right before Christmas (thing). I don’t know what it is,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “There was a lot of strange things, but to be honest with you, I’m happy we got through it. I think we’re all looking forward to those few days off.”
Arizona will get a much-deserved break after moving to 12-0 in non-conference play with a 107-71 victory over the Wildcats from Bethune-Cookman. Our recap of the game can be found here. Below is what Lloyd, Ivan Kharchenkov and Dwayne Aristode had to say after the game
Lloyd on his overall thoughts on the win: “I knew it was gonna be tough, and I knew Bethune-Cookman was gonna come out and battle today. They have talented guys. What those programs are asked to do, man, it’s tough. The number of road games they have to play. And it’s kind of like a mercenary run for them these first couple of months of the season. And listen, I’m tired from playing in Phoenix a couple nights ago. So these teams have been traveling around the country, playing in these types of games, and they turned up and they competed today. So tip my hat to them. And our guys battled back. We got the result we wanted. And we had some really good moments. So we’re just gonna take those away from it and keep it moving.”
On whether Arizona dropped off defensively: “I don’t know. I’ll have to go back and watch it. I just think Bethune-Cookman was just playing with a lot of effort and energy. And they made a few tough shots, and then they just kept coming. They just kept coming, kept coming, kept coming. It was kind of a lot of all or nothing plays. you have 22 turnovers but you continue to play aggressive, you take some chances. Sometimes those passes get through and they end up being layups or wide open shots. So, yeah, I don’t think our defense was terrible, but I think it was just a combination of Bethune-Cookman just being consistently aggressive.”
On Arizona’s balance of scoring: “Yeah, That’s a good thing. Yeah, I’m happy when that happens, but it’s not like something we game plan for. We don’t tell guys, okay, you score 12 points, start letting your teammates score. It’s just kind of how the game ends up sometimes. And we have lots of good players and we’ve kind of really settled in on that eight man rotation. And I think those guys are getting comfortable finding their spots and so if we can have six or seven guys in double figures on any given night, that’s a good thing.”
On the freshmen playing well beyond their years: “We’ve always felt from day one, they had a sense of maturity about them, and they’re also great competitors, and they have good basketball IQs. I think they’ve really progressed over the last couple months, and I’m looking forward for them to get a few days off. They deserve it. They deserve a few days off to get away from me, get away from here, get from their families, and then that. I can’t wait to pick things back up with them on the 26th.”
On the sequence of Mabil Mawut’s ejection followed by a fire alarm: “I don’t know, maybe it’s a right before Christmas. I don’t know what it is. There was a lot of strange things, but to be honest with you, I’m happy we got through it. I think we’re all looking forward to those few days off.”
On what happened with Mawut’s ejection: “I haven’t talked to Mabil. Mabil is a great kid. Mabil is like, he’s a great kid who probably did something he shouldn’t have done. I don’t know if he said something on the first tee or he faked like he was contesting the guy’s shot. I don’t know, both of them are right. And after they called the first technical, he might he must have said something else I never really asked. I just trusted the officials on that one. And I didn’t want to go make a scene and jump Mabil, because he’s a great kid. We’ll deal with it. We’ll deal with it. But I just think it goes to show that lots of things impact winning, and lots of things impact the culture. And even if you’re not playing, you still can have an impact on the game. So let’s learn that lesson, and let’s make sure it doesn’t happen again, ever again, but especially in maybe a closer game down the stretch. So I’m going to chalk it up to a great teaching opportunity.“
On managing the team when a game gets dicey: “I think a couple things. Let’s lock in competitively and just really attack this game possession by possession. I was worried about us having a little bit of a slow start today. We obviously really didn’t practice much yesterday, and we hadn’t really done that yet this year. So yeah, so I was interested to see how we come out and and obviously we didn’t come out with maybe the effort or the urgency you would have hoped, but sometimes that’s to be expected. But we found it over the course of the game. You have to manage seasons lots of ways and you can be a tyrant, and you can and try to demand everything perfect in your way all the time, or you can be a human and understand you’re dealing with other humans and try to help them through it. And obviously, I can look at myself and continue to figure out ways to get better and that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to take a couple days in this break, I’m going to kind of clear my mind, and I’m going to really think about what this team can do moving forward. Because we’ve had a great obviously, pre-Christmas but it’s pre-Christmas. It’s nice. I’m happy we’re here, but we really haven’t accomplished anything yet. So let’s roll up our sleeves and be more excited about the challenges coming down the road. That’s what I’m excited about those, and I’m looking forward to South Dakota State. And I’m really looking forward to playing in the Big 12.”
On whether he’s reflected on starting 12-0: “Not at all.”
On this year’s start vs. Arizona’s 11-0 start four years ago: “That was four years ago. I’m a grandpa now, I wasn’t then. So lots has changed. Life keeps moving. So I really don’t draw any comparisons. I’m not really good at that stuff. I like this team, I like where we’re at, and I like where I think we can go, but we’re gonna have to continue to get better and stay the course to get there.”
On what he wants from the players over the Christmas break: “Our guys are hoopers, so I told them, if they want to get in the gym and shoot by themselves, key word, by themselves, I’m okay. But they don’t need to be going to play with their high school team. They don’t need to be playing one on one with their brother. We don’t need any mishaps that way. So we have a good thing going. Let’s stay healthy and keep it going.”
On Motiejus Krivas’ flagrant foul: “ Yeah, I haven’t seen the replay. Obviously they felt like he did. And I think it’s just tough when you’re a big guy. You’re physical, they’re playing you physical. There’s going to be contact. And if you’re 7-2 going against a guy who’s 6-8, the face is right next to that elbow, so it’s tough, and I don’t know, and it’s something we’ll look at. And if we think it’s a there’s a technique we need to make an adjustment on. We will, but I’m trusting the officials on that.”
On whether he has to tell Krivas to move his elbows in certain situations: “I don’t know how you squeeze the ball in the strength and keep your elbows in. Maybe if somebody can help me with that, we’ll figure that out. But again, I haven’t seen the play, so I don’t want to get in the weeds in it. I’m trusting the officials’ call. They they obviously reviewed it, made the call they felt was appropriate, and they reviewed the next one and didn’t call it. So I’m going to trust the officials on that one figured it out.”
On Brayden Burries’ progress: “Brayden is in a good way right now. I think he’s getting more confidence. And you can see today kind of once we got in the game, and they got a little bit heated and competitive you can see him rise to that moment. He’s a competitor, he’s a good player. So it takes a certain amount of confidence to do that, and he showed that today. So continued progress from him, for sure.”
On Arizona playing a non-conference game after Christmas: “It’s just the the way the schedule broke. I didn’t want to go 10 days without a game before the Big 12, And obviously we had to squeeze this game in. Sometimes it’d be great to play on the 20th against San Diego State, then go home, But it’s just, we’re just fitting the games in where we have to. And we’re not really overthinking it, but I’m okay. I’m okay playing a non-conference game after we get home from Christmas to kind of obviously finish off for a non-conference slate and get ready for conference.”
On when players will get back from their break: “I’m sure guys will kind of stagger in those couple days (Friday and Saturday). I haven’t really looked at the schedule to know exactly what we’re doing, but they’ll come back, and we’ll get a good few days of practice in before the game on the 29th.”
Aristode on the team’s performance: “It felt great, man. After the win against San Diego State, to be back out there on the court, in front of the fans. I know wasn’t a lot of students, but like local people, kids coming out to see us, it was great. It’s always great playing in McKale.”
On Burries making progress over the last month: “I think he figured it out. He just figured it out. As a freshman obviously, it’s not, it’s not easy coming to college with new system and got these veteran guys who are so good. But I think everybody helped him and supported him. He just figured it out his role, and what he’s good at, and how to play in the system and get his own. So I think that’s, that’s the case.”
On players knowing their roles: “I think we’re just blessed. There’s not a lot of teams that just accept each other like that. We want each others’ success, and that’s the only way you can win. So that’s also part of it. We we’re really lucky to have that in the team, too.”
On players knowing their roles: “I think we’re just blessed. There’s not a lot of teams that just accept each other like that. We want each others’ success, and that’s the only way you can win. So that’s also part of it. We we’re really lucky to have that in the team, too.”
Kharchenkov on getting past a sluggish start: “It’s kind of tough playing another game after we just played on Saturday (and then) on Monday. So we just had to recalibrate a little bit, refocus, and just play up to our standards. And I feel like we were a little sloppy in the beginning of the first half, but I feel like we picked it up pretty good and early enough.”
On Arizona’s energy on defense against SDSU: “I don’t want to say that our defense is the factor that (SDSU) shot 27%. I don’t also say that we didn’t force 27%. It’s a tough environment for them. They play in Phoenix. It’s basically a home game for us, NBA arena. It’s just tough.”
On the team’s chemistry: “We spend so much time together on flights, in practice, even in class, study hall, I know that class over, but we still spend so much time together. Also in our apartments. I feel like, just in this short time, you may say, we still spend so much time together that it just helped out. And I feel like we all good guys, all understand each other, and I think that helps for a lot.”
On the bond between veterans and younger players: “I think at the beginning of the season, everybody’s trying to figure it out, especially if only I don’t know, four or five people stayed from the from last year’s team. So it’s a completely new team. But of course, the vets helped us out a lot. figuring it out everything is new for us, the college life, the college travel, the basketball itself, the intensity, the physicality. I think it’s just learning and they just taking care of us. And then maybe we have a little bit more energy, and then we pick it up.”
On the freshmen being so advanced: “For me, I don’t really see it freshmen or not. If you’re good enough, you’re physical enough, you can play at any level. Sure, the experience was gonna lack a little bit. But I feel like you can work it out in a different way, figure it out. But for me, being a freshman is just an experience thing. It’s not enough experience.”
On holiday break plans: “We have three days off. I am going to relax with my family, celebrate Christmas, and then on the 26th we’re going to be back on our mission, and prepare for the next game.”
Category: General Sports
