Georgia vs. Kentucky
Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021
Georgia Basketball Postgame Quotes
Georgia vs. Kentucky
Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021
Georgia head coach Tom Crean
On the winning inbound play …
“We knew what we were looking for in the action, but we also knew we had timeouts. That’s the greatest thing as a coach, for me, it’s taking timeouts home. You want to make sure that you have enough timeouts, so if you get in a situation like that you can use it if you don’t get what you want. He didn’t like the look. It wasn’t open, so he called the timeout, and we switched plays. Sahvir [Wheeler] did a great job first calling that timeout and second with the pass. Justin [Kier] did a great job with the screen and certainly P.J. [Horne] with the finish. For Sahvir[Wheeler] to have that presence of mind, and I never hesitated for a second having him take the ball out of bounds because he’s so smart, and he’s savvy, and I knew he would make the right play.
On Georgia getting a statement win …
“You know, I don’t know. It’s a great win against a great program. It hadn’t been done, and I didn’t realize until I said this on the radio, Mike Griffith told me that Kentucky had won 14 straight, and I wasn’t aware of that. I’m glad that we were able to break that. We needed the win. Our guys needed a win like this against a great opponent, and we needed to get on a one game winning streak again, which is easier said than done. To have that mentality is really important, so I’m proud of how the executed, how they persevered. We believed that we were going to win. I think that’s what’s so important. It’s not them believing me because I don’t have any trouble believing, but it’s them believing each other, and I think that’s what we had tonight, and that’s what we had against Ole Miss. That’s really helped us, and that’s a part of our growth process.”
On decision to give the ball the P.J. Horne at the end …
“We got the guy we wanted. That’s who I wanted to hit, and there was a second option to it, but that’s the guy we wanted. That’s what we wanted on the first one, and Justin Kier was involved in the screening in both cases. We wanted to have a little big, I don’t mean little but a guard, bigger screen. We didn’t want to screen like. It’s too easy to switch, and we went with our seniors to put themselves in position to execute the action, and both plays we’ve never run in a game. I’m very proud of the way that they responded inside the timeout and executed it. The second one, we had only run-in practice a long time ago, but I trust them on that. We came out of timeouts against Ole Miss and executed actions that we hadn’t gone over at all, that we just drew up in timeouts. Sometimes this team can run something and not run it correct that we’ve run for two months, and sometimes we can put something in inside of a minute, and they can execute it in no time. It’s youth. I’m very proud of how they locked in, they executed, and, again, everyone did their job in the end.”
On persevering through …
“I think it’s great. When you beat Kentucky, and it hasn’t been done in a while, it’s a benchmark. There’s no doubt about it. They’re as premiere of a program as there is in the country. I have great respect for John [Calipari]. I have great respect for their program. They’re a household name for a reason because they have tradition. I thought our players did a really good job of not being consumed by that. They weren’t playing the tradition. They weren’t playing the mystique. They weren’t playing the jersey. They were playing five-on-five against Kentucky’s players, and they executed. I think one of the biggest things was how we defended the three, for them to go 1-13 inside the game knowing that Dontaie Allen was 15-30 coming into the game in the league, and really [Davion] Mintz and [Devin] Askew a little bit, but Allen for sure with the three-point shooting was a really a key and a big thing for us. Keion Brooks hadn’t taken a three or made a three this year until tonight, but I think those are kind of the things that I’m prouder of tonight, not just beating Kentucky, but the way we beat Kentucky. It is the perseverance. It’s the defense. It’s getting 37 deflections, getting 10 steals, Justin [Kier] getting five of them. It’s persevering when it could have gone the other way and those guys believing in each other. That’s what we had to have.”
On how the team has grown …
“Well, that was the only time I was uptight in the situation [the two technical fouls]. We were self-inflicting. That cannot happen. If you are going to lose, then let’s get beat. Let’s not lose the game because we made mistakes that we could have corrected. But, we are able to correct them. I thought the hardest part was when we were up nine and they called a time out and we came out and did not execute. It allowed them back in. We did not defend with the same intensity and we did not come in and execute. That is the part, and I said this to the team after the game, that is the part we need to grow up in a hurry. That is more concerning to me than the flagrant foul, which could have gone… I haven’t seen it I will reserve judgment on that. The technical he should not have done. He should not have talked. You hope that it will be called both ways in that. But, he should not have done it, he is too old for that. He does not need to do that. You’re a good player you do not need to tell anybody. That is how I feel about those types of situations. But, I am way more concerned with the fact that we let that lead go at nine when we should have stepped on the gas. That is what we need to learn how to do. It is still a young season in so many respects that, but we must figure that out. What we were doing was working, and now there is no need to stop or let the ball stick, or settle, or to not keep the ball moving. You can’t beat them if you let them stay in their standard defense and let the bigs control the paint. You can’t beat them; it is hard for us to beat anyone like that. That is why we have to keep moving the defense constantly so we can loosen up the rim.”
On not turning the ball over …
“I think that is a major key to the game. To be 25-11 on points on turnovers was huge. We turned them over and some were unforced and some we forced. The guys were tough and strong on the ball. I think that and the three-point defense, and the fact that the rebounding was within one—with as good of rebounding team as they are, those were the stories of the game. The end of the game is the result. The drama. Those were the guts of the game, the way the turnovers worked out, the way the rebounding worked out, and the way the three-point defense worked out were the keys.”
On how emotional this win was …
“Well, my wife is not here so we are having a hard week. My wife had an accident a week ago Tuesday, so she is not able to come to games right now. My girls were there and like I said, it was like old times. It really was like old times. They have been a part of some great wins with us and certainly when we played Kentucky. So, I am proud of them because they are home, one is 15 and one is 25 and they are doing an unbelievable job. My son, Riley, who is here with us in the program at 21 is doing a really good job. They are all doing a really good job of living their life but making up for the fact that their mother is out of commission a bit. That is all was. I just saw them there and shared that moment with them. The fans and the students were just fantastic. The energy of the crowd was tremendous. The music was great. I thought the energy was great. Really good job of that.”
On if the team is growing up …
“We are a really dynamic team, and we really haven’t worked on the break all week. We still got out on the break. We still have not really emphasized it. It has been more about what we have todo. Transition defense talk defense, taking challenging shots and blocking. We have not spent more time on anything than we have on rebounding the past few weeks. We work on rebounding every day. The emphasis was that if you allow them lobs and weakside boards because of the way they crash, the way John [Calipari] gets them to go to the glass we would not win the game. So, there are so many games within the game. You have to be able to control it the best that you can. That is a grind. You have to be willing to put your body on the line, all five guys, no matter what. Every time that shot goes up if they don’t give itthey’re all they know if they don’t, they know you’ll get cracked by them. The game is always giving you something and you have to figure it out. What we have to stop doing is stop thinking that it is giving us something that it is not. That is my job. Keep looking for what the game is giving us. We have to come out there and execute. That is just where we have to improve. Sometimes it’s a grinder but, you know what? It is a thing of beauty when you get some execution on things that your work hard at. With the three-point defense, rebounding, they really earned it.”
On fan engagement …
“Absolutely, absolutely. We have set records for two years, right, and it is hard to imagine, but here we are, and we have eighteen-percent crowd, and we become accustomed in the last two years to play in front of these great crowds, well, not everyone can get here right now. So, we just need to continue to get people to make up for that and I thought they did a fantastic job of that. But, I thought the entire game operation, game management was fantastic and I am really, really proud of that.”
On player experience …
“Their experience is big; they need to feel like they belong in these games. Part of the mental battle with players a lot of times right now is getting them to believe that they do belong in these games because they will let their confidence weigh in so quick. But in the case of P.J. [Horne], Andrew [Garcia], and Justin [Kier], they don’t. I think it is they are finding themselves in these situations. You go against the SEC—you are going against household name teams every night. Well, Kentucky is as big as it gets in that sense. So, for them to come out and execute, but I did not think any of them had any—they were playing against the Kentucky players; they weren’t going against their tradition. I have had players that play against that tradition, and they play against that jersey, and they get distracted rather than lining up against the man they are going against. I thought our guys did a really good job at that and those three were phenomenal with it.”
On P.J. Horne …
“P.J. [Horne] is very poised, P.J. is just a grown man. He is well raised, great high school coach, and coached very well at Virginia Tech by Buzz Williams and Mike Young, no doubt about that, I mean no doubt about that. But, he is also a young professional. He is a young man that carries himself really well. He is quiet, but he is happy. You never see moodiness, you don’tsee sullen, you don’t see aloof. I never walk in and say, ‘What’s bothering P.J.?’ Every once in a while, his knees may be bothering him or his body is hurting a little bit, but we have done a lot to help him change. He needed to make some real strides body wise and strength wise when he got here. There were certain parts of his body that as they continue to get stronger, he is going to get better. Bottom line, we have asked a lot of him since he got here. But, I had no doubt we were looking to run the action for him at the end of the game. I think a lot of it is the poise and he would be locked in and concentrated on it.”
#24 P.J. Horne | Graduate
On the inbound play and the importance of the victory …
“It was big. I knew I had about 3.6 seconds left on the clock, so I knew I had time to figure something out to get the ball in the basket. I know it’s a big win, and we need to continue on with Florida coming up—we have to be able to prepare for that one and get ready to battle again.”
On how it feels to be a part of snapping the 14-game losing streak to Kentucky …
“It feels great. It feels amazing to be able to beat a team like Kentucky, who obviously is a good team coached by a great coach. We came to battle, and we came to fight. We had to believe, and I believe in my teammates on my side, who were telling me the whole time, ‘We’re going to win this game; we’re going to win this game’. So, I just went on and played to my best ability.”
On what the first inbound play was supposed to be and how it changed in the huddle …
“The first inbound play, we had never run before. We ran it maybe one time in practice, but we never really covered it, and it was a more complicated play rather than something we can get on the fly. I feel like it was a good job by Sahvir [Wheeler] to call a timeout to regroup and not force anything that wasn’t there.”
On where that shot ranks in his basketball career …
“I can’t say. I feel like it’s a top-five, even a top-three maybe. I know it’s a great experience to hit a game-winner, and that was my first in collegiate basketball, so it definitely ranks up there.”
On the extended length of time in between the first inbound attempt and the second one …
“I feel like that it helped us. One thing that we did in the huddle was that all we thought about was executing the play with whatever Coach [Crean] drew up. We needed to execute it to the best of our ability and try to get the win. We never thought negatively about anything, we just knew that we had to win this game, somehow. So, we went with what Coach had, and he drew up a great play.”
On what else would be in the top three moments of his collegiate career …
“I don’t know… It’s kind of a toss-up between my freshman year when we beat Duke in the last regular-season game to go to the tournament at home, and then, the next year actually, we ended up beating them again at home.”
On the scene in the locker room after the game …
“It was a great atmosphere. Obviously, I got jumped on, but it was a great feeling. All my teammates were hype in there, celebrating the win. It was such an intense win, very intense.”
On if the play was designed for him and his thoughts …
“There were options. When he drew it up on the board, there were different options for someone to get the ball and score. Sahvir [Wheeler] just threw it to me, and I knew that I had three point something seconds on the clock, so I ended up trying to find a way to get the ball in the basket.”
On if the last play was heavily practiced or brand new …
“Coach drew that up in the last few seconds. It was a write-in play, but it was an easily executed play. Of course, it wasn’t easy getting the play done, but as far as us knowing where and when to go, the timing part was easier.”
On if he was aware of the 14-game losing streak before the game…
“Yes, I was hearing my teammates talk about it, the veteran guys like Tye Fagan and Toumai [Camara]. Tye Fagan told me that he hadn’t beaten them since he’d been here, and I said ‘Wow’, I was shocked. I know my team; I know that they are a very good team, and I feel like it was a great accomplishment. Now, we just have to keep stepping and stepping.”
On the rough start to SEC play and the upside of this team …
“I would just say that we need to continue to grow and continue to push through mentally more than physically. Physically, we can all go out there and play. But as far as mentally, we have tobe able to believe that we can win the game. No matter if we’redown five or 10 or 15, we have to always believe that we can win the game. I feel like a lot of times we get down and have topick each other back up, and I know that over time we will get better with that. We just have got to keep fighting and pushing trying to get that figured out.”
#4 Andrew Garcia | Graduate
On getting off to a rough start in SEC play and what he sees as the upside for the team …
“We are a young team. Everybody is emotional, and everybody wants to fight and wants to win. I feel like a lot of times we get in our heads and kind of get dismantled. I feel like what we learned across those games is we are a family. Off the court we are always together. Going to each other’s houses and stuff like that. It was about translating it to the game and keeping our positivity no matter what happens. If it is a turnover then we pick each other up and say, ‘Alright bro, next play.’ I am proud of our team and I am proud of our coaches. They have done a phenomenal job as whole unit. I feel like the way we are pushing is in the right direction.”
On the team respect for P.J. Horne …
“It is awesome. Everybody has the upmost respect for P[J Horne]. We look at him as the uncle. The man that plays at his pace, that knows the game so well, that doesn’t get sped up and gets it done. Every time we need a three, he is open and not afraid to pull it, and that’s what we want him to do. I am not surprised that he was able to make that, and it feels good that one of our veterans could do that for us.”
On his productivity and the height of Kentucky …
“Coach Cream and Coach McClain and the rest of the coaches were always harping on, ‘You got to be low.’ The last couple days they were preparing, they were drilling us ‘stay low.’ We knew [Olivier] Sarr is an incredible player, he’s tall, he’s big, he can shoot, he can move. We wanted to beat him to the spot. We wanted to make sure as a unit we call out as we get to the post, ‘Fire, fire.’ That kind of helped me. I am relentless. So, any way I can, I just try to fight down there. And, shout out to the coaches for helping us prepare. Because taking that post away helped us a lot.”
On coming to UGA from Stony Brook and what this game means…
“It is a great experience. I never look at it for myself. I always look at it as I love to win. This was such a collective win from all of us on the team. Like the way Mikal Starks came in and guarded the ball and got that steal—that is important and everybody recognizes that 100- percent, and the fact that we can all have a part; it just makes it more memorable and more exciting for everybody. Because it wasn’t just one person, it was the whole team that got us this win.”
On the flagrant on Tye Fagan and his technical …
“I would say throughout the game it was very intense. Everybody played at this high level, we wanted it. Looking at Ty Fagan’s call. They said that he probably held him [Kentucky player] a little bit too long and he obviously fell. Then with me, obviously within the game, you get at it a little bit. So that was my bad on my part, and something I need to take care of and be a leader and not do something like that because that could have been the game. Within the games like this we have to keep our composure and stay as a team.”
On ranking this among the most exciting games of his career …
“Oh, yeah this is definitely one of the most exciting games. Back at Stony Brook, we beat some high-major teams. I think my junior year we beat South Carolina, and we even came down 20 point to George Washington to come back and win the game. These games are always exciting to be a part of because as a collective, fighting unit, no matter what we are going to win. No matter what the score is, no matter what the odds are, and to prove something, uplifts out team. One game at a time—this is what we have to do.
On what the team’s message was in the second half and what inspired the rally …
“So, when we came to that timeout, Coach Crean stopped everything and told us to take three breaths. I thought that, as cliché as it sounds, I thought that really helped us. We were excited, everybody was pumped. We kind of get out of ourselves for a second. We got a little regroup. It was a little reminder that we got here playing as a team. That is how we are going to win—playing as a team. We took those three deep breaths and just got right back into it to fight.”
On what makes P.J. Horne the “uncle” of the team …
“Day in and day out, P[J Horne] brings the positivity. I have never seen him down, I have never seen P not bring somebody up, not bring the energy. Fighting through pain, fighting through anything he is feeling, and that shows a lot, like that shows you are indispensable. That shows we can look at him at any point in the game—whether it is in the game or in practice—to do his job. It’s almost like second nature for us to be like, ‘Yeah, P for the three.’ So it’s like, we love that guy and we are lucky to have him, for real.”
Kentucky head coach John Calipari
On what he says to the team and if the team was discouraged after tonight …
“I need someone to talk to me because I’m discouraged. What I just saw, the way we finished the game – the shot selection at the end, missed free throws, turnovers, just throwing them the ball for layups. We gave them 20 points on turnovers just throwing them the ball. I’m discouraged. Again, we get beat to every tough ball. We had one ball in front of our bench that Devin (Askew got). Rest of them, we don’t get any. So what happens is, we just have to keep trying and figure out, but if they don’t understand the importance of toughness. That last basket, No. 4 ran down, caught it and just laid it in. Just laid it in? We were telling them on that last play, you can’t get screened on this, fight through it, fight. One guy got screened. Then they got it in, fumbled it and no one blocked it so you just gave them a layup. Come on. This is all stuff—we have to be better. Our guard play was awful. BJ [Brandon Boston Jr.] showed some life, the rest of the guard play was not good at all. You try to open up the court a little bit and you can’t get by anyone so you end up taking a bad shot. We have our hands full, but you know what, I’m not giving up on them. We should have won the game. We’re up six. We have the ball. Come on. But you have to give credit to Georgia. They never stopped. We missed two free throws, they get their chance, he (Tom Crean) didn’t even call a timeout, which I wouldn’t do either, then they get it on the baseline because we didn’t come up with a ball.”
On what worries him more, the lack of mental toughness or physical toughness …
“It’s both. I’m telling guys that if they don’t shoot it, I’m taking them out. Again, we had guys in roles that they we’recomfortable with. Now, you put them in other roles and you see they’re not as comfortable. This is why I always say I know my team. I’m with them every day. I know when they’re going to play their best when they’re in certain roles. When you start putting in other guys and they’re doing stuff–I’ll tell you what, it woke up BJ [Brandon Boston Jr.]. One of the other guards was so bad, I had to start him in the second half.”
On how he will attempt to fix the issues with less practice time…
“It may be good that we have less time on the court. What I keep saying is, these kids are respectful, they listen. They just don’thear. Everyone had a one-handed rebound. Do you understand every day we’re working on two-handed rebounds? Every day. Not like every other day. Every day. Sometimes we’re doing it in the morning and evening, two-handed rebounding. Do you know how many we went after with one? The last one we got, the guy went after it with one hand, and we were lucky it was on the floor and we were able to pick it up. All that kind of stuff is just, you don’t want to lose because of that. You don’t block out on a free throw. Really? You blank on offense? You’re supposed to go screen the ball, you don’t really screen and the guy doesn’t come off so now it’s one-on-one. We can’t play that way. We can’t get the ball by anybody. We’re not that kind of team. So now, we end up having a tough shot, we go in and now you’rebegging for fouls. Like I said, you can tell my frustration right now, but, I’m the coach of the team and I have a job to do and we have to figure out how we’re going to win games. That’s all it is.”
On how frustrating it is to not know who is going to show up mentally for a game …
“It’s not show up. They’re there and ready. It’s mentally, if something goes wrong. And that’s why I like guys, whenever they come off the bench and whatever they do is good, when you start doing different things all of a sudden you’re thinking, well, maybe he shouldn’t. I know. You’re right. The consistency of these players, it’s made it hard, and I told the staff, ‘I’d like to be playing six or seven guys right now and that’s it.’ The problem is, who would they be? Now you’re trying to play nine or 10, you can’t play nine or 10. Why are we playing that many? Who is going to be rough? Who is going to make that play? Who is going to come up with that rebound? Who is going to make that play defensively? A lot of it is based on, if I’m not doing well offensively, all that other stuff slips. I keep coming back to the easiest thing. Forget about all that and do the stuff that doesn’t take skill, because maybe you’re not real skilled. So, do the stuff that doesn’t take skill, or, ready for this word? Talent. Do all the things that don’t take skill or talent and go hard. Now, you start building your own confidence. I told them, fall back on the training, I told them before the game. We even said as coaches that we didn’t care what they shoot, I’m not saying anything, let them see if they can get going and I’m looking around saying, ‘Oh my gosh.’ I know we’re not as bad as we played. Give Georgia credit. I do not want to take away from their win, it was a good win for them. We’re not as bad as we played but you know what, we better start playing better. It’snot getting any easier. Every game from here on in, really hard. So, we’re going to have to step on the gas.”
On Devin Askew’s tough night and how to move forward with him …
“I don’t know. I feel bad for him and I even told him I’m putting you in this last play because I believe in you and that last freethrow I know crushed him. And that wasn’t the game. The game was we had a turnover, threw it ahead, threw it back to him, the guy gets a break away layup on the transition basket. No. 4, no one picked him up and they throw it under the basket. Are you kidding me? With a minute to go in the game, how does that happen? You know, you watched. He didn’t play great but I believe in him. This stuff is hard. All I keep coming back to, again, play to the training. Here’s how I want Devin to play so you all know: I don’t want him to have a lot of dribbles. I want him to get it up and get away from the ball. The reason I like that is because away from the ball, he can make plays and he can make shots. On the ball where everyone is watching him, he’snot effective. He’s just not. If we put him in pick-and-rolls, get rid of the ball. If you have a layup, take it. You can’t come off thinking you have to score because now you add two dribbles to everything. Now you understand what I’m saying. Less dribbles, get rid of the ball, go away from the ball and when it comes to you, make plays. Again, he’s a respectful kid, I just don’t know if he’s hearing what we’re trying to get him to do. He will. These kids are good kids. This is a struggle. We needed a breakthrough for this game and we didn’t. What do we do? Now, we go on to the next game. We have a practice tomorrow, we have a practice on Friday and we play a really good LSU team at home with no fans. There were no fans here today though either.”
On whether the team misses former assistant coach Kenny Payne being a good cop to his bad cop …
“My staff is doing it, believe me. They’re there, every day with these guys. They go to the lodge and check them out, do extra work. Kenny was great at what he does but we have guys doing the same thing. Do I miss him? I miss him because he was like a brother, but we have guys here doing that. If you think anybody could change guys’ games or their abilities, I’m not sure there’s one guy that could do that. We’re believing. We’re taking time, and I’m spending extra time with these kids, but it adds up. We’re at Kentucky. This isn’t easy. You start losing, everybody has an answer. Not only that, they try to move guys in and do different things, now all of a sudden you screw up a couple—I am trying to do everything I can to help everyone play their best. They have to hear what we’re saying on the toughness and the mental toughness. Make those plays. I think we will. So we go on to the next folks.”
#12 Keion Brooks | Sophomore | Forward
On what the mood of the team is …
“Losing like that is tough, especially when we had a pretty good lead. We were up six with under three minutes. We basically just gave the game away, which is tough. We got to continue to work on not beating ourselves, executing the game plan. This loss sucks, but we have a short turnaround. We have another game on Saturday and we have to do what we can to get that one.”
On the difference between this year’s team and last year’s team…
“I mean the only way you can really explain it is personnel. It’sdifficult when last year we had four returners who understood and knew how coach wanted to play. This year, with COVIDand stuff like that, no excuses, but, it’s difficult to get acclimated and adjusted to one another when you don’t really have that time. Last year’s team, we had leadership by committee with the four guys that returned. Earlier in the year, I was the only returner and we all know I wasn’t playing, so it was kind of tough to try to lead from afar. We got to keep believing in one another, believing in the coaching staff and keep pushing, because we work hard every day. We just got to put it all together.”
On apparent lack of physical and mental toughness and how to correct it …
“I think we’re mentally tough. It’s just we have too many breakdowns at times. Physically, it’s just the other team seemed like they wanted the ball more than us. We can’t let that happen. We have to continue to fight and get the loose and 50-50 balls. We don’t get nearly as much of them as we should, and we got to come into the game with that on our mind, that being an emphasis. We’re going to win the backboard, win the 50-50 balls and the rest will take care of itself. We got to be the aggressor. We kind of get pushed around a little too much. We get hit and react instead of being proactive and hitting them first.”
On Brandon Boston Jr.’s game …
“We all know BJ can hoop. He’s just a great player. BJ wouldn’tbe here if Coach didn’t believe in him and if the rest of the staff didn’t believe in him. This stuff is hard. You got to give us a chance and these players a chance to finally break through. I feel like BJ needs to keep pushing. He’s been working extremely hard. He’s always in the gym and he went out there and had a good game tonight. I’m just happy for him to be able to go out there and make some plays and help his confidence group. I hope it continues, playing the way that he did.”
On how Devin Askew is holding up after missing a late free throw …
“Devin is fine and Devin is going to be fine. He’s not the reason we lost the game. It was a group effort, a team effort. We all broke down at one point during the game. Devin is tough. He’smentally strong. I know he’s probably taking it a little hard right now, but we’ve all been in those positions where we felt like we caused the team to lose or we didn’t do our job. We feel like we single-handedly affected the outcome of the game, but Devin is going to be fine. All I can say to him is to keep your head. I’m with you, the whole team is with you, our staff is with you, so Devin’s going to be OK.”
On the tough schedule ahead and how they will continue to believe …
“We call upon our work that we put in every single day in the gym. Nobody on this team takes days off. Everybody on this team goes hard every day. We have great practices. Sometimes, the outcome doesn’t always go your way, but we’re going to keep believing and keep pushing through, because we have put in so much work that we would be doing ourselves a disfavor if we stopped believing in our talent and our abilities to win games.”