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Honest Carry, Malique Jacobs, Miryne Thomas and Rob Senderoff addressed the media on Thursday afternoon upfront of Friday’s NCAA event first spherical matchup towards Indiana.
Watch their pregame feedback under:
Transcript by way of ASAP Sports activities:
THE MODERATOR: We thank the Kent State student-athletes for becoming a member of us. We’ve redshirt senior guard Honest Carry, redshirt senior guard Malique Jacobs, and redshirt senior ahead Miryne Thomas. We’ll open it as much as any questions.
Q. We had been speaking to Indiana. They saved speaking about your protection and the way impressed they had been with it. What’s it about your protection that makes it so good? And simply how a lot do you guys satisfaction your self on actually doing nicely with out the ball? Any of you’ll be able to reply it.
SINCERE CARRY: I feel we simply play onerous and play by way of lots of errors. If anyone will get beat on a dribble or we mess up a ball display screen, we will choose up for anyone else’s mistake. However simply talk and play onerous. Taking part in onerous is the recipe to our nice protection.
MIRYNE THOMAS: I might add to that that the tenacity of our protection and protecting for one another, that basically retains us collectively. It retains us as one.
Q. How a lot confidence do you guys get out of your shut losses earlier within the 12 months to Gonzaga and Houston? Do you’re feeling you’re higher ready now having gone by way of the convention schedule to face an even bigger staff like Indiana?
MALIQUE JACOBS: I feel the shut wins that we bought and the shut losses, the shut video games, it helped us out to remain composed over the last three minutes of the sport. It’s a giant a part of us being right here proper now.
Q. Honest, you’ve been by way of quite a bit together with your shifting and your accidents and all the pieces else. Have been there moments that you simply thought you won’t see this type of a stage?
SINCERE CARRY: Sure, ma’am. There was lots of occasions the place I simply questioned myself simply enjoying basketball. I wasn’t certain if I used to be going to proceed to comply with my goals. My help system, my household, my shut associates, and my teammates, my brothers, they’re all the time there for me checking on me and ensuring I’m good mentally earlier than basketball.
And simply going on the market each evening, it’s simply enjoyable. So I’m having fun with each second whereas we’re right here.
Q. To that, are you able to simply discuss slightly bit about how these guys have embraced you? You’ve solely been there for a few years, and it looks as if you all have a very tight bond.
SINCERE CARRY: My two years at Kent has in all probability been one of the best staff I’ve ever been on. Not with basketball, however simply with the friendship and the brotherhood we now have. I really feel like Coach Sendy does a superb job and his workers and the college itself does a superb job of constructing a household tradition there. We’ve lots of alumni who come residence.
It’s simply lots of love there. It’s onerous to be down once you’re round love. It’s simpler to unfold it when it’s given out each day.
Q. Going again to Honest’s days at Solon, he was by no means one to actually discuss himself. What do you two see in him? What makes him such a superb basketball participant?
MALIQUE JACOBS: His work ethic. He’s a tough employee. Simply the best way how he works. Coach, I don’t know if he advised you all this story, we got here again from an extended, lengthy sport. I feel it was at Ball State. We bought again at 2:00 within the morning, and he’s again within the fitness center at 7:00, 8:00 within the morning.
Simply his work ethic, after which it simply rubs off. While you see one in all our greatest gamers simply working like that, you haven’t any selection however to comply with his footsteps.
MIRYNE THOMAS: I might say from a guard, he has a fast reminiscence. If one thing dangerous goes on, he’s fast to, hey, subsequent play. He’s fast to tug guys in, preserve guys into the group.
Q. Are you able to simply discuss slightly bit about simply — no matter what occurs, whether or not it’s this weekend or not, in some unspecified time in the future the season goes to be over. Are you able to simply discuss your profession and the way you’re feeling about it?
SINCERE CARRY: It’s type of onerous to talk on it proper now as a result of I really feel like we nonetheless bought an extended solution to go and we’re going to be right here for some time.
Actually I’m simply blessed each day to play basketball. I all the time thank God first and I really feel like He has continued to bless me and put me in numerous conditions and opens up so many doorways for me. It’s simply enjoyable to share these moments with my brothers, my teammates, and my household. So I simply proceed to take it daily. No matter occurs occurs. I’m simply joyful to play the sport of basketball.
Q. You guys really feel like you’ll be able to play slightly bit looser being the underdog, like there’s rather less stress on you?
MALIQUE JACOBS: The best way we play is play free, play Kent State basketball. So we play Kent State basketball, we’ll make a superb run.
MIRYNE THOMAS: I feel the statistics converse for themselves, however our observe file, this historical past additionally speaks for itself. So we is perhaps an underdog decrease seed coming into these video games, however we all know head to head we’re simply nearly as good as these increased seeds. So we’re excited to get to play.
THE MODERATOR: In just a few moments we’ll have Kent State Head Coach Rob Senderoff.
We’re joined by Kent State Head Coach Rob Senderoff. Any questions, we’ll open it up.
Q. Coach, clearly the storyline, going through Indiana once more, for you for the primary time. Speak about going again into that problem alone. You’ve been a coach there, so you understand the challenges of being on that aspect and on this aspect now. Speak about that in itself.
ROB SENDEROFF: I imply, it’s an unbelievable program and an unbelievable staff that we’re enjoying towards tomorrow evening. I’ve an unbelievable quantity of respect for all of the gamers on that roster, Trayce Jackson-Davis being probably the greatest within the nation. Jalen Hood-Schifino being one of many distinctive abilities within the nation.
And Coach Woodson’s executed an amazing job, him and his workers, of enjoying in probably the greatest conferences within the league and having as a lot success as they’ve had.
So it’s actually a giant problem for us tomorrow evening, however one which we’re actually enthusiastic about.
Q. One of many questions Indiana followers nonetheless have out of your time at Indiana is like why did you guys do what you probably did that bought IU placed on probation? Are you able to type of simply take the followers by way of what occurred, what the pondering was at that time limit?
ROB SENDEROFF: Fairly actually, I’m joyful to reply that possibly at one other time. I actually suppose that the NCAA Match, it’s in regards to the three guys that had been up right here from Kent, these gamers and their tales. The youngsters from IU which have large tales as nicely and have been by way of no matter they’ve been by way of all through their careers.
I really feel like that’s what the event is about. It’s not about Rob Senderoff or what occurred 20 years in the past. As a lot because it’s about Honest Carry and the way did he make it thus far and the way has Jalen Hood-Schifino developed as a participant this 12 months.
Respectfully, I’d be joyful to speak to you about it at one other time, however I actually really feel just like the event, losing that point on me is basically not the place I wish to go at present.
Q. Having a few of your coaches right here, being a pupil coach beneath Doc Sauers, are you able to discuss in regards to the impression he has in your teaching profession and the way type of Albany might need been the beginning of a passionate teaching profession for you.
ROB SENDEROFF: I feel like lots of people, no matter occupation you get into, in some unspecified time in the future there’s a spark that provides you a chance. For me, my first alternative was as a pupil at SUNY Albany 1990-something, ’91, ’92, ’93. That’s once I was there.
Doc Sauers allowed me the chance — I wasn’t a ok participant to play on the staff, however he allowed me the chance to be across the staff and to assist, just like what a pupil supervisor does at lots of totally different faculties. That gave me the chance to begin teaching.
To return to Jeff’s query, for me personally, it’s nice to be again to Albany, however I’ve stated it a pair occasions, like who we play or the place we play, it didn’t matter who we had been enjoying towards or the place we had been enjoying, I used to be simply going to be ecstatic and excited to see our title pop up on the board for our gamers, at the beginning, and for everyone related to Kent State College, our basketball program, our supporters.
I’m simply thrilled for them. I suppose it’s slightly little bit of cherry on prime, the truth that we’re right here in Albany.
Q. You guys have been — actually type of made your title on protection. Your ball stress, your skill to power turnovers. How do you steadiness not wanting to alter what you do and wanting to simply keep true to your id once you face a participant like Trayce Jackson-Davis that simply type of has the gravitational pull and the passing vary he has out of the paint?
ROB SENDEROFF: It’s an excellent query and a heck of a problem. He’s such a superb participant that, should you simply do one factor towards him, you’re going to be in hassle as a result of he’s going to determine it out. He’s that good.
So we do must create some turnovers, as you talked about. They’ve large measurement and physicality, IU does. And we’re going to have to remain true to who we’re as a staff. We bought right here due to how nicely we’ve defended and what number of turnovers we’ve created over the course of the season, and we’re going to must do an excellent job of that tomorrow evening to have any likelihood towards probably the greatest groups within the nation.
Q. Two-part query. It’s type of each how they relate on the ground. Your protection, why is it so good? What’s it that basically causes groups matches? Second query is on Honest and the way his sport interprets, particularly on a degree like this.
ROB SENDEROFF: How we defend is basically there’s two components to it. A few of it’s personnel based mostly. We’ve some large particular person defenders. Honest was on the All-Defensive Crew. As you understand, Malique Jacobs was the Defensive Participant of the Yr. Each of these guys had been on the All-Defensive Crew final 12 months as nicely.
So they’re distinctive abilities on that aspect of the ball. Then what we’ve tried to do as a training workers is put them in place as finest we will to make as many performs as they will on that aspect of the ball.
You will note some trapping. You’ll see some digging it out of the put up. You’ll see some full court docket man to man. You understand, nothing that I’m telling you is one thing that hasn’t occurred all 12 months lengthy. So that you’ll see a few of that, and hopefully that can enable us to create some turnovers over the course of the sport or pace them up and make them take faster pictures than they want to.
And as for Sin’s growth, to me, he’s on the Mt. Rushmore of gamers that’s performed at Kent State during the last 20 years. Clearly there have been some nice ones which have come by way of, however he’s within the dialog among the many finest. I feel successful this convention championship final week, event championship, and being right here actually solidified that for him individually. Then clearly how we play out right here might transfer him even additional up the ladder.
Q. Once more on Honest, are you able to simply discuss slightly bit about what he — you spoke to it, however what he means to this system and simply how impactful it’s to get a man like that to switch in?
ROB SENDEROFF: He’s one of many greats. When he got here to Kent, as I feel his story is considerably nicely documented, this to me is what makes — that is the enjoyment of being up right here is having the ability to discuss slightly bit extra about him. He was near not enjoying anymore. That’s how a lot he had misplaced the love of enjoying basketball and was contemplating simply going to highschool as a result of it was throughout the COVID 12 months and he simply wasn’t joyful any longer.
So he got here to Kent. He needed to sit out the remainder of that semester as a result of he got here halfway by way of the 12 months. I nonetheless bear in mind getting a textual content message about 5 minutes previous to a sport towards Western Michigan the place his adopted father advised me, would you want him to come back? As a result of he’s sitting in Kent proper now, and he’s not going again to Duquesne.
To see him then blossom the best way he has — like I stated, Participant of the Yr his junior 12 months, First Crew All-Convention, All-Defensive Crew, MAC Match MVP — to see that and to have the ability to discuss to you all about that, that’s to me what makes this event so particular.
Q. Did you schedule Charleston and Houston and Gonzaga partly in anticipation of getting your staff prepared for March?
ROB SENDEROFF: We did. While you return, we returned Sin and Malique, we introduced in a switch from Ball State, Miryne Thomas, who we knew was a very good participant. We signed some new guys who we thought might assist Chris Payton, particularly, as a switch from Pittsburgh.
So we knew we had been going to have a superb staff. We didn’t understand how good, however we additionally knew we wanted to problem ourselves within the nonconference. As you understand, following basketball and protecting it so long as you’ve, faculties from the MAC typically wrestle to get video games.
However we labored actually onerous. We performed, such as you stated, within the nonconference, Faculty of Charleston in a house and residential, Northern Kentucky, who’s additionally within the event, we opened up the season at their place, Houston, Gonzaga. We additionally performed Cleveland State, who was within the championship sport of their league, South Dakota State, who didn’t have fairly the season that they usually have, however nonetheless a really high quality mid-major staff coming off 30 wins. Once we performed New Mexico State and UTEP, we anticipated these to be actually troublesome video games, they usually had been.
So we did that with a goal, and I feel our gamers would trust regardless as a result of I feel that’s simply how they’re constructed, however having performed that schedule and performed a few of these video games as intently as we now have, I actually suppose it offers us confidence.
And on the similar time, I feel it offers the Indiana teaching workers the power to inform their gamers such as you guys have gotten to be on level as a result of have a look at what they did on this sport and that sport.
So it does work each methods once you get right here, however by way of making ready for this second, I feel it actually helped us.
Q. I don’t know if it’s each man in your workers, however many of the guys in your workers have Kent State ties, plus Jim Christian is in this system. Why? Why is that necessary?
ROB SENDEROFF: I’m going to return to what makes this event so nice and what I’m so joyful about being on the rostrum for, is once more to have the ability to inform that story too. Every of my assistants performed at Kent. Julian Sullinger is our Affiliate Head Coach. His nephew is on our staff, as nicely. Jalen was the Sixth Man of the Yr in our league. Randal Holt, I recruited as an assistant coach, coached him his total profession, and now he’s again on our workers. Jon Fleming was a walk-on on our 2017 staff that went to the NCAA Match. Kevin Zabo is my Director of Basketball Operations, additionally was on that 2017 staff.
As you talked about, Jim Christian, is who introduced me to Kent State again in 2002, is type of a particular assistant to the teaching workers. That’s what makes Kent State distinctive. That’s what makes Kent State particular. And to me it’s what makes Kent State totally different from lots of different packages throughout the nation is that that household environment that lots of people discuss, we will present you that we now have it right here at Kent as a result of these guys had been all — I used to be all a part of their growth as school athletes and now I’m a part of their lives as they’re adults and husbands and fathers and issues like that.
So it’s an enormous a part of what’s allowed us. We’ve had success for some time now, and it’s an enormous a part of what’s allowed us to keep up a degree of success is that household environment that you simply introduced up. I actually respect the chance to speak once more about that on this stage.
Q. Simply type of piggy-backing off of that, having the expertise that you simply had early on with Doc Sauers and simply talking so extremely that you simply simply did about your program, do you hope or is there a selected lesson that you simply might need discovered from Doc in your early days that you simply hope that you simply’re transferring to your teaching workers and your staff now?
ROB SENDEROFF: Perhaps at present I’ll do some fingertip push-ups on the court docket with these guys as a result of that’s what he did at first of each apply. I don’t suppose I might do them, in order that is perhaps an issue. However he was doing fingertip push-ups earlier than each apply.
His depth, and also you simply bear in mind how centered he was as a coach. Instances have modified, however good coaches are good coaches. He had gained over 700 video games on the Division III degree. He’s probably the greatest to have ever executed it. So it’s cool for me to have the ability to discuss Coach Sauers.
Individuals might not know who he’s as a result of Albany was a Division III faculty on the time. Clearly on this area individuals know who he’s, however that’s actually cool. For these causes, this has been improbable. The entire expertise for our guys and our college and program is superior.
Filed to: 2023 NCAA tournament, Kent State Golden Flashes, Rob Senderoff
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