March Madness: After Win, TCU Players And Coach Meet With Media

The TCU Men’s Basketball team (22-12, 9-9 Big 12) made it exciting last night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Frogs came out strong and had an early 11-point lead. They were down by seven at halftime and by as many as 11 points in the second half. TCU didn’t regain the lead until 0:34 left and again found themselves tied with 0:17 left. It took a JaKobe Coles and a 9-foot jumper with one second remaining to give TCU the win, beating the Arizona State Sun Devils 72-70.

After the game, from Ball Arena in Denver, Damion Baugh, Coles, Chuck O’Bannon Jr, Mike Miles Jr, and head coach Jamie Dixon met with media members to discuss the matchup. Below are some of the questions they were asked and their responses:

Mike Miles Jr, Guard

You recruited JaKobe here, and last year I don't think he had the role he was hoping for. Talk about what he's meant to this team. And JaKobe, talk about the journey for you not playing too much last year and having a moment like this in the NCAA Tournament?

“Man, it's great. I'm so happy for him. We played for two years of AAU together. He's like my brother. And I recruited him last year. He didn't have the role he wanted. But this year, he's getting the minutes he wanted. He's stepping up. In the biggest game of his life, he made the game-winning shot. I can't say how much I'm proud of him. He knows how much I'm proud of him. He's worked so hard.

Man, I'm proud of everybody. We were down, we stayed together. We've been through a lot so that just shows how resilient we are getting this win.”

With 12 lead changes and each team led by 11, when a game is crazy and hectic as that, what was your message for the guys out there to stay focused and stay composed?

“All our message was just to stay together. We had our run at the beginning of the game, and they started making tough shots just like they did the first game, and they took the lead, they got the lead, and we couldn't get it back.

So in the second half, we decided to try to make them drive a little bit. We knew they weren't going to make the same tough shots, and we stepped it up defensively, and down the stretch, we got buckets.

I trusted my teammates, and it was a good win. We're a good team with good players; I love all my teammates.

Damion Baugh, Guard

Obviously, Coach mentioned you were kind of coaching the last couple of minutes there. What was your message to the guys after Arizona State hits the game-tying three with 16 seconds left?

“Just stick with it. It's a game of runs. Got on a run early, so it's the end of the game; we’re going to score, just get a stop, and do the best we can.”

Chuck O’Bannon Jr, Forward

It's no secret you haven't got the ball the way you wanted to this season, but to shoot the ball well tonight, talk about your year and how good does it feel to be playing this kind of basketball in the NCAA Tournament?

“Well, the year didn't start the way I wanted it to, but I'm just trying to stay together, stay consistent. This is the best time of the year for shots to fall for me. I'm just happy that the coaches and my teammates stayed confident in me so we could get the win.”

JaKobe Coles, Forward

Walk us through that final play, and how big was that for you to have that moment, considering all the stuff you've been through this season?

“It was a big moment for sure. It was a good pass by Mike. I figured they were probably going to try to double him. And I just take the shots I always take. I'm confident in them.

And there were a lot of shots today. I was flat, and the last one, I got it up, and that was the difference, and it went in. It was a good shot, and I'm happy for my team, happy for the win.”

Jamie Dixon, Head Coach

After this tough-fought game, how do you see yourself recuperating with the team and recovering physically and mentally with this tough battle against Gonzaga?

“We just had the tournament, and so really, you're playing back-to-back. So the way I look at it, we've got plenty of time and plenty of opportunity to get rest and get prepared for Gonzaga.”

Mike was doing everything the second half, passing, drawing charges, and dunking on guys. What can you say about the leadership and just kind of the gritty -- I know he got banged up at the end of the first half?

“Yeah, you could see he was really taking it on to try to bring us back, willing us to. And Damion is right there doing it, too. Like I said, there was a stretch there where I liked how we were playing in the second half defensively. We were playing so hard, we were getting stops, but it seemed like we wanted to -- with 14 minutes left, we had to get it down -- we had to score 12 points on a possession. So, we kind of rushed some shots.

But I think they recognized that. They executed better down the stretch, and our last five minutes is how we want to play.

Yeah, really, they're clearly -- we've got good leadership, but they're extremely competitive, and I just kind of felt that Mike and Damion were not going to let us lose. You know, that's a good tandem to have.”