Arizona blew out NAU 90-59 to get head coach Tommy Lloyd his 150th career win. The Wildcats had four double-figure scorers, led by Ivan Kharchenkov with 20. Caleb Holt had 17, Motiejus Krivas had 16, and Derek Dixon had 12.
Next up for Arizona is a trip to Auburn but before that here is what Lloyd, Kharchenkov and Krivas had to say following the win over NAU:
Lloyd on if he saw the progress he wanted to see against NAU: “I thought there was a lot of progress today. The guys have practiced well the last
couple days. I thought the energy was pretty good tonight. Of course, there were a few execution things I’ve looked into the floor. You wish you could clean up, but I think all in all, it felt like the energy was better, and kind of the intent with how we want to play was better.”
On the three-point shooting: “I thought it was fine. Obviously Caleb missed a few wide open shots, and he’s a good three point shooter, so I’m not going to sweat it. It was great, I thought we had a lot of good looks from three and how they guarded us, and for the most part, I thought we didn’t settle. Took a lot of the right ones, and they did a good job I guess kind of keeping us off the free throw line a little bit, and so I thought we did the best with what we had to work with.”
On Ivan Kharchenkov being a primary scorer but still able to distribute the ball: “I don’t know if I’d call him just a primary scorer. I just think he’s a really good player, and I think good players make the right basketball decision in the moment, and I think that’s what he’s doing a good job of. Obviously he’s gonna get a lot of attention. We feel like we have other really good offensive players around him. If teams want to pick their poison and give us a bunch of open looks, I think we’re going to feel good about that.”
On if his team can be one that gets out in transition a lot: “It’s kind of been our identity for years and the pace feels right, and obviously we’re a program that likes to get a lot of assists. We don’t talk about, we have to get assists. We never talk about that. We talk about how we want to play, the process, and assists are a byproduct of that. So, to have 26 assists and six turnovers in any game is a great thing.”
On what Arizona needs to improve on moving forward: “Just keep growing day to day. I think you try to pinpoint one thing. I just don’t ever think it’s that easy. I think the most important thing in a season is understanding that the season’s a continuum, and while you’re in that continuum, you gotta make progress, and so just having that mindset, that growth mindset, I think to me is the most important thing we gotta wrap our arms around.”
On if Arizona “Big Three” score a majority of points then a lot of wins will come: “I don’t think about scoring individually. I kind of just think about it as a collective team thing, and obviously those guys are really good players who are kind of really coming into their own, and I think they’re going to be hard for teams to deal with on a night in and night out basis.”
On if the scoring will fan out to other players as the season goes on: “We’ll see how the season evolves and how players develop. I don’t think it’s any secret that you rely on your veterans early in the year. I think you know. Obviously, I remember last season you just go back because it’s recent in your memory. Koa had that big first game, but then you know it was those veterans that really kind of carried us in a lot of those early season matchups, and then the younger guys really came on and kind of were able to kind of give us a boost as the season, as we kind of went deeper into the season.”
On Derek Dixon’s hot start to the game: “He’s a good player, and so I don’t get too concerned about Derek not being a good starter or anything like that. I think Derek is an important player of this team, and he knows that. The better he plays, the better we are. It’s really that simple.”
On Bryce James’ role as a starter: “Bryce, he’s growing. You see him kind of more comfortable making hustle plays and kind of connecting the dots here and there. That’s kind of what he’s out there to do. I mean, I know Bryce can make the three here and there, but I like all the other stuff that he’s developing. We haven’t made any final long-term decisions on the starting lineup. I’m just happy that Bryce continues to take advantage of the opportunity and get better.”
On if James’ starting spot would change should RJ Godfrey become eligible: “I haven’t made any hard plans, and obviously RJ’s situation is in limbo, so we’re just going to keep operating the way we have.”
On if Arizona is a “handsy” team: “There’s potential for that. I think before you worry about getting steals and being handsy, you have to be solid and execution-oriented on defense. Your defense can’t be built on a lot of high-risk things. You have to be solid, and you have to stay between the ball and the basket. You have to contest shots, you have to rebound. So to me, I’m more interested in continuing to grow that foundation rather than worrying about the number of steals we’re getting. We have some guys that I think instinctually could be great at that, but maybe they’re relying a little too much of those instincts in moments and not being solid enough. Right now, it’s early in the year. We got to establish a foundation.”
On what he’s seen from Auburn to this point: “Obviously, incredibly talented men. I mean, they got to feel what it was like at McKale last year. So I have no doubt in my mind that they like to reciprocate and when we go to whatever they call that place, the jungle. I had their game on in the background last night, and I didn’t realize they had the longest non-conference home winning streak in the country, 70 some games. So you know, it sounds like a lot of teams have gone there and come out with a loss. So I’m excited to see how we respond, and it’s going to be a great challenge.”
On if he feels his team is ready for a tough stretch of games: “Welcome to Arizona basketball, it doesn’t always feel good. There’s other ways to schedule, but I think if you’re doing what’s right for the program and right for the game, you really challenge yourself. You’re seeing tonight a couple other top five teams scheduled hard, and lost. That’s how this deal works, and it’s okay. There’s no shame in it. Sometimes we as coaches and the players want to deliver for the fans and be perfect, you have to let that go. You have to let that go because if you’re feeling guilty about losing a tough game early, you’re maybe focused on the wrong things. I’ve really chosen to try to focus just on the day-to-day approach of this team, and I’m human like anybody else, and didn’t love some of the feelings I had, but like I kind of got to get over myself and like and understand this is about the team and about this team season.”
On what he’s seen in terms of progress from Maksim Brnovic, Ugnius Jarusevicius, and Evan Otten: “I think right now it just seems to me like that the game is filled with a lot of in the moment kind of binary decisions. You know A or B, and these stack up on you. Right now they just need to continue to get experience in the moment of making the right decision, and it’s not easy. It’s not easy because you have this thing called film, and you can slow it down. I get the good fortune of slowing it down and rewinding it and watching it six times and forming an opinion. They get .06 seconds. So we’ve got to do a better job coaching, helping them make those decisions, and then they’ve just got to get some experience and grow from them, and not let the mistakes get them down. I mean the mistakes you learn from, and that’s one of the coolest things you can do in this game, is learn from your mistakes.”
Kharchenkov on being more of a facilitator this season: “I don’t want to speak too much of myself, but I have been capable of this, especially back when I was playing for the youth team back in Byron. Last year, I just had to take a different role, the last two years actually. Now the time has come. Now the team needs a little bit more of me, and I’m capable of doing that. I’m just playing basketball, whatever the game gives me, I make a read and hopefully make the right play.”
On having to carry more of a load offensively this season: “Well, obviously we’re the two returners, and Tommy knows us, Tommy trusts us, and we just understand how to play together a little bit better than the new freshmen and the transfers, but probably during the season we’ll have multiple guys scoring multiple points and we’re not going to be able to you know carry all the time because we’re always the first guys.”
On if he feels ready to play a lot of minutes this season: “I think I’m ready. We had a long preseason, long off season. I got ready with Rounds in the weight room, and we always have that one saying that Coach always says, ‘Dig deeper when it’s needed. Always think about who you’re doing it for. It’s always bigger than yourself,’ and that’s what I was trying to do. Trying to dig deeper when it’s needed. After 30 minutes, it’s gonna get a little tough. Think about who you’re doing it for, and then you find some extra energy, like a second breath kind of thing.”
On how Brnovic, Jarusevicius, and Otten can get better: “Through experience, experience is the best teacher. I feel like that’s what taught me last year. I think the more they play, the more they see, the more they feel, they get better and better. Watching film and doing practice against pads is nice and cute, but when you really feel it bone to bone, it’s different.”
Krivas on how the team has improved since the UCLA game: “I think we got better at the areas we focus on, especially loose balls, rebounding, and just being more connected in defense. I think we got better there. Still have a lot of room to grow and show it against strong teams.”
On garnering more attention from defenses: “I have to expect it every game, and I have to trust the guys to kick out the ball. Sometimes the teams will try, kind of like you said, to play with me. Like they’re doubling, not doubling. So just have to read the defender and read the defense.”
On his performance against Cal Poly: “As I remember, I tried to post up more in the middle of the court, and other guys saw it and fed me the ball. I just had to deliver and continue.”
On the team’s mindset going into the Auburn game: “Approach each game at a time and focus on the opponent, and get in more of the scouting because those details will be crucial in games like that, but super excited for the opportunity and to see where this team goes and if we can get the win.”
