FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University men's basketball team (9-11, 5-6 SSC) will take on the Lynn Fighting Knights (15-5, 8-3 SSC) in the NSU Arena Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. on 88.5 Radio X. NSUSharks.com spoke to Gary Tuell prior to the matchup.
Q: Saturday's 82-58 loss to the nation's second ranked team in Florida Southern could not have been much fun. Was there any silver lining you took from the game from a coaching perspective? A: Florida Southern is one of the top five teams in the country and could easily be the best team in DII. Time will tell, but somebody better be really, really good if they hope to knock those guys out of the tournament. Another excellent coaching job by Linc Darner, and his players just went about their business, working so hard on both ends of the floor and competing at a really impressive level for 40 minutes. Southern was really tuned in defensively. They had us smothered everywhere. If they had a coroner in the gym he would have pronounced us dead by suffocation at around the five minute mark in the game. But there was a lot to be encouraged about. The final score was not indicative of how the game was played, at least for the first 30 minutes.
We were down six at the half, 31-25, and I thought our defense was about as good as we could hope for. Southern is a team that regularly scores in the 90's and we were on a pace in the first half to hold them in the 60's, which is what we needed to do to win. Our problem was on the offensive end. We were a train wreck on the offensive end, but still only down six at the half to a tremendous team on their floor. Not much changed for the first 10 minutes of the second half. We were right there where we needed to be and if we could string together a few made shots, we were very close to leading going into the home stretch. That's when Southern had one of their patented runs. Over the next five minutes they had a party and we were not on the guest list. They forced turnovers, got some easy buckets in transition, drained some big threes. It was the most impressive run I've seen a team have against us this year. They outscored us 23-4 from the 10 minute mark to the five minute mark and that was the ball game.
I put our walk-ons and young kids in the game for the final four minutes and they did a terrific job running our stuff, taking care of the ball and hustling. But, of course, it was a lost cause at that point. Still, I was very proud of how those guys played unselfishly and with discipline and heart. When you look back on it this was a pretty darn good game for 35 of the 40 minutes. Certainly we were holding our own for the first 30 minutes on a night when we're not making anything. And I mean we couldn't make anything, from free throws (10-20) to layups (at least seven or eight misses) to 3's (8 for 27). Southern deserves most of the credit for doing a great defensive job, but we had plenty of opportunities to score. We just couldn't find the basket. I felt like we were playing outdoors in a hurricane because a lot of our shots were nowhere near the rim.
You can't have an off night when you play them, especially on their floor. We walked out of there with heavy hearts and a lot of disappointment. But the sun came up on Sunday, and when I took a closer look at how we played and how close we were for about 30 or 35 of the 40 minutes, I felt much better about the game. The final score is not always indicative of the game, and this was one of those cases. Make a few more baskets or free throws and maybe we have the energy to battle a little harder and avoid that disastrous five-minute stretch.
Q: You mentioned afterwards that Brian Cahill (Sr., Arlington, Va.) and Harrison Goodrick (So., Sydney, Australia) gave a good effort, and that Troy Spears (Fr., Martinsville, Ind.) did a good job. What was it about their performances that stuck out? A: Harry and Brian fought hard inside and gave great effort. I thought Troy brought some energy to us.
Maurice Fuller (Sr., Westfield, Ind.) gave us a shot in the arm in the second half with some big baskets when we needed them. But made baskets of any kind were just too few and too far between for us.
Chris Page (Jr., Plainfield, Ind.) did not have a great night shooting the ball, and as we talk about all the time, he still hasn't learned how to be economic with the dribble. But he will get there. He's coachable. Give
Jonathan Back (So., Carlisle, Ohio),
Remi Farrell (So., Woodbridge, Conn.),
Ryan Steed (Jr., Miami, Fla.) and
Jordan Stookey (Fr., Warsaw, Ind.) credit for going in there and battling and playing well. They were fun to watch.
Q: You coined this stretch of games, "death, famine and pestilence." Over the next couple of games, are you looking for things outside of conventional results to take away? A: With Lynn and Barry coming up Wednesday and Saturday, we know how hard and how well we will have to play just to stay in these games. We know the matchups in both games do not favor us. But this is a fun stretch of games because we get to play three of America's top teams, so how much more fun can it be than that? It's a great opportunity for our guys to take a step forward. We did a good job for most of the game at Southern. We have to do a better job for the entire game Wednesday or Lynn will do the same things to us that Southern did. Defensive transition, rebound, close down the driving lanes and hope we can limit Lynn's 3-pointers. It's going to take a tremendous effort from our team but these are the kind of games that you enjoy as a coach because you find out where you stack up with the top teams in the country. There's a lot of basketball to be played after this week. Our goal is to play better Wednesday than we did Saturday, which means competing for 40 minutes at a very high level. We're not looking for moral victories. We want to win the darn game.
Q: Lynn isn't nationally ranked (anymore) but you've placed them in the upper tier with Barry and Southern. What makes this team stand out from the middle of the pack? A: Great athleticism, length and size and one of the best pressure defenses in the country. They're 15-5 overall, 8-3 in league play and most impressively they're undefeated on the road. They dropped a couple of tough games to Florida Southern and Barry, which is nothing to be ashamed of because the only teams that seem capable of beating Southern and Barry are… Southern and Barry. But Lynn is right there with them. After losing to those two teams they've won three road games at Florida Tech, Rollins and Eckerd and that tells you something about their talent and their resolve. They smother you with their defensive pressure, they rebound with their length and athletes and they have a whole bunch of different guys capable of scoring for them on any given night.
Aaron Harrison is one of our league's best players, but you could make that argument for some other guys on their team, too. Ben Berry is a terrific shooter, David Johnson and Russell Wilson are talented defenders and scorers, as is Fred Landers. They're so deep and talented up and down that roster that it's hard to single out individuals. The last time we played them they poured in 3's from everywhere, got to the rim off the drive and pounded the glass. They can beat you so many different ways, but it starts at the defensive end for them. If you don't handle their pressure you don't have a chance. I thought our starters were pretty good in our first meeting, but other than
Mike Chalas (Jr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) making a lone basket, the rest of our bench gave us the Baker's Special – all donuts. When we broke the game down statistically, I think we were fine when Harrison Goodrick was on the floor. But when he got into foul trouble we struggled. We had one field goal in the first 10 minutes of the game and fell behind 16-4. We battled back, cut it to five late in the half, and then they blew us out of the gym. We were never in the game. We never got closer than nine points in the second half. We were not a good basketball team that night. And Lynn was terrific. They did anything they wanted. Nobody has beaten us as badly or dominated us as much as they did on that night.
Q: Tampa recently upset them in their gym, 66-61. Have you seen the film from that game, and if so, what did Tampa do to give Lynn trouble? A: Tampa got to the foul line 37 times to something like 17 times for Lynn. I hope we have that officiating crew! Tampa also controlled the glass, which is something we can't do with our size issues, unless our guards wake up Wednesday morning and decide to get a rebound or two. We've got some guys on our team who block out almost every time, and some who never block out, which is unacceptable. We also have to get our guards going to the glass to rebound instead of standing and watching. If you want to watch, buy a ticket, get some popcorn and take a seat. We are not big enough or physical enough to have anyone on the floor standing around and watching while other guys are competing their tails off inside.
Q: Cahill didn't get to play when the Sharks lost to Lynn earlier this season, 82-64. Alone, is Brian enough of a difference maker to level score, or will NSU need something more from the rest of the group? A: Brian didn't play the first time we played Florida Southern, either, and we lost without him, 77-74. He played at Southern Saturday and we lost by 24. You'd like to think his presence on the floor makes a difference, and it should because he's a competitor and a vocal leader and a very smart basketball player. But we're not the kind of team where one guy makes a huge difference. We are a much better team when Harrison Goodrick is on the floor, but we beat Saint Leo without him and we won at Tampa when he was sick and playing limited minutes. One guy isn't going to have a huge impact on whether we win, lose, play well or don't play well. We don't have those kind of athletes or that kind of team. We're best when the five guys on the floor are working their butts off together on the defensive end, talking and helping one another and rebounding together, and when we're sharing the ball and making good decisions on the offensive end. We're a team whose sum can be greater than its parts, but we need everyone tuned in and focused and working together if we're going to have a chance against the upper tier teams in this league, who just happen to be among the elite teams in America, and Lynn is certainly one of them.
Q: We haven't checked in on you in a while, how has your season-long weight loss challenge gone? We've noticed some new sport coats on the sideline since conference started. A: Haha. There's only ONE sport coat, and it's an old one that I can finally squeeze into. The weight is coming off, but it's not melting away as quickly as it did when I started this thing. Now it's a half pound here, a half pound there, kind of like a leaky faucet… drip, drip, drip instead of pouring off me the way I wish it would. But I'm staying the course. Same game plan as our team as we head toward March. Stay the course, streamline, cut off some excess fat, try our best to be as fit and trim as we can be when we get to Kissimmee for the conference tournament.
