Jay Wright met with reporters Monday evening. Here are the takeaways from the session.
Wright said Big 5 teams have discussed the possibility of adding games later if needed, which makes a lot of sense from a logistical standpoint. However, he also noted that once conference play starts it may be difficult to add non-conference games mainly because of TV obligations. The Big East has a contract with FOX and that network has already lost two games to ESPN as Nova stays in the bubble. Wright said FOX has been great about it, but they do want to try to fulfill their contractual obligations and that will be a focus once conference play gets underway. In addition to what Wright pointed out, it's also worth noting that differing protocols across conferences and the fact that the Big East will want open dates reserved for any conference games that may need to be made up, so those are further hurdles to adding non-conference games later in the season.
Wright said he would consider returning to the Mohegan Sun if the situation presented itself. He does feel the need, however, to get the guys home and back to some normalcy.
At the moment, Wright expects the Virginia game to be played in Madison Square Garden as scheduled.
Wright on heading to Texas for the team's first "normal" road trip of the season: "I know our doctor is communicating with the Texas doctor, people are talking about where we’re gonna stay in the hotel, we’re gonna go in later than we normally do, and leave right away, make the visit as short as possible.”
Wright on the team's response to extended stay in "Bubbleville": “It’s a great life lesson for them. They’ve been really resilient, really intelligent about it. This is something we’re hopefully going to build on as a team.”
Wright on the challenge of preparing for an opponent with 48 hours or less of notice: “Our assistants just stay up all night and they just go crazy, but that’s what they do, they’re used to it. It’s hard for the players, in one day, to really get a feel for a team’s concepts, a team that plays a unique style. It’s harder for them.”
Wright said he made some mistakes with the rotation in the Virginia Tech game. “I screwed up. I just did. We get in trouble and I get locked into our veteran guys. I should have kept our guys fresher during the game. I felt like our veterans could steal that one. There was also a time I took Jeremiah Robinson-Earl out in the second half, we had like a 12-point lead, I should have subbed someone else. Early mistakes by the head coach too.” Wright said looking back Robinson-Earl probably didn't need a rest in that spot, and that he did think the guys looked a little fatigued late in the game, not because they were playing three games in four days but because he didn't do a good enough job keeping them fresh.
We have a couple other things from the presser that you'll see in other places on the site, including some clarification on the double-bonus situation we mentioned from the end of the Virginia Tech game.
Wright said Big 5 teams have discussed the possibility of adding games later if needed, which makes a lot of sense from a logistical standpoint. However, he also noted that once conference play starts it may be difficult to add non-conference games mainly because of TV obligations. The Big East has a contract with FOX and that network has already lost two games to ESPN as Nova stays in the bubble. Wright said FOX has been great about it, but they do want to try to fulfill their contractual obligations and that will be a focus once conference play gets underway. In addition to what Wright pointed out, it's also worth noting that differing protocols across conferences and the fact that the Big East will want open dates reserved for any conference games that may need to be made up, so those are further hurdles to adding non-conference games later in the season.
Wright said he would consider returning to the Mohegan Sun if the situation presented itself. He does feel the need, however, to get the guys home and back to some normalcy.
At the moment, Wright expects the Virginia game to be played in Madison Square Garden as scheduled.
Wright on heading to Texas for the team's first "normal" road trip of the season: "I know our doctor is communicating with the Texas doctor, people are talking about where we’re gonna stay in the hotel, we’re gonna go in later than we normally do, and leave right away, make the visit as short as possible.”
Wright on the team's response to extended stay in "Bubbleville": “It’s a great life lesson for them. They’ve been really resilient, really intelligent about it. This is something we’re hopefully going to build on as a team.”
Wright on the challenge of preparing for an opponent with 48 hours or less of notice: “Our assistants just stay up all night and they just go crazy, but that’s what they do, they’re used to it. It’s hard for the players, in one day, to really get a feel for a team’s concepts, a team that plays a unique style. It’s harder for them.”
Wright said he made some mistakes with the rotation in the Virginia Tech game. “I screwed up. I just did. We get in trouble and I get locked into our veteran guys. I should have kept our guys fresher during the game. I felt like our veterans could steal that one. There was also a time I took Jeremiah Robinson-Earl out in the second half, we had like a 12-point lead, I should have subbed someone else. Early mistakes by the head coach too.” Wright said looking back Robinson-Earl probably didn't need a rest in that spot, and that he did think the guys looked a little fatigued late in the game, not because they were playing three games in four days but because he didn't do a good enough job keeping them fresh.
We have a couple other things from the presser that you'll see in other places on the site, including some clarification on the double-bonus situation we mentioned from the end of the Virginia Tech game.