What Kenny Payne, Louisville Players Said After 85-63 Win vs. Pepperdine

Read what the head coach of the Cardinals, forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, guard/forward Mike James and forward Curtis Williams said after their win over the Waves.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Riding a three-game losing streak heading into their matchup against Pepperdine, the Louisville men's basketball program was able to snap that streak in glorious fashion, earning an 85-63 blowout win for their largest margin of victory under head coach Kenny Payne.

Here's what head coach Kenny Payne, forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, guard/forward Mike James and forward Curtis Williams had to say following the win:

Head Coach Kenny Payne

(Opening Statement)

“First off, I am proud of the way guys played today, played with energy, played together. Seventeen assists goes to show that we are capable. I am always preaching that you are not playing against the opponent but that you are playing against yourself. That means it that it doesn’t matter who the opponent is, you have to conquer yourself. You have to go out and challenge the doubt that you may have, the fears that you may have and go out and perform. If you can conquer yourself, the opponent becomes easy. I thought we were aggressive and attacking. We did have some lulls that we talk about if we get up 10, 15, 20 points, we build on it. There were times when we let up and got casual and they got back into the game. But some of that is learning and being a young team.”

(About speculation about his job status, was he coaching for his job?)

“I did not feel like that, but I wouldn’t feel like that no matter what. I go out and focus on the team. I didn’t come here for me. I came here for them and this community.”

(About talking to Josh Heird about the status of his job)

“I have not.”

(About the effort improving from Arkansas State until today)

“I talked to the guys about if they have quit on each other. Have they quit on the team. Have they quit on themselves. They vehemently denied that they had. They said they believed in each other. Then I said then let’s practice like way, like you believe in each other and that you want to share with each other. And then they went out and did it.”

(About Curtis Williams’ shooting in game action and what did he do to prove that to Coach)

“We have been on Curtis (Williams) about taking good shots in rhythm within the flow of the offense. I thought today he did. There are times when you are a young player when it is hard to figure out what is a good shot within the offense. And when you see Curtis shoot the ball like that, it is an example of what that means. If someone drives and kicks it to you. Let it go. Let it go. The confidence, hold your follow through, every shot is a game winner. I thought today he was locked in on that. The biggest play for me wasn’t the shot, it was the drive and the kickout to Brandon (Huntley-Hatfield). That is the type of thing that helps him become a better player, not just a shooter.”

(About Danilo Jovanovich not playing today)

“He is dealing with an injury. He is battling shin splints and we are trying to get him healthy. Hopefully he continues to get healthy.”

(About Brandon Huntley-Hatfield improving and being more assertive)

“Definitely. I believe in Brandon. I believed in him when he played badly. I believe in Brandon when he plays great. I challenge Brandon everyday that he is in this program to give me more and give us more because I know what he is capable of. He had 20 points and 12 rebounds, that could have easily been 28 points and 16 rebounds easily. That is what I want to see. I want to see him max out – to reach the most he can reach with his potential.”

(About the message after a win like this and trying to keep the consistency)

“Just build. Just build on what we are doing. Everyday get better. Every single day spend time with each other and love each other. Build a camaraderie that nothing can infiltrate us. That we are going to fight with each other because we love each other. If we do that, and we play with energy, we are going to be okay.”

(About any players taking ownership of the loss to Arkansas State and trying to get team on track)

“I thought Tre White did. I thought Skyy (Clark) did. Mike James, obviously, always does. Brandon Huntley-Hatfield was emotional after the game. They all were hurt. They were hurt by their performance. They were hurt that they let each other down. But the sign of a good team is that you respond to that.”

(About improving three-point shooting)

“One of the things that we talk about it is the shots that we missed have been open jump shots. A week ago, whenever we ran offense in a scrimmage, I would say this shot would have to be a three or a post-up. What would happen is that we would run plays against each other, and the other team doesn’t know what we are doing. One group has to get a three. In a 20-minute practice against each other, how many threes can we make – not how many can we take. Slowly, slowly, I see it getting better and better. I will say that we are a good shooting team that is just missing open shots. Some of that is confidence. We are in the gym working on our jumpers and we just have to have confidence and shoot them within rhythm.”

(About injury update on JJ Traynor and Dennis Evans coming back)

“We are hoping that they will join us soon, but we will see.”

(About talking with Josh Heird about moving forward from the loss to Arkansas State)

“We have talked about how we take this to the next level and how do we make sure that we are playing in a way that we build momentum not just within the program and but in the community so that people are proud about this program. I believe Josh (Heird) wants us to be good. He wants us to make this fan base proud. I know he wants the guys to enjoy being here. I have the same goals.”

(About talking to the players about how they should deal with the outside noise)

“I’ve been doing that all along. Since I’m 57 years old, I’ve been around a lot of basketball and different scenarios. I learned at an earlier age that if you’re motivated by criticism or praise, you set yourself up to be heartbroken. I think it’s important that people understand that I am emotionally committed to this program. At the end of the day, young people need to know what it looks and feels like to be a part of a program that people criticize. It’s easy in the social media age to want all the praise, but what happens when you get criticized and people jump off the bandwagon? You have to have faith and believe in something bigger than you. I try to be an example of that. With young people, it’s hard to tell if they’re really paying attention to the critics. I talk about it and I hope they’re learning a lesson. In the age of NIL and all the other stuff going on with social media, you have to be focused on why you’re here. You need to know what your job is and what your character is, and you can’t waver from that at any cost. That is my belief and I hope they learn something from it.

(About him believing the players did a good job at blocking out the noise today)

“I thought they did a great job. For the last few days, we’ve been talking about the idea of letting go of the rope. I’ve asked ‘Have you? Because I don’t believe you have, but I want you to answer.’ I was okay if they said ‘Yes. I let go of the rope.’ But everybody said “I have not given up on my teammates and I have not given up on this program.” We’re going to do what we said we’re going to do and we’re going to play with energy. That does not mean we’re going to win every game. That means we go out and we make people proud of our effort, so we can look in the mirror and say we tried really hard.”

(About stressing to the team that the wins need to start coming as the team goes into ACC play)

“I stress to them that they need momentum and they need good things to happen. I stress to them the idea of what they would’ve felt like if the ball went an inch to the right or left against Texas. So yes, we need to win. This was a good win for us in a time where there is a lot of doubt. Sometimes kids play in fear of losing because they’re going to let people down. The second you do that, it is hard to win. I want them to play free, play together, and have fun. There are so many lessons in this game that I want them to walk away with for whatever they do in their life.”

Forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, Guard/Forward Mike James and Forward Curtis Williams

(On what the past couple days meant to Brandon (Huntley-Hatfield) after losing to Arkansas St.)

Brandon Huntley-Hatfield: “The Arkansas State game hit home for me; at the end of the game our fans were booing us. That’s something I have never experienced, and never want to feel that way again. Also, throughout the week my teammates and staff felt I was getting tired quicker. Whenever I feel myself hitting that wall I try to focus and keep going until I get called to the bench. I trust these guys and they trust me, and I want it just as bad as they do. I'm never going to stop loving them and I’m never going to stop fighting for them. This is a special team. I feel like this is a step but we aren’t there yet and we are going to keep building off today.”

(On talks of being more consistent throughout games)

Mike James: “We have. We see our struggles and see what works for us. We’re watching film and going hard in practice to do what we did today. We just have to do it more consistently.”

(On the key for Curtis (Williams) to play well and earn more minutes moving forward.)

Curtis Williams: “For me it starts on the defensive end, coming out with intensity on defense helped me on offense today. In practice, we have been working on getting into the lane to kick it out for three, and I felt like today that was big for us. We went 9-16 from the three-point line, and last game we went 2-11. I feel like this helped a lot during today’s game. This is a boost in confidence, but I have to stay levelheaded and come back ready to work.”

(On not quitting on each other)

Mike James: “I feel like this is a big step for us, especially after the effort we put in last game. We had to look at ourselves in the mirror and ask ourselves “Did we quit on ourselves, our teammates, and our coaches?” We all said “no," and just had to come out today and prove it, our next step is to come out and do it consistently. Once we do it consistently, we will be all right, but until we do that’ll be our main goal.”

(On what the win means going into Thursday's game against Kentucky)

Huntley-Hatfield: “This is huge for us considering we weren’t happy with our effort from the last game. We felt good coming out for warmups today and we knew something had to change to get the win. We have a big game on Thursday but we try and bring the same intensity no matter who we’re playing and just believe in each other.”

(On the focus in practice the last couple of days leading up to the game)

Huntley-Hatfield: “I think for us as a team it’s about knowing that whoever is out there on the floor will give 110 percent. We have to make sure we’re not making mental mistakes because we’re tired. We just need to stay focused as much as possible. We need to know that if a team goes on a run, we will pick each other up and know that we’re going to be okay and that we can go on a run ourselves. We just have to make sure our energy never wavers.”

(On Brandon Huntley-Hatfield's elevated performance in the last two games)

Huntley-Hatfield: “For me, it’s just leaning on my teammates. They’re very crucial to my development so I want to make sure they know that I’m there for them. I’m going to do whatever it takes to win. I’ve had ups and downs ever since the beginning of my career, so for me, it’s about believing that I’m a good basketball player. I can be a top player in this country and I’m tired of what they’re saying about our team. I know I can be a big piece in our success so I have trust in my teammates and they have trust in me. It’s not about me, it’s about us.

(On the toughness Mike James has developed throughout the years)

James: “I’ve been here for three years and I’ve been through a lot, I’ve seen a lot. I’ve been through a lot of different situations so I know how to handle the ups and downs. I feel like it was my job as a leader to bring everyone together and refocus and shut out all the outside noise. We just played for each other and came out of here with a win. With everything I’ve been through, it has helped me develop thick skin in situations like this. It has helped me learn how to lead this team going forward.”

(Photo of Kenny Payne: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)

You can follow Louisville Report for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:

Facebook - @LouisvilleReport
Twitter - @UofLReport
Instagram - @louisville_report

You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter