What Kenny Payne, Louisville Players Said After 83-69 Loss vs. Duke

Read what the head coach of the Cardinals, forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and guard Skyy Clark said after their loss to the Blue Devils.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program came within striking distance of Duke, but their best efforts proved to not be enough, falling 83-69 for their fourth-straight loss.

Here's what head coach Kenny Payne, forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and guard Skyy Clark had to say following the loss:

Head Coach Kenny Payne

(Opening Statement)

“First of all, I thought there were segments of the game where we showed our growth. We showed at a time that we can play with a team like Duke. But there were a few things that stood out to me, one being in the second half, sixteen second-chance points, another being time and score. So, we were having success attacking them, moving the ball and attacking them, putting them on their heels. Then, for some reason, we take a shot out of that norm -- not a feel for what is going on, the plays before that. The guy comes off and takes three dribbles and shoots the ball. Time and score is critical, especially with a team that is better than a top 15, more like a top ten team. Their skill, they are talented and have great players, so in order to beat them, we can’t shoot ourselves in the foot. Also in the first half, we go down 38-20 and then we fight our way back. We have to be better, more disciplined than that.”

(About Duke’s fast start and how the defense was tightened up)

“Our game plan was to not let the ball in the ball screen but to let the bye man get below us. We are always supposed to be ahead of him so we are dropping. So, we are two-on-two, and the guard is supposed to force himself around the screen and square the ball up. There was a time where Brandon’s hard showed and instead of walling and zoning up. And so the big guy got below him and they throw him the ball and we are in rotations which we should not be in and they get wide open shots. We made the adjustment but from that point on we had dug a hole for ourselves defensively. It is hard because that team is really talented. I think we have to keep plugging away and get better at ball screen defense and communicating with each other, knowing our jobs and doing our jobs and fighting through it.”

(About Brandon Huntley-Hatfield’s play tonight)

“I thought he played well. He had 11 rebounds, which is a great indicator for me. He scored pretty much at will around the basket. He made good strong moves around the basket. I though he was good. We went to him quite a bit. We found him in different areas. He attacked. He played well. I just needed other players to play a little better.”

(About getting good shots in the second half and good possessions but then giving up shots to Duke and tying together those two parts of the game)

“It is tough because these teams are really good teams. We are sort of young, but we are trying. The biggest thing to answer the question is that we have to get better at communicating and anticipating what is happening on the court. We know what play they were running as they were running it over and over again. We saw it on film, so, you have to talk your way through plays and be alert to what is happening and anticipate and get there. In the second half, Tyrese Proctor just went down the lane and just laid us up multiple times. We have to be better than that – we have to.”

(About playing games competitively and being close in games like UNC and tonight is there a point where getting close is as close as the team will get)

“You touched on something. It shows that we are able to get the game close. In order to get over the hump, we have to tighten up. We don’t have a team where two guys can put us on their backs. Or one guy can get six straight rebounds. We have to do it collectively and in order to do that everybody has to be on the same page. We have to continue to fight and fight together. We are playing really good teams. They are experienced really good teams. So we have to make sure that we are doing everything in our power to execute our offense and execute defensively and communicate defensively in order to come out with a win.”

(About showing discipline at some points and then taking quick shots after three dribbles and why that happens)

“We have to understand shot and score. We have to understand time. Critical junctures of the game and we are taking a setup dribble and shoot a ball. They are a top 20 team for a reason. They are going to defend you and that is not going to be a good shot for us. We have success when we get the ball in the paint and draw fouls and we spread out. We don’t have success when we dribble the ball three or four times, and the guy shoots it. Some of that is experience. Some of that is learning. They are young but we have to be more disciplined in how we play offense, but also in how we play defense. We have to know our jobs and do our jobs. There are times when, not just me, but the whole staff is saying ‘move it, move, move it’ and the guy still dribbles. He is trying to make a hero’s play. There are no heroes in this. It has to be togetherness.” 

Forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and Guard Skyy Clark

(About how it is frustrating to be competitive be in games only to come up short)

Skyy Clark: “Yeah, it definitely does. Just knowing that we have the game in our hands and we're right there and then just coming up short gets frustrating.”

(About what stopped working for the offense in terms of not getting the shots that you wanted)

Skyy Clark: “I really think it started on a defensive end. The biggest theme after the game was offensive rebounds, second chance points. I think in the first half, they had five second chance points and 16 in the second half. So that was the game right there. We lost by 14 and they had a 16 second chance points. So that was the game.” 

(About being down 18 and cutting the lead to three twice. The crowd was alive, but what was going through your minds at that point?)

Brandon Huntley-Hatfield: “I think in those situations, we just look at the score, and then tell each other we need stops. Every stop matters, and we're telling each other they get one shot. We make sure we understand that if we get this stop right here and we secure a rebound then we have a chance to win.”

(About the stretch between the end of the first half and start of the second where Duke missed 8 straight shots. Do you think the defense there was the strongest of the night?)

Skyy Clark: “I think it was just fighting, playing with a lot of effort, playing together on defense, being connected, making them shoot tough shots. Like I said, just showing glimpses that we can be a great defensive team if we lock in for 40 minutes. Do all the little things like boxing out and not allowing them to get second chance points. We just got to keep harping on that. We got to do it for 40 minutes, it can’t be in spurts.”

(About taking a step forward in the right direction regarding communication on the court today)

Skyy Clark: “Yeah, definitely. I think this game was our best game with communication and with rotation, so I feel that we made some big strides in that area.”

(About going up against one of the nation's best, Kyle Filipowski and getting the double-double. What was that battle like?)

Brandon Huntley-Hatfield: “He’s a great player, but I knew I had to have this type of game, hopefully, for us to have these types of games in order for us to win. Like I said, he’s a great player, and I know what’s going on and I just wanted to lock in a little bit more for this game, as I do every other game. Take what the defense gives me, be aggressive, keep attacking, bring a lot of energy on the board, and I

(About playing NC State tough, Carolina tough, and Duke tough, but still are coming up short. What do you think it will take to break through that barrier?)

Skyy Clark: “Just playing how we do for 40 straight minutes. I think our first half, we’d been digging ourselves a hole and that’s been kind of a common theme throughout the year; we’ll dig ourselves a little hole in the first half, then we’ll make a comeback in the second half, then there will be maybe five to eight minutes straight where we’re not completely locked in defensively in the second half and that’s where things start to break down. We just need to put together two 20-minute halves where we’re competing, playing hard on defense, and playing together offensively and in time, we will come up with those wins.”

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

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