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AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 9, 2017Mike Dunleavy, Sr.Malik MorganCameron ReynoldsHartford, Connecticut Tulsa - 66, Tulane - 60 THE MODERATOR: And Tulane is here, joined by Coach Mike Dunleavy, Malik Morgan, and Cameron Reynolds. Again our format, we'll take an opening statement for Coach, and we'll take questions for the student athletes after which we'll dismiss the student-athletes. Coach, with that, your thoughts on the game, please and your season as a whole. MIKE DUNLEAVY: Well, first off, I was pleased all year long how hard our team played, and tonight was no different. I thought they really battled. They gave it their all. We had two seniors that played their last games for us, and they did a great job and all throughout the whole year. But I felt like the last six, seven games this season, our team really made the move that I was hoping that they would make at the beginning of the year when we pointed towards peaking towards the end of the season in the conference tournament. Then we had a night tonight where we didn't shoot the ball great. We missed some shots that I think we can make, and we got behind. But like I said, our guys played hard. We defended, I thought, really well. Made them miss shots, and it was a real battle. We came back and took the lead in the second half, you know, just didn't connect when we had a couple. They made a couple threes midway at the end -- second half of that second half, and kind of got the cushion that they needed. THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions for the student-athletes. We have a microphone. Raise your hand, I'll throw the first one out -- go ahead. Q. For Cameron, Malik, could you reflect on the season in the way you want to, for each year just to look back? What that meant to you? MALIK MORGAN: I felt like the season didn't go the way we planned as far as wins and losses, but I definitely thought we gained a lot of knowledge through Coach Dunleavy and his system. And being able to play these last six games the way we played, I think it will leave momentum next year for the guys returning. CAMERON REYNOLDS: Also the same. I think we picked up a lot of knowledge and we learned a lot about the game outside of just scoring, and more inside of the tunes of defense and talking to each other and schemes. And I think that we all grew with that knowledge, and I think that's going to benefit us next year, so we're going to come back strong. THE MODERATOR: Anything else for the student-athletes? Thank you for your time, gentlemen. Dismiss you to your locker room. Coach, I'll throw a question out for you as well. This is a team you faced four days ago with a different result. Is there any difference between the team you saw, both from your team and the opponent, then until today. MIKE DUNLEAVY: You know, they -- they're a tough group. Obviously, they lead our league in free-throw percentage. That's where I thought they had a chance to win the game tonight. The first half, they had a good -- they did a good job making free throws, and they have guys who can stretch the floor. They got some good looks. But I thought, defensively, I would have been happy at the end of the game if you told me, they're going to shoot 38% for the game and 6 for 19 from the three-point line, I would have thought we had a chance. We had a lot of good looks that we didn't make, and, you know, like I said, we came back, played hard, which has been the trait of the team all year long. Defensively, we worked at it. Unfortunately, that first half, we had so many big guys getting in foul trouble. Sitting on the sidelines, I was just trying to figure a way to get through that half. Then we did, but then Ryan Smith, who has been a real solid player for us all year long, picked up quick fouls again in that second half. And I'm disappointed for him as a senior that he really didn't get a chance to play his last game the way he would have liked to, but, like I said earlier on, the year for me was really positive. I really enjoyed it. I think our guys worked extremely hard, and they improved as a group, and, you know, happy that individually, Cam Reynolds worked hard, was the most improved player in our league. I think Malik Morgan improved a lot as we went along for the year. His last six, seven games, I think he averaged 13 point, 8 rebounds, and close to 5 assists a game. We had guys making, you know, upward moves and their ability was starting to show out for us. THE MODERATOR: You answered my next question, reflecting on your first year back at the college game. Anything you would like to add what it was like for you to be in college and on campus? MIKE DUNLEAVY: Yeah. I -- it really turned out to be what I hoped it would be. I love to teach. I got a chance to get on the floor. I spent a lot of time with our guys and really felt like they improved a lot, and, you know, now I've got to get out and hit the recruiting trail and start making that happen as well for us. And I think our team is going to be one that's going to get better over the next couple of years, and hopefully we can win an AAC Championship. THE MODERATOR: Any other questions for Coach? Thanks so much, Coach. MIKE DUNLEAVY: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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