What Darian DeVries Said After Indiana Basketball's 98-97 Win at UCLA

LOS ANGELES — Indiana basketball coach Darian DeVries met with the media after the Hoosiers defeated UCLA, 98-97, on Saturday at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.

Here's what DeVries said in his seven-minute press conference.

Q. I guess first of all, you know, just getting to win like this, gutting it out, everything that went into this. Just get into this.

DEVRIES: Yeah, I mean, road wins are incredibly hard. And especially when you feel like you got the game kind of in control and then feel like you just got to finish it out and then have about everything you can imagine not go your way. To still be able to come back in overtime and fight your way to a second overtime and then come away with a win, I just think it says a lot about those guys that were out there, guys that fouled out, we had new guys coming in, guys in different roles, different positions, and that's what being ready is. And I thought we had everybody that had to contribute tonight was needed. And it finishes with Trent Sisley, a freshman who hadn’t played a lot in this game, comes in and knocks down the free throw to win the game, but incredibly proud of them. They're just playing their guts out right now. And that's what I love about them. And they're just giving us everything they got and they left it all out there and fortunately we were able to come away with a win.”

Q. It's obviously a very old roster, right? How much does that experience help in a spot like that where it seems like it could spiral, the crowd's really loud, you've blown a large lead, but you rally together late?

DEVRIES: Yeah, and I thought Lamar was a big part of that in overtime. I thought Sam Alexis, Tuck had some really nice plays, some rebounds and things. I thought we had a bunch of veteran-type moments in there where it'd been really easy to just kind of give into it. And it just wasn't our day, everything went wrong and poor as me. And they didn't do that. The huddles were great. They were next play, next play, next play. And fortunately, we were able to make that one next play that we needed.

Q. What was the problem at the end of regulation? Was it just the press and just what kind of gave you guys fits there?

DEVRIES: Well, we had a hard time getting it in on a couple of them. We used timeouts, I believe. We had a turnover on the sideline, Lamar stepped out and I think we had one more where we left our feet and threw it. So, that's a veteran stuff of like, leaving our feet and things. Those are correctables. And it's a moment we got to learn from so that we don't get in that situation again. But missed a couple of free throws again there late in the game. Overall, it was great. But there was a couple of critical ones there, a couple of front ends. But overall, I thought the guy hit the three there at the buzzer. But again, the guy made a shot. So, you got to deal with it. You got to get to the next overtime, figure out a way to win it.

Q. What are your thoughts on Nick Dorn? He's been coming, coming, and then he does this tonight on the road.

DEVRIES: Yeah, he was great. He's been playing great. And he's really confident. I think he really fits well with what we try to do and the spacing that we have on the floor. So I thought the guys did a good job of really finding and feeding him. And then it was able to put some stress in some other areas that we were able to get to the rim a little bit more because they were pressed out on Nick and got a couple of rolls to the basket. So overall, he’s just a great fit for us in terms of like what we're trying to do offensively.

Q. What was the huddle after the end of regulation? Did anybody lead it? Was there anything that had to be said (or) just the next play?

DEVRIES: Yeah, I thought Tuck did a good job grabbing the huddle, like, just say, ‘Flush it. Next play,’ because we all understood that it didn't end the way we wanted it to or should have. But it happened. So you can't go back in time and fix it. And they were able to come out in that overtime and make a lot of really good plays. I thought UCLA made a lot of really good plays too. It was just a hard fought game. Two teams leaving it all out there trying to get a win.

Q. With the inbound play, was it going to Sisley? What were you guys kind of looking for in that moment?

DEVRIES: Yeah, we had two options on it. One, the first one, based on how they kind of run their out of bounds defense, was to get the slip to the rim on the backside. And then if that wasn't open, try to get Lamar coming out or another slip coming to the rim. So fortunately, the first option was it.

Q. But it was a heads up play by him, I mean, just a backward shot.

DEVRIES: Yeah, we told him like, ‘If you catch it, it's no hesitation.’ Like, ‘You're catching, you're already up in your shooting motion.’ So, he did a good job of going with force and able to draw the foul.”

Q. With Reed, he's played at a higher level, kind of late here, looks a little bit stronger at the rim a bit more. Do you see him playing at a higher level? Why do you think it's kind of flipped for him lately?

DEVRIES: “Yeah, I think just, we've kept encouraging him, just be aggressive and go make plays, be yourself. And I think he's doing a really nice job of that. He's trying to find his way around as the season's gone around too. And I think he's picking those moments. And he had some really, really big plays for us there on both ends of the floor. The thing people don’t notice is his defense, his ability to get out there and play in space and switch onto guards and be able to get back to a big. I mean, it’s pretty impressive what he does on that side of the ball.”

Q. What's it say about your team to have three guys foul out in overtime, double overtime, and come through with a win?

DEVRIES: Again, I just thought it showed a lot of guts, a lot of character, a lot of poise by a lot of different guys and having the ability to be ready when your number's called. And then we had guys in spots they've never played before. But again, I thought Lamar was terrific. We started going to him a lot more, told him to be assertive. And he had an up and down game a little bit, but he just took it on his shoulders and went and got to the rim, got fouled, got some layups. So, you know, just overall, just happy with how they were able to fight.”

Q. Coach, for this win tonight, what can you take from this? Obviously, you said a lot of your guys fouled out.

DEVRIES: Yeah, I think for a group that hasn't been together a long time in these moments, it's another thing that we can learn from. And there's plenty of both. So now, in those situations, it's one more thing we have to draw back from that we can learn from. But for us, it's still — it's a great win, we're fired up about it — but it's, ‘Get back to the hotel, get our bodies right and let's flip to USC,’ because that's what this league is. And you don't get to celebrate too long and you can't feel sorry for yourself very long. So it's, ‘Put your focus on the very next one.’”

Q. Your thoughts on Tucker's playmaking, his assist numbers have been climbing and they've been some really key ones?

DEVRIES: Yeah, I think he's doing a great job as he's fighting through it here a little bit. And he's been able to go be more aggressive, getting downhill, getting in the paint a lot more, rebounding. I think he had 10 again today, 10 the other night. And he's not 6'11". So he's having to really battle and fight in there and he's giving us all he's got. And his leadership has been a big part of getting through this stretch here with a few wins. I think he's doing a great job leading the team.”

Q. I believe Monday we'd asked you about Quad 1 wins and that stuff. And it's still early, kind of. But I mean, is there a way you can quantify how important this last week has been to win a couple of Quad 1 games and really help your resume?

DEVRIES: We really have like zero concern about that right now. To me, it's just, ‘Win the next game.’ And like I said, if you stack up enough of them, it'll be what it's going to be. But we can't worry about stuff. I'm only worried about the USC (game). Control what we can control right in front of us. But, in the big picture, yeah. Do they mean something? Yeah, absolutely. But in order to make it, you've got to beat those teams. And those are two really good wins that will carry us for a while.”