What Bob Huggins Had to Say Following the Win Over TCU
On what has led to redshirt freshman forward Jalen Bridges’ performances
"He’s really worked at it. He’s a guy who gets in the gym, and he works on what you ask him to work on, and he is getting better and better and better because of that. I think the other thing is that he knows what he can do and what he can’t, so he really tries to accentuate the positive and stay away from the negative."
On what TCU was doing to stay in the game
("TCU head coach) Jamie (Dixon) is a really good coach. I think you have to give him a lot of credit and give his players a lot of credit. They have a bunch of guys who can make shots. When we went down, they made shots, and then we fumbled balls. We had how many scoring opportunities and didn’t score? We were point-blank at the rim and didn’t score."
On Jalen Bridges’ rebounding
"I don’t think he’s back to what he was at the end of last year yet, but we’re asking him to do a lot of different things now too, and I think that plays into it. A year ago he was on the second team. There wasn’t the pressure because he wasn’t playing in games, he was redshirting. Now, he is not just going to get in, but he is a very integral part of the team."
On if he is surprised at the chance to be second in the Big 12
"No, not really. I thought we could be really good. This is not a shot at him, but we are better off with Jalen because it isolates (junior forward) Derek (Culver) down there. It was so crowded in the lane. We tried to roll and replace, and we tried all those things. There were teams that played other bigs, and it was fine, but a majority of people are not playing bigs like that all that much. I think (freshman forward Isaiah Cottrell’s injury) really hurt us because Isaiah is a skill guy. He can dribble it, he can pass it, he can shoot it. He’s a guy that when he pops out, they have to come out and guard. They can’t lay back in there. They’ve got to come out. That’s, quite frankly, what happens with (senior forward) Gabe (Osabuohien). When we try to roll and replace Gabe and Derek, they don’t come out. They have to come out with Isaiah. Isaiah was the loss. He was a huge loss for us."
On Jalen Bridges’ potential
"I don’t know if he has a ceiling. He is a guy that has good feet. He can pass the ball. He’s obviously going to end up probably as a three-man out on the perimeter guarding and passing. He has plenty of things he can work on to continue to expand his game. The great thing about JB is that JB does what you ask him to do, and he really tries to excel at what he is asked to do. That doesn’t happen a whole lot in this climate we’re in college basketball."
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