Having a little fun in the locker room - finally
One of the fun things about a winning locker room, obviously, is the amount of hassle you can give the players - such as teasing Shaun Green about his defense against New Mexico's Chad Toppert, who made only six three-pointers on his way to 20 points in the Utes' double-overtime 93-91 victory over the Lobos on Saturday.
"Shhhh!" he mock-whispered over his shoulder, playing along on the way out of the room.
Guard Johnnie Bryant certainly came in for some of the business, too, after scoring 23 points - including 13 straight at one point in the second half, to pull the Utes back into the game after they had fallen behind by nine.
Which he swore he did not realize.
"Who scored 13 in a row?" he asked.
You did, Johnnie, in the second half. Remember? After hitting a jumper in the key, drilling a three-pointer, and making a steal and fast-break layup, you hit another trey to pull the Utes to within 64-60 and were so feeling it that you waved for a long crosscourt pass and hoisted a ridiculously distant three-pointer from the right side - which naturally swished through the net and effectively ignited the victory.
"Man, I was just playing," he said, smiling. "Just playing. My teammates did a great job of looking for me, and the coaches kept telling me I was being passive in the zone and to be aggressive and go make plays. I hit a couple of shots and I got a couple of lay-ups here and there, and just kept playing. Once I'd seen one go down, seen a lay-up go down, I just kept shooting."
Just in time, too.
Bryant had been suffering through a shooting slump through most of the Mountain West Conference season, yet kept believeing that it would change as long as he kept shooting.
And what do you know?
Not only has Bryant averaged 21 points in the last three games, he has made 23 of 35 shots for 65.7 percent - including 12 of 23 three-pointers, for 52.2 percent. Pretty strong, especially considering he had shot 34.4 percent from the field and 36.7 percent from three-point range in the previous eight games.
"We're just playing," he said. "Just to prove to everbody that, you know, Utah's not done, and to prove that we still have something left inside of us. If that can't motivate anybody, then you shouldn't be playing this game. We're still being positive on the whole situation ... and we're still playing games, and still playing games to win."
"Shhhh!" he mock-whispered over his shoulder, playing along on the way out of the room.
Guard Johnnie Bryant certainly came in for some of the business, too, after scoring 23 points - including 13 straight at one point in the second half, to pull the Utes back into the game after they had fallen behind by nine.
Which he swore he did not realize.
"Who scored 13 in a row?" he asked.
You did, Johnnie, in the second half. Remember? After hitting a jumper in the key, drilling a three-pointer, and making a steal and fast-break layup, you hit another trey to pull the Utes to within 64-60 and were so feeling it that you waved for a long crosscourt pass and hoisted a ridiculously distant three-pointer from the right side - which naturally swished through the net and effectively ignited the victory.
"Man, I was just playing," he said, smiling. "Just playing. My teammates did a great job of looking for me, and the coaches kept telling me I was being passive in the zone and to be aggressive and go make plays. I hit a couple of shots and I got a couple of lay-ups here and there, and just kept playing. Once I'd seen one go down, seen a lay-up go down, I just kept shooting."
Just in time, too.
Bryant had been suffering through a shooting slump through most of the Mountain West Conference season, yet kept believeing that it would change as long as he kept shooting.
And what do you know?
Not only has Bryant averaged 21 points in the last three games, he has made 23 of 35 shots for 65.7 percent - including 12 of 23 three-pointers, for 52.2 percent. Pretty strong, especially considering he had shot 34.4 percent from the field and 36.7 percent from three-point range in the previous eight games.
"We're just playing," he said. "Just to prove to everbody that, you know, Utah's not done, and to prove that we still have something left inside of us. If that can't motivate anybody, then you shouldn't be playing this game. We're still being positive on the whole situation ... and we're still playing games, and still playing games to win."
posted by www.sltrib.com @ 2:56 PM |
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