by Wayne23 » Mon May 10, 2021 2:41 pm
4/3: 84-65 and the national title! Back and forth early. Very intense game so far. A late run put us up 14 at the half. Baky had 24 in the 1st. We were solidly in control in the 2nd half.
39, 6, 3, 4 steals for Baky, who held his man to 5. 25, 16 for Sulu, 12, 5, 3 for Palt.
+9 RBs. We shot 46.6% to their 36.2%. They were 7-25 on threes, and we made 23 free throws to their 16.
The women lost to UConn by 3 in the title game. UConn made 2 free throws to go up by 3 with 4.8 left, plenty of time. The girls brought it down, got it to their best outside shooter, she got an open three off a screen, and agonizingly, it rolled around the rim twice and rolled out.
Post Game Presser (Excerpts):
Q: Coach, this is your 2bd national title, your first here at Oregon. Does the second feel as good as the 1st?
Coach Phee: Honestly, I think there's something incredibly unique about getting the first national title. Every coach or player I've ever talked about this with says the same thing. Having said that, it sure doesn't get old. This feels great. And, like last time, I have no doubt that playing next season as the defending national champ will be very, very special. I really look forward to it.
Q: Can you repeat?
Coach Phee: It's WAY too soon to think about that and the last thing I want to do is to put added pressure on myself, my staff, and my players. We'll give it all we have. Now, we're losing the #1 player in the country, Deke Baky, and a very, very good big man, Key Moby. We have a terrific looking frosh guard coming in and we have two great transfers also coming in, and guys like Marc Sulu, Evan Nash, Eddy Palt, Car Mosh, Josh Jonn, Eric Moss, and some others will make us very competitive. We'll give it our best shot.
Q: Any chance you'll move on to a school that pays better, has a bigger budget, has better facilities?
Coach Phee: I'll be right here next season!
Q: How do you replace someone like Baky?
Coach Phee: You don't. It's impossible. You retool, you make adjustments, you formulate a whole new way to run your offense, your defense, and your transition game, and you come back with a team that operates very differently.
Q: Any chance the incoming freshman, Keith Barr, will be another Baky?
Coach Phee: We have high expectations for Keith but we will never, and I hope you won't either, make comparisons. We expect Keith to be a very, very good player, but he is himself. We don't want him to be anyone else and we won't ask him to BE anyone else.