Coaches Corner with Boys Basketball Coach Lucas Chapman
The ReSporter: How much did all the fouls interfere with the flow of the game last night?
Head Basketball Coach Lucas Chapman
Coach Chapman: “It was a very long and choppy game. They were very aggressive from the start, which led to a lot of early fouls. It was hard to get into a rhythm offensively, but it wasn’t completely detrimental to what we were trying to do. Other than not capitalizing on shooting 50 FTs, we did very well.”
The ReSporter: Were you pleased with the overall play from the team?
Coach Chapman: “I was very pleased with our effort and energy and how we played. It was a tough game. Give Gonzales credit for coming out and playing really hard and making it tough. That is a place that is always tough to play at, so to come out of there with a grind it out win was huge. Good teams and playoff teams find ways to win games like that, and we did. I was very proud of our guys and the resiliency they showed.”
The ReSporter: How will you approach this Friday’s game with Navarro?
Coach Chapman: “We will approach the game with a mindset and a chip on our shoulder that we didn’t finish the game the last time we played them. We know we can play with them, but we are at a point where we aren’t looking to play with teams, we are trying to get wins. I think our guys are in a good place mentally, we just need to go in with confidence and an edge to compete with a really good team.”
The ReSporter: It seems like you play roulette with your players as there is not anyone that it seems you can count on consistency, how does that cause you to make in game adjustments on who comes in or leaves?
Coach Chapman: “We just make decisions on the fly and how the game is going. Basketball is a game of match-ups and the game within the game, so we have to make decisions and evaluate as the game progresses. Each game we go into with a game plan of what we want to do, but obviously things change and you have to make adjustments. I think our guys and coaches are getting a little bit more comfortable with our rotations and the roles that everyone needs to fill.”
The ReSporter: How do you approach this team as they try to find the keys in beating one of those 3 teams you lost to in that first round of play?
Coach Chapman: “We just need to sure up a few things and then make the necessary plays down the stretch to finish games off. In each of our three losses we had our chances, but we had stretches that really plagued us and hurt our chances. We just need to put together 4 quality quarters, and we will be fine.”
The ReSporter: Turnovers seem to be coming down, what have you done in order to get each game under that 20 number?
Coach Chapman: “I think just being more comfortable with what we are doing offensively. We know where to go with the ball and the guys are making much more poised and smart decisions. This is something that we have worked on in practice, and it has helped us in the past few weeks.”
The ReSporter: Is there any answer on shooting free throws? The team left 28 points on the rim in your game with Gonzales.
Coach Chapman: “Yeah the FTs really hurt us last night. We could have won by 30 if we knocked those down. It’s just a matter of having confidence and not letting the previous one get into your head. Each shot has the same chance to go in as any of them. We just need to stick to our FT routines and focus of the immediate shot. We have the ability to shoot it, we just need to make it count during games. I think we have maybe put too much emphasis on it, which causes us to tense up. We just need to relax and shoot the ball.”
The ReSporter: Thanks Coach and good luck this Friday in playing Navarro. Go Hawks!!
