Postgame Quotes vs. Butler

OLE MISS HEAD COACH KERMIT DAVIS

Opening statement…
"I think everybody saw, this is a good Butler team. On this particular night, the best player just took over the game, (Kamar) Baldwin. He had 31, made some really tough shots. We gave him a couple good ones, but he worked for a lot of his baskets, give him credit. That's my third time playing against him, and it's been that way. I thought our team made some progress in some areas, 16 assists on 22 baskets, but we're still struggling to score. Dream (Khadim Sy) was a little bit better, caught the ball well around the goal. Devontae (Shuler) competed, he just can't get it to go in the goal right now. He took a lot of good shots. We made a great comeback, thanks to the crowd that came, we got it to four, and then just didn't guard a possession, missed a dunk, missed some free throws down the stretch. Butler is too good in those situations, so give them a lot of credit."

On starting lineup changes…
"Breein was a minute late to practice, Khadim (Sy) didn't practice particularly well yesterday. That's why we did that. I thought when Dream (Sy) came back in, he had his best attitude and played the best game he's played, so hopefully he can build on that."

On slow start to games…
"We just can't make shots. We've got two guys who were named First and Second Team (Preseason) All-SEC, and they're struggling. Right now the way our team is built, those two guys have got to score for us. They were pretty open tonight, Devontae (Shuler) had a lot of good looks tonight, but we'll keep trying to do better. We're always searching for getting guys good looks. Blake (Hinson), I love him to death, but last year he'd make four of five threes in two or three games. He's just got to be more consistent as a shooter every night. KJ (Buffen) was awful tonight. I love KJ, but he just played immature and turned it over. I couldn't keep him out on the floor, and that really hurts our team when he's not in there."

On Breein Tyree's play…
"I thought he moved the ball, he didn't get some assists tonight because of missed shots. He felt badly for what happened (being late for practice), he's never done that in the year and a half I've had him. He's always about the first guy in the gym. It's just one fo those things. He took it great and just led and didn't worry about it."

On Kamar Baldwin's play tonight compared to previous times…
"We played him the first year in our game to go to the Sweet 16 (while at Middle Tennessee). He came off the bench, but he played well that night. He's just getting older and older and it's just what you expect out of a guy who stays four years. I think he could play in the NBA. Might not get drafted, but that guy can play at that level. Not just because he got 31, but because of how he's built. He shoots it better, is tough, quick, makes good decisions. He's a really good player."

On Kamar Baldwin overall…
"I'm just a huge fan of his, I was in high school. We tried to recruit him early at Middle Tennessee, and we saw him early. He's just built to win. He's got the best right hand as a left-hander at 6-10 feet that I've played against in my 38 years. He's terrific. He made some tough shots against us tonight."

On balancing zone and man defense…
"Butler is a really good rhythm man-to-man team. I thought we really affected them in the zone in the first half, but not so much in the second half. The first half I thought it kind of got them out of rhythm. We kind of iced their ball screens and kept them out of the paint some. They made one long shot. Second half we couldn't really get a grip on them in the zone. They played us in zone. We started really running some really good stuff, and then they went to that 1-3-1. It got us out of rhythm a little bit. That is the first time they played zone all year I think."

On Devontae Shuler…
"The biggest thing is this: you have to encourage him to take good shots. You can't try to get out of slumps by taking tough shots. I thought tonight, for the most part, he was taking good shots. He really did, at the rim, mid-range, jump shot. Even the one on the break, he made those all year long last year. I want Devontae to shoot that. He just has to keep working and build confidence. He is getting good shots. If he was taking a bunch of really bad shots, I'd need to be more worried. He'll bounce back for sure."

On Bryce Williams' injury…
"I don't know. I have no idea. He said he could go back in the game, then he got on the court and said he couldn't go. A guy drove right by him for a layup or something, then he said it is fine, so I really don't know what happened."

BUTLER HEAD COACH LAVALL JORDAN

Opening statement…
"I thought it was a great environment for a game. So much respect for Coach (Kermit) Davis and the way he runs the program. Obviously, I learned watching their film and seeing some of the things that they do. He's been winning for so long. Knew it was going to be tough before we got down here, I thought our guys were prepared for it. I knew they would make runs, and I thought we did a really good job. When I say we, I mean the seniors leading us in timeout huddles. They did an unbelievable job keeping us poised. Even when coaches lost poise, they were great. That's what you have to do on the road. Obviously, you have to execute and deliver some big shots and get some stops as well, but I thought our leadership was at a high, high level. Everyone that got in contributed. Kamar (Baldwin), what can you say. He is playing at a high level right now. His teammates trust him, but it was a team win. We turned it over too much. We have to clean that up, but I told them in the locker room they deserved that one. We came out start to finish and deserved it."

On the importance of getting out to an early lead…
"I thought it was huge. Obviously, when you go away from home in another environment, knowing what just transpired with their season coming off a big loss the other day, we knew that they would have a lot of energy. We challenged our group to be just as ready, if not more ready. I thought we came out and swung first and held on. At times it got rocky, but both halves were really good for us."

On the hostile crowd…
"The challenge is staying in the moment. Just in general and in our world today, we're taking pictures but not enjoying the moment. Everybody wants to go on Instagram and snap a shot, but not enjoying where they are right now. I'm challenging this group, as the game is going, to stay engaged every possession. Obviously, the results are there when you get a win, but if it's a bad call, if I'm going crazy and yelling at them, I think they've done a really good job of reeling each other in and just being where they are so they can go execute. We are really focused on that."

On the relief of getting a road win…
"It's rewarding. When the guys lead like they did, the seniors, I can't speak enough right now about how they are practicing. Running our practices, leading our practices, making sure our team is focused. It's not as much me as it is our guys. These two right here especially. The rewards are if you do your job and stay in the moment and get one on the road against a really good opponent. Now, we enjoy the flight home and move on to the next one."

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Players Mentioned

Devontae Shuler

Khadim Sy

Breein Tyree

Bryce Williams

The University of Mississippi Athletics