Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay met with the media shortly after the Flames’ win over North Alabama in Sunday’s ASUN Tournament championship game. It was the third straight tournament title for the program as Liberty now awaits its destination int he 2021 NCAA Tournament. Here’s everything McKay said in his post game press conference beginning with his opening statement:
“That was a special effort by North Alabama, their players and coaches. They made a great run. That team has an incredibly bright future. Tony does an outstanding job. They play incredibly hard. They really believe in their system. They believe in them, they believe in each other. I’m really proud of our group because we were able to endure that second half. I thought UNA had an edge to them that was tough. We responded. This group has done that continuously. Obviously, pleased to win a championship. They are hard to come by.”
DID YOUR YOUNG TEAM GROW UP THIS WEEK?
“Those that have been around Darius for a while know he’s a big shot taker and a big shot maker. He really believes in himself and he believes in his teammates. We believe in him. When he’s got the ball in his hands, usually good things happen. Kyle Rode he’s just an insurance policy. His turnover late in the game that was an aberration. I don’t think I’ve seen a turnover like that since January. He came back and made a great pass to Elijah for a layup. Elijah Cuffee, you can’t say enough about him. He is made because he missed a free throw that could have put us up 7. You guys know how stellar he is down the stretch. I also think some other guys made some big plays. Blake Preston to me his defense was huge. Shiloh and Drake came in and did a good job. Keegan stemmed the tide when we were struggling to score a little bit.”
YOU CONSOLED EMANUEL LITTLES AT THE END OF THE GAME, WHAT DID YOU SAY TO HIM?
“The sacrifices he makes for the good of the team, you know we value that. I told him your time will come. He’s doing a really good job. They are building that program in rapid fashion. Obviously, Tony and staff trust him. I wanted to encourage him. That game was really competitive. I was happy with the privilege of playing. I’ve been on the other end of that before. You guys remember the Radford game. I wanted to make sure I was able to encourage him and I hope I did.”
THEIR COMEBACK IN THE SECOND HALF, CAN YOU USE THAT AS A TEACHING TOOL MOVING FORWARD?
“The game we were expected to win. We won by 20 both times in Lynchburg. I said leading up to this game, that had nothing to do with what this game was going to be like. We got off to a good start, but I knew they were going to come back. They had everything to play for relative to this is the last game of their season. They play so hard. This was great for us to go through. To me, the last two games, the other team has come back from a double digit deficit and taken the lead in the second half. We’ve had to respond. Our guys have. I think this game will be a really good game for us that we can draw upon although I’d rather win by 20 points again. I don’t like playing in close games, especially when the stakes are high or valuable for each team.”
WHAT DOES THE NEXT WEEK LOOK LIKE FOR YOU UNTIL SELECTION SUNDAY?
“I’m not 100% sure. We’re going to give them tomorrow off. Give a skill day on Monday and Tuesday and then take another day off during the week. Maybe dial up some bracketology or something like that and see if we as coaches can’t get a couple of teams that we might play and prep for them.”
GETTING THIS THIRD STRAIGHT TITLE WITH THIS GROUP THAT WAS EXPECTED TO WIN, HOW SPECIAL IS IT?
“It’s special. I think we would be remissed if we didn’t remember Scottie James, Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz, Myo Baxter-Bell, and Caleb Homesley. Those guys made some incredible deposits in this program. Even though they didn’t get to experience the fruit of their labor in last year’s Tournament, I think the residual of what they did allowed this group to get to this point of our season. It’s rewarding. Not just for us, but for anyone who has been a part of our family or program the last five or six years. It’s a blessing to be able to advance to the Tournament, it’s rather hard to do. I know the guys in that locker room, I know they are very appreciative of this opportunity and very thankful for being able to do this.”
DO YOU HAVE TO REMIND YOURSELF AND YOUR TEAM TO NOT TAKE WINNING CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR GRANTED?
“I may have mentioned that once or twice the last week or so. It’s difficult to do, especially with the level of coaches that are in this league and some really good players. Anytime you win a championship it is special. I feel really privileged to be the ASUN representative. I know our guys will look back on it one day and they will celebrate their accomplishments, but I also don’t want to put a ceiling on what this program can get accomplished. I think we can continue to grow in a way and invest in our daily improvement, I think we will have a chance to maybe not result in a championship every time, but I think we can be competitive for one on most occasions.”
