Talkin' to Takayo: Tra's Turnaround, Appreciating Jaylen Sims and the Final Week
Here's what the UNCW coach had to say at his final radio show of the season
There was no shortage of topics for this edition of Talkin’ to Takayo, as UNCW wrapped up one of the most eventful weeks of the season and begins this one in pursuit of a championship.
Seahawk coach Takayo Siddle joined radio voice Mike Vacarro for the final time this season on Monday afternoon in Wilmington to review the victory over James Madison, loss to Towson and provide a few personnel updates.
With Jaylen Sims earning the CAA Player of the Week honors for the first time all season, Siddle discussed how the senior has put himself in position to become a first-team pick this season, and how Trazarien White bounced back from the freshman struggles he hit several weeks back.
In one major piece of news that dropped after the show, StarNews sports editor Dan Spears reported that the CAA has decided no further discipline will be handed down after Saturday’s dust-up with James Madison.
That leaves UNCW down only one plFayer for Thursday’s game at Drexel, but it’s possible Jamahri Harvey could be back at some point before Saturday’s finale at Delaware.
“I know he’s recovering right now and he’s taking his rehab very serious, spending a lot of time with our athletic trainer,” Siddle said. “We’re hopeful that he’s able to play in one of these two games here this weekend.”
Here’s are the rest of the highlights from Talkin’ to Takayo:
What was it like to play in front of those Trask crowds?
It’s the best. I always say that, and I truly mean it; we have the most passionate fanbase in our league, our homecourt atmosphere is like no other. We won’t see that again. Charleston has a really good crowd, but it doesn’t compare to our fans and supporters. It’s been very special; it’s been very special.
I talk to Trav (Hackert) about it all the time, because we were both here during those wonderful times that we had when I was an assistant coach, but I can’t remember it being like that. We had really good crowds then, no bones about it — but this crowd, the crowds we’ve had this year have been truly amazing. I’m so thankful for our fans and our supporters; they mean the world to us.
When I was kind of preparing myself to be a head coach, and I’m very thankful and grateful to be here at UNCW. This is a dream job for me, and that’s what I want my culture to be about. We want to play hard, and play tough and play physical, and I think as long as we can do that — and we will do that — our fans and supporters will enjoy watching the product that’s out on the court.
What was your main concern going into the Towson game?
My main concern was the moment, you know, our guys not being able to handle the moment. I explained to them the day after the game that that was our biggest challenge at that point.
You talk about the 12-game winning streak, I think when we got to 11, they kind of relaxed a little bit. Then we won 12 and they were good, and then, I thought the Towson game was our biggest challenge and I didn’t think we responded the right way. The way that I put it in perspective for the guys is, that’s just another step in our journey, and next time it comes up, we’ll handle it a lot better than what we did.
What were the offensive issues in the Towson game?
We went back and watched, and we had great looks; we had great looks. We had shots around the rim we didn’t make, we had wide-open threes we didn’t make. There was nothing we could have done any different. We attacked it a couple of different ways; we attacked their defense both ways that we had planned on attacking them. We just didn’t make shots, Mike; we didn’t.
How much of a challenge was it to rebound in the game?
It was a lot of shots that we were missing, and we weren’t going to the offensive glass. Which, I look at it and I say, ‘Well, we weren’t locked-in, we weren’t hungry enough, we didn’t want it enough,’ because we normally go to the offensive glass.
As you go back and watch and you look at the stat sheet, it shows you, but guys just weren’t going. So, we didn’t execute our game plan. Then, on the defensive end, we didn’t block out with enough physicality and toughness, and they imposed their will on us.
How quickly did you realize it was going to be a tough night?
I knew from the first media (timeout) that we weren’t dialed-in to what we needed to get done. We weren’t denying; we gave up four offensive rebounds in the first four minutes, guys were taking bad shots.
I almost called timeout 30 seconds, a minute into the game, but I thought their nerves were involved a little b it, so I wanted them to play it through a little bit, but I knew from the first four minutes we were in trouble.
Did that loss allow you to reset things?
It did, it did. Like I said, I explained to the team — I talked to them about everything I’m telling you right now. I thought we were completely out of it; we didn’t execute our gameplan and that’s why I say the moment — the moment got us, because we were so caught up into whatever else, we couldn’t lock into each possession to execute like we needed to.
We got a chance to meet and talk through some things, and they understood where I was coming from when I broke it down to them.
I thought the other night, we executed our gameplan. Our shots weren’t falling like they needed to, but we played hard, we were tough enough, we outrebounded them, we stayed aggressive, and the outcome worked out in our favor.
On preparing for James Madison…
We didn’t watch tape on the Towson game at all. I talked to them about it, then we moved on; we watched a couple of different segments of film on JMU and then I let them go and get some recovery in and shoot some free throws on their own, then I got them out of there quick.
The next day for shootaround, we moved them around a little bit and talked about our gameplan a little bit more. My pregame speech wasn’t — I always break numbers down for them, to give them perspective on things — it was all about competing and fighting; that was it. We needed to compete and fight way harder than we did in the Towson game, and I thought we did that on Saturday.
What was the message before the JMU game?
Just to enjoy the moment; just focus in on what we needed to do. I think the Towson game kind of set that up for us, because they understood we weren’t as locked in — or locked in at all — like we needed to. I think that kind of set me up to talk to the guys about being locked in and staying focused in what we needed to get done on both ends of the floor.
Before the game started, they looked at me and laughed, I told them, ‘We’re all going to take a deep breath here on three,’ and we all took a deep breath and they relaxed. I thought we played really well — Our shots didn’t fall, like I said — but I thought we played well for the most part.
What’d you say to them at halftime of that game?
Well, I knew they were going to come out and play really hard, and play really tough and physical, because that’s what they do. So, we needed to exceed them in all of those areas, so that’s one thing I talked about.
Then, cleaning up our defense a little bit; I thought they drove us a little bit too much and we fouled too much. We talked about a few different things; attacking the press a little bit better and attacking the zone a little bit better. I thought for the most part, we played well in the first half, after we settled in after the first media.
Was there any hint that a scuffle might be coming in that game?
No, no. Nothing happened before that moment that led me to think that was going to happen. Nothing at all. I thought both teams were playing really hard and physical, and I thought we both were playing with the mentality that we wanted to win, so, nothing up until that point.
On what he saw during that situation
I really couldn’t see anything, Mike, I didn’t know what was going on. But any time you have multiple guys on the floor and multiple bodies on around each other, in a game of that magnitude, it was tight at that point in the game, anything can happen.
I thought we did a good job of kind of getting them separated and gaining control of the situation, then unfortunately, we had some ejections. I thought from that point, we refocused; I didn’t think we regained our composure until overtime, and then we closed the game out.
On how the delay affected them
I was kind of thankful for it, because we needed some time to relax and refocus; our guys were a little worked up. I spent some time in the huddle not even saying anything, and just kind of putting my hands on them and making sure they were OK. After they settled in a little bit, I was able to talk to them about refocusing and locking into what we needed to get done.
I thought they calmed down and then we went back into the game, and James Madison, they honestly came out of that little scuffle with more energy than we did, and they gained some separation. We did what we always do and we fought back and closed the gap, and took it into overtime and finished out strong.
Will this week help them get some recovery?
I think so; I gave them off (Sunday) and we won’t do anything today, but we’ll watch film and talk a little bit, and then we’ll get them back off their feet so they can get some rest.
We’ll do a little bit tomorrow and Wednesday and be pretty laid-back on Thursday leading up to the game. Hopefully, this little break will give them some rest so they can get their legs back under them. I know we have some little nagging injuries here and there. So, the status of our team is pretty good. I think the guys are progressing a little bit better than what we thought.
What were you thinking when Trazarien White stepped to the line?
I told one of my assistants, I told him, ‘He’s going to make both of these.’ When I said it, I was just trying to be positive. I believe in those guys, but those are pressure moments; you never know what’s going to happen, you never know what they’re thinking about. I was very hopeful that he made both of them, and I said that, and one of my assistants said, ‘I hope he just makes ones of them.’
So, he made his first one, then he jumped up and tried to get everybody off the line so we wouldn’t’ get an over the back call on us if he did miss the second one. I think the toughest one was making the first one, and he hit it all net. Luckily, he made the second one, and we were able to have a really special celebration.
What was it like to be part of that celebration?
It was surreal, you know, we weren’t able to do that last year with our seniors, and that’s something I want to make sure we start doing. I want them to have an opportunity to talk to our fanbase and express their appreciation for them, and I wanted to do that as well, because we wouldn’t be in this situation, in this position we’re in, without our fans.
I wanted to make sure we spent some time with our fans and showed our appreciation for them, and I thought it was important our guys had a chance to talk them one last time before they graduated.
On Jaylen Sims playing all but 12 seconds
He doesn’t want to come out at all, so when I do take him out for 20 seconds, he’s wondering when he’s going back in. The one thing that is helping him to be able to play all these minutes and be productive, is he takes care of his body … so important, that’s why he’s such a special kid, and we’re going to miss him when he’s gone.
He prepares himself to be able to play all of those minutes and be productive in those minutes.
As Jaylen Sims is CAA Player of the Week, do you think he should be a candidate for Player of the Year?
I would think so. If you look at his body of work, he’s played some really good basketball, and hopefully he continues to play that way. I’ve asked him to rebound the ball better and he absolutely has bought into that. He’s had some really big rebounding games over our past three or four games.
He’s taking better shots, he’s scoring in different ways, he’s setting up other guys; he’s just playing really good basketball right now, and I couldn’t be more proud of him.
He’s playing a lot more under control. He knows he’s going to be out there for pretty much the whole game, so he’s taking his time and picking his spots. One thing I like about him, is he’s doing it in different ways, whether it’s offensive stick-backs, running in transition, catch-and-shoot threes, cutting off the ball for layups; he’s mixing his game up a little bit, and that’s what he has to do. He’s a marked man, and I told him he can’t settle for the shots they’re trying to make him take; he’s got to do it in a bunch of different ways, and it’ll make him a lot tougher to guard, and he’s been doing that.
On Sims’ mid-range game
He spends a lot of time with Travis Hackert working on that, and Travis is on him more than anybody about just playing under control and picking his spots, but I feel like his overall feel has gotten better.
Versus just taking a three or driving all the way to the rim, he’s reading the defense and they’re giving him pull-ups, and that’s what they want to make him take and they want to contest. He’s getting to his spots, raising up and using his size, and he’s a really skilled player.
On Sims finally being CAA Player of the Week
He deserves it, he deserves it. I’m so happy for him because I know, sometimes he feels underappreciated by people on the outside. We certainly appreciate everything he’s done, and to finish off that week with the Player of the Week honor is really special, and I know he’ll be really excited about that.
Was Trazarien White dealing with injury, or did he just hit the wall?
I think he hit the wall; he wasn’t injured. He hit the wall and he didn’t know how to respond to it, so he was kind of fighting it a little bit and it took a lot of conversations and a lot of film work to get him out of his little funk.
He understood if he wanted to play more and play for longer stretches, that he needed to play with more energy on the defensive end. He had stopped going to the offensive glass, he had stopped diving on the floor, taking charges — doing all of the things that had made him successful early on in the year.
We just needed him to get back to his old ways, and man, he was special on Saturday.
I’m hopeful that this can catapult him into finishing off the season in a strong way. He’s been playing well, obviously he had a breakout game here Saturday, but he’s been playing well and his minutes have been extended because of that.
Everything started when he came in and got that big offensive rebound — a stick-back — and got the and-one, and he was great throughout the whole game.
What tweaks do you need to make to get these road wins?
Offensively, the same thing that I’ve been preaching all year. I think there were four games leading up into the Towson game that we had been sharing the ball at a high level … just getting back to driving, touching the paint and making the right play from there. Continuing to crash the offensive glass because that’s such a huge part of what we do on the offensive end.
Our transition offense, I’m going to talk to them about it today, we’re kind of trainwreck in transition; we need to clean that up. We haven’t had a lot of time to work on it, but we need to clean that area up.
Defensively? Rebounding, guarding our yard without fouling. Rebounding is so important as we move forward and try to win a championship; we have to limit teams to one shot. We’ll talk about those things and work on those things and try to get better so we can finish strong.
On playing at Drexel on Thursday…
They’re a good basketball team. They have some really good players, and Zach does a really good job. I just actually got done watching that game, our last game against them before I came over. I was about to go crazy that first 11, 12 minutes, but we played some really good basketball after that. I thought on the offensive end, we have to do a better job touching the paint and making the right play.
I thought too many times, we tried to challenge the big fellow, and he caught us in the air and blocked our shots — i think he had five or six blocked shots — so we have to make sure we lock-in on that. We didn’t shoot the ball well, and I think we’ll shoot it well when we go on the road.
Defensively, they’re going to try to space us out and drive us. That’s what they did; they spaced us out and drove us. They didn’t really run a lot of plays, they tried to touch the paint on us and put some pressure on our fee.t We have to clean that up and be prepared for that, and more than anything, Mike, just wanting the game more than them; making all the toughness plays, making sure we don’t beat ourselves. I think that’s more important than any type of scheme or strategy we can come up with; just going out there and competing and being tougher than them is the main thing.
Has it been helpful to have veterans amid this packed schedule?
I think so, and I think they like it this way, where we don’t practice as much. I’ve had to adjust; i knew going into the season that I had some older guys that had a lot of miles on their bodies, and I was going to have to make adjustments to make sure I didn’t overwork them.
It’s kind of been a good thing in a way; so yeah, I think it helps. They know how to take care of their bodies, they know how to get ready for the next game with a short amount of time, so I think it has helped.
What have you been able to do to get them rest during games?
I haven’t been able to do anything. We try to use our timeouts as much as we can, but the one thing I talk to them about is powering through it.
I try not to even mention it because I learned with younger guys, if you talk about it and they start to think they’re tired, then they will be tired; but if you just don’t even talk about it and bring it up, they’ll kind of forget about it and try to push through. We have some tough kids that are really pushing through fatigue.
How much did the four-game homestand help?
It was important to have these four games at home, it was huge because we didn’t have to travel. Traveling really, it takes your legs away from you; the guys are tired, you have to search for different ways to get them rest. So, us being at home and having our home crowd — even when we didn’t’ have the energy we needed — they provided that for us, and we were able to feed off it, and we were three out of four, in these four home games.