Oregon point guard Johnathan Loyd spoke with reporters Friday afternoon regarding the men’s basketball game against Oregon State on Feb. 16. Loyd also discussed the Pit Crew and the full-court press.
You’ve been part of a lot of Civil Wars. Is this one extra special for you?
“It’s my final one. I’ve enjoyed it, all the Civil Wars. They’ve meant a lot and I know it means a lot to our fans so I want to go out on a good note against these guys.”
What did you see in game film from your first game with Oregon State?
“Took some bad shots on offense. We didn’t rebound the ball well at all either. Defensively we let them do what they wanted to do. We didn’t stay true to the scouting report so that’s something we’re going to focus on next game.”
Lately all these losses are by two points. Does that weigh on you? One play here or there can turn it around and you have wins instead of losses.
“Coach always says make those tough plays where we’re always getting beat in the final seconds and we just gotta make more special plays in order to come out on top. In the last one we got down by 20 against Arizona State and we ended up losing by two. That really hurt too.”
There’s guys like you who were part of that NCAA run last year. Should that help down the stretch as you position yourself to maybe get back there?
“There’s five or six of us that were here for the NCAA run so we gotta keep relaying coach’s message and telling them what we gotta do and how hard we truly gotta play in order to make that run happen.”
Will we see more of the press this week?
“Yeah. It’s proven to be a good weapon for us so I think we gotta utilize it a little more.”
That really got you guys back against ASU. Is that about as good as we’ve seen the press?
“The last time it worked that well was probably my sophomore year against UCLA. We were down 20 at half and we put the press on and came back. The press has helped us a lot, a lot, a lot so that’s something we’re gonna start using more I think.”
This is the 15-year anniversary of the Pit Crew. What does it mean to have the support of your student body and have the Pit Crew there?
“It means the world. In my four years they’ve been supporting me like crazy. Just having them in the stands when we’re doing well, they’re always there to pick us up. Even if we’re not doing well they’re gonna pick us up even more and we can feed off that. So I just want to be able to play hard and give the fans something to cheer about.”
Follow Madison Guernsey on Twitter @guernseymd