Q&A: Xavier Basketball Head Coach Michael Kohs Looks Back on Season and Falcons Chances in State Playoffs

Middletown Eye: Xavier went 3-7 in its first 10 games and was 7-3 in its second 10 games. What changed during the second half of the regular season?

Michael Kohs: We got off to a poor start because we were very inexperienced at the guard positions and were making a lot of mistakes there. Our lack of execution led to a lot of turnovers and combined with our inability to hit free throws, we were unable to hold onto leads late in games. We lost five of our first six games, but we had the lead or were tied in the final minute of each of those losses.

ME: So how have you improved in the backcourt and those basic areas since your early struggles?

MK: First of all, we’ve done a much better job of taking care of the ball. I believe our turnovers have fallen from 24 per game in our first 10 games to 12 in our last 10 games. And having (freshman guard) Elijah Pemberton back helped us be a lot more explosive and sound fundamentally.

ME: You recently told the Middletown Press that your team had overcome your tendency earlier in the season to succumb to pressure from other teams and surrender leads. In what way has the team become stronger at holding onto leads and responding to pressure?

MK: I believe that as the season went on the experience we gained and our improved shooting allowed us to hold onto leads easier. In the first part of the season we would struggle and fold under pressure. Know we’ve responded better to that and are showing more toughness.

ME: You’ve spoken a lot of how your offense has improved tremendously during the season. How has your defense improved?

MK: Our defense has been built off of our ability to rebound. We’ve become a very good rebounding team and have outrebounded our opponents in every game this year. We stay in every game because of our rebounding. That being said, our defense has to get better and play harder from here on out as we move into the playoffs. We’re going to be facing very strong teams who we most likely haven’t seen this year.

ME: Can you talk a little about the play of your star senior forward Jovan Santos-Knox?

MK: Jovan is amazing. I don’t know where our team would be without him this year. He’s a beast inside and incredibly difficult for anyone to defend, and he has great hands and is as strong as an ox. He the best drop-step of any player I’ve ever coached. And he’s so incredibly consistent game after game. Jovan’s easily averaging a double-double this year.

MK: Besides Santos-Knox, which players does your team really rely on to win?

MK: Junior guard James Sullivan has been playing really well for us. He’s been knocking down big shots and is our second most consistent player after Jovan. We need a little more upfront from seniors Connor Landers and Michael Manion. They’ve done some really good stuff for us at times but we need more consistency from them.

ME: The team’s struggle with shooting free throws has been constant and well-publicized. Do you have any one reason you can point to for these struggles, and is there any way you can improve at shooting them at this point?

MK: I don’t know what to tell you. We practice them a lot every day at practice and do our best to simulate the pressure of shooting them in a game, though that is very hard to do. We just need to step up and make free throws under pressure in the playoffs. We need to make them to win games.

ME: The 10-10 record Xavier had this season is its poorest in a long time, and as a result the team is going to get a very low seed in the Class LL Tournament. How can you overcame these barriers and make a run in states?

MK: I can see us making a good run in states. We went on a good run last year where we beat then number one seed and advanced to the quarterfinals, and we only lost two seniors from last year’s team. The bottom line is we’ve been playing much better and have come through in must win games like our win at West Haven. Teams are not going to want to play us and understand we are better than our record.

ME: As the number ten seed in the SCC Tournament you are playing at number seven seed Hand on Thursday night, who you haven’t played this season. What do you think of Hand and of your chances in that matchup?

MK: It’s going to be a tough game. Hand is a very good shooting team and they are physical. We expect it to be a physical game and a tough test in a demanding environment. I think we have a good shot at winning, but it’s going to be a challenge.

ME: You said that Xavier is most likely going to play 19-1Windsor in the state tournament as the 29th seed. You had a huge upset against Windsor last year in states. How likely is it that you could defeat them and advance past the first round?

MK: Windsor is an excellent team and we will have to have everything go right to beat them. They may have added incentive to beat us after what happened last year. We definitely won’t surprise them. I would have liked to play another team.