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Louisville vs. Air Force Quotes
November 23, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 23, 2002
Louisville Head Coach Rick Pitino
"As you can see with their style of play it's not going to be exciting basketball but it's a fabulous victory. We did a great job on defense and a great job on the backboard. I played a lot of the veterans because they understand Air Force's type of play. It's a much better victory than it looks. I was sick over this game as any I have ever coached because everytime we ran their offense in practice, we scored everytime."
"We took great shots tonight. Not like last year where we took challenged shots. I am pleased with what they did offensively because we played intelligently."
(on playing Purdue next) "Now we go to a different style of play next week. We are going to play smash mouth basketball but we'd rather play that way because you can an offensive flow. Every victory we get without Marvin Stone is a blessing because we are thin up front."
(on Reece Gaines) "Reece (Gaines) was pressing much better today. He does a good job in stopping his man. When you need a tough bucket, he's going to be fouled and can't be contained. As good as Reece is, the heart and soul is Ellis Myles however. He is a just an incredibly tough young man. He epitomized what we are trying to build with this team. He's a rough son-of-a-gun."
Air Force Head Coach Joe Scott
"I thought Louisville did a good job coming up with a way in trying to guard us. They did a good job in the half court defense. We handled their press very well which is good for us. They weren't able to speed us up and control the tempo. We play the same kind of teams in our league with teams like UNLV and San Diego State. They were well prepared."
"Playing Princeton last year helped them. We are a little different but they played the way they felt that had to. If we made some foul shots, maybe it's a different story. They're going to be a good team this year. They've added some good players and have some more depth."
"They didn't get many transition baskets and maybe (Reece) Gaines got a three pointer. That's important for us. Our half-court defense was OK. For the most part for the first game of the season, we played pretty well. I know we are going to be OK. It;' also a good game for them so it will help them and it also help us."
