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Louisville Men's Basketball Post-Game Quotes
February 19, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 19, 2003
Louisville Head Coach Rick Pitino
"Very simple premise which doesn't take a stat sheet to explain. They took us to the woodshed on the board. They dominated on the glass; they deserved the victory and we didn't. Rebounding has been our Achilles heel all year."
"They were beating us off the dribble to the middle of the floor. You could foul them because they are not a great foul shooting team but you can't give them second shots."
"Our press was neither great or bad tonight. Massie dominated us in the post. Our press hasn't been that effective all year. It's been one of my worse pressing teams as a coach. We didn't play good offensively either. Against Marquette, we played well offensively but for some reason, we don't play as well as a team at home."
(on Memphis) "They are a good team. They are like us and the rest of the league. It will get easier for them next year with the new alignment because they won't play Marquette."
(on Memphis getting in the NCAA Tournament) "They clinched the NCAA berth tonight with the win. They've also got wins versus Illinois and Syracuse so there is no more bubble for them."
Memphis Head Coach John Calipari
"It was a nice win. Both teams fought like crazy and it was a good ball game."
(on if his team was on the bubble) "It made me mad that we were a bubble. I don't know who comes up with these numbers. In our half we have to win every game. It's disappointing but that will change next year. I would love to play Louisville twice next year. We need to play them twice.
(on the rebounding) "We've been a good rebounding team for three years. I was happy but we have some guys who are just playing in their second year (Burks, Grice and Massie) and we have a team that's still learning. I told them not to show up Louisville. We just walked off the court after the win but what Grice did to the crowd was not smart and I told him that."
"Pitino has done a fabulous job here. In two years he has turned this program into a powerhouse. He has made players better and that's what we're supposed to do as coaches."
(on if this is the biggest win of the season) "No, I think the Tulane game on the road was. We shot 36 percent and won the game. It's the first time I convinced these guys that you can shoot bad, play good defense and still win. That game was significant as any game I've coached."
(on Louisville's press) "We wanted to grind it. If you can get up and down with his (Pitino) teams, you are not winning. If you are not getting layups, you better not take contested jumpers at the end of the press. I didn't know if we could win the game but some of my players told me firmly that we could win this game."
"I've got a good team and don't ask,' what's wrong with Louisville?' Kentucky is the best team in the country but Louisville is a really good team as well. They played a good team today. This is the second game we had a full complement of players. We've been down to five scholarship players but maybe we're catching on at the right time."
