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University of Louisville Men's Basketball Post-Game Quotes
March 08, 2003 | Men's Basketball
March 8, 2003
Louisville Head Coach Rick Pitino
It's a wonderful Senior Night and the phrase we tried to use all week 'to honor your seniors by playing as hard as you have all season.' We played very good defense which is a catalyst for our offense. 21-6 is an unbelievable season. I'm not Creskin but I told everyone that February was going to be a tough month but you don't expect to lose (Ellis) and have all the distractions we've had. Things have to fall in our laps to win"
(on Luke Whitehead) "He could have hung his head but he didn't. He dominated on the glass and showed great heart. He had six assists, two steals and eight deflections at halftime and he more than made up for the (DePaul) situation."
(on the Marvin Stone situation) "Everything has changed and we haven't had a lot of time to work on it. What's unsettling about the Marvin (Stone) situation is that you don't know what's going to happen. I believe the NCAA is there for the student athlete. I think he'll be back in my estimation. As coaches, we've got to comply to the NCAA rules and be responsible for the program."
"We've got a thin front court. You want six (players) but we have 3 1/2. If you don't rebound, you don't win. Our journey is just starting and we're going to be in the NCAA Tournament. Before the season, I didn't believe we'd be in the tournament and I thought we'd be on the bubble and we would get in by winning the Conference Tournament at home."
(on Kendall Dartez) "He's had strep throat three times this year and he needs to have his tonsils out. He will (have them out) at the end of the season. He's a different type of post player and he gets pushed off the block. I coached Patrick Ewing for a couple of years and he got pushed off the block also. He's got a good jump hook and he just has to understand that. He's new to basketball outside of the last couple of years and hopefully this will give him the confidence to play well in the Tournament."
Charlotte Head Coach Bobby Lutz
"That was an awesome performance by Louisville. Marquette is probably the best team in the conference but college basketball is all about matchups and we don't match up with Louisville very well. You have to give them credit. There's not a whole to say about tonight. We weren't very good night and now we just have to get ready for Wednesday night."
"We had trouble with their perimeter people. Reece (Gaines) is a such a special player. (Kendall) Dartez is talented and we've been vulnerable in the post. To be honest, if Dartez was their best player it would be different but he's a complimentary player. Luke (Whitehead) plays unbelievable against us. He's a guy when he's in the game, he causes us problems and always has. He's a key when they play quick but he's hard nosed and can guard out on the perimeter. They miss (Ellis) Myles but Whitehead is underrated."
(on how Louisville would play without Marvin Stone) "I knew it was Senior Day and they had some tough losses recently. I fully expected them to play like they did. They have too many players to (simply just) go away. Winning the last home game before the conference tournament is a good remedy and we were also some good medicine."
"This is not one of our better teams but we can play with a lot of people in our league. There are certain teams that we match up better with and of course I'm not going to mention who. You need to play like St. Louis plays, like controlling tempo, to match up against Louisville. I'm ready to come back Wednesday and try to win a couple of games."
