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Louisville vs. Louisiana-Lafayette - NCAA First Round - Post-Game Quotes
March 18, 2005 | Men's Basketball
March 18, 2005
Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery
Louisville Coach Rick Pitino
Opening Statement: "I want to congratulate Louisiana-Lafayette. We knew it; our players knew it and we talked about not watching edits. They are as difficult as one of the two teams that I didn't want to play going into it (Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Louisiana Lafayette). Their length and their athleticism and the fact that they can switch at four positions makes it very difficult. We talked about all week that it is going to be like playing at DePaul, Cincinnati, at Florida, at Birmingham, just like all the road games that we have played this year and won. It was going to be won in the final two minutes of the game. We have great respect for them, but we knew it was going to be a war all the way. These three guys (Ellis Myles, Larry O'Bannon, Francisco Garcia) are experienced basketball players and that is why we were such a good road team this year. Francisco not only had to make plays down the stretch, but he also had to guard the other team's best player and by and large he did a good job."
On backdoor player following timeout near nine-minute mark: "We talked all week about going back door. Obviously our biggest fear was guarding them in transition. This is a team that beat Southern Illinois and went bad when Orein Green got hurt. Outside of that, they are playing great basketball. We knew they were so concerned about our 3-point shot, so we had to go back door. We were a little tight, because we had a lot of easy layups, bunnies, and tip-ins that didn't go in. Sometimes the pressure mounts when that happens because nothing going right. All I did in that situation was say we're fine, I've given you this speech 15 times this season. It's not a problem. We are going to win it. We are going to have to win it with defense."
On factor of all five starters playing more than 30 minutes: "We wanted to press them today. This is probably the most I have pressed in 15 games. One weakness they do have is that they are not going to play much of their bench. Wade has been on such a run that he has been averaging 27 points a game in the tournament and that is with competition that knows their offense. We wanted to make sure they didn't get comfortable in the half-court game. We didn't shoot the ball well tonight, but that may have been with guys playing the minutes. We didn't turn it over."
On game coming down to the last two minutes: "I knew when we had this matchup, it was going to come down to the last two minutes. We told them that at halftime that the last two minutes is our time. We are a veteran basketball team, but so are they. They are a very, very good basketball team. We are proud of this victory. When you are a fourth seed and you play these teams today, you are going to play a terrific basketball team. We knew we weren't getting any breather."
Louisville players
Senior Ellis Myles
On what made Louisiana-Lafayette so tough tonight: "I think we're not used to--well, personally me-- guarding a five man that can shoot the ball. Then you have four guards that can go to the glass as hard as they do, that's what makes it difficult to guard that team."
On handling the close game: "It's just about being a mature basketball team. We knew it was going to come down to the end of the game, and we knew we were just going to have to make plays. And we did that tonight. So, it wasn't that big of a deal when the game got close because we're a veteran ball club."
Senior Larry O'Bannon
On La-Lafayette: "Coach told us before the game that they were going to do a lot of switching, and that pretty much all of them were the same size so they were switching out, not letting us get the three-point attempt. So we wanted to drive to the basket because we knew they would close out our three-point attempts. We wanted to drive to the basket and create for our teammates."
On mistakes down the stretch: "I think when they took a four-point lead, I believe it was 59-54, I think we were trying to get the four-point lead back in one possession. Coach called a timeout so we'd realize that we had to take it one possession at a time, and we got good looks at the basket after that. But I think we were just trying to get the lead back too fast."
On the heavy Louisville crowd: "[The crowd] was great, sorta like being at home. It was a different vibe, but having so many supportive fans was great. When you need a rally, or when you need energy, they're there to support you."
Junior Francisco Garcia
On foul shooting at the end: "It took a little long for them to foul, so I just wanted the ball in my hands so I could shoot the easy two free throws. Well, two free throws."
Louisiana-Lafayette Coach Robert Lee
On his team's progress: "We've come so far as a basketball team. Earlier in the season when Orien Green broke his leg in a game against Kansas and didn't get a chance to play much, we kind of fell apart. When we lost Orien Green tonight, our team responded and continued to play and gave us the opportunity to win. To me, that showed how far we've come as a basketball team...Our guys played great, and that's really all I can ask for."
On the last couple of minutes of the game: "We came down offensively, and we were trying to run our motion sets. We tried to run our sets through Tirus (Wade), and they did a good job of keeping the ball out of Tirus's hands. We couldn't get the basketball to him."
On Greene's foul trouble: "That was devastating to us...Orien Greene is our leader, he is our point guard...It was very difficult for our team to be able to hold on without Orien on the floor...If Orien could have stayed and played the usual minutes that he does play, then I think the results might have been different. When Orien when out of the game, it changed out ability to attack offensively as far as in an effective manner when they pressed us."
On his seniors / the season: "Everything about this season, I will cherish; those guys laid it on the line every night for me."
