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University of Louisville Men's Basketball Post-Game Quotes
December 20, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 20, 2006
Louisville Head Coach Rick Pitino
"We did a lot of smart things tonight. We kept our turnovers down and pressed very well. We played at a high tempo but didn't score a lot of points. Our defense suffered a little bit when we took our pressure off. But they're a road weary team, I'm sorry for them. They're probably very rich, but they're very road weary. They've played on the road against unbelievable competition. At Iowa State, at NC State, against Southern Miss and us. They're out one of their better players so it was very difficult on them but we did a good job. We've got a very tough game coming up against a team that beat Georgia Tech, who I watched earlier in the year - who I think is an outstanding ball team."
(On David Padgett) "I just think he tweaked it (his knee), mild sprain I think he'll be fine by tomorrow. There was no reason to risk it."
(On Derrick Caracter's suspension) "Team policy."
(On whether Caracter will be back Saturday) "Yeah, but I don't know if he'll play, but he'll be back. This is not a slight at him, but it's really not a concern to me. I'm more concerned with getting the other guys ready to play against very good competition - and to get ready for the Big East."
(On the team's progress) "I think we're making progress, we're doing a lot of good things offensively. The more we press, the better we look."
(On Juan Palacios) "I think Tello's been playing extremely hard all year. We asked him to come in much lighter than he was last year. We think it took away from his jumping ability, his quickness and he didn't - he came in just as heavy, if not a few pounds heavier. Now he's lost 12 pounds in the last month, so he looks better, he's more active, he's quicker."
(On Edgar Sosa's missed layup) "I said 'You're gonna come out whether you made it or you missed it.' I said, "It's a shame you were playing like a great point guard for 15 minutes." And then I said something else I don't want to repeat."
"We were hungry to show everybody we're not going to hang our heads. We pressed very well against Kentucky except you shoot a low percentage and press on made baskets you don't get it on too many times. So obviously you have to shoot good percentage took good shots tonight. We took six challenged shots which is not bad, you want under five for the game. We've been handling the basketball well, not turning it over, which is a good thing. There were a lot of steals tonight, but again they're a road weary team. Very similar to Florida Atlantic play Carolina last night. These teams, that travel on the road this time of year - in the beginning of year it's not too bad on them, but when they play so many of them and they never get any applause at all. It's tough on them."
"A little...they (Louisville) were a little hesitant, but it was a good hesitant. They were trying to get the high percentage shots possible, and that's good. They knew they had open shots, but let's get a better one. Let's go inside, outside, things that they did in the Kentucky game but looked good. Twill a few times tried to get extra arc and I said just take normal shots. That dunk that he made was one of the better ones I've seen in quite some time. I don't know why he doesn't just do that every possession. His percentage would be very good."
"We have a very tough game on Saturday. This team on film is a very good team. We've got to play really well. And there are some really good signs right now with the way we're handling basketball. We've got to get Terrance Farley rebounding the basketball. He's doing good things now with his turnaround jump shot. He played really good defense. He just doesn't rebound and pursue the basketball and we need him to do that because obviously David Padgett will always tweak his knee, and that's going to happen . We need Terrance Farley because he is a good defensive player and he has played big games to rebound. He doesn't pursue it, he just stands and watches. And the way he plays defense, he can block shot. He has a nice turnaround jump shot that we've been working on in practice. We need him to step up and rebound the basketball. Every2 ½, 3 minutes played, grab a rebound. Tonight we needed him to get about six, seven rebounds and he didn't."
"Will Scott was sick, not feeling well. He didn't practice yesterday, that's why he didn't play more."
