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Louisville-Butler Men's Basketball Postgame Quotes
November 17, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 17, 2010
Recap | Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery 1 
| Photo Gallery 2 | Photo Gallery 3
Louisville Head Coach Rick Pitino
Opening Statement
"Well I'm proud of our guys. This is a wonderful win, especially when we have been turning the ball over so much. We only had three turnovers in the first half and that was a big key. When you play this style, and you don't turn it over, it's a major plus for us. We wanted to win in three areas tonight, we felt if we could do that we would be in the game: the backboard, the turnover department, and the three-point line, I think we tied on that. We had to stop them at the three-point line because they are a team that really executes well. They are a team that in the NCAA tournament, as you know, I'm not telling you anything you don't know, for six straight games nobody scored more than 60 points against them, except Duke who got 61. So we had to go with a lot of pressure, we did it well. They handled it well but we did speed up the tempo a little bit. They did a much better job in the second half of getting fouls and getting to the line. We broke down a few times but we were playing guys that I didn't expect to get major minutes, and they did. They did a fabulous job."
On the questions he has about the team
"This team has terrific potential. I think their attitude is tremendous, I think they work extremely hard. They were talking. The defense had prepared their tails off because of the amount of respect that they have for Butler. I think they played great defense. That was really great preparation by them, all the switches and all the rotations. They did a fabulous job in the second half and made some adjustments and rotations, but I think that is credit to them."
On the bench play
"Bullet (Elisha Justice) is a heck of a player. For him to come in and open a game like this. The thing that impressed me the most, he is a great foul shooter, but I think he was tired. But the fact that he wanted the ball so much in key situations as a freshman, coming from the hills of Kentucky, I just admire him. It is amazing that he didn't want anyone else to handle the basketball except him. And that speaks volumes of his guts and his heart. So we got a big lift out of him, I know Rock (Rakeem Buckles) played terrific. I thought Preston is not 100 percent but he is trying to break the Yum! Center scoring record in the first time out."
On keeping his players calm in the atmosphere of the building
"I actually told them that because I said `look this is a veteran team, they have seen big crowds. You guys can't act like cheerleaders after you dunk a ball or score because this team will chop you up'. I said `you've got to keep your composure and celebrate after the game if you get a victory. You can't get carried away, this team is going to come back'. We knew at halftime that they were going to make some kind of run. They are too good not to make a run. We stopped the runs in the first half. The second half they had them, but we made some big plays down the stretch, especially Rock's three."
On whether the team is underrated
"I don't know what we are. How do you rate this team? I mean, we have no starters back, we don't have one player on any teams, so how do you rate them? I couldn't rate them. So how do you all rate them? Nobody knew except for the coaches, how much the freshmen would improve going into their sophomore year. We do not have ready made freshmen, not that class. So we knew, every team I have coached from freshmen to sophomore year makes the biggest leap. And every one of those guys- you guys wouldn't have written a story about Stephan Van Treese, think about it, neither would I. Rock (Buckles) is improved. Peyton (Siva), you didn't see it tonight, but Peyton is a much improved basketball player. If they missed a shot, they went in reaching for the ball. That whole class has really improved. And Gorgui (Dieng) and Bullet were a terrific addition to our ball club. These guys will be better and better and better. So, one win, I don't think you can rate this basketball team, it's early. But I do think this team is going to get a lot better. I do think this team enjoys the style of play. And we are going to improve, especially when we get Preston (Knowles) back."
On Kyle Kuric's zero field goal attempts
"Maybe they watched the Syracuse game. There is a reason when guys don't have good games and don't get shots, there is a reason, it's called good defense. I mean, we did the same thing to (Zach) Hahn, he was not going to get a three-point shot. He did, but we were not going to get it. (Shelvin) Mack just beat our zone twice, there was pressure, he's a big time player and he made the shots. He (Kyle Kuric) didn't have an off game, the defense made him have an off game. I don't think he took but a couple shots, right? Oh- he didn't take any, that's good defense. He should have gotten a couple offensive rebounds because we didn't shoot 100 percent and that's what he's known for. I think ever sine he won homecoming king it has gone to his head."
On Louisville's assists
"We did really well, with the exception of a couple pick and rolls that we didn't defend well in the second half. We did a really good job of executing. If we don't turn the ball over in this style, we will play tough. But in the two exhibition games and in practice we are throwing the ball all over the place and guys know that is a weakness and we had to put an end to it. And we did, we did a very good job tonight in attacking the basketball and making good plays. So this is a starting point for us. We ended the season in great fashion, we ended a glorious building, and for us we are really, really lucky. This is the finest building built, in all of basketball. We are a college team playing in a Pro arena that has all the bells and whistles- except steps. I'm proud of this - it is great for the city. The fans are awesome here. But this is just the beginning for us because these players are going to get better and better as the season goes along."
Butler Head Coach Brad Stevens
Opening comment
"Well I don't think it's rocket science for everybody, we got outplayed. I think we just got outplayed in every which way. We got caught ups in the atmosphere. It's a great atmosphere. And they're really good and don't let anyone else tell you they are not. They've got ten or eleven players that can play at a lot of places. So all the BIG EAST predictions are probably wrong based on what I've seen watching two games on film."
On what is taken from this game
"I think we got a lot of room to get better. It's November 16th and if we hang our heads we won't get better and if we chalk it up as just another game we're not going to get better. We got to learn what we didn't do well and move forward. I mean we didn't set the world on fire last November. But I think we have a lot of room for improvement. I've got to do a better job preparing us obviously."
On Matt Howard picking up his second foul effecting the team
"I was really disappointed that that happened. It's hard, you just move on figure out how to deal with it later. And he's moving great, he looks great, and he's playing without fouling in the whole pre-season and exhibition games. I think we have to make sure that we're better and maybe I screwed up and matched them up the wrong way or whatever the case may be. We'll look at all that stuff and try to improve."
On the six and seven point runs in the second half
"We don't want to be a team that runs in spurts, we want to be a team that plays possession by possession. So if we have to rely on play on spurts, we're not going to be really good."
On Louisville's defense
"Buckles is really good and Jennings was really good and they can shoot, they all can shoot. The thing I like about the team is that they are all fearless, they're all tough, they all play the right way. I know it's been a long year but I cannot imagine with players like that and depth like that that they won't have a great career."
On the similarities of this game with the Georgetown game last year
"No we weren't near as good as we were against Georgetown. You know in the Georgetown game we missed some layups and we were down by five with a minute to play and we had a chance to win and didn't defend very well and we went outside of ourselves and outside of what our goals were. The take away from that game was not about being good but right now we have to tighten up and figure out why our second half went better than our first and move on."
On defense being the main problem
"Yeah we did some things poorly on the defensive end there's no question about it. We just have to get better in every-which-way and the hard part is targeting that for the game on Saturday and figure out what really needs to be emphasized right now. It's my job and ultimately I have to figure out how best to make us improve."
On Ronald Nored's game
"Yeah he did struggle a little bit but he's a good player and I thought we all struggled so it's not fair to blame it on one individual."
