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San Francisco-Louisville Postgame Quotes
December 08, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 8, 2010
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Louisville Head Coach Rick Pitino
(Opening statement)
That was a very good game for us. Much like the Jackson State game, they were not going to let us run up and down the court, especially with five players out. It was very good for us to learn. What I told them at halftime is there is always a tournament game when shots aren't falling and you are going to have to win it with defense, and they did it in the second half - they won it with defense. Peyton Siva gave us a big run off his defense. We were able to maintain and extend the lead. It was very good for us to play this kind of basketball game.
Now, we are going to play one of the finest teams in the country. Their ranking doesn't do them justice. They used to be a good offensive team and a great defensive team. Now, they are just as good on offense as they are on defense. Of all the teams I have seen this year, there is none better than UNLV. That is not hyping them up, they just went to Southern Illinois from across the country and beat them by 31 - a team that was 5-2. (That's) pretty impressive, so we have our work cut out for us and we will be ready.
(About halftime adjustments)
I just think our guys were so consumed with our shots not falling that they were forgetting that we made seven mishaps defensively not switching at the right time, not guarding the post the right way. We broke down defensively, and they shot in the first half one of the highest percentages against us this season. We made the adjustments, so let's start thinking defense and not offense. A guy like Mike Marra is flinging the ball at the rim. The other thing that I thought was a big mistake was they could have stepped into the college line, where there is an easy shot, but instead they kept choosing to shoot the NBA 3. The NBA 3, for college kids, is a very difficult shot, so they lost their confidence because they were shooting the NBA 3 instead of the college 3.
(About the offense breaking down in first half because of ball movement)
We had a wide open shot, and we took it, and what happens when you take the first shot available is you don't get the offensive rebounders into play and you don't get any player movement. Just because a guy is open doesn't mean you should shoot it. In the second half, we created good ball movement and good player movement and look what happened - we got offensive rebounds. We could get no offensive rebounds and they weren't bad shots, but you didn't move the defense. It worked and they gave us the open shot early and they came down and controlled the clock. It was great for our guys to learn this because Rex's coaching kept them in the game. He knew he couldn't run up and down with us with a depleted team. Why? I am not sure. His coaching ability kept them in the game.
(About looking ahead to UNLV)
We are absolutely not. I think that the good quality about this basketball team is that they know who they are and are not full of themselves and are very humble young men. They were very fired up and practiced great. I think they got very tight because their shots weren't going in. What I was trying to teach them at halftime was why their shots were not going in. NBA 3s are not easy shots. No ball movement and no player movement took them out. As I told you, that 1-3-1 zone, if you take the first shot available, you are not going to grab a rebound. Now I know why they were puzzled about being plus seven on the glass. Now they know why.
San Francisco Head Coach Rex Walters
(Opening thoughts)
"Our guys battled offensively. We couldn't get a whole lot going the second half. They're pretty darn good. We spent so much energy on the defensive end, and you get nothing easy. Coach Pitino is so good. A lot of coaches are system coaches, but he keeps changing it up. It's an honor for me to go up against him. We spent so much energy defending so many players and drivers, their athleticism - we just couldn't get going offensively. Tired legs equal bad shots. I told our guys, you couldn't have a worse situation - top-25 team, athletic, playing at a great arena. Sometimes you feel like you're out there playing five on eight."
(On the first half)
"This is the proudest I've ever been after a loss. We didn't shoot the ball well. We lost our point guard in the first five minutes. We're not the most physical team, but we beat them in fouls. The big thing was to try to beat their press - not beat it, but not turn it over. They really feed off of that, they'll turn you over. It's like the Harlem Globetrotters, but we did a good job of that [not turning it over]. At times, we got stuck in double teams. We had to call a time out, give us another chance to bring it up. I'm proud of our guys, as proud as I can be after a loss."
(On the second half press)
"It wears you down because you have to work so hard just to get it across half court. Then, you've got to run offense, and you've got 25 seconds. He does a great job of switching up the defense. I'm constantly trying to watch the defense. We have to break the press, then (you have to figure out if) are they in a zone, are they in a man to man, or are they going to double the first pass? He makes you guard multiple situations."
(On the arena)
"This shows how good of a coach Rick Pitino is. They've got a practice facility on campus, too. These guys basically always have an opportunity to get better, they always have an opportunity to hit the gym, always have the chance to get treatments because they have the same type of practice facilities on campus. This place is unbelievable. I've seen great ones, and I'm partial to Kansas. This place is unbelievable. It's got more of an NBA feel because it's an arena. Kansas is a field house. In terms of facilities, I just can't imagine what they've got on campus. It would be very difficult for a young man to say no. Number one, you're playing for a legend, a hall of famer. You're going to play for the BIG EAST. Then all of these facilities and all of these people here to help you - it truly is phenomenal."
