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University of Louisville Men's Basketball Post-Game Quotes
March 06, 2010 | Men's Basketball
March 6, 2010
Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery 1 
| Photo Gallery 2 | Freedom Hall Farewell
Louisville Head Coach Rick Pitino
(Opening Statement) "I really meant it when I said I've been fortunate to coach in five Final Fours and two National Championships. I've been very lucky to be in those games as a coach. And there really hasn't been much pressure. You just want to enjoy it, but tonight I felt pressure for the first time as coach because there were so many festivities and the guys coming back, and the NCAA berth being on the line against the number one team in the country and the closing of Freedom Hall. Last night I got up at about two in the morning and said what if it we lose. No bid; People going home very sad. These guys came all this way and they have to go home. I just started thinking, and then I took a shot of bourbon and I didn't think anymore. No, I'm just kidding...It was a wonderful night. I'm real proud of our guys. I told them at half time. I said look guys they're shutting off the interior. They were clamping down Samardo. You're taking all great shots. But they're going to fall. Then I said Kyle, you go in there and dominate this game. He said "ok Coach I've always listened to you." Isn't that remarkable? I just love the players when they listen. But, he put on a great performance that he'll remember the rest of his life. I'm real proud of him and of all the guys the way the executed in the second half."
(On Kuric's Playing Time) "He was going to play. But Reggie's cramping at the moment, we had to put him in.
(On Different Subs During Game) "Peyton gave us a big lift. And when Jerry came out Fred said to me I don't think he can go, and I said don't say that. He hurt his thumb while he was dunking. My mind was racing trying to figure out what we could do because Preston gets tight. He works so hard, he gets fatigued and he gets tired. But he had to head in there and play a lot of minutes, and gave us a big lift."
(On Jerry's Hand Injury) "It's a sprain. I don't think it's as bad as Preston. He'll be there for the NCAA Tournament, but I don't know if he'll be there for the Big East Tournament. Isn't it fun saying that?"
(The Difference in Samuels During Second Half) "They did a great job clamping down in the second half against their size. Syracuse is a great basketball team. They are very tough to play against. They'll only give you looks and they're going to challenge you late and they don't give you a whole lot of second looks. They're a terrific team and they're very well coached. We're extremely lucky to be the number one team in the country two times because we know how good they are."
(On Winning Under so Much Pressure) "I think it's time to celebrate the focus of Freedom Hall...celebrate the guys coming back. Celebrate making the tournament because I said ten or eleven wins back a month or so ago I said our goal was to win eight of eleven. We kept on doing it then we had so many downs along the way, whether or it was St. Johns or Marquette or wherever it may be. We kept with our plan to win eleven games. We didn't deviate from that one time. That was our goal and the guy should be congratulated for getting that goal."
(On Sosa Referring to Pitino as a Father) "About two weeks ago I had a meeting with Edgar and I said listen...Seniors sometimes put more pressure on themselves than any other class because they don't know what lies ahead. I told him just play ball and something good is going to happen to you because he's done everything the right way...you improved as a person, you've improved as a player, you've improved as a leader...don't worry about the future. So many young guys...they over think it. The best thing about being young is enjoying where you are. We are in one of the legendary programs with this type of crowd. Just enjoy it and we'll take of the journey."
(On taking 40 3 pointers) "No, I was not planning on taking 40 three pointers, but I did tell the team to keep shooting. I told them to keep shooting, work inside to out and if we had those open shots we were going to take them. I do not believe that the college three is a difficult shot. In the NBA that's a tough shot except in the corner. We took all good shots, except Kyle take one late in the game and Preston took one late in the game. But outside of that they were good shots. They were unchallenged. You have to give Syracuse credit. They cut down on the inside. We won at Syracuse by going inside. We went inside and worked it, but they took away that."
(On Kuric's Confidence) "He doesn't really get down on himself but he's just so shy. I never met a person like him. Even when he yells it's a shy yell. He said today "Do you mind if I shoot some extra" He probably thought in his mind I was going to play Michael Marra because I did at Syracuse. I did put him in early, and we needed to rebound the basketball; That's what Kyle can do. But, you can see with him how he finishes on the break. He's a great finisher on the break all the time. He has dunks in practice where we just marvel at how quickly he gets to the rim."
(On Kuric Becoming a Great Ball Player) "He's got to learn to go left. He's developing his confidence and this is going to help him immensely. I'm really, really happy for the things he did today. He's a great kid. This is going to be a great step in his life. I think everybody is going to remember the game that closed Freedom Hall, so I think it's going to be a confidence boost for him."
(On the Big East Tournament) "I don't know what to think. I am one of the few people that lives in the present, so I haven't even thought about the BIG EAST. I have no clue where we go. The BIG EAST surprised me every night. I watched the St. John/Depaul game last night, saying I can't believe this. I watched Providence/Pittsburgh and my heart bled for Providence. I watch this all the time and marvel at the BIG EAST. I can't figure it out. I can't tell you what's going to happen, but I can tell you there are certain schools in the BIG EAST that have a tremendous advantage after the first round. If you're Syracuse or you're Connecticut and you can even include Pittsburgh nowbecausethey bring so many fans...Us, Notre Dame, and a few other teams...South Florida....We don't bring a whole lot right now. We're not used to this BIG EAST yet. There are probably 100,000 Syracuse fans in New York City. Connecticut and Syracuse...those people come in droves. I don't know who we're going to play. I hope it's not one of them. I hope we don't play Connecticut for a third time, but it's possible."
(On Denny Crum Giving Closing Remarks) "I thought he should have the closing remarks to this wonderful building. He deserves it. I don't know how a coach can spend thirty years coaching the same program. I marvel at Jim Boheim, Coach K, all the legendary ones. It's amazing. I've met a lot of great coaches like Dave Gavitt and Al Maguire, who retired at a young age. I marvel at what Denny did over that span. Nobody should have the final remarks but him."
Syracuse Head Coach Jim Boeheim
(Opening statement) "I thought the difference in the game was the second half. In the first half we were plus six or seven on the boards, and in the second half we were minus 12 or 13. That's what we do well; rebound the ball. I thought Louisville went after it harder and just did a better job on the boards than we did. I thought we rushed our offense a little bit. We missed some shots around the basket that led to fast break opportunities. I just thought Louisville played better than we did. The bottom line on offense was we weren't good enough in the second half and we just did not rebound the ball as well as we needed to in this game. We have to give Louisville a lot of credit, they played well tonight. I think they play better against zones than they do man-to-man. Sometimes in this league there are some matchup situations that are difficult for different teams. We beat St. Johns by 30 points. They're not good against the zone. They are a man to man team and they are a good defensive man-to-man team. Marquette we beat easily and Louisville obviously had a lot of trouble against Marquette. I think matchups are sometimes more important than people give them credit for. Some teams just don't match up well and Louisville is the best team in the league that plays against our zone. I think Pittsburgh and Louisville are better against our zone than anybody. We did a good job forcing them into tough shots. We did a pretty good job inside but we gave them too many second chance opportunities and I thought that was a big part of the game."
(On Kyle Kurich's play) "We knew he was a good player he just doesn't play that much. He just got going once he got that dunk and he got a little confidence into him. They missed so many shots that we got a little bit lax defensively. They were missing so many shots that we thought they were going to miss them all. He made a couple of tough shots and I think he got a couple of layups in transition. That always helps you get going and he knocked down a couple. They have several guys on their team who are capable of knocking down three or four threes. You look at their lineup and they're all capable of making shots. He may be their best shooter, we just don't know because he doesn't play that much. I've never seen anyone come off the bench and do that."
(On helping players refocus after loss) "There is one goal that you have starting out and that is winning the league, and you did it. That's what I told them. The only thing that matters is us winning the BIG EAST. I told them that they should be as proud as any team in the country. There isn't anybody sitting here or any place else who thought we could win the BIG EAST. I told them they should be very proud of themselves. I think we learned something; we have to rebound the ball better. I think our execution on offense is second hand. We just didn't finish around the basket. When we don't finish, our big guys don't get back well. They need to make layups, and they usually do but they missed like four or five. I just told them that we have to learn from this and there are some things that we can learn from this. When you start out in the BIG EAST you want to do well enough that you can make the NCAA tournament. If you can finish in the top four or five that is pretty good, but if you win the thing, I don't think it can get any better than that."
(On coaching in Freedom Hall) "The first time I came in here as a coach, they had a guy name Darrell Griffith, he was a freshman and he was pretty good. They had a guy named Wesley Cox, he was pretty good. Ricky Gallin, he was pretty good. They had a left-handed point guard, Jerry Eaves, he was pretty good too. We were 22 point under dogs, and we won. It was one of, if not the best win I've ever had. I played here also. They had a guy named Wes Unseld, he was a freshman. He wasn't playing yet, but I knew he was there because when I went to practice there was a handprint at the top of the backboard. They said `Yeah, that was Wes Unseld.' I played here, I coached here and it is a great building. It is a great atmosphere. I got one of my top five wins here. It was my first year coaching and we had a young team. We had lost a game early on. I think we were 2-1 going in here. We won that game and that was a memorable win. It's a great place and there are great fans here. It was fun for 30 minutes playing here today."
(On Kris Joseph) "He was hurt really bad in practice. When you don't practice for a couple of days, typically that's not a good scenario."
(On BIG EAST Tournament) "Every game will be tough. It's a nightmare. It'll be a great tournament with great games. We have a lot of good teams so any team can win. I was watching Providence the other night and they had Pittsburgh beat until the last play. They are in 14th place. Anybody in this league can beat you."
