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Louisville-Pikeville Postgame Quotes
October 26, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Oct. 26, 2011
Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery 
Head Coach Rick Pitino
(Opening Statement)
"We did a lot of good things tonight especially our man defense. When we went to the press is when they scored. We didn't care about that. We wanted to work on our press and we got out of it what we wanted. But our man defense is where we excelled. They were 14-of-41 against it. The guys did a very good job of covering for each other. They were very active with their hands, so I was very pleased. We did a lot of good things sharing the basketball. We did a lot of good things offensively and for a first game, I thought it was good."
(On using man primarily instead of zone)
"We have never been primarily zone. If you break it down, the most we have been was 2005, we played all zone because we had 7 players. We were about a 60-40 team last year. We're good at zone. We just weren't good pressing tonight because we didn't know their press offense. It's just like plays, you have to know their press offense and we did not know their press offense tonight because we don't have a lot of film on them."
(On how much they can learn from an exhibition)
"This game is exactly what I expected. I think we did a lot of good things. I think because a lot of guys have missed practice --not only Wayne -- but they are way out of shape. We did some good things. I was pleased."
(On Chane Behanan's performance)
"Chane has to be as hungry to rebound as he is to score. He is very hungry to score. He has to have the same intensity to rebound as he does to score. When he does that, then you will see some incredible numbers like Gorgui."
(On Dieng having no fouls tonight)
"Yeah, I expected that. That has been a point of emphasis for him and Peyton -- to not get into foul trouble and I thought they did a very good job."
(On how long it will take Wayne Blackshear to get into playing condition)
"I think about six weeks. You have to remember this is not normal. Like Bullet (Elisha Justice) came back after missing two weeks, but he has been playing basketball all summer. It's not only that Wayne is out of shape. He hasn't touched a basketball in six months, so that is extreme. He has no defensive timing, no offensive timing and the conditioning is in the way. He has no basketball skills right now. It will take a good six weeks before he is a basketball player again. He is winded, he is out of shape and he doesn't know what he is doing out there offensively and defensively. In two weeks time, he will know a little bit more but it will take six weeks to get back to the basketball player he was in high school.
(On how important Kyle Kuric and Chris Smith are to the team)
"They are very steady. They don't make many mistakes offensively or defensively. It's a very good starting five. We are very thin and we have to get to the eight or nine deep. I thought Zach (Price) did a good job tonight. He is still learning plays, but I thought he did a very good job. He still needs to turn middle more instead of baseline. He needs to turn to his left shoulder. He always wants to turn to his right shoulder, but he can do it. He always does it in practice."
(On Chane Behanan's desire to rebound)
"I would say that is true. You want all of it. You want the total package; and he can have the total package. It won't happen if he's leaking out and making the wrong rotations. A lot of it is about making the right rotations and getting in the right spot. He's a very hungry offensive rebounder. You'll notice he was down the floor first many, many times. But that is good. That's a good thing. There is nothing wrong with taking high percentage shots and wanting to score."
(On using lineups outside of the starting five)
"I think the starting five is what I like the best. We were playing great defense there until I went to the press. I wasn't concerned about the score. I was concerned about working on things we need to work on. We were playing very good man defense. I like our starting five. I think in time Mike Marra, who is a smart ball player, will give us minutes. I think in time Chane will give us minutes. The key is not putting too many freshmen on the court together at once."
(On Chane Behanan's rebounding)
"I think you're misreading what I said. I said he has an intense desire to score. Now he's got to have the same desire in the other categories. I know Gorgui (Dieng), he likes to score as well but he also has an intense desire to block shots, to rebound, to pass; to do all the things. So that's what he (Behanan) has to learn. There is nothing wrong. I don't find any fault with him. He's as good as any freshman I've coached since (Jamal) Mashburn. That's about as good a statement I could possibly say. I'm very pleased with his attitude. I'm very pleased with his game, but he is a freshman and he has to learn. Believe me, that is about as high a praise I can give him. We'll keep teaching him what he needs to learn."
(On how to address the rebounding issue from last year beyond Behanan)
"I think we're a decent rebounding team. I think Swopshire has to get stronger. I think Wayne (Blackshear) is a very good rebounder. Kyle Kuric is a very good rebounder. Chris has gotten 10 rebounds. I think we can be a good rebounding team. We're concentrating on three areas; rebounding margin, assist to turnover ratio, and field goal defense. I though field goal defense was good tonight. One problem we had was we'd get them to take bad shots and people leaked out. You've got to scatter for rebounds. When you're jumping around and trapping and moving, all five guys have to scatter and go back and get the rebound."
(On Gorgui Dieng's rebounding)
"Gorgui was a good basketball player tonight. He made some minor mistakes, but Gorgui is really coming on. In one more year, the way our players improve because of the amount of work they put in, I expect Gorgui to be one of the premier centers in basketball. But right now he's going to have good games. Some nights he'll have great nights and some nights he'll have mediocre nights. He's going to be 255 pounds by next year. You see how much he's grown now at 232 pounds. It's going to be all muscle and he'll always be quick. He'll never be a slow person. Wayne is going to be terrific also. He's very long. He's very athletic. I feel sorry for him to be put in that situation. Not knowing any plays; not knowing the defense; not playing basketball for a long amount of time. We said we were going to let him go out there as long as he doesn't get frustrated and expect too much of himself. He's not the Wayne Blackshear we recruited. As long as he knows that no human being can come out after sitting for six months and come out and execute. It's not physically possible."
Pikeville Head Coach Kelly Wells
(Opening Statement)
"I think tonight will be a valuable learning experience for our team and that's why I spent a little extra time with them. With a new group, it seems like every moment is a teaching moment. It doesn't matter if we have a target on our back, we need to continue to improve."
(On how this team compares to last year's team)
"Talent-wise, I think we're in great shape, we've just got to get them to where they're not playing like 15 players and play like one team. That's the trend when you've got 10 new guys in your lineup."
