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Louisville-Fairleigh Dickinson Postgame Quotes
December 10, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 10, 2011
Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery 
Louisville Head Coach Rick Pitino
(Opening statement)
“We got a lot of work tonight against the zone, which was really, really important because we haven't seen too much zone. And for the first seven or eight minutes, we attacked the zone and got some awesome shots. We were very, very active, dribble penetrating and moving the basketball, and it was a good game in terms of that. We got people some minutes that don't normally get minutes. It was good for us to go against a zone.
“I'm really happy for George Goode, that he's getting all these minutes and playing this well. He had a terrific game tonight, you like to see that. So, we're happy with the win. Now, we have a week to prepare for one of the more athletic teams in the country in Memphis. We still have a lot of improvements to make, but we're happy with the win, happy for George, and we'll move on to the next game.”
(On attacking the basket in the first half)
“I thought the first 10 minutes, we attacked the zone really, really well. I think the game was at hand, we just wanted to basically work on things, because we haven't seen too much zone. We did a really good job.”
(Highlight a player's performance)
“I think Gorgui (Dieng) is playing very good basketball. I think our guards are hurting Gorgui, because they keep getting beat, and he keeps having to rotate. If your guards keep getting beat, he's going to get in foul trouble. Now, you're playing a team like Memphis, all they do is drive, and they're very athletic. So our guards are really hurting us, because they're constantly getting beat.”
(Preparing for Memphis)
“They have two days off this week, which would be tomorrow. Our week starts on Monday, and then we have to take a day off Tuesday. We normally take off Wednesday, but we wanted to see if we could get Kevin (Ware) three days of practice. They're as athletic as any team in the country. A very, very talented offensive basketball team, very good off the bounce. If we don't guard better off the bounce, they'll blow us out. We've got to play better defense, because we need Gorgui in the game. Gorgui got a foul on an offensive rebound, but he's always rotating too much. It's your better players that are getting beat too much.”
(Memphis game series)
“It's a home and home. We're hoping that it'll be a home and home for good. I'm hoping they come in our league. It would be nice.”
(Kyle Kuric's performance)
“I told him before the game, in the speech before the game, 'I want a T-Will ( Terrence Williams) performance. I'm tired of you not having an assist, I'm tired of you not having an offensive rebound. I want a T-Will type box score.' I said, 'I want offensive rebounds.' He's still not shooting the ball enough. He's got shots and he's not taking them, and he's got to shoot the ball more.”
(On whether Rakeem Buckles will be able to go all out against Memphis)
“He will be ready. When he came off the ACL surgery, the doctor told me he only wanted him to play 10-11 minutes. So, we just need to give him a little bit more time and just bring him along. It's only been nine months, so we need to keep getting his confidence up. On the other hand, we have Jared Swopshire, who last game hardly played and he's been playing from the beginning. I do want Rock to back up Gorgui, but it was good to get Zach Price in the game as well.”
(How will the tough early schedule benefit the team)
“Butler was a little early for a road game. We wanted to be tested; certainly Memphis is going to test us. Memphis is the most athletic team we will play. Vanderbilt, Ohio U, and Long Beach State were all terrific. Ohio U can really play, Vanderbilt is as well-coached basketball team as any in the country, so that was a terrific win. Now we are going against Memphis, who has tremendous athletes and very good defensively as well. It will be a tough game for us; we are going to have to work hard on our defense to keep Gorgui out of foul trouble.”
(Are you breaking this season into segments?)
“I tell you the truth; we are just focusing on one game, because we don't know what's going to happen. I try to laugh it off, but when you've got a guy who is out three days because he slept wrong, it's a little strange. Russ (Smith) wanted to play today, but he will be ready for the Memphis game. I just want to make sure Rakeem and Russ are ready for the Memphis game.”
Fairleigh Dickinson Head Coach Greg Vetrone
(Opening Statement)
“We played the number four team in the country. They got great guard play tonight. They were very active defensively. We have never seen defense like that so far this year. They really defend and rebound. They killed us on the boards. They were incredible on the offensive glass tonight. In all the films I've watched, I've never been able to see them rebound offensively that way. It was incredible.”
(On Peyton Siva being able to drive and playing zone defense)
“Well, that was our game plan. We wanted to try and extend the zone a little bit and get to Chris Smith and Kyle Kuric. We had to pick our poison. Peyton (Siva) is a great guard. He showed why he is one of the top point guards in the country. He took what we gave him and we figured we would give up two's and not give up threes and let their guys get going.”
(On what George Goode was able to share about Louisville)
“It was hard because you can never duplicate the intensity that Louisville plays with. They're up 20 and you've got guys diving on the sidelines. George (Goode) had some ideas on their offense that he was able to exploit, so it was good. He played tremendous tonight. The last three games he has really gotten his feet on the ground. He's had three games of double-doubles and I think he could be an all-conference player for us without question.”
(On how this can prepare you for conference play)
“It is great motivation for our team. We go 10 for 21 from the free throw line. So you make six or seven of those and you're under double figures to the number four team in the country on their floor. Now that is what the coaches say. Realistically as a coach, coach Pitino is my friend, I love him, and I say thanks for not blowing me out by 40 points.”
(On Melquan Bolding's shooting)
“He's up and down. He's another guy like George (Goode) that has to find his rhythm find his confidence. I'm not panicking right now. We are one and eight, but I have guys that have not played. Not only not played but not played together. Bolding sat out a year, George didn't really play that much here. He played in practice but he still didn't really have that game savvy that you need. Same thing with Melquan (Bolding), Melquan has had a 33 point game and then he has been below average. It's going to take some time for these guys to hit stride and I'm just hoping that when we get into January when we are in the league hopefully we can make a run.”
