.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
Louisville-Georgetown Postgame Quotes
December 28, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 28, 2011
Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery 
Louisville Head Coach Rick Pitino
(Opening statement)
“Well that was a disappointing loss. Our guys continued to fight hard. But we did some good things with our pressure. But I thought we really rushed, jacked up shots when it was still a game. There were 15 seconds on the clock and we were looking for a three. We haven't done that. But they were a better basketball team. They are, at this stage of the season, execute offensively better than we do. But we had about 14 deflections at half, and at 9:21 left in the second half we only had four. So we didn't get a whole lot out of it. I thought we could catch somebody again because when you watch the film, you don't see great execution. I don't really blame the guys, I just think we haven't had a whole lot of practice and weren't cohesive. But we tried hard. If we continue to try hard, we will get our wins.”
(On not making plays down the stretch)
“You have to give credit to them, they made the plays. They made their free throws and when you break it down, we missed a lot of free throws that would have kept us in the game … in the hunt. They made their free throws. We did some real good things to get back in the game but we didn't have a real good post presence tonight, and we need that. When you look at other things and you take away Hollis Thompson and Starks is 7 for 8 and their two freshmen and one sophomore go 14 for 17 from the field. You take away some of the bigger players scoring-wise … when Jason Clark had seven and Hollis had 10 and they had really good freshmen and a sophomore and that hurts.”
(On Georgetown's open shots)
“We had focused on everybody except we weren't going to guard Nate (Lubick) away from the basket, but we focused on everybody. Otto Porter is really a good freshman. He had 14 rebounds in the game and he took over the game rebounding-wise.”
(On Siva playing better)
“Yeah, I think he (Peyton Siva) played better, I really do. I think he played hard. I think he and Russ (Smith) cause a lot of problems for people, which is good. Like I said, I think we are going to get a lot better. I do think that Georgetown was a better team tonight. But I think we will get a lot better.”
(On wanting to look for the post on offense/defense)
“I don't know why we were wrestling with the guys when they are 14 feet away from the basket. Gorgui (Dieng) came out in the second half and let the guy get a wide open lay-up for no rhyme or reason.”
(On the importance of solidifying the post in the next game vs. UK)
“I think you have to use the post two ways. You have to use it for passing and you have to use it other ways but they were going inside and he was unable to get it off (tonight). We just gotta keep working on that.”
(On moving past tonight's loss and preparing for Kentucky)
“Well, we've got to watch a lot of film. Our guys haven't seen Kentucky play. I don't think they realize how good they are. They are a terrific basketball team and they are very tough to guard. I've seen them a few times and they are very tough to guard in so many different ways. They are great on the break. They are a very good team defensively and that causes a lot of offense so we've got to really study. It's more about personnel than it is any sets.”
(On Kentucky's long, athletic guards versus Louisville's smaller guards)
“I think I'm worried about everybody. They've got great shot blocking. I think (Doron) Lamb is a terrific shooter. (Darius) Miller is a terrific shooter. They've got a lot of bigs and they've got more experience than they've had. Even when they've had great teams, they shoot it better from both the foul line and the field so I think that's very dangerous. They're also very good defensively and very good in transition.”
(On what goes through Pitino's mind when playing in Rupp Arena)
“I think it was tough the first time I was there, but right now it's just another road game. It's a big game for our fans and a big game for us. I'm more concerned about how we play. That's long past the vineyard now that it's been 10 years.”
(On the technical foul called in second half)
“I was telling Kyle (Kuric) not to go under. His name is Karl and he thought I was talking to him about defending screens.”
(On playing an up and down game against Kentucky)
“Well, I think Kentucky is the better basketball team right now. Running up and down and trying to outscore Kentucky would be a futile attempt to try to get a 'W.' I think if you play half-court basketball, you'll take yourself out if it's something you're not used to. You've got to play how we played except for when Kyle (Kuric) took that shot with 15 seconds and Russ (Smith) did the same; you can't take shots like that because Kentucky will make you pay. You've got to do everything. You've got to go in transition. You've got to make them play you on defense. You can't take the first or second shot. It's going to be a tough game. Obviously, you know they haven't lost at home, so it's a very strong home court advantage. We've got to make sure we rebound from this. The BIG EAST this year, no matter where you go, St. John's, Seton Hall, Marquette, Cincinnati, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, they're all going to be really tough and we've got make sure we improve. I've got to somehow play Kevin Ware. He is improving and getting better. We've still got to get Rakeem Buckles in shape. We don't want to push him too much. He's a little overweight and a little out of shape, but we're playing him about the minutes he should play. We'll get a little bit better once we get some guys back. I think Wayne Blackshear will start to work out for the next two weeks without contact and then two weeks after that he'll be back on the court.”
Georgetown Head Coach John Thompson III
(On whether the win was a validation)
“Validate? To who? We are one game into league play. It was a very good big win against a very good team in a difficult place to play. We aren't worrying about validation right now. We just want to try to accumulate wins.”
(On his freshman class keeping them in the game in the first half)
" It's no doubt about that. Otto (Porter), Jabril (Trawick), Mikael (Hopkins) came in and gave us outstanding minutes. You say freshman class, and they are freshmen and this is their first BIG EAST experience, but they've been doing that since the summer. It's a group that plays hard and competes. With all that being said, we're fortunate to get away with a win. They turned up the heat on us. We had some careless turnovers; we have to tighten up a few things as we go on.”
(On what he said to the team when Louisville tied the game)
“Were we on offense or defense? I don't remember. They tied the game. We all felt that if we could protect the ball and execute at the offensive end, we did a better job of guarding that one ball screen in the second half than we did the first half. We just wanted to get into our offense and see what happened.”
(On Markel Stark's maturation and game performance)
“It is still happening. He hit some big shots for us tonight when we needed shots to be made. Collectively, I don't think you can look at anybody on this team as a measure of points. He made some big plays and his defensive got better in the second half. The same thing I said about the freshmen, these guys are players. Age, class, maturation goes out the window. We are out there just playing ball.”
(On tightening up on turnovers in the second half)
“I felt like we were bad coming down the stretch. We made a couple of bad decisions with the shots we took. I am probably feeling like those are turnovers. You play Louisville and they turn you over. That is what they are very good at. They are good at help each other and on ball defending. You always have to be strong with the ball and you have to always be thinking with an offensive perspective. You have to think about your teammates. You can't stand around and watch the ball. Everybody has to be involved in the game. Your teammates are going to get in trouble, and you have to be there to bail them out.”
(On what Georgetown did better in the second half)
“I think they (Louisville) got us spread out in the first half. There were a lot more holes and gaps for (Peyton) Siva to get into the first half. I think we kept it a little more compact in the second half. That helped minimize the whole to get to the rim.”
