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Louisville-Samford Postgame Quotes
November 15, 2012 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 15, 2012
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Louisville Head Coach Rick Pitino
(Opening statement)
“We played very good defense in the first half. Our pressure was good. Then, the second half, we watched the score and didn't play the type of defense we played, granted we didn't press, but we didn't play the type of defense we are capable of playing. It is one thing to miss shots, but to let down defensively, when that is your staple, is very disappointing. We didn't get better in the second half and I was hoping we would, but overall it was a good game for us. We played excellent defense in the first half.”
(On if there were any combinations of players that he liked more than others)
“No, in the first half I saw a lot of combinations that looked really good ... really disappointed in the guys in the second half, because they didn't play basketball to get better.”
(If Chane Behanan and Wayne Blackshear played to the level he challenged them to)
I thought they both played well. I think we need a lot of work with Wayne (Blackshear) on his shooting, technique wise we need to work with a lot of our guys on shooting. I thought he did some really good things. He has to pass the ball better, but he rebounded the ball, he went after it, he was very active.”
(On why the full court press was so effective)
“Well, our press is very, very good. And, it would even be better if we shot a higher percentage.”
(On the team's rebounding):
“I thought Chane (Behanan) rebounded the ball very well. I think Gorgui (Dieng) rebounded the ball very well. I still think that Stephan Van Treese has to be more active on the glass. Trez ( Montrezl Harrell) has got to be more active.”
(On Luke's (Hancock) poor shooting and his surgically repaired shoulders)
“I think you have to give him a break, because you come off double shoulder surgery. The thing we really have to work hard on with our shot is all our guys are what I call 'dart shooters.' A lot of players are 'dart shooters.' They shoot the ball here and throw a dart and they have to get the ball up in air at least six inches out and up. And that is what Kevin (Ware), Wayne (Blackshear) and Chane (Behanan) do not do. We are going to work hard on that. We had them for a while and then they revert back to the old habits.”
(On what is the biggest improvement the team can improve on before the Battle 4 Atlantis)
“We improved our rebounding which was a staple of where we wanted to improve obviously. We got wide open shots, with the exception of Russ (Smith) taking challenged shots there at the end so he could call daddy and let him know he scored 30.”
(On Gorgui Dieng's all-around game tonight)
“Yeah, it's tough because this is a freshman and sophomore team that Samford is playing with. We just had a lot of size on them, but Gorgui played an all-around game tonight. I thought Chane (Behanan) played a good first half tonight; then he tired and wore down and didn't play defense in the second half. But I thought Chane played an outstanding first half.”
(On Luke Hancock being tentative to shoot in the game, and if he is losing confidence)
“Just keep shooting. The question was 100 percent on the money, he was hoping his shots were going in and that's what happens. I think right now the way to go with some of his struggles... Like Russ (Smith) who was void of an assist tonight, Russ will play that position at the beginning of the year. Heading to the Atlantis Tournament, we will go with Russ and Peyton (Siva) in the backcourt, and Wayne (Blackshear) at the small forward spot. We will look at the combinations because it is obvious what you are asking, he is pressing and the crowd was hoping he would make it. It happens. There are 22,000 people, you are coming off double shoulder surgery, and you are pressing to make your shots. It is almost like a hitter in a slump. You are dying to make contact and you will get out of it in a game, and you will be out of it for good.”
Samford Head Coach Bennie Seltzer
(On how tough the team played, and how well they played in the second half)
“I am proud of their second half effort, but we must become a tougher team. I know Louisville was the second ranked team in the country, but you give up 28 offensive rebounds and it's hard to win, and hard to beat any team with that effort towards rebounding, so we have to become a much tougher team.”
(On coming out in the second half and playing much better offensively and defensively)
“I thought the first half we were a little stage fright, this is a new venue for us - not to give those guys an excuse. They have five guys and we have five guys, every time you strap up you have to go out there and give it your best. Our guys had a little stage fright in the beginning but in the second half they picked it up.”
(On playing in such a tough environment)
“I don't mind buy that personally, it's a game. Those guys have been playing basketball and we've all been playing basketball for a very long time. There's no need to deal with stage fright, there's no need to be afraid because it's a game. At the very end of the day there are a lot more important things going on in that basketball game tonight. It's a game and I thought our guys would of competed a little harder in the first half, so that part of it was disappointing but for the most part I was pleased with our effort in the second half.”
(On freshmen Clide Geffrard and Jalen Beckham seeming to play more relaxed as the game went on)
“Clide is coming off of an ankle injury where he's probably about 85-90 percent right now. Jalen has had some situations back in Birmingham that we've had to deal with as a staff. But the more they played, the better they got.”
(On the adjustments he made at halftime)
“We went to zone. We played - I think, 20 minutes of zone - the entire second half. Some of those guys took a lot of shots, but we knew Russ Smith was a very good shooter. He got a couple of open looks that I thought he probably shouldn't have, but those others we knew were somewhat streaky, but we wanted to make sure we knew where Russ Smith was at all times. And we lost him a few times, but the difference that we made was we just went to zone. It hurt is in rebounding, but our man hurt us in rebounding as well. We just thought we just had a better chance of stopping those guys as a result of being in our zone.”
