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Louisville-Cornell Postgame Quotes
November 15, 2013 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 15, 2013
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Louisville Head Coach Rick Pitino
(Opening Statement)
"We watched these guys and we prepared really hard, because against Syracuse they were up six at halftime and against Binghamton they were up 19 in the second half. They've been jumping on teams with their three-point shot and we didn't want to give that up. So our guys were well prepared to go against them and didn't take them lightly at all. This is a very young team that if you let them shoot, can cause problems as they were up at the Carrier Dome by six so we did a great job tonight of having intensity from the first play all the way to the end. I'm really excited with the way they rebounded and passed the basketball. They did an outstanding job. It's been a great day for us, recruiting wise and good performance on the court.”
(On who performed well)
“I think Wayne (Blackshear) is shooting the ball extremely well, playing with great confidence. We got him down seven pounds, he looks quicker. He's just got to rebound the basketball. Wayne is a very good rebounder and he is blanked tonight from that. Our free throw shooting woes right now stem from two things. One, they don't know how to play when they're fatigued yet. Fifty percent of it is fatigue, the other fifty percent is just technique - and we've been working very hard on that, and will continue to work very hard, but they have got to get used to it. Like Peyton was an energizer bunny, and it never bothered him, he could go to the line. That's what they have got to learn.”
(On Kevin Ware entering the game)
“Well, the last three days, Fred (Hina) just told me, 'Did you notice Kevin?' I said, 'Yeah, he looks great, and I think it's time to play him.' He said, 'I agree - I didn't see any limping at all.'”
(On Kevin Ware moving forward in the season.)
“I think he is a really good basketball player. He's looks comfortable and really good in practice. He's obviously not afraid to take it to people. He looked good out there.”
(On Chane Behanan and Montrezl Harrell)
“Both of them pursued it. Chane's obviously a very good rebounder and gives us another big body inside and we need that because we haven't been rebounding. We've just got to get Wayne rebounding the basketball now. But we're passing the ball well, we're moving. You know a team is good when emotionally, even if the other team hasn't won a game, they're ready to play, because teams like this sneak up on you and our guys were really ready to play. That's a sign of humility and respect for your opponent and they came out and played really hard and they got a huge lead because of it.”
(On Stephan Van Treese)
“Stephan, on the free throw line looks great. If he can do it, the rest of the guys can do it. He looked confident and that's what we've got to get to where everybody's that way. Stephan's playing good basketball.”
(On what it means for David Levitch to get his first career points)
“You have to ask him, because every player is different. I think David Levitch is a very good basketball player. I think he needs strength and needs to learn how to play defense, but he knows how to play the game. He can pass, he can cut, and he knows the game. He has to get stronger and learn how to play defense. He is going to be every bit as good of a walk on then Tim Henderson was. He is not afraid to make a mistake, but you are going to ask him how he feels. Everybody's different. I am sure he will be very humble about it.”
(On how Russ Smith had five assists and what that means)
“I think Russ knows how to play. Chris (Jones) has got to really learn when he is pressing not to get tired and he got a little tired tonight and he has to learn. That was the great thing about Peyton (Siva). He has never played like this before and it is just a lesson for him, the same thing for Terry Rozier. I think Luke (Hancock) needs to get in better shape, I don't think Luke is in great basketball shape right now. He kept his body in great shape but he has to get in better shape.”
(On how he thought Chane Behanan played)
“I think he did a very good job. I think Chane is the best rebounder on the team, although Montrezl (Harrell) had a great game tonight and Stephan Van Treese. If we can just get those three guys. Chane has a very good knack for knowing where the ball is going to go. He really concentrates on watching the ball so he knows where it is going to go. I was impressed with Chane. He is coming around. I like what he is doing with his life and that makes me even happier than basketball.”
(On Mangok Mathiang and improvements to his game.)
“He's just new to the game. He's a little straight up and down. He's got to learn ball skills, how to pass, how to dribble. but he's going to be very good. Like I've always said, he's ahead of Gorgui at the same stage - but he's a good basketball player. He's a good shot blocker; He has to play a lot of basketball. He'll be a very good player some day.”
Cornell Head Coach Bill Courtney
(Opening statement)
“They are a very good ball club. Their defensive pressure really rattled us in the beginning of the game. That was a huge hole that we were never able to get out of. I liked the way our team fought back in the second half. It was natural for them to let up a little bit, with a 40 point lead at half time. We got to continue to improve, but we played against one of the better teams in the country. It was a lesson we have to learn, it's a hard lesson to learn, but it's one that we have to get better from.”
(On the lineup tonight)
“I just wanted to find some guys who are going to compete. We got down in a hole so early, I thought it was a lack of competitiveness. I wanted to find somebody to light a little bit of a fire under us, to give us a spark.”
(On the experience gained from playing top 10 teams)
“You're going against the best teams in America, so you kind of get a barometer of where you may be as a program and as a group. Our team is so young and we're still trying to figure ourselves out and I think it gives us a chance to go back to the drawing board and figure out where we can go and get better.”
(On what positives he saw from his team)
“I saw us compete a little harder in the second half and that was pleasing to see because getting down 40 points, you can hang your head or you can come back and try to compete and I thought we did that in the second. I was proud of our guys for doing that.”
(On Jojo Fallas)
“Jojo was probably the calming influence in the first half, he was the only one who could get us in the offense. He's a guy who works hard every day and I thought he did a good job.”
