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Louisville-Cincinnati Postgame Quotes
January 30, 2014 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 30, 2014
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Louisville Head Coach Rick Pitino
(Opening statement)
"You got to give them a lot of credit because they lost total momentum in the game and good defensive teams can come back and hold on. They shot 63 percent in the second half, which is outstanding. We made really a couple of blunders down the stretch and not blocking out with the lead and then we tried to reach in and get steals on (Sean) Kilpatrick when he's an 86 percent foul shooter -- it's just uncalled for. But give them a lot of credit. They made a lot of big plays. We had them rattled and we let the game get away from us. I'm proud of the effort, but I'm not proud of the defensive execution or the rebounding. So we only have a day to prepare and get ready for Central Florida. We can't hang our heads and we got to get ready."
(About Montrezl Harrell's play)
"I thought he played very well."
(At the start of the game, Cincinnati grabbed all of the momentum. How much of it was Russ Smith not executing?)
"He didn't have a great night, but he's been great for us. He just had an off night. It had nothing to do with [the layoff]. It had to do with Cincinnati. It's a weird conference, that's all I can say. I don't understand why we have these eight days off. It's weird. I don't get it."
(On the play of Chris Jones in his first game back)
"I thought he did fine. I just thought our defense was very poor. We made some bad decisions defensively. When we switched, we didn't block out. The last play of the game, we have the lead and we get a missed shot, then we didn't box out the best rebounder in the league. From an offensive standpoint, that is just absurd. We had a chance to foul and we didn't foul."
(On what Sean Kilpatrick did for them as in steadying them down the stretch)
"He doesn't miss free throws. If you look at what he shoots from the field, it is awesome. He has a good assist-turnover ratio, and he doesn't miss free throws. It wasn't even close when he went to the line. What we wanted to do was not reach in on him and make him pass the basketball. Twice, Russ reached in on him for no rhyme or reason."
(Did you see what you wanted to see out of Chris Jones with the long layoff?)
"Yes."
(Once you got the lead did you do thing offensively on a couple of positions?)
"We just didn't block out a key point in the game and it cost us the game and then Russ made a good move to the basket that I thought was in and it went out. Montrezl wasn't there where he was supposed to be for the offensive rebound ... but Russ made a good move."
(Coach, this was a big time, physical sort game of like Cincinnati vs. Louisville)
"Well, that's who it was."
Cincinnati Head Coach Mick Cronin
(How big of a win was this for you guys tonight)
"It was a good win. We have won 13 in a row now and, when you can beat the second place team in your conference, you have to be happy with that. Any road win in the conference against a ranked team is always a good win, but we expected to win. That's why we got on the bus last night."
(Does it make any kind of statement nationally)
"You know, I live day-to-day, but that's for other people to determine. We don't care what other people think about us. The biggest thing I teach in my program is we don't let other people define us. You have to ignore criticism and deflect praise."
(On putting the game in Sean Kilpatrick's hands the last seven to eight minutes)
"I mean, I probably asked him to do too much handling the ball against their press. At times, he got tired and I should have got him some more rest in the first half because I knew that was going to happen. I knew when we had the lead how the game was going to pan out. But you know he did well, and people don't think that he is an NBA player, but I don't understand how they could think that."
(How much did your tempo help you win tonight)
"We have the best three senior leaders in the country. They might not be the best players. I mean Kentucky and Kansas have three lottery picks. But I wouldn't trade my guys for the world; I've been saying this since the beginning of the season. Those guys play hard, they are tough, and they care about winning. They're just off the charts. I am just enjoying the ride with these guys for now."
(On the halfcourt defense as an ally)
"Yeah, well, that's every game. For us, the key against them and Memphis is you got to make them play 5-on-5. If you turn the ball over and they get on those runs, they're going to convert on the break or they will kick it out for a 3. As much as we could do to run good offense, to keep them in the half court, and to make them attack us 5-on-5, that's our goal every game; no different this game."
(On what this game means short term and long term for this team)
"Our season, and this is with all due respect to Louisville, we expected to win and we aren't hanging any banners. We played in the BIG EAST for the last seven years and, in our world, you play three of these games in an eight day span. That's what we're used to. I'm sure, for you guys, people will show us more respect now, but in our world, if we lose Sunday at noon against South Florida, it'll go right out the window and it's my job to continue to keep that in perspective."
(How important was the availability of Justin Jackson in this game)
"We're not going to beat a team like Louisville on the road without Justin Jackson. It's just not going to happen because it's a tough matchup for Jermaine (Sanders) in this game. They would have put him in pick and roll after pick and roll and so, strategically, we would have had to play zone if Justin wouldn't have played. Justin is the most valuable defensive player in the country. No one player is more valuable to a team's defense than he is to ours, cause of his ability to block shots, switch screens, and do all the things he does."
(On the Louisville run in the second half)
"They asked me that on the radio what I did. I'll tell you what I did. I made sure Justin (Jackson), Titus (Rubles), and SK (Sean Kilpatrick) were in the game. You know, I think too much college basketball coaches are given too much credit and probably too much blame. I think my players don't get enough respect; I've got really good players. They deserve the credit for this win. Sure, we did some little things. Like Troy Caupain and his passing, just getting the ball in bounds against Louisville, with all the holding, grabbing, and no calling going on. Last year, we couldn't get the ball in bounds. It's just something like that, that's credit to Troy Caupain. That's nothing I did other than recruit him. You've got to give credit to Larry Davis on that. I'm not taking credit for anything except making sure that those guys are in the game. They're really good players, they're winners, and I'm just enjoying the ride with them."
(Is this team different on offense compared to last year)
"You said it. When I said this earlier in the year, at times, you lose a game. We lost two on the road. The world is falling in. Everybody wants to paint with a quick brush. That is not this team. Shaq (Thomas) can play, Troy (Caupain) can play, and SK (Kilpatrick) can play. You know, Jermaine Sanders can make shots and so can Ge'lawn Guyn. I thought, given time, we could evolve, but those guys haven't played a lot. Forget the freshmen - just Ge'Lawn, Jermaine and Shaq. We are such a dominant team by Shaq, Jermaine, and SK taking all the shots. Those guys just needed some time."
(On differences in second half with the ref)
"I've been working out like you, so I've been trying to show the shoulder pads a little bit. I don't even remember. So much is going on out there to be honest with you and you're just trying to make sure your team is getting a fair share out there. I didn't feel like we were getting a fair share. That's probably why that happened."
(On fouling in the last minute)
"Yes, on the pass. Ge'lawn was going to foul and they passed it before he could foul. He was trying to wait for him to get to half court and then we should have fouled Luke (Hancock) on the catch. But we didn't have a timeout to get organized. We've practiced it and they know. The guys knew they didn't foul right away, so they knew not to foul on the shot. Ge'Lawn was trying to wait till he got to half court because SK fouled too early on the previous possession, earlier than he had to."
(On value of senior leaders)
"They are the reason we have won 13 in a row. That's why we won tonight. We win with tremendous leadership and team play. And those guys got some talent. I told Coach before the game, I got three guys like Peyton Siva. He was a great, great leader, and all he cared about was winning and I got three guys just like that. I don't know how good we are, but I wouldn't trade these guys for the world."
