Postgame Quotes

Louisville Head Coach Rick Pitino

(Opening Statement) "Well, it was another good win for us. Wins in this conference don't come easy, especially when we're trying to put a lot of things in that are difficult for our guys to pick up, but as they get used to it, they're getting better and better at it. I thought offensively we did a lot of really good things. I thought defensively, in the first half, we played excellent defense. We just turned it over a few too many times. We rebounded better. Like I told our guys in there, I said 'I don't change. Starting lineups are irrelevant to me, but when you get two rebounds in a game and you lose, I like to change things. If you're a front court player and you want a lot of minutes, you've got to rebound the ball'. Certainly Ray [Spalding] grabbing 11 rebounds and Anas [Mahmoud] grabbing nine helped have a 39 -28 edge. We also had 18 assists to their seven, which is a good thing."

(On big to big passing) "Yeah we threw some away, like Ray's pass last time he didn't look, he just threw it, but Ray has been touch passing very well and doing a good job. He was very active tonight."

(What are you putting in at this stage of the season?) "Well, about three weeks ago we started playing matchup zone again. It's a very difficult thing to learn for guys like V.J. [King] because you have to be constantly talking and recognizing. If a big is high and he rolls down, it's got to be a switch and you've got to be able to talk and communicate the switch, so it's difficult. He's a much better player when we just play switching man."

(On taking away Andrew White III on offense) "Well to be honest, we get up on him as if it's a 'dribble you' situation. We play him as if he has no dribble. We get up. We sit on his right hand, and that's what, probably, a lot of teams are doing to him right now."

(What was the key in forcing Syracuse to miss so many 3s?) "At Syracuse, the most impressive thing about the win is we got off our feet and challenged every shot they took. Tonight they got some open ones, but we're doing a very good job of challenging shots. Overall, we communicated very well tonight. We did some really, really good things with switching. It's important that you get up on them and make them drive, especially when you have a 20-point lead. You know they're going to do that. They're either going to try to get fouled or shoot a three."

(How do you get Ray to be more consistent?) "I think the whole team has been inconsistent. It's not just Ray. I think, Jaylen [Johnson] had three great games, and then he had two rebounds against North Carolina. Tonight, he didn't rebound the basketball. Mangok's [Mathiang] had two or three great games. That's been the problem with us. We haven't had consistency on the backboard from the same players, but the good thing is you've got enough players that you can substitute and find out who's the guy that's going to get the job done."

(On how the press disrupted the 3-point shooters and not getting as many blocked shots) "Well, our length is a real big stretch. What we wanted to do tonight was press them not to steal, just press to fatigue because we realize some of their guys are going to play a lot of minutes. That's all we were trying to do. A lot of times if you can just get them to speed dribble it takes a lot out of you."

(On Donovan [Mitchell] being a star and what you had in mind for him) "I think he's playing like a star. I think he's a great basketball player who put a lot of time and effort into his game. I think, if the rest of the guys would put the effort in the summer time like Donovan did, they would have made the same strides. There are very few people that are like him that understand that although the season is five months long that means there's six-seven months left depending on when you start to improve. You've got to work at your game, and he did. He worked his butt off. Great shooter, he's improved his passing. He's a steal machine, quite a player."

(On defensive changes from the first game to the second game) "We pressed. We didn't press at Syracuse. Outside of that, Syracuse can beat anybody on a given night, and we just wanted to make sure that every shot they took was challenged."

(Pressed back when behind?) "They have a great press, but they 2-2-1 pressed tonight, which I hadn't seen them do too much. Once we got used to it and Anas (Mahmoud) decided to throw the ball to a player rather than the stands, we were good."

(Did you think Donovan would be as good as he is?) "I actually did. We are ranked in the top 10 and he is our best player. I think Kennard (Luke Kennard) and Justin Jackson are going to be up for national player of the year, and Donovan (Mitchell) is certainly one of the best players in the country. This is a conference of great basketball players. He is a tremendous young man and he has really improved. I love guys that work at their game. Quentin Snider played a great game with 34 minutes, six assists and no turnovers. That is not easy to do against Syracuse."

Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim

(Opening statement) "I thought the first half we weren't aggressive offensively and we just dug a hole and we just couldn't climb out of it. We were too passive. We didn't attack the defense very well. The second half we were better. We were more aggressive getting to the basket, but I thought Louisville played really well. I thought they were very difficult inside for us and [Donovan] Mitchell shot the ball great all night, but we struggled shooting the ball form the three-point line -- that's been an issue for us. When we shoot it better there, we're a much better team. I thought Louisville played great tonight and they were just too good tonight for us."

(On if there was a lack of aggression on offense that helped Louisville's defense) "No, I mean you have to drive. The second half we drove and we got 43 points in the second half. Same defense. We just didn't convert. Too passive and we didn't attack the defense. Tyus [Battle] is the only one in the first half, and the second really, that tried to attack. John [Gillon] didn't. John started to in the second half and it was a little different offensive game. First half, if John Gillon and Andrew White don't score, we're not going to do much."

(On what makes Donovan Mitchell so effective) "He can really shoot it. He's good with the ball, he's athletic, but he's really shooting the ball well. That was the difference tonight, his shooting. He really shot the ball great."

(On difference between Louisville's front court) "I just that they played well, all those guys. They've got multiple guys who have had big games this year. They've all played well at different times, but they're long. We're focusing, trying to do something with [Donovan] Mitchell and [Quentin] Snider and we really didn't do a good job defensively."

(On what Louisville did that allowed Syracuse to cut the score to 11) "We were able to get a couple turnovers. They're a pressing team. We were fortunate to have some success, but you're not going to press them over 15 minutes. That's why people have said, 'Why don't you press more?' Well, this is why. Because we're effective for three, four minutes. We had pressed pretty well this year in three or four minute stretches, but good teams are going to adjust and then be able to attack you down on the other end and they just got guys that can go to the basket. But, when you have to press, you have to press. There's no other way out of it. We did a really good job for a little while there, we got some turnovers and got it to 10 or 11 and we missed two or three shots right when we got it there, that we had to make at that point, so they kept that cushion. We had three really, pretty good open looks, and you have to make those when you're down to start with 15 or 18 or 20, and you get it to 11, well now you have to make a couple of those shots, and we just couldn't do it. And then eventually they work on their press everyday and that didn't impress them. I'm surprised a little bit that we had so much success there for a little while with our press against them."

(Are teams defend Andrew any different) "No, they're just staying with them. He's got to put it on the floor. Teams are defending Tyus the same way. But if you're going to play you know they are going to switch on everything. They are going to stay up all the time and for the last two games that's exactly what happened. You have to put the ball on the floor in situations

(On Playing Georgia Tech next) "We are focused on the next game, we are going to get ready to play, see what happens. I don't worry about that stuff, we are going to get ready to play, it's out of our hands."

(On Tyler Lydon) "He was very active. He got some shots that we like him to get from the perimeter. I thought he could have taken a couple more but he was very active, very good tonight.

(On Louisville running a full court press) "Yea we thought they would press, they usually press, but the press was not a factor, at all."

University of Louisville Athletics

Players Mentioned

Donovan Mitchell

Quentin Snider

Related Videos