Louisville vs. Bellarmine Postgame Quotes

Louisville Head Coach Chris Mack

(Opening statement) "It was a hard game and we wouldn't have expected anything different. Coming into this one, I don't know if our young guys realize, but our coaching staff and our older players certainly realize we were going to play a unique team, a team that moves the ball extremely well. They are just difficult to guard. For us, we've got to do a much better job of keeping the ball out of the lane, which is easier said than done when you are playing a team that makes several passes per possession. We are talking about 11, 12, 13, passes before a guy drives the ball. Be that as it may, they could make 25 passes and we still have to do a better job of being able to keep the ball in front and lock in off the ball and not get sucked in on the penetration like we did a few times in the second half. Offensively, I think we had what we statted as 13 paint touches in the first half and I think most of those 13 were in the first seven, eight minutes. I think we hit a couple of jump shots and our guys started to realize that is how we are going to open this thing. I thought we would have learned the hard way against Ohio State when we just played around the perimeter. That doesn't give you much chance to draw fouls. You are relying simply on jump shots and you don't get the defense out of position. The second half we had 25 paint touches. And as evidenced by the first three or four minutes, Coach Davenport timeout, we were getting the ball in the lane and as a result we were in the bonus a lot quicker. That is how we have to play. Now it is a little different for us right now because we are playing without two of our better players and our bigger guys. Guys that we would have tried to pound the ball into at least with Malik (Williams) and Steven (Enoch). Be that as it may, I think this was a great test for our team and we took a step forward from the scrimmage against Ohio State as I told our team we need to. because it is for real starting a week from tonight."

(Jordan Nwora seemed like he was limping at the end a little bit there and do you expect to have him and Steven Enoch both available for Miami?) "I do. Jordan cramped up. You're talking about 38 minutes that he played. I don't want to play him 38 minutes, but we have a lot of inexperience on the floor, but I don't want to be known as the coach that loses to Bellarmine at Louisville. It would be tough going into my Dunkin' Doughnuts… so, no disrespect to them. I have lost them before, and I didn't like that feeling or what that feeling. But Jordan just cramped up and I'd expect that if you play that amount of minutes this early in the season."

(How is Steven Enoch, is he okay? And just how critical is he going to be?) "He is critical. He's a big piece of our team; we all know that. He is fine. I shouldn't say fine, but he will be fine for the Miami game, which is why we took the precaution of sitting him this game. He got knocked in the thigh a couple times, once against Ohio State and a couple of times in practice. His thigh sort of swelled up a little bit, but Fred (Hina) will do a great job and I don't anticipate him being out when we start the season, that's the most important thing, not tonight."

(What did you think of Samuell Williamson and some other freshmen in general?) "Sam made great plays for us. He came up with some key rebounds on both ends of the floor - five offensive. He made a nice curl-cut in the lane. I thought he found his confidence a little bit, played much better defensively in the second half than he did in the first. As I said, he has the nose for the ball, and he seemed to come up with some key rebounds and chased a few down. And then he played with the poise that I have come to expect just coaching him in the preseason."

(On Dwayne Sutton's game and rebounding) "Dwayne had five offensive rebounds. He's a warrior. He's a warrior. If I ask him to play the five, if I ask him to play the three, he's not going to bat an eye. I've said it a million times but he's got to get better. I don't want to sell him off as this 'glue guy' and 'hey you're doing the best you can.' He's got to get better. He's got to help us on screening action and be loud. He's got to get more vocal. He's got to guard the ball better. I think a couple of their five-men went around him off the dribble. We have to rely on Dwayne as one of our stalwarts on defense, not a guy that gets beat off the bounce. I'm not just going to sing his praises. He's got to get better for us to be the type of team that I know we are capable of."

(When did you know Steven Enoch when Steven Enoch wasn't going to play, did it cause you to use different lineups?) "We took Saturday off and then Fred (Hina) texted me that night and said, 'I'm going to try and get Steven ready.' I said, 'You know what, he's a warrior, he practices every day.' The gold jersey that we wear, this will show you how competitive Steve is, he was leading in practice stats: rebounds blocks, points, charges taken, you name it, and probably would have won the gold jersey had he been able to practice on Sunday. So, I texted him and said, 'Hey Steven you're going to take tomorrow off and then we'll reassess. I want to give you a couple days in a row.' Then he said, 'Coach I'll do what you say but I really wanted to win the gold jersey.' Jordan ended up winning it and Steve sat out. And then we sat him out Monday. Guy has been out of practice for three days. We'll probably get him back two or three days from now in hopes that he will be 100 percent for Miami."

(On Lamarr "Fresh" Kimble coming along) "He's got to play better. I thought tonight he did some good things. He made that little pull-up in the lane and found Dwayne. He's just got to get his feet under him. Christen Cunningham wasn't really good early on. I have a lot of faith in a fifth-year senior, a guy that will figure it out. He can play both on and off the ball. I think he was probably a little nervous playing the first time at our level and for a team that he's excited to be a part of. He's going to be a guy that we really depend on. Again, he gives you that comfort when he's on the floor getting things run. Having said that, him, Ryan (McMahon) and Darius (Perry) go eight assists and one turnover. I'll take that from our primary ball handlers."

(Aa game like this is difficult for a player like Aiden Igiehon or for any big for that matter because of Bellarmine's style of play. Is this a good opportunity for him to watch out for those back-doors and different things that Bellarmine likes to do?) "It's a good opportunity to get exposure at a high level. But it really isn't indicative of a lot of styles that he will face. Many of the players that he will guarding are going to anchor themselves in the post, lip out and set ball screens and try to dunk it on your face when the shot goes up. In this game, he's guarding guys that are back-cutting and that are curling, they are playing 90 percent of the possession on the perimeter and that's just not what he is going to see a whole lot. On the other end, he's not a play through post yet. He's a guy that's got to be able to finish things and so you notice the one time he got in the post it, was like Gulliver's Travels and all of the Lilliputians around… he had like 16 guys around him. He's got to get more comfortable for sure on the offensive end, but it's a very unique style for a big guy to play against Bellarmine, the way they play."

(When you go to Miami, what is the game plan? What would you like to improve on?) "Everything. But we'll take inventory of tonight's game and figure out areas that, regardless of the opponent, we have to get better at. We're going to try to get some of our guys in better condition. Guys like Quinn (Slazinski), certainly get Steven (Enoch) back in the fold and so we'll have 11, knock on wood, scholarship players available and then we'll start to focus our attention on Miami and what they present. A team that is led by one of the better point guards in the league. A guy that can score at a high level, and get in the lane and it's going to be a challenge but we'll worry about those guys here in a few days. We're going to worry about getting better from the Bellarmine game first."

(What do you think about the NCAA today announcing that players can make money?) "Well, I've said it before, I'm on record as a supporter. I don't know what it should and will look like. But, I do think it's time, with really every power conference league having their own network and the amount of money involved. I think it's a step in the right direction. The NCAA is not this evil empire against the kids. I think they have made moves over the last several years that have really helped student athletes, cost of attendance, unlimited meals, just to name a few. I think they are moving in the right direction, what that is going to look like remains to be seen."

Bellarmine Head Coach Scott Davenport

(Opening statement) "First and foremost, let me say, because of our players, and secondly because of our university, we are appreciative of the opportunity. What an opportunity to play in the best arena in the country with 15,000 and change in here tonight. They just asked me outside, your love for the university - that's a distant, distant, distant third, because I'll challenge anyone who loves this university more than me. Two degrees, and 39 hours over my Master's and I'll take you on. I grew up five blocks away. I'm incredibly proud of our guys. My message to them after the game was simple: you learn from this incredible learning opportunity tonight. There's no limit to this basketball team. I understand they're short-handed, I get that, but this learning environment tonight, as a teacher, is not going to be equalled by anyone in Division II basketball. This was an incredible learning opportunity for us. That's the luxury of coaching this team and these type of young men because they embrace that opportunity to learn. I would be shocked tonight, they'll be guys in Knights' Hall all tonight. They'll be in Knights' Hall all tonight. Wouldn't be surprised one bit. They're amazing. People make fun of me because I say it. I'm the luckiest coach who has ever coached any sport, any level. It's because of those players, and our university is proud of them and they should be. This was a heck of a basketball game. If you look at the game, we out-shoot them; in the paint, even; off turnovers, even. That is second chance points. I am the self-appointed president of the Dwayne Sutton fan club, just so you know. And I'm not apologizing. I recruited the heck out of him. His father is a fellow Iroquois alum like me. I thought we really had a chance between his sophomore and junior year at Manual. It didn't make a difference who they played, he got 20 and 10. They could win by 40, lose by 5, he got 20 and 10. We recruited him. His dad said, "Coach, it kills me, but he really wants an opportunity to play Division I basketball." And he goes to UNC Asheville. I wish him nothing but the best, because he's going to want to come home. The next call I get is from Coach Pitino. He says, "Scotty, what do you know about this kid, Dwayne Sutton?" I said, "Coach, he is incredible." What was it, two minutes and four seconds to go, two-point game, what does he do? Gets a put-back. That's him. He's a phenomenal basketball player. Again, you learn from that. You emulate that. It'll be great. It'll be great for our basketball team, and I'll lay my head down tonight in total confidence they'll learn from this.

(Why did your team have so much success getting the ball in the lane especially early on?) "It's what we practice. It's amazing, the last two minutes, you get away from what you practice and that was their message to when we all talked in their locker room. They talk, they are great students of the game. When we did what we practice, success follows, when you don't, you get problems and that's just the fundamentals of the game, that's the way we teach the game. We got extended after the timeout at the 18 minute mark in the first half, we kind of took them off the bounce in situations. We made a couple of adjustments, strategically and the players responded and you give them credit, they shut that down the last two minutes".

(What did you see from Alex Cook and Dylan Penn, then going forward and what are your expectations from them?) "The expectations are tremendous because that's what I see in practice. Confidence comes from one place and one place only and that is being prepared. If you prepare academically for an exam, you ought to be confident walking in there for an exam. If you prepare for an exam on the basketball court like tonight, you prepare well, you have every right to be confident and Alex Cook, Dylan Penn are great examples. Cobe Penny had tremendous practices the last ten days and you see these kids grow. Just like Pedro Bradshaw and I use some players less minutes, because my philosophy is just to use them in situations where it is very positive and they will continue to grow. We talked about it in the locker room and Garrett Tipton, Alec Pfriem, Justin Betz that's the most minutes he's played here as a redshirt sophomore. Chris Palombizio, last year missed two solid months in the preseason and he -had no practice and we just want to use them in positive situations and grow, grow, and grow. We had a private scrimmage with Centre we went 60 minutes and those guys went 30 and 35 minutes and we just want to continue that growing process. It's just teaching".

(How did you change your approach once you learned Steven Enoch wasn't going to play tonight) "We switched more than we were going to. We saw him in the Red-White scrimmage, and I've said all day today that he is a professional. He was tremendous. We had game-planned for him, no doubt about it. We just switched a little more than we would have. With him, and Dwayne (Sutton) kinda took over down there in the paint. With Enoch they are so tough to guard. You have to guard the basket with a true center. Go to all levels of basketball, college or pro. How many true centers are they? You just don't see it as much but he shoots one or two threes a game. He hit two threes against us last year. Then you have McMahon (Ryan McMahon) and Nwora (Jordan Nwora) who can stretch you further than anybody in college basketball. Well you've got more real estate to guard. It's just a study of the game and we knew that."

(If another college coach called you and asked what your first impressions of the Louisville basketball team. What would you say?) "Tough."

(Where do you go from here and what are your expectations on the rest of the season?)"We're going to be better tomorrow. I can tell you that right now. At 3:30 at practice tomorrow we're going to be better. What makes that great is, it's one thing to have a staff who want to get better. When you have 16 guys that are not very happy that are going to want to go in there and get better. We're going to practice 2 p.m. Thursday. Bus at 4 p.m. We're going to stop a little over halfway to Notre Dame. Then we have an 11 a.m. walkthrough Friday. We play at 7 p.m. and we're going to come back Sunday and get better again. It's unbelievable. I'm incredibly proud of our guys. I really am."

(What are your thoughts on the NCAA allowing players to make money) "It would take me two solid hours to answer that. What time did you all say it was, 9:20? Do you realize we play Notre Dame Friday, if I stay here to answer that. There are too many questions. I looked at four bullet points when that came out. The opportunity to play college basketball and use basketball is great. That's a great opportunity. That you can use that discipline for the next 40-45 years of your life. What I'm scared of, in just one answer. I think we're talking about a very minuscule number. In the big picture, there is over 1,100 Division I,II, and III schools. We're talking about a little bitty number. We've got to work at this. It scares me. I'm a traditionalist. It scares me. I don't know and I'm all for the players. Don't take it the wrong way. I'm all for that. If you think of a four year education at an institution like Bellarmine. Other than a home you buy and a medical catastrophe -- signing that scholarship to come to Bellarmine probably erases the biggest expense of your life other than a home you will buy. Think of that. That's a heck of an opportunity to use basketball. I'll discuss it with anybody at any time and I will study it because I do care about this game without a doubt."

University of Louisville Athletics

Players Mentioned

Christen Cunningham

Steven Enoch

Ryan McMahon

Jordan Nwora

Dwayne Sutton

Samuell Williamson

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