Recap |
Final Stats
Q: What types of press sets did you use tonight?
A: We just used a little man-to-man. We just kind of matched up with the ball coming in-bounds. We run a couple of things that we really didn't do today. We tried to disguise them all so they looked the same until the ball comes in and we start trapping. We just used our basic thing tonight where we just trapped the first pass, rotated out, and then played man-to-man on the floor. Just to give some pressure up the floor and get our guys going.
Q: Was the press as effective as you wanted it to be?
A: I think it was in spurts. I think the press is one of those things where you use three or four possessions and try and change the game and try to create some energy in the building. At that point you may need to get out of it. I don't think the younger guys understood it and didn't get to their spots quick enough. The older guys were there at the start when we did it and it was pretty effective.
Q: How pleased were you with how your team took care of the ball?
A: That was a thing going in. We did not take care of the ball a day or two last week during practice and I was a little upset with them. We had great practices Friday and Saturday taking care of the ball. I was anxious to see how we took care of the ball today. I thought we did a very good job passing the ball well and delivering the ball. I thought that was good for us.
Q: Explain playing your two freshmen guards.
A: I think they're still trying to fill things out. I wanted to be more aggressive with the ball and to be more aggressive overall, offensively and defensively. They both can make shots. They didn't make any tonight, but they're both very capable of making baskets from the perimeter. I'm trying to get them to understand defensively what they have to do there. They're young guys and this is their first time out there for them. It's a whole different thing for them. They'll be fine and I think they'll both have a good chance to help us throughout the season.
Q: What does the rhythm of your veteran players contribute to the offense?
A: When you have guys like Battle that can make perimeter shots, they push out and that allows the other guys to penetrate and that's important for us. We've spent a lot of time the past few days shooting the basketball. Shooting the ball is going to be extremely important for us because we're not an overly big team in terms of size. So with us trying the pound the ball inside with Janelle Cornley and Andrew Jones, right now, that's our post-presence offensively. So we have to make perimeter shots. It's going to be important for everyone to shoot the ball from the perimeter.
Q: Talor Battle struggled shooting last year, talk about his improvement this season.
A: I think he's improved in everything. He looks to be a step faster with the basketball this year because he's got himself in very good shape and he's done a wonderful job with our strength and conditioning coach who has done a wonderful job with all of our guys. I think his core strength is so much better. His upper-body strength is so much better. He's playing with a lot of confidence. It's good to see that.
Q: Why didn't Jeff Brooks play?
A: Concussion. So we've got Brooks with a concussion and Billy Oliver with a concussion. It's the first that I've had that in a long time. Jeff Brooks will be day-to-day.
Q: How do you feel your team played without Brooks?
A: I think they're okay. Jones did a nice job as well as David Jackson. I was worried that we just had to play those guys too many minutes. That's what I was concerned about going in. So we tried to rotate those guys in the last five or six minutes basically to sit Cornley out and that really helped us. We have to get Brooks and Oliver back. Andrew Ott is not eligible until finals are over. He's done very well in practice for us. When we get him back in, we have another post guy that we can throw at people. He's a skilled guy and he'll help us as well.
Q: What were the circumstances of Brooks and Oliver's concussions?
A: Billy, I think, fell on the floor and hit his head. Maybe Jones' elbow hit Brooks in the head, just playing.
Q: It looked like Danny Morrissey was hurt, is that the case?
A: You just get banged up. His knees are a real challenge for him on a daily basis. He's okay.
Q: Did Jamelle Cornley get enough touches?
A: It's kind of hard in this kind of game. We could've pounded in there but I'm not sure what that really would've accomplished. We try to do some other things. We would throw the ball in and he scores on somebody. It doesn't really do us any good so we're working on some other things.
Q: What do you look to improve on going into Friday's game against William & Mary.
A: Defensively, I think we contained the ball very well. The first half we had way too many fouls. I didn't think we stopped penetration very well. If there's a disappointment in this game for me, it was that. I think we contained the ball like we needed to and I didn't think we took enough charges today. We show that tomorrow to the guys and they'll see what I'm talking about. We have to step up and stop the ball. If the ball is driving towards the basket, we have to have guys stepping up and stopping the ball, taking the charge, and guys rotating down on top of the post. I didn't think we did a very good job of that today.
