George Washington University Athletics
Postgame Comments: GW vs. Navy
12/5/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 5, 2010
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Game 2 - Navy 64, GW 57
GW Head Coach Karl Hobbs
On struggling offensively:
We've been struggling pretty much all year shooting the ball. I think as a team we shoot around 30%. I thought we had some really good looks in the second half. I thought that we had a chance to turn the momentum around and we just struggled making shots.
On Jordan Sugars being a difference in the game:
I think that they made really clutch shots. Anytime he's shooting that many threes and anytime you can make 10-11 in a game you're going to have an opportunity to win.
On defending the 3 point shot:
I don't know if that's our issue. I really think our issue is us shooting the ball. When you shoot in the second half 24%, that's our issue right now. We're just really struggling to shoot the basketball.
On defenses focusing on Tony Taylor:
I think they're focusing more on him. He is suffering from the fact that not having Lasan there, so a lot of pressure is on him. I think he's struggling making that adjustment. I think some of the other guys haven't made the adjustment without Lasan there, now all of a sudden they go into the season and everyone's role has shifted a little bit. Now everybody is being asked to do something that we didn't plan on, but that happens during a season, and at some point we have to make those adjustments and we have to find a way to help these guys to make some baskets. Defensively I think we're doing a good job. I think if you look at the start of the second half, I think they had 14 possessions and I think they scored 5 points. Unfortunately, you look at our possessions, and that was our opportunity.
On Joseph Katuka playing fewer minutes:
It was a tough game for him because of how they spread you out offensively, and we really needed to have some guys to defend their big guys, because they stepped out and made threes, and that's not his comfort level.
On struggling to make baskets:
I think if you go back and watch the tape of this game, and the last game, we're getting terrific looks. We just have got to make the shots. I don't know what else to tell you.
On replacing Lasan Kromah:
We have the players that we have, like David said. I'm a little mystified myself, to be quite honest with you. In practice we shoot the ball, we chart the shooting. I don't want to keep belaboring the point. At the end of the day, when you stop a team that has 14 possessions and they only score 5 points, we have to find a way to capitalize on that.
On losses potentially snowballing:
I think you're always concerned about that, because you know the games are coming, and you have to play them. And for us its just keep the team focused, keep them playing with energy, keep them playing with enthusiasm, and just try to improve. That's what you have to do. I think that each game I evaluate it and I look at where we're improving, and I thought that we made some mental mistakes in two of our losses at home. I thought we corrected that in the mason game, we just didn't make enough shots. I thought we corrected that in this game, we just didn't make enough shots in this game. I see the improvements in those areas. The area that we have to improve in is that we have to find someone to score, that can get that ball in the basket. I think I've said that 30 times.
GW sophomore F David Pellom
Like Coach said, they came down in clutch situations and knocked down clutch threes. They were shooting the ball real well tonight. We just couldn't get shots up there. We just need to get in the gym more and just work on shooting. We're getting all the good looks that we ask for, we just need to knock down shots and work harder in practice.
On the post-game locker room conversation after the George Mason game and tonight:
At that point we were just telling each other to keep our heads up. We gotta get in the gym. We just have to shoot more, if everybody shoots, we'll come out and have a better shooting night.
Navy Head Coach Billy Lange:
Opening statement:
It was a nice win for us. We played against a quality team, obviously, everybody knows that, and we gutted it out. It wasn't pretty but we did it and I'm proud of our guys.
On getting Jordan Sugars back:
He was worth 20 points so that was pretty big. I thought his passion and his enthusiasm were more important than his actual stats. He brought us a level a toughness that we really needed in this game. You saw on those two rebounds at the end of the game, the one offensive and the one defensive, that he's got experience and we needed it.
On three-point shooting:
We're the Naval Academy. We've got a pretty good formula that's worked for us over time. And the three-point shot is it, so we're not going to hide from it. I don't think we live and die by it because most of our opportunities were great looks, sharing the basketball. If you penetrate like we do, against good teams you're going to have to kick the basketball out for three and hopefully that extra pass leads to a point. We needed to do it. Their athleticism and their quickness, they switch every screen, it was hard, there wasn't a lot of space on that floor.
On the defensive effort:
We played nine games in 21 days. I mean did the Heat do that? Have the Wizards done that? You don't think about it when you're in the moment but when it's over you're like wow. So then we got a chance to spend four days on just us which we really needed and the focus was defense and defensive rebounding. For them to only have 13 offensive rebounds, for the percentage they shot, for us is a step in the right direction. I thought our energy was great, our communication was great, guys had each other's back. We really played it together.
Navy Guard Jordan Sugars:
On having to sit out due to the hand injury:
I never sat out a game in my life so that was real hard, to have to sit out and watch my team but I stayed positive and cheered my team on for every game I that I was sitting out.
On the enthusiasm he played with tonight:
I wasn't trying to force it. I was just out there playing pretty much. I was just in the flow of the offense. I was just ready to go.
On his role on the team:
I knew we were in a good groove. The thing is I just wanted to come out and just get everything in the flow of the game. I just came out and the biggest thing was just the energy and the passion because at times there's a lull on the court and we need to pick up so I was making sure I was out there with that energy and passion.
On the growth of the team:
I feel like we definitely have improved the past couple of games. I just feel like everything flows. It just comes with playing with each other. We're a group of people that hadn't really played with each other, game experience wise. So the more we play in games together, the more we'll gel.
