George Washington University Athletics
Postgame Comments: GW vs. Fordham
1/12/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 12, 2011
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
January 12, 2011
Fordham 52
@ GW 72
Postgame Quotes
GW Coach Karl Hobbs
You seemed to struggle to score for most of the game, then broke free near the end. What happened to get you scoring?
"I think it was our defense. We forced them into taking some quick shots and the results were some long rebounds that we converted into layups. The score really wasn't indicative of how tough the game was. We scored like 8 points within a minute, but it was the defense that turned it around for us."
It must be good to be able to rely on your defense when your struggling to score.
"We really were struggling, our momentum was off a bit. But Tim Johnson did well and maintained our tempo. He made the two 3s, which kept the momentum and kept our confidence up."
When you're getting a win like this, where several people contribute, is that something you can build on?
"I would like to think so. In these games, you have to constantly make adjustments. Tonight, we played our 1-3-1 defense, which we haven't done much of. We were trying to find something that would ignite us. No one really had a hot hand tonight, but we still played with the energy, we did the little things like rebounding, and we were able to finish some plays in transition."
How important was it to start A-10 play 1-0?
"It's big. Anytime you start league play at home, it's a huge advantage. It gives you momentum and confidence. We feel that if we have success at home, we have a good chance to finish strong in the league."
Talk about your progress in playing defense consistently as the offense finds itself. "I think we're getting better. We have to because the games become that much tougher. We have to be consistent, particularly with defending the 3 and rebounding the basketball. And we have to get out in transition and get the easy baskets. We've also stressed executing the plays we call. If we can get consistent with those four things, we can become a very good basketball team."
GW Jr. G Tony Taylor
Do you feel the need to turn up the defensive intensity when your offense is struggling?.
"Coach preaches that if we can't score, the other team can't score. We turned up our defensive intensity and that led us to a win tonight."
You're 3-0 in conference and on a 4-game streak. What's the confidence level of the team to start off so well in A-10 play?
"It's big. I don't think we've been 3-0 in the conference in a long time. We've been talking about that, and we're very excited. But it's a long season."
What has gotten you guys going offensively?
"Our stops have been helping us get a lot of easy baskets, and giving guys better looks. We're moving the ball more, and doing the extra pass so we can get that nice shot fade. But it's a matter of us hitting more shots when we're open."
Fordham Coach Tom Pecora
You were able to stay with GW for most of the game. What happened to cause you to fall behind?
"It was a 3-minute span around the 10:00 mark when we lost our composure. We had three freshmen on the floor, and we tried to do some things that we don't do naturally on a day-to-day basis. We turned it over a few times on the break, and they took advantage of it."
Did GW do anything defensively that kept you from making more shots?
"Both of us played real hard. We're both good defensive teams. Our problem was that we couldn't convert our stops in the first half as much as I'd like. We had 7 defensive rebounds, and I don't think we scored on any. We weren't about to get out on any clean breaks. So we didn't get as much out of defending that well as I hoped we would by getting some easy baskets out of it...GW did a good job throwing multiple defenses at us, they extended the floor, and their half-court stuff slowed down our guards a bit. We got some great looks, but we didn't knock them down."
Did you take more 3-point shots than usual?
"No, we like to put up 20-25 3s per game. We should probably get a dozen or so in transition, and the get the others in the half-court offense. Tonight we took 28 3s. The completion numbers aren't what we want, but I'm not upset. I think that's a pretty good weapon for us, and we're going to need that to be competitive in our conference."
