George Washington University Athletics
GW/UMES Post-Game Quotes
11/12/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 12, 2011
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NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
November 11, 2011
GW 64
UMES 48
Postgame quotes
GW Head Coach Mike Lonergan
Opening statement
"I'm very happy we won the game. Obviously we didn't play a great game, but give [UMES] credit. They beat us on the boards, played us with intensity, and we were finally able to get some energy out of our 1-3-1 when we went to it in the second half...We struggled with our outside shooting, and we can't let our lack of production by some guys affect our defense."
Talk about the play of Lasan Kromah tonight, and how it differs from the exhibition game.
"When he's scoring, he's a better defender. But he and Nemanja [Mikic] really struggled tonight. Lasan can help us in so many ways, but you can see it when he's not scoring, it affects his overall game. But he'll be fine...He has to choose to be a good defender for us to have a good season."
Talk about the play of Jabari Edwards.
"We were trying to go to him early. I think it was important to get some points out of him early. He doesn't have the greatest hands, but when he catch the ball, he's 6' 10" and athletic so he should be able to score inside. His minutes are always going to be limited with foul trouble, but those blocks helped us tonight. He's the only true center we have."
How are you going to address the rebounding deficiency?
"We have to become a more physical team. John Kopriva is a freshman, and he's not the strongest guy yet. We have to get the mentality of playing team defense and staying in the paint til we get a rebound. Our guards have to help us get rebounds inside; that's what I like about Tony, he's not afraid to get in there."
What did you learn about your team tonight?
"We're going to have to play really hard for 40 minutes for us to have a good season. We're going to hit some scoring droughts - that's why we need to establish the inside game. But we can make up for that on defense and rebounding. Right now, we're a very poor rebounding team. We need everyone to get in there and mix it up...We're not going to be a good team if we think we can simply outscore everybody; we don't have the depth, so we have to stay out of foul trouble. That's what I like about Aaron Ware; he brings it every game. If he plays with a lot of intensity, we can hide a lot of our weaknesses behind that."
You emphasized aggressive play in practice this week. Talk about the strong defensive front your team showed tonight.
"Tony is a good defender, and Aaron and Bryan [Bynes] coming off the bench are good defenders, so we should be good defensive team, and we are a good defensive team. But we made a lot of turnovers, some very silly ones. We don't have a big margin of error, so we're going to have to limit those silly turnovers that aren't due to defense."
What other adjustments are you going to have to make in the opening games?
"We're going to see a lot of zone, and we're going to have to make some open shots, something we didn't do tonight. I think it's important to get our big guys touches whether it's zone or man, and go inside out when we're struggling offensively."
What were your emotions like coaching your first regular season game at GW?
"I was really excited. We had the block party, my family was here, it was pretty neat. The people around here are great. I was really thankful that we had such a good crowd, especially looking over the bench and seeing all the students there. That's what we really need. We have to get energy off their enthusiasm. We have a tough schedule, so I'm glad this game was a home game. But once the ball went up, it was like coaching at Catholic U or Vermont--no difference."
Talk about Tony Taylor's play tonight.
"I thought he was really good. He missed some shots that he normally makes, he had a couple of turnovers that he normally doesn't have. But he's a great player; he does so many different things. He's great on transition defense, stopping the other team, and he's so unselfish. We need him to be a leader in the locker room and on the court, and pick up the other players, especially when they're not having a good night. We need to bounce back because we're about to play a nationally ranked opponent on national TV. It's a great opportunity for these guys. I want the seniors to go out with their best season ever."
Tony Taylor
You seemed to have trouble getting an offensive rhythm. What changed when you looked at the court?
"Just sometimes, we had missed shots. That's what happened today; we weren't really hot. There'll be days like that, but also days when we hit a lot of shots We just have to keep our composure and find better shots to take."
It seems like you started a little fast tonight. How did you slow things down and try to control the game?
"The press is new for us, and we're still working on it. It's going to come with time. We switched up our defense and played 1-3-1; I think that was really effective in slowing things down."
You seem to like driving into the lane and taking short jumpers.
"I take what the defense gives me. Today, they were really pressuring me. I tried to get by them and look to pass to my teammates, but nobody was coming up. It allowed me to shoot a lot of short jumpers, and that's pretty much the strength of my game - mid-range."
How confident are you in your offense going into the game against Cal Sunday?
"We're very confident. It's a great opportunity to play a team like Cal; you don't get many opportunities like this. We just have to play as hard as we can and play at our highest level on the big stage."
Lasan Kromah
As this is your season-opener with Coach Lonergan, talk about the feedback he was giving you during the game.
"Coach Lonergan is not really a screamer. If you come out, he's going to tell you what you did wrong and put you right back in. He made a lot of adjustments. I don't' think he was too angry, but he made sure we knew we have to play a lot better against Cal on Sunday."
John Kopriva
How do you feel about making your debut tonight?
"It felt good, but there were some first-game jitters that I had to adjust to going into the game today. But I'm definitely looking forward to getting out against Cal, and getting better in every game."
