Postgame Quotes
11/17/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Graduate Student Forward Tyler Cavanaugh
On getting to watch the new guys
It's a learning process. We're young, but we just need to keep getting better. The first half was ugly, but I thought we came out to start the second half better and extended the lead. They're a scrappy team, so we just have to make some more shots and we'll be fine. But it was nice to see everyone get involved because everyone works just as hard every day, so that's important.
On developing chemistry on the court
We've seen a lot of 2-3 zones so far this year. We've got to be a little more disciplined with what we do, get it inside the high post more. I think we were able to get a lot of escape passes, get it inside, get it out, get our shooters shots that they're going to start making, including myself. That's going to be important for us moving forward against Georgia.
On what was working defensively
We stuck to our principles, we were in the gaps, they had a lot of drivers so we were in the gaps and got back. They had a few shooters, and I thought we rebounded well so we won by 23 on the glass so that's important and the need to continue to use our size and our depth in the front court is crucial.
On what enables them to outrebound teams by double-digits
Our depth. We battle everyday in practice â€" me Collin [Smith], Collin [Goss], Kevin [Marfo], Arnaldo [Toro]. We also have some big wings in Yuta [Watanabe] and Patrick [Steeves], and our little guys get down there and battle too. It has just continued to get better, battling in practice and it's only going to continue to get better, which is going to be crucial for us moving forward into these games against bigger and better teams.
Interim Head Coach Maurice Joseph
On Kevin Marfo
Seven turnovers obviously really stands out from that position, but Kevin Marfo is a passionate kid, high energy, he has a tremendous motor. I just think he needs to slow down a little bit. Playing against a team that plays 2-3 zones is probably not the best in terms of matching up next to his skill set for him. I thought he did some really great things. He got to the free throw line 10 times, which is a huge positive for us. It shows he's really aggressive on the glass, it shows that he's taking the ball to the hole aggressively. We saw some bright things. He needs to slow down a little bit and I think he'll be fine.
On outside shots
I'm not too worried about them. I like the fact that they shot 26.7 percent from the field. There's going to be nights where we don't shoot the ball well, and tonight was one of them. We can't control that, but we can control how focused we are, we can control our matchups and our scouting report, getting in the gaps, the things we talk about in practice on a daily basis. We're not going to be able to control how many shots we make on a nightly basis, but we can control our efforts defensively.
On Jair Bolden
It's good having a two-headed monster at point guard with Jaren and Jair. Both are different players, both able to do different things. I like to play them both to substitute each other because they're both really solid. I guess it will be a game-by-game situation, but Jair will play regularly at the point guard spot. We can expect that. Jair is making strides every day in practice and in his game so far, so I like what I'm seeing out of Jair. He just needs to keep on building and keep getting better.
On the win
I'm not so much worried about the score, I'm just worried about getting better. Are we doing the right things the right way. Are we doing the things that we practiced every day on a daily basis. Are we cutting hard. I'm looking at those things, I'm not really looking at the score honestly. I just want our guys to keep getting better. This was a great test for us to work on our zone offense to see what works and what doesn't, what lineups work together. Obviously it would've been great to hit some more shots. Again, not really looking at the score, but looking at the progression.
On the newer, younger guys getting in the game
Well those guys are bright eyed and bushy tailed. It was their first game action for Justin Williams and Adam Mitola.
