Bucknell-Memphis Postgame Quotes
3/20/2006 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 20, 2006
2006 NCAA Men's Basketball First/Second Rounds
Sunday, March 19, 2006
- Bucknell Press Conference Quotes -
Head Coach Pat Flannery on Bucknell's turnovers...
I did feel like the game was there for the taking from the beginning. When we started going back door and turned the ball over, that was a little uncharacteristic of us because we don't throw the back door a whole lot. We're a better screening team out front. That means that we rushed and we rushed a whole lot.
Flannery on Memphis' depth and balance...
I was very impressed with the way they passed the basketball, how they looked for each other. They're long kids and really a flash, catch and turn group. If you guard them on one spot and they get penetration, they give it up and make that third and fourth pass. Obviously with the balance today and the numbers they have, 12 and 13 players deep, they can throw a lot of people at you.
Senior guard Charles Lee on Bucknell's three-point woes...
I think we got some good looks but legs might have played a part of it. They have some long guys flying at you so it was very difficult. They were able to make shots - shots that I think if Kevin (Bettencourt) and I had them again, we would have knocked them down. It was just the luck of the draw.
Lee on the smothering Tiger defense...
I've never really seen us not be able to get into our offense. I think that's what they did a great job of, really extending out and making us bring it up and take time off the clock. It was very frustrating in that aspect.
Senior guard Kevin Bettencourt on the Tiger defense in passing lanes...
It was definitely frustrating. You think you see something there for a second then by the time you threw it, they had three guys on it. It's definitely a style that they're very good at. We haven't seen that type of speed in a while. They throw so many guys at you. They're not relying on one or two guys; they've got athletes coming off the bench. It was amazing how athletic they were. It was definitely frustrating how they shut everything down.
- Memphis Press Conference Quotes -
Head Coach John Calipari's general comments...
It was a great defensive effort today. I always go with the same thing; we want to make the game hard for the other team. We did that today. It is hard to run plays when you can switch and do the things we do. Offensively, we shared the ball well. We had a great balance and played well today.
Calipari on Guards Andre Allen and Darius Washington...
I have two great point guards. That is an advantage I have. I can stick them both together. If Andre is not playing well, you go with Darius. If Darius is not playing well, I go to Andre more. If you want a faster game, you put them both in together. It is such an advantage I have. They are two hard-nosed, tough-as-nails kids and I love coaching both of them.
On the Tiger defense...
We have held opponents to 37.8 percent field goal percentage on the year. Everybody thinks we are just pressing but we have added a different press that has been very effective. We are getting about ten steals a game from it. Our half-court defense is still our staple; that is what we are.
Sophomore guard Andre Allen on effectiveness/timing of press...
Well, at the beginning of the game the press wasn't really working because we were in our man press. When we went to 22 it speeds up the game and made them dribble, which is what we needed them to do for our offense to get going. They turned the ball over and missed wide open shots.
Freshmen guard Antonio Anderson on the roll their on going in to next weekend:
We're just playing basketball. Everybody was expecting us to do this and that, but we're just coming out and performing real well as a team, executing our plays, and doing whatever coach tells us to do, and that's what helps us win ball games.
Senior forward Rodney Carney on sharing the ball more:
We drive to the hole, we kick it, try to find the open man. We're not a selfish team at all. We move the ball very well. You saw that in the conference tournament, and we're bringing it to this tournament. Hopefully, we can continue to try and do that.