Marshall University Athletics
2/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 9, 2008
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Marshall Forward Tyler Wilkerson and Forward Markel Humphrey
Wilkerson on first half
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Wilkerson on why he's playing better
"I'm more intense. Coach always tells us to up our intensity level and we've been talking about that everyday in practice. I've just been trying to up the intensity level in practice and it's been working out. It's not really anything I'm doing. I'm just playing harder. If I play harder, then [Humphrey] plays harder, then I play harder. It's contagious."
Humphrey on difference from last game vs. ECU
"The difference was we contained the three-point line. Down there they hit a lot of 3-point shots. Down there they made a lot hustle plays. We made the hustle points tonight. We just played a full 40 minutes."
Humphrey on Wilkerson
"[Wilkerson]'s the same. He's just been working hard in practice. He's there early and after practice, getting a lot of shots up. He's been practicing harder and with a lot of intensity. It's been carrying over to the game. He's a sophomore now, he's growing up, he knows what it takes to win. He's been getting a lot of rest, taking care of his body and it's been showing up in games."
Humphrey on working the ball inside out
"It's just the flow of the game. We think about it but while the game is going on, everything is going so fast. We just play our game. We have to start getting the ball inside a little more, that will open up the outside, especially with Tyler, the way he's playing now, and the way Tirrell Baines played tonight. Even Rob [
ECU Head Coach Mack McCarthy
On interior defense
"Their post play on both ends versus our post play on each end was a total mismatch. We knew from watching film that they had been getting a lot more out of Wilkerson. Baines had the early start and then picked it up again tonight. They were able to move Humphrey to the wing, that does give them a little more size."
On
"I hope that they have improved that much and we haven't slipped that much from the last time we played. It was a really good atmosphere, obviously they're really good at home. 11-2 Donnie's done a great job, they continue to get better. They continue to find more balance and find more weapons in their attack. I think their future is certainly bright."
On
"They did something to us that only a couple of teams have done. They switched everything. Normally when they switch everything, it creates a mismatch. Either our guards or against their post players or we are able to drive or we are able to match up our post players against our guards inside. It trapped a few times but most of the time they switched aggressively, and they were able to stay between us and the basket. We didn't get many good shots."
Marshall Head Coach Donnie Jones
Opening statement
"I'm very proud of the team tonight. They came out with great intensity, great togetherness. The loss of Darryl Merthie which we didn't know until this morning with a really swollen foot, and we knew during shoot-around that we wasn't going to be able to play. We tried to dress him today to see if he'd be able to play. So we knew we'd be down a little bit with one point guard when the game began s Mark Dorris was going to have to play some point. To start the game out we knew we had to try and get an inside presence. That started with Tyler Wilkerson. Obviously he had a terrific game. He played exceptionally tough inside. We ran a lot of stuff to get him the ball and he did a great job. I am proud of the team, a lot of people contributed. Adam Williams did a great job accepting his role and defending. Those things wont show up on the stat sheet. Robbie Jackson came in and gave us great minutes. [Pierre-Marie] Altidor-Cespedes had probably his best game. He played like a point guard should play. He played like I envisioned he would when he came to
