Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Basketball Postgame Quotes
1/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Head Coach Dan D'Antoni
Opening Statement
"We play good for a while and then we do things that shoot us in the foot. It is not from lack of effort, but it is from playing a lot of kids who haven't led the team. When you first step into that pond, and you don't have anybody else on your team that has ever done this, it creates some weird scenarios and plays that you just wonder `What the heck are we doing?' I am proud of them. I told the kids before the game that when I came here, there were two things that I thought we had to do for the program. One of those things was we had to change the culture. The way kids walk through airports, the way they went to class, the way they handled themselves on the bench, the way they won or lost, the way we dressed- these kids have been super. They have handled themselves and turned around the look of Marshall University basketball. We have been competitive in most games and there is nobody who wants it more than those kids and the coaching staff to change it from L's to W's. If we have to wait, we have to wait, but I told them, `We aren't backing off.' We want to keep pressing forward and the W's will find their way to our side eventually."
On Austin Loop
When I first came here, I thought he was the best guy we had as far as a coaching asset. He is very consistent and he has a high Division I skill, which is shooting the basketball. When you have a player that is consistent in the way he plays and has a skill that you can exploit, I think he is doing a great job. He finds openings- we get him the ball and he puts up numbers. Again, as we go through these years, we are going to get more and more players like him and you will see the floor start looking big around the basket. When that happens, we will get some people down the middle and get in the lane a little harder. But, Loop shoots with some of the best that I have been around. This summer we are going to work on having him release a little quicker. He is doing well. I am proud of him and happy for his family. "
Austin Loop, R-So., Guard
On his scoring opportunities
"I heard the coaches telling everybody to keep up with me- a couple times I think it's just how it went down and they kind of lost me in their zone. I was surprised they stayed in their zone. That really helped me and it really helped having guys like Ryan [Taylor] getting in the middle."
On how the offensive scheme affects his performance
"I think that it's perfect for me- the system and the coaches, and the coaches' attitude towards shooting. He wants me to shoot if I'm open and he get mad if I turn down shots and not take shots. As I shooter, I can't ask for more than that."
Ryan Taylor, R-So., Forward
On the team's improvements
"I feel like we're plugging away. Just in the first three games in conference, we have gotten a lot better. We shot ourselves in the foot tonight, but I still feel like we're getting better as each day goes on."
On his last shot of the game
"Coach was telling me `Don't force my drive' and I felt that the player that was guarding me- I felt him leaning when I went up for a jump shot. It's a shot that I make every day, and I'm not going to hang my head on that shot. I should have made it, but I didn't it felt good when it left my hands, and I thought I was going to make it but I'm just looking to the next game and the next opportunity to win after that shot."
