Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Basketball Postgame Quotes
1/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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Coach Dan D'Antoni Quotes
Opening Statement:
"We just had a hard time getting to the basket. Their athletes are quick and on our pick and roll we were trying to get out too quickly and we needed to put a little bit of a body on them to get our guards a little bit of a better advantage, because their guards are really quick and we weren't able to get to the basket. To get better and play teams like this, we have to find a way to get to the basket. It starts with Alex (guard Aleksa Nikolic) getting to where he can get a couple of finishes at the rim. It would change the course of a lot of things."
"Rebounding, they're probably one of the nation's best rebounding teams in the nation. We didn't get killed there. The biggest problem was we just couldn't get in the paint to score."
"I thought we did a pretty good job at getting (Austin) Loop 10 shots. Loop has been very consistent and he's been playing extremely well."
"Jay (Johnson) helped us out tonight. I thought Alex played well and I think he just got tired. Their Freeman (guard Trey Freeman), he did a heck of a good job on him in the first half. In fact, they kept taking him out and took him out of his game quite a bit, so I'm pretty happy with him, he just doesn't have the strength to finish games. That's what happens, we played good for a little while, but we just have to get better."
On Problems Scoring in Transition:
"I didn't like what Alex did, he pulled out of things and tried to get other guys to make plays and I was yelling at him a bit towards the end. You know, it's just hard to come in and play a ranked team when you're a freshman. You can do that if you have established players beside you that have played and are accomplished seniors. It's difficult to come in as a freshman and not have that complement with you and expect them to carry a team. He has to learn that somebody else isn't going to make plays. He's our point guard and he's got to get up there and in transition. We just don't get in there as often as we need to. Justin (Edmonds) does, but with his knee he still doesn't have the quickness that it takes and the lift around the rim. It's a difficult thing, but again I thought they played hard and didn't quit and they're hanging in there together, which is the most important thing."
On Players Showing Grit
"Sometimes I think they want to, I really do. I think they think they're trying and sometimes they do. It's just, I don't know if they've learned how you have to extend play for long periods of time without taking a break while you're on the floor. It's more of a mental thing than a physical thing."
"I told them I'm not going to quit, which means I'm going to be into them all the time. Our goal is to get two people out of that tournament and get us in Birmingham somehow. Western Kentucky is a tough team, it doesn't matter who you are. Playing at home against a ranked team was a tough test. We've got more coming though and let's see if we can't change some of those L's into W's."
ODU Head Coach Jeff Jones
Opening Statement
"It's always nice to get a road win, and I told the guys coming in here, this isn't an easy place to play so we're extremely happy to get the win. I thought we struggled in the first half, and didn't take very good care of the ball, but in the second half, we turned it up and were able to get that cushion. We had guys come off the bench and play a bunch of minutes and were very effective in doing so."
On shutting down Marshall's Ryan Taylor
"We came out, and we've been talking about [Marshall's] Ryan Taylor for a couple days, and he knocked down those two shots in the beginning, and we weren't doing the things we had talked about doing, so that was disappointing. Offensively, at first, it was like we were running in mud- we were a step slow. But then, we brought Denzel Taylor into the game- that was crucial. I think Ryan only got one more bucket that half."
On the team's defensive play thus far this season
"I hope it's a combination of both [playing hard and being smart.] We've played well defensively, but there's only been a handful of games that I would say, over the course of 40 minutes, that we have played at a very high level. We have shown the ability during stretches of the game where we have really turned our defense up. Some of the things we have tried to emphasize is we have to defend every possession. We can't take possessions off- we're not good enough. I think that they're buying in, and have a decent understanding of how we need to play to be successful, and if we get away from that, we're not nearly as good."
ODU PLAYERS
Jonathan Arledge:
On overcoming a sluggish start:
"I feel like we just picked up our urgency on defense and were more patient on offense. The first half we had 13 turnovers. That's uncharacteristic for us. We average 11 turnovers a game and had 13 in the first half. We were just rushing a lot and we weren't in the flow of what we do. In the second half we were able to calm down, get our feet under ourselves and play with some more urgency on defense. It started with defense."
On what was said at halftime:
"Pick up the urgency. We were sluggish. We didn't have any urgency in the first half."
On Old Dominion's first game as a ranked team:
"Coming into the game with this being our first game as a ranked team this year, it was a little nervousness and anxiousness with that title. I feel like we got it out of the way now. So I think we should be all right."
Jordan Baker:
On Old Dominion's first game as a ranked team:
"I feel like it was a lot of pressure. I feel like the second half, we handled it better than the first half. Warming up, we were stiff and not energetic. We came out the second half, unlike the first half, with some energy and urgency and we just got it done."
Austin Loop, R-So., Guard
On problems with consistency within games
"It's been tough. Like it has been said, at times, we're really good. Then, we have our downfalls like the beginning of the second half. I don't know what run exactly, but we were down 10 and then it went to 18. We've just got to find and sustain effort. Not just effort, but taking care of the ball and making plays."
On ODU's defense against him
"I think their coach got on them. I should have had more than that because my teammates gave me good looks. I heard their coach telling them not to allow me to get open like that. They were just trailing me in the second half."
On what can be done to stop the mental errors
"I think we've just got to find it within ourselves. I know a couple of guys who are young that have not had experience at this level. Also, this far into the season is not an excuse. We watch a lot of film, and he [D'Antoni] shows us where we need to improve. I think it's just on our players. The coaches set us up to do well. Mentally, the errors are what is hurting us."
Jay Johnson, Jr., Forward
On what can be done to stop the mental errors
"As a team, we have too many mental breakdowns. The turnovers killed us tonight. It's our fault as the scout not knowing that they can shoot the ball that well. Everything is mental right now. It's all in our heads right now."
