University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Basketball Postgame Quotes
11/23/2005 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 22, 2005
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Richmond Head Coach Chris Mooney
On the loss:
"I thought our effort was good and our defense was good. To go down one at halftime with the play we had was very positive. We came out in the second half and they played their man-to-man defense and we just had a tough time. I hope our man-to-man offense becomes the bread-and-butter of our team, and right now it is not there. It exposes things we need to work and address."
"I thought the game got away from us slowly then we didn't' guard (J.R.) Reynolds well. He is a very good player. He is very good with the ball in his hands and can make difficult shots. I don't think we guarded him enough. We gave up 59 points, but we needed toguard him tighter than that."
On Richmond's first half shooting:
"I thought it was good. Shooting is something we need to continue to work on. We had a lineup in there for awhile that I thought could shoot -- with (Jermaine) Bucknor, (Monty) Sanders and (Jarhon) Giddings playing center - we are bit better shooting team then. I thought that was good and a positive. We were waiting for them to play us man a little bit, and when they did I didn't think we seized the opportunity."
On the offense:
"I think within a possession a good play happens then a bad play happens. Then one possession will be good and the next possession might not be so hot. It is difficult. It is challenging because you a thinking about basketball with all five players and yourself. I think we can get better. I think it is the kind of thing that takes time."
Richmond Senior Jermaine Bucknor
On the difference between Virginia's first half defense and its second half defense:
"They switched the defense on us. I don't think they thought we were going to shoot the ball that well in the first half. They played quite a bit of zone in the first half and everybody was knocking down shots for us. I think it was unexpected for them and when they saw it they pushed it up in the second half and played a lot of man. They extended their defense a bit. It threw us off a little bit, but it was good to see guys hitting shots in the first half. We got forced out in the second half and took a lot of three balls, but we will be alright."
Virginia Head Coach Dave Leitao
On the game:
"For the second game in a row we played pretty well defensively.That offense is a pain-in-the-neck to play against and it will only get better. I am happy we played them the second game of the year as opposed to the 22nd game of the year. I know they will be much, much better at it as the season goes on. It is a tough building and a tough style, but I thought we were pretty well prepared to guard against the back cuts and open threes. They made seven of them in the first half, and none in the second. I was happy we got our hands up and were able to defend them and keep the ball in front of us. "
"I thought J.R. (Reynolds) really gave us a lift towards the second part of the second half -- just got more aggressive. I told him during a deadball situation -- he has a responsibility because he wants to be good and his team needs him to be good. He was playing just to be okay. I thought he got really aggressive and started to feel it and impose his will on the game. That gave us an offensive spark that we hadn't had, but we needed."