University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Basketball Post-Game Quotes
01/14/2006 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 14, 2006
Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery
Richmond Head Coach Chris Mooney
On Any Adjustments At Halftime
"So much of it comes down to doing and saying the same things over and over again - making new habits and breaking old habits. It is really more reminders of how we are trying to attack them and being aggressive. I think those things started to look right - or the way it is supposed to look. When the ball goes in the basket then the defense spreads out more and the cuts are more open. When the ball starts to go in you start to see a semblance of organization. I think our guys refocused on the game and opportunity we had because even though we struggled offensively we were only down four, and we played pretty good defense."
On Monty Sanders Coming Off The Bench
"(Monty Sanders) is important. He is the only forward sub right now. He needs to commit himself to being more consistent. That means everyday in practice - how he approaches the game and how he approaches practice. He does give us a lift because of his knack for scoring. When he went in coach (Mike) McKee suggested we run something for him then he got the basket in the post and banged a three which is huge for us. Any scoring we get is a positive. We need to continue to work with him on his consistency, his defense and everything coaches talk about."
On Defending Dayton's Brian Roberts
"I don't think we did an awful job on (Brian Roberts). We took two charges on him and blocked his shot late in the game. I think they became a little one-dimensional in looking for him to score. I think over the last four minutes of the game, we guarded him better than we had in the previous 36 minutes. I think that was important for us because we are coming down on offense and everybody is touching it and we don't know who is going to shoot next. When they were coming down on offense they got one dimensional because he was scoring so much. I think we didn't do a terrible job on him, but more importantly we guarded everybody else."
Richmond Senior Jermaine Bucknor
On His 3-Pointer With 52 Seconds Left
"They had just come up with a big shot to give them the lead. We've been running that play since the beginning of the season, I came off the screen and had a little opening when I popped back. I realized that for a split second I had an opening, I pulled it and it went down."
On His 3-Pointer To Beat the Shot Clock Buzzer
"We've had a lot of those shots at the end of the shot clock because we run the shot clock down so much. We have that happen in practice all the time so we're used to it. The shot clock was down, we were ready, and it came to me and went down."
On Hitting Big Shots
"We got on a roll and everyone started hitting big shots. Monty Sanders hit a couple of huge shots, he had two big buckets in the paint. People just made shots today, thankfully they went down."
On Defeating Dayton
"It's definitely great to beat Dayton. We have a big rivalry with Dayton, we've struggled with them for the four years I've been here, every game has been a struggle. They have a great program, a great team, a great coaching staff. We're happy to have pulled out the win."
On If The Spiders Are Gaining Momentum
"I hope so. People didn't expect us to be doing this well. We can always be doing better, but nobody expected us to be doing this well. The guys are showing some pride and showing some heart on the practice court and in the games. We're 2-1 in the conference so we're going to try to keep rolling."
Richmond Sophomore Monty Sanders
On Making Shots
"It's from hard work. We work on the same shots over and over again in practice, and the hard we work at it, the more we make. Everybody's hitting big shots. Anybody can come in and hit big shots."
On Getting More And More Comfortable With The Offense
"It was a lot harder at the beginning of the season, but it keeps getting easier and easier to stay calm, run through all the options of the offense, and get good shots. We're getting really good shots late in the shot clock. It's getting a lot easier."
On Richmond's Second Half
"Coach came in and said we kind of looked jumbled up. In the second half we came out with more calmness and more confidence. We settled in and guys hit some shots. Everything is easier when you hit shots and when you play defense the way we do it makes it even easier. Everything is a chain reaction. It starts with the defense and then the calmness on offense."
On Getting More Of A Chance To Play
"I've played behind some really good players here. Last year I was behind Jamal Scott, who was one of the hardest working players I've ever seen. This year it's senior Jermaine Bucknor, who is such a clutch shooter. Playing in the same position and playing against him everyday in practice makes me better, it gives me more confidence. Hopefully next season I can step in that role and be the next Jamal Scott or Jermaine Bucknor."
Richmond Junior Peter Thomas
On Guarding Dayton's Brian Roberts
"(Brian Roberts) is a heck of a player and hits a lot of shots. He really liked going right and we just had to keep him taking those off-balance running shots towards the basket. We thought we had a better chance guarding him like that, rather than him shooting standing still."
On Richmond's Monty Sanders
"He has a lot of talent, and as he showed today he can shoot the ball. He has some really nice post moves. If he has an open shot he is going to knock it down. He is more skilled in the post than a lot of us are, and I think he made some tough moves today and got us some big buckets."
On Richmond's Jermaine Bucknor
"He hit a couple today, and I don't know how he did it. He has done that for us throughout the year, and to have a senior leader like that - who steps up and hits shots like that is priceless."
Dayton Head Coach Brian Gregory
Opening Statement
"Give them credit on a couple big plays and having one of the best players in the league in Jermaine Bucknor - he made those two big threes in the last five or six minutes. That is what you count on your upper-classmen to do, and he definitely came through for them. We did a good job at times, especially in the first half, but give their offense credit or give our defense the blame - our defense was just awful in the second half. We can't give up 42 points. Our defense on the ball was pretty poor and they took advantage of it. Some guys got opportunities today and we are going to have to evaluate and see where to go from here. We are not playing well enough to win games, definitely against anyone that plays hard."
On Dayton's Defensive In The Second Half
"We gave up 42 points (in the second half) - we weren't getting any stops. That team averages 50 points and we gave up 42 in the second half alone. Obviously we know their offense and we knew what they were trying to do, but at times we didn't execute. You can't go from holding a team to 16 (in the first half), then give up 42. They did some good things and we did some bad things. When you combine that then that is the way it goes. They have done a good job of combining their size, strength and toughness - which has always been a trademark at Richmond - and incorporated it with the new style of play, and have done a good job with that."