University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Basketball Post-Game Quotes
11/25/2006 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 25, 2006
Head Coach Chris Mooney
On Getting Beat On The Boards:
"Rebounding will bother us all season because we're such a small team. If we get out-rebounded by nine then we have a chance, but we cannot get out-rebounded by 18 and expect to win the game."
On Being Undersized:
"Right now without Gaston (Moliva) and Oumar (Sylla) our rebounding is such a sour spot. We really got crushed on the glass today."
On Old Dominion:
"Old Dominion was very good. When you're coaching a team sometimes you notice your shortcomings by watching the other team. We're a young team, but they're very experienced. Old Dominion is a great program, they've been to the postseason the past two years and went to the NIT semifinals last year. ACC teams would be happy with that. That's where we're trying to get. I know last year we were fortunate to beat them."
On The Freshmen:
"They played like freshmen today. It was on the road and it's hard, I can't overstate how hard it is on the road. This was their first experience with that and we didn't play very well."
On Not Quitting:
"I thought we competed throughout the game. On the road you need to take advantage of every mistake because it can go from a six-point lead to a 17-point lead pretty quickly."
On Making Shots On The Road:
"It's more difficult, especially for freshmen. We've been practicing for six weeks and for most of the team this was their fourth college basketball game. When you're a veteran team like Old Dominion, shots are much easier to make when you know when you're going to get them, how the pass is going to come, how the offense is going to run. For us, not being to that level yet - on some possessions we are - but not being there yet, it becomes a challenge. We're shooting a shot that we maybe don't practice much as we try to perfect how we run our offense."
On Freshman Center Geriot Getting In Foul Trouble:
"When he's in there it seems like we shoot less 3s because he gets us some easy baskets. Being limited like he was, that's hard for us because our offense tends to be more perimeter oriented if he's not in there."
On Working With So Many Freshmen:
"Everything we're doing with the freshmen is trying to get them to speed up the learning curve. It's a tall order when you have so many freshmen. If one or two it's one thing, but with so many of them it's a big challenge. As we've said many times though, they have the luxury to play college basketball earlier than most freshmen and the responsibility that goes with that."
On Bringing The Freshmen Along:
"I like these guys, I have confidence in them. Peter (Thomas) is doing a great job. It helps to have all the voices they're hearing, from the staff and from Peter, Drew (Crank) and Jarhon (Giddings)."
On Rebounding From The Loss:
"It's so important to have a good practice Monday. I know for people that come to the games it's important for us to play well Wednesday, but it is so important to get out there Monday and have some energy, be ready to go, be moving around, and try to accomplish something. When you're older and a junior or senior, you just need to sharpen up your game a little bit and improve a few things, but when you're young, you can really get a lot better. Every single day is the opportunity to get so much better."
Senior Peter Thomas
On The Game Being A Learning Experience:
"It's just that, a learning experience. It's tough to come in, especially against a team like Old Dominion, for your first game on the road. We had some confidence built up from playing at home and getting three wins there, but I don't think we faced a team with the talent and experience that Old Dominion has. I'm glad that everybody kept fighting throughout the game. We made some mistakes, which is going to be expected on the road with such a young team. I hope we learn from this, keep fighting and hopefully next time we have a better showing on the road."
On Getting Out-Rebounded 38-20:
"You can't expect to win on the road getting out-rebounded like that. Obviously boxing out is a big thing about rebounding, but we have got to go after the ball more aggressively. I think sometimes they were winning loose balls just because we were not quite aggressive enough, myself included. We're going to have trouble rebounding because we play zone and we're not big, but some of those 50-50 balls we have got to come up with to stay in the game."
On Being A Senior Leader:
"Being the only senior on the floor I kind of have to. When I was a freshman, I learned a lot from guys like Tony Dobbins, Mike Skrocki and Eric Zwayer. I try to take what they taught me and the intensity they brought everyday and bring it to practice. I can lead by example, if I come hard to work everyday, the freshmen will. That's the biggest thing I can do everyday, just come to work hard. These freshmen are very talented and have a lot of energy. We have a chance to be good with them."
Old Dominion Coach Blaine Taylor
On Playing Richmond:
"Both Monmouth and Georgetown run similar offenses and it's just something that you better adjust to. This is two-at-a-time, pressure-oriented basketball. Your players have to go into it knowing it's going to be a long day and have an understanding of what's up."