University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Basketball Post-Game Quotes
12/22/2006 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 22, 2006
Recap |
Box Score |
Notes |
Photos 
Richmond Coach Chris Mooney
On The First Half
"We played very well in the first half. I thought our defense was excellent, they were having trouble getting good shots, and we were running our offense very well. It was good to be up 13 because it wasn't just because we were shooting well from the outside, I think we made only two 3-pointers, but we were running good offense. That was probably the best first half we've played this year."
On The Second Half
"They clearly turned up the heat in the second half and I don't think our freshmen handled it well enough. They resisted it in patches, but they could not totally resist it."
On Richmond's Defense
"I thought our interior defense was good, but in the second half we had trouble defending the perimeter. They are athletic and they started attacking it from the perimeter, driving around us with too much ease and not necessarily getting to the basket, but getting in deep enough where they caused problems."
On Fatigue Setting In After Playing Two Games In Three Days
"That could be it. David Gonzalvez, who is playing a ton of minutes, probably could use more of a break, but he's just doing too many good things out there on the court. Fatigue could be the issue, but having a 13-point halftime lead against Wake Forest I thought would have trumped that."
On Richmond's Turnovers
"We had nine turnovers in the first half, but they weren't turnovers that led to lay-ups. In the second half I can remember four or five turnovers that led to lay-ups. That's going to be tough to recover from, especially on road in an ACC team's gym.
On Centers Drew Crank And Dan Geriot
"They were both very, very good tonight. Drew gave us the physicality we're looking for, he was a big reason we were able to hold (Wake Forest 7-foot center Kyle) Visser somewhat. They are different players, Dan is more skillful, not as much of an athlete as Drew. Drew is athletic and strong. Hopefully Dan can get more aggressive going after the ball and Drew can become more skillful and continue to understand the offense better."
Richmond Freshman David Gonzalvez
On The First Half
"The first half they weren't pressuring us as much and we just played our game. We were getting good looks, getting easy lay-ups and had a lot of momentum. We were focused and had confidence, confidence in the offense."
On The Second Half
"We knew they were going to come with a run, we just did not match their intensity basket for basket. We should have controlled the tempo, they started fly up and down the court at the beginning of the second half, started scoring, and I think that effected us mentally."
On Getting Tired In The Second Half
"Having only one day off, definitely effected us. VMI played a fast-paced game with us and Wake was very physical so I think we got a little tired in the second half. We've got to be tough and fight through it. These games are helping us. We just need to keep improving."
On Handling Pressure
"We just got to get better with pressure. Once we get strong with the ball, stronger dribbling, we'll be a lot better with that."
On The Freshmen Gaining Experience
"I think we expected to struggle a little bit here with most of the team being freshmen, but I think now we have this mentality that we know, we know what it's about. A big game like this helps us and as we're getting close to conference play I think we're going to be tough. Everybody's having these breakout games, now we just have to put it together."
Richmond Freshman Dan Geriot
On The First Half
"That was the best half by far for us offensively this season. They were overplaying a lot and were the most athletic team we've played, but after the beginning, we got used to it and started to go on a run and the offense was working great."
On The Second Half
"I think we got a little out of whack with them scoring so much. In the first half, they were pressuring us, but they weren't scoring. Then when they were scoring in the second half, we started trying to do things too fast and we weren't composed."
Wake Forest Head Coach Skip Prosser
On Richmond
"I have to give a lot of credit to Richmond. The team played a game two nights ago, but they controlled tempo in the first half. Praise Richmond for how well they played in first half. We couldn't score in the first half. We were really, really ineffective offensively. We wanted to take them out of their comfort zone and make them play faster than what they'd like to."
On Richmond's Youth
"We are young, but they may be younger. I think their team is going to be good."