University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Basketball Post-Game Quotes
12/29/2006 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 28, 2006
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Richmond Coach Chris Mooney
On Struggles Shooting
"Shooting is going to be a toss-up, some nights you will shoot well others you will shoot poorly. Even the best teams in the country have days when they don't shoot well. You can't depend on that. You need to depend on your defense and ball handling, all these things you can control. I thought we did a pretty good job of that tonight. We didn't shoot the ball well though."
On Richmond's Defense
"I thought our defense was good in the second half. There was a stretch there when it was excellent, we were on their passes into the post, we were cutting the ball on the perimeter off and we didn't give up a lot of open shots. The first half wasn't nearly good enough for us to win, we put ourselves in too big of a hole. We needed to come out with a little bit more energy and fire at the beginning of the game."
On Starting Slow
"We had talked about being prepared to come out and play as hard as we can, no matter what. We didn't do a good job of that tonight. By no means did we set the tone until the second half. We got that lead down to four points, but we had dug ourselves just two big of a hole."
On Not Completing The Comeback
"Two key plays stick out. We were down four, they miss two free throws and we don't get the rebound. Then we have a critical turnover against their pressure. It's tough to overcome things like that. When you fought back, you need to continue to take care of the ball and do the things that got you back in the game."
On The Freshmen Continuing To Learn
"Being young, they are resilient and energized. We need to play off of the positives we have and make sure we have a good practice tomorrow, not get down and be ready. We have to take these humble lessons, learn from them and play as hard as you can the next day."
On Cutting Down Turnovers
"We worked really hard at not turning the ball over, we definitely addressed that, and we had a good showing today in that department."
Richmond Senior Peter Thomas
On Regrouping As Conference Play Nears
"It's tough anytime you lose three or four in a row, especially at home. One of the great things about college basketball is you have two seasons, you have the non-conference and the conference. We're hoping to get Gaston (Moliva) back here pretty soon and we just got to keep working hard."
On Richmond's Second-Half Defense
"We packed it in more on defense. In the first half we were just giving up way too many easy buckets. Anytime a team gets easy buckets, it's a backbreaker, especially when you play 20-25 seconds of good defense and somebody gets an easy lay-up. In the second half we packed it in and made them take more outside shots, tougher shots. When we play good defense our offense is better, our offense starts with our defense."
On Richmond's Second-Half Offense
"We just knew we had to be more aggressive. We got some outside looks in the first half, but knew we had to be more aggressive. They're a physical team, you have to be physical with a physical team. We tried to get to the line more, we got in the bonus early in the second half. When things aren't falling from the outside, you've got to get to the hole, get to the line. That helped our scoring."
On Playing A Good Half And Bad Half In The Last Two Games
"We've had a couple of good halves the last two games. We played well in the first half against Wake Forest, and played well I felt in the second half tonight. We just have to learn to put them together. I think if we put two halves together we can win some ballgames. Hopefully we get a couple of wins here and feel better going into conference play."
On Being A Leader On Such A Young Team
"I try always to lead by example, I play my heart out every day. I also have to talk to the guys, they get down on themselves. Obviously we're very young, but we're getting into the part of the season where freshmen start to become sophomores. We're getting more physical and more mature."
On Being A Senior On A Young Team
"This is it for me. I try to remind the freshmen that it goes quick. You only get 130-odd games, you've got to value each one."
Richmond Junior Drew Crank
On The Game
"We didn't come out with the intensity in the first half that we had in the second half. Everybody realized we had to pick it up a bit."
Tulane Coach Dave Dickerson
On The Game
"We knew going into the game that our strength was our inside players and we normally outscore our opponents in the paint, so we knew we had to get started by scoring the ball in the paint early. Robby Louisme started us off by playing the type of basketball it took to win a game like this. He came in and gave us a spark off the bench and made some tough plays, and went to the line and made five of six free throws. He was the one player that gave us the momentum and toughness to win a road game."
Tulane Sophomore Robinson Louisme
On Richmond's Defense
"Inside was wide open most of the time in the first half. Every time I caught the ball (in the second half), there was like two or three guys on me."