University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Basketball Post-Game Quotes
11/14/2007 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 13, 2007
Richmond Head Coach Chris Mooney
On The Game
"In those games, the reason it is so tight is not one team has complete control. You've got to dig in as much as you can. We had a game the other night that went against us and we're fortunate that this one went for us. We're proud of the guys, being so young, that we were able to hang in there."
On Richmond's Fast Start
"I thought we started very strong, we were able to score and get what we want on offense. We came out very aggressive on defense and that resulted in some foul trouble, which we have to get a little bit better at. It kind of plagued us the entire game."
On Richmond's Comeback
"Overall, the character that we showed and how hard we played, to be tough enough to get back in the game, is a very good sign for our guys."
On The Play Of Dan Geriot
"Dan played great, this is one of his best efforts he's had on the heels of one of his better games on Saturday. We're going to need him to do things like that and he's capable of doing things like that. The baskets he scored, the rebounds he was able to get, especially in the second half when we were struggling, were crucial for us."
On Justin Harper's Game-Winning 3-Pointer
"Justin's 3-piint shot in overtime was big. We put him back in the game, he's a very good player, and he was confident and poised, and he banged a big 3-point shot. Of course Kevin Smith's shot in regulation to tie the game was huge without those shots, obviously the outcome could be different."
Richmond's Dan Geriot
On Richmond's Fast Start
"We wanted to come out the same way we did the other night. We did, we were up early, I think by 16. They switched to zone, they did a good job switching their defenses and disrupted our offense a little bit. It's just another learning curve for us, we've got to keep that lead, we've got to have a 10 point lead at half instead of seven."
On The Comeback
"Getting down was hard, the energy was low, things weren't looking good. Thank God for the freshmen, they made big energy plays. Smitty and Harper hit big shots, and Anderson did a great job at point guard with (David Gonzalvez) fouling out. It just shows the future is bright. Wins are going to come, it might come hard this year, but we should get a lot of them. The future is bright here."
On His Second-Half Performance
"We kept going low post and that's my number. I was able to make a couple of moves, power through a couple of guys, and score some points to get us going again. For a couple of minutes we weren't scoring as well, but coached trusts me to throw it in there and I made the best of it that I could."
Richmond's Oumar Sylla
On The Game
"We've been starting fast, but when we get up by 15 points, we don't put teams away. We have to do a better job of that, but it was good for us to comeback in the second half."
On The Freshmen
"The freshmen really played well tonight. Justin Harper came up big for us, and Kevin Anderson and Kevin Smith really helped us. It's good to see the freshmen helping out. They saved us tonight."
Richmond's Ryan Butler
"We really stuck together and pulled this one out. This is a big win for us. We can't keep letting teams back in the game when we are up on them, but this was definitely a huge win for us, to be down 10 and come back with a win. We were able to cut it to five with about seven minutes left and from there we just wouldn't go away."
Richmond's Justin Harper
On His 3-Pointer
"Most of my basketball career I've been trusted to take shots like that. It felt good, the timing was right and I'm just glad I could step up and knock it down. It was all confidence. I just want to take advantage of the minutes I get, hopefully knock big shots down, get a rebound, whatever it is that can help us get a win. This was a big win."
On Why He Chose The University Of Richmond
"This is where I thought I could develop my game the most, learning this offense and just working on my all-around game from dribbling, to passing, to shooting."
East Carolina Head Coach Mack McCarthy
On The Game
"The key to the game was turnovers. We just turned the ball over too many times. We equalized it a little bit by playing aggressively, and making them turnover the ball some."
On Richmond's Defense
"Richmond plays such an unusual defense. You don't get the usual shot you get out of your offense, whether you run man, or zone offense, it doesn't really matter. They make you make plays, which was reflected through our shooting percentage. I just didn't count on the turnover situation."
On Richmond's Offense
"Defensively it took us a little while to adjust to how they were playing, even though we knew what they were going to do. We had great preparation, a great scouting report, but when it is live, it is a whole other deal."