Jan. 11, 2007

Recap |  Box Score

Sophomore guard Kevin Lisch
"We haven't been winning much lately, so to get a win is pretty nice. We started out the season really good, but in sports, you are not always going to be going uphill, sometimes there are little setbacks. I think we dealt with it pretty good."
On 3-point shots to break URI's zone defense "Hitting 3s definitely spreads their defense out more and gives Ian more room to operate. We don't feel like we have to hit them, but it's definitely a plus. They would just pile up on Ian once he got the ball, and he had some trouble seeing out of that. But once we started hitting more 3s, they couldn't quite sag in on him like they did.

Sophomore guard Tommie Liddell
"Our defense got better the second half. We just got a little aggressive. At halftime, coach told us to stop hesitating and believe in our shot. I think I got a little passive in the second half, but the confidence that Coach gives me means a lot. He tells me that he is confident in my shot and I should be so that is why I'm just out there shooting." "Our defense really helped us in this game, it was better this game than the last two games and that was the difference."
"It didn't matter how many turnovers we made, or how many offensive rebounds we gave up, as long as we came out with the win."

Junior guard Dwayne Polk
"Tonight, before the game, we came into the gym and everybody had a chip on their shoulder. Every player and coach, including Tony our trainer, came in with a different attitude about the game. We were going to bring energy to the game, and we were going to win the game no matter what. We just came in with a chip on our shoulders and tried to get the job done."

Rhode Island head coach Jim Baron
"They are a physical team. They did a good job. We didn't shoot the ball real well in the first half, I was surprised we were up two going into the half when we didn't shoot the ball. We knew it was going to be a battle. We had a chance, we missed an opportunity on the free-throw line, we missed an opportunity on a couple of layups down the stretch that would have cut it to within one. They are a good team, they did the things they needed to do down the stretch. They got some guys that make shots."

Saint Louis head coach Brad Soderberg
"Let me start with the obvious, that was a huge win for us. That is one of those wins that at the end of the year, noone will really remember it, probably I won't either, but if we start out 0-3 with two of them being home games that really makes it rough. It doesn't make our season, it certainly doesn't make our conference season, but at least it allows us to go back to practice without having to lick our wounds and do damage control. We can immediately get into Xavier and prepare for them. I really want to compliment my kids tonight because we went back to the drawing board on Monday with just a lot of film work and a lot of instruction a lot of Basketball 101, a lot of Defense 101. I saw a vast improvement from what I saw. We eliminated a lot of fundamental mistakes we saw in the first two games, we had some gutty performances from a lot of guys, and we just had enough offense to get the win. What I am most pleased with is that we defended at a very high level. I've said many times that we can't have a good year unless we defend very, very well. I can't tell you how much this lifted me up to see the defense the way it was. It's a lot more fun to win that to lose."
On Tommie Liddell... "Tommie is playing tremendous offensive basketball and very good defensive basketball. I'm not going to say his defense caught up to his offense, but with the addition of the 3-point shot to his arsenal, he is really a load offensively. When you put a 6-6 kid at the point, and he can pass the ball the way he does - I've said many times he's got the best feel of a kid that I've coached, and I've been doing this for a while - he just has an instinct about basketball that is tremendous. When you combine that with his ability to make 3-pointers now, and doing it three consecutive games, that is the mark of a guy that can keep playing after college.."
On if URI's zone was a problem"I don't think it was that big of a problem. I think the problem was that we missed some open shots. Other than one or two shots, I thought the shots were good. At halftime, I said if I see one guy pass up a shot because he is afraid he is going to miss it, you are coming out. If you get an open shot, you shoot the ball. I tried to send them out earlier on the court at halftime just to shoot. Shooting is a weird thing, it comes and it goes. The thing about the zone is that it makes it hard to get those point blank shots. Our shot chart I'm sure didn't have many shots around the rim. I wouldn't be pleased with that if they played 40 minutes of man-to-man. But we did what we had to do to win, because we had every reason to lose. I know these kids felt the pressure, they were so disappointed. I'm really proud of them, I don't know how else to say it. I'm proud of the way they came back to practice Monday, the way they listened. That is why you recruit good kids, because every year something goes haywire and if you got a bunch of knuckleheads it could go right down the toilet. These kids are good people."
On free-throw shooting ... "It's the same thing from shooting from the perimeter. There is no coach that can shoot the ball for his players, I wish I could I'm a heck of a shooter. But the worst thing a coach can do is get mad at them for missing shots. They just need to shoot it and be confident and make shots."
On if he is troubled by the 17 turnovers ... "No, I'm not going to forget about it. But, lets look at this way, we held them to 32.8 percent, which means they missed a lot of shots. The more shots that are missed, the more chances they are going to get offensive rebounds. They missed 39 field goals. If they missed 29 field goals and got 17 offensive rebounds, we would be doing a rebounding drill right now. Plus, they missed six free throws and some of those have rebounds attached. I have a spreadsheet on my computer in the office that calculates how many offensive rebounds we give up relative to how many shots were missed, that is the key stat."
On limiting turnovers down the stretch ... "We worked really hard on Monday on defensive fundamentals and taking care of the basketball. I ripped them early in the second half because we had six turnovers right out of the gate. I told them you are defending well enought to win, but if they start dishing the ball to Rhode Island you are putting yourself in too much jeopardy. Again, they responded. They responded to my challenge to play with more intensity. I thought they played hard today. I saw more tenacity, saw people make and effort, and another effort, and that to me is what makes the difference in close games."
On play of Dustin Maguire...I've stayed with my plan, and that plan was to get Dustin in the game when I feel comfortable that he improved on the practice floor. The time was right for him because first of all it was a zone defense that we were facing, and he is a specialty shooter. He didn't hit one, but that is a lot to ask of a kid, his first extensive minutes in a conference game that really has a lot of weight on it. He is going to make a lot of shots in a Billiken uniform, I'm telling you that. He can shoot the basketball. They were all right there, I though all four of them actually were going to go in. I thought he did a good job defensively, which has been the issue. He hasn't been defending the way I like in practice, but it has gotten better the last week and a half so I decided to give it a go. I thought he did a good job, he earned my confidence tonight."