A lot of sleepless nights and anxiety went into this. But it's been a heck of a journey just to compete in this conference. |
Akron played on a higher level tonight. They play well together and complement each other well. They got out and pressed us. They work really hard on defense. They make shots very difficult. |
As the season gets longer, the need to have more people contributing gets longer. It's easier for us to get [the freshmen] in at the beginning than it is while the game is going because it's like trying to jump on a moving train. |
Go full (timeout) Jim. We need it. |
I can't remember playing that much zone in a game. We have been practicing it to see if [it] could help us get more depth. |
I just told him he played great. Actually, I think I told him he had a great career. I thought it was over. I was trying to get him out. |
I started to look at George Mason before the selections came out. Just talking to different people from different leagues, some people said to me. |
I've been asking them to visualize and go through the game mentally and anticipate so that you're not just sitting and hoping. If the ball bounces and you didn't think it was going to bounce to you you're probably not going to get it. Hopefully it's paying off for him and I'm hoping some of the other guys are going to start doing that too. |
If we can come out with enough energy, we will certainly have a chance to succeed. They are playing with a great deal of energy, just a tremendous amount of energy, and we're going to have to work hard to come up with that level of energy to give us a chance. |
If you have a hard time caring about a kid that looks different than you, then they will have a hard time relating to you. I think the first component to building relationships is the ability to care. Most kids don't care how much you know until you show them how much you care. The first thing for me is I care about kids, and I think they see that so it makes it easier for me to relate to them no matter what they look like or what their background might be. |
It's been hard. When kids are coming along, they aren't used to playing at a high intensity level and when they try it, sometimes they aren't as effective. |
It's just a matter of him believing he's a contributor and not just there to warm up for the game. I knew once he got his hair cut that he thought he was going to be a contributor. |
It's like running a race with a bag of rocks on your back. We haven't gotten them all off yet. |
It's not like our need for him went away because he was hurt. It still was there, and sometimes there in greater fashion. What has happened is that other guys have been burdened with more of a role than they are fully ready for yet. |
It's very upsetting. We didn't rebound the ball at all. . . . We weren't nearly aggressive enough to be able to expect success in this building tonight. . . . You can't expect to beat good teams without giving your maximum effort. |