From 96-63 win over UNCG:
Opening Statement
“There were several things to like. There’s no question about that. My number one goal for the game was to keep Marcus [Paige] between 20 and 24 minutes. We got him at 21 minutes, so I achieved my biggest goal of the game. We had six guys in double figures. Theo [Pinson] had eight. I don’t like the fact that they shot 52% in the second half, but I do like the fact that we shot over 50% both halves. They’ve had a couple of guys hurt, and I’ve been doing some things trying to change their lineup a little bit. Demetrius Troy had 14 at halftime, and it challenged us to play better in the second half. If I’m not mistaken, I don’t think he scored in the second half. I’m not saying it was just our defense, but at least we emphasized it a little bit more. We’ve got to do a better job on the defensive end of the floor so that people can’t just take us. The game right before the first conference game is always a difficult game, and I think we got through it fine. We still don’t know about Kennedy [Meeks], when he’ll be able to do some things, so right now we’re planning on playing the rest of the week without him. If Marcus wakes up tomorrow and still feels good, then I’ll feel really good about his situation right now.”
On the status of Kennedy Meks' injury
“He’s been in the pool, but he hasn’t done anything with our team. He hasn’t shot layups period. When I leave you, I’m going to go inside and talk to the doctors and see if they have a different opinion. In my opinion, it would be awfully difficult for him to play. He hasn’t shot a layup in over two weeks.”
On Marcus Paige's minutes
“I was concerned about when he jammed his foot the other night. We curtailed his minutes in Saturday’s practice. It was really the first time that he was able to get back because of the holidays to get some treatment. On Saturday, I didn’t know if I could play him at all. Yesterday, I felt a little bit better but still didn’t know if I would play him at all. But with two days of treatment and 48 more hours to get better, he said it felt really good today. When I took him out with seven or eight minutes left, I said ‘how did it feel?’ And he said it feels better right now than at any time since he did it, so hopefully it won’t stiffen up.”
On the team without Meeks
“I’m pleased. The guys have done a good job. I’m just frustrated because teams shoot 52% against us in the second half. I keep saying that no one has been the best team unless they’re guarding people. We’re causing a little bit of it because we’re scrambling and gambling a little bit more. The more you gamble, you open up opportunities for both teams. You open up opportunities for your own team to get turnovers. I think we scored 20 points off of turnovers tonight. But when you do scramble, you do open up some shots because you’ve got two guys guarding one of theirs. Three of their three pointers tonight were against scrambles when we were trying to steal the ball. Last year, we didn’t scramble very much, and teams didn’t shoot nearly as well against us. But we didn’t force as many turnovers either.”
Opening Statement
“There were several things to like. There’s no question about that. My number one goal for the game was to keep Marcus [Paige] between 20 and 24 minutes. We got him at 21 minutes, so I achieved my biggest goal of the game. We had six guys in double figures. Theo [Pinson] had eight. I don’t like the fact that they shot 52% in the second half, but I do like the fact that we shot over 50% both halves. They’ve had a couple of guys hurt, and I’ve been doing some things trying to change their lineup a little bit. Demetrius Troy had 14 at halftime, and it challenged us to play better in the second half. If I’m not mistaken, I don’t think he scored in the second half. I’m not saying it was just our defense, but at least we emphasized it a little bit more. We’ve got to do a better job on the defensive end of the floor so that people can’t just take us. The game right before the first conference game is always a difficult game, and I think we got through it fine. We still don’t know about Kennedy [Meeks], when he’ll be able to do some things, so right now we’re planning on playing the rest of the week without him. If Marcus wakes up tomorrow and still feels good, then I’ll feel really good about his situation right now.”
On the status of Kennedy Meks' injury
“He’s been in the pool, but he hasn’t done anything with our team. He hasn’t shot layups period. When I leave you, I’m going to go inside and talk to the doctors and see if they have a different opinion. In my opinion, it would be awfully difficult for him to play. He hasn’t shot a layup in over two weeks.”
On Marcus Paige's minutes
“I was concerned about when he jammed his foot the other night. We curtailed his minutes in Saturday’s practice. It was really the first time that he was able to get back because of the holidays to get some treatment. On Saturday, I didn’t know if I could play him at all. Yesterday, I felt a little bit better but still didn’t know if I would play him at all. But with two days of treatment and 48 more hours to get better, he said it felt really good today. When I took him out with seven or eight minutes left, I said ‘how did it feel?’ And he said it feels better right now than at any time since he did it, so hopefully it won’t stiffen up.”
On the team without Meeks
“I’m pleased. The guys have done a good job. I’m just frustrated because teams shoot 52% against us in the second half. I keep saying that no one has been the best team unless they’re guarding people. We’re causing a little bit of it because we’re scrambling and gambling a little bit more. The more you gamble, you open up opportunities for both teams. You open up opportunities for your own team to get turnovers. I think we scored 20 points off of turnovers tonight. But when you do scramble, you do open up some shots because you’ve got two guys guarding one of theirs. Three of their three pointers tonight were against scrambles when we were trying to steal the ball. Last year, we didn’t scramble very much, and teams didn’t shoot nearly as well against us. But we didn’t force as many turnovers either.”
