Opening Statement
“Theo Pinson, Isiah Hicks were huge for us coming off the bench. Didn’t get much out of Brice [Johnson] tonight; he’s been off the charts. I think he started reading his pub and thinking he was all-world and forgot the work part of it, but we got by with Brice having one of the worst games that I’ve ever seen him, but he has been sensational recently. He really has, but everybody’s trying to come up with reasons. The reason he’s been really good is because he’s worked hard. He’s played harder. He’s worked harder during the course of the game. His defensive grade’s been better. He’s got better low-post position. It was not because Kennedy [Meeks] was not in there, because the guy who replaced Kennedy was Joel [James], he’s a big dude too in case you haven’t looked. But Brice has just worked so much harder and gotten better, and gotten better at low position. Tonight, they fought him and got him off the block a little farther, and he missed some open eight and ten-footers right in front of the goal. And on the lob that he missed it was because he wasn’t going hard, he didn’t think they were going to throw it, and then all of a sudden they threw it and he didn’t have the balance to jump up there and get it the way he usually does. So it was a tough night for Brice, but again look at Theo and Isaiah, what they did for us off the bench. You know, we shoot 50 percent against a very good defensive team, we turn it over 12 times against a very good defensive team, but we were fortunate we made some shots. Again I look at [Theo Pinson and Isiah Hicks], five-for-five and five-for-six; that was huge for us to say the least. Five guys in double figures again, and two of the guys who started did not get double figures.”
On Isaiah Hicks' consistency
“He’s really been pretty consistent the entire year. You look at his field goal percentage – he’s shooting close to 70 percent. I don’t think he had a bad game the other night – he was five for eight. So he’s been consistent since the first game of the year, shooting the ball well and defensive grades have been good. Last year, he really took giant strides defensively, and I think he has continued that. Needs to rebound the basketball more. I kept telling him how many rebounds he had; he had six rebounds tonight. But he has been in fact one of our most consistent players since day 1, since the first day we started practice.”
On how this team compares to his best offensive teams in the past
“I think we have some good parts. We haven’t shot the ball well, we really haven’t. I still think Justin Jackson the last ten games I think his stats have been much better. If I’m not mistaken, his stats against the ACC were better than the non-conference, and that’s hard to do because the competition is so much better. We’ve got the parts, we haven’t shot the ball as well…When we start shooting the ball and still get the offensive rebound, we will be really good offensively.”
On the team being effect with the small lineup
I didn’t like what we were doing defensively. Joel James was not involved defensively. Brice and Isaiah was worried about foul trouble. I was going to start Brice and Isaiah together in the second half, but they already had two fouls. I said I’ll put James in because one of them was going to get a foul, so it could be, not Isaiah or Brice. So, then I think is was Brice or Isaiah got it immediately in the second half, so that didn’t work.
On how this team compares to his best offensive teams in the past
I think we have some good parts. We haven’t shot the ball well, we really haven’t. I still think Justin Jackson, the last ten games, I think his stats have been much better. If I’m not mistaken, his stats against the ACC were better than the non-conference, and that’s hard to do because the competition is so much better. We’ve got the parts, we haven’t shot the ball as well....When we start shooting the ball and still get the offensive rebound, we will be really good offensively.
“Theo Pinson, Isiah Hicks were huge for us coming off the bench. Didn’t get much out of Brice [Johnson] tonight; he’s been off the charts. I think he started reading his pub and thinking he was all-world and forgot the work part of it, but we got by with Brice having one of the worst games that I’ve ever seen him, but he has been sensational recently. He really has, but everybody’s trying to come up with reasons. The reason he’s been really good is because he’s worked hard. He’s played harder. He’s worked harder during the course of the game. His defensive grade’s been better. He’s got better low-post position. It was not because Kennedy [Meeks] was not in there, because the guy who replaced Kennedy was Joel [James], he’s a big dude too in case you haven’t looked. But Brice has just worked so much harder and gotten better, and gotten better at low position. Tonight, they fought him and got him off the block a little farther, and he missed some open eight and ten-footers right in front of the goal. And on the lob that he missed it was because he wasn’t going hard, he didn’t think they were going to throw it, and then all of a sudden they threw it and he didn’t have the balance to jump up there and get it the way he usually does. So it was a tough night for Brice, but again look at Theo and Isaiah, what they did for us off the bench. You know, we shoot 50 percent against a very good defensive team, we turn it over 12 times against a very good defensive team, but we were fortunate we made some shots. Again I look at [Theo Pinson and Isiah Hicks], five-for-five and five-for-six; that was huge for us to say the least. Five guys in double figures again, and two of the guys who started did not get double figures.”
On Isaiah Hicks' consistency
“He’s really been pretty consistent the entire year. You look at his field goal percentage – he’s shooting close to 70 percent. I don’t think he had a bad game the other night – he was five for eight. So he’s been consistent since the first game of the year, shooting the ball well and defensive grades have been good. Last year, he really took giant strides defensively, and I think he has continued that. Needs to rebound the basketball more. I kept telling him how many rebounds he had; he had six rebounds tonight. But he has been in fact one of our most consistent players since day 1, since the first day we started practice.”
On how this team compares to his best offensive teams in the past
“I think we have some good parts. We haven’t shot the ball well, we really haven’t. I still think Justin Jackson the last ten games I think his stats have been much better. If I’m not mistaken, his stats against the ACC were better than the non-conference, and that’s hard to do because the competition is so much better. We’ve got the parts, we haven’t shot the ball as well…When we start shooting the ball and still get the offensive rebound, we will be really good offensively.”
On the team being effect with the small lineup
I didn’t like what we were doing defensively. Joel James was not involved defensively. Brice and Isaiah was worried about foul trouble. I was going to start Brice and Isaiah together in the second half, but they already had two fouls. I said I’ll put James in because one of them was going to get a foul, so it could be, not Isaiah or Brice. So, then I think is was Brice or Isaiah got it immediately in the second half, so that didn’t work.
On how this team compares to his best offensive teams in the past
I think we have some good parts. We haven’t shot the ball well, we really haven’t. I still think Justin Jackson, the last ten games, I think his stats have been much better. If I’m not mistaken, his stats against the ACC were better than the non-conference, and that’s hard to do because the competition is so much better. We’ve got the parts, we haven’t shot the ball as well....When we start shooting the ball and still get the offensive rebound, we will be really good offensively.
