University of Memphis Athletics
Post-Game Quotes
Nov 24, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 24, 2009
Recap | Box Score | Notes
Memphis Head Coach Josh Pastner
Opening Remarks
Central Arkansas played a good game. They had a good game plan. Again there were some things, 14 turnovers and four from Willie (Kemp) and six from Wesley (Witherspoon). Ten of the 14 were from those two. Then we gave up 17 offensive rebounds and they tied us in the glass, 25-25. If we do that against Oakland on Monday, that's a recipe for an out.
The game on Monday against Oakland, it's almost like the difference of an NCAA tournament game. It's that type of game. It's a resume thing for both teams. Oakland is good. Throw out their record. They've got everybody back plus transfers. They've got an NBA prospect inside. They are a good basketball team. They're going to win their league. They're good enough to win a game or two in the tournament.
This is going to be a very tough matchup, and if we play like we did tonight, it's going to be tough for us. We've got to play way better, and that's why this week we are going to go two-a-days.
On the defense in the first half
The first half we held them to 25 percent, but the problem is in the second half we let them shoot 56 percent. That's something we can't do. If we are going to be a team that needs to compete at a high level night in and night out, we can't allow a team to shoot 56 percent against us on any half. It just can't happen. Not at a high level, NCAA basketball. Teams are just too good. That's something that we have to be better at.
When you allow a team to shoot like that and tie you on the glass, that's a recipe for an out. We were fortunate enough to pull out the W tonight. That's why we're going to have to go back and get two-a-days in and get some real strong practices before the next game.
On the crowd
The crowd was unbelievable tonight on a Tuesday night. This city is unbelievable. What an unbelievable crowd. I can't thank the city enough. I want to say that repeatedly over and over. You have been the sixth and seventh man. You have been unbelievably awesome with a capital "A" exclamation point, exclamation point. We are so thankful. This victory and all of our victories are to you. The recruiting class is to you. Everything is to the fans.
Postgame Quotes by Central Arkansas Coach Rand Chappell
Opening Statement
"We talked about our improvement in the locker room and I think we improved as a team. It was a small step and we came out in the first eight minutes and competed well and defended well. We didn't turn the ball over much in the first eight minutes and that allowed us to stay in the game for that amount of time. Our defensive game plan was to shut down the driving lanes and force them to take perimeter shots and close with a hand, and early on, they missed the first five three-point shots and then obviously they ended up 12-of-24. Obviously, they have some pretty good shooters and I remember a couple that bounced up and went up to the ceiling but still went in. Obviously, we could have used those coming out. As the game went on, we had more leaks on the defensive end which we need to be more consistent over the 40 minutes."
The first eight minutes of the game, Memphis seemed to be sluggish. Talk about the start that your team had to stay in the game.
"I'm sure they would look at it being sluggish out of the gate, but our guys were competing hard and following the game plan of closing out and we did some pretty good things. We shot 39 percent and I guess that is not good, but is a small victory against a very athletic team like Memphis. We got to the foul line a lot, but 60 percent is not good enough. We are going to have to take advantage of the foul line."
Mitch Rueter had struggled in the first four games but he improved tonight. Talk about the importance of that for your team tonight.
"We have been saying that we needed two or three guys to step up and Rueter gave us more tonight. Obviously, we need a little improvement across the board."
