University of Memphis Athletics
Post-Game Quotes
Jan 23, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 23, 2010
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Houston Head Coach Tom Penders
Postgame Quotes
Opening Statement
"They were red hot from the field and you have to give them credit for that. They knocked down the threes and that got us in trouble. We were our worst enemies sometimes with the basketball. We did not play the way we normally are taking care of the ball."
"Memphis was razor sharp in the second half with their three point shooting. I thought our kids scrapped and executed. One of the positives tonight was that the whole country got to see Audrey (Coleman). He was tough with the basketball and didn't back down when he was in the post."
You were able to outrebound Memphis even though they were hot from the field. What went into that stat?
"We out rebounded Memphis, which is hard to believe since they didn't miss many shots. They only missed 19 shots from the floor, and we got 13 offensive boards. That's why I say sometimes you can take the rebounding stat and throw it out the door because it doesn't really mean a lot. We dropped passes, and early in the second half we just gave the ball to them."
"I was proud of the way we played in that first half because we weren't conservative and came back from 10 or 12 point deficits a couple of times and almost had the lead at halftime. It is a 40 minute game, and you have to play with that consistency and sharpness for 40 minutes, and we didn't do that tonight. It is a road game, and it is tough to win on the road, and we were playing a really good program tonight."
"Memphis played their "A" game tonight, and I thought they were extremely sharp. They looked as good as I have seen them look offensively this year. As a team, we did a nice job of making Elliott Williams work and didn't give him any open three point looks. They got going in the second half with all those threes, and it's tough to get going when they are hot."
Josh Pastner Quotes
Memphis vs. Houston
January 23, 2010
On the Crowd?
"I was really proud of our team, and how about the crowd tonight. They announced a crowd of over 17,000. That's tremendous support for a team coming off of a loss. I want to tell all of the fans thank you. You have absolutely done your part. Tiger Nation, that is why you are the absolute best. We needed that extra boost tonight."
On what he told team at halftime?
"I was really fired up at halftime. I was disappointed in how we were so up and down and we couldn't get stops at some times we really needed some stops. We adjusted in the second half, and tried to double behind some ball screens for Coleman. I was really proud of our defense because they only average eight turnovers a game, and we forced 16."
On offense and shooting percentage?
"We executed well. We went inside to Wesley (Witherspoon) and really tried to establish Wesley in there. We went inside to Pierre (Henderson-Niles), and tried to do the same for Will Coleman. That was the big thing was that we wanted to establish inside presence. The guys did that and executed. I jumped on Roburt Sallie at halftime and told him, `You're 0-5 from three-point range. Step up and make shots. You're too good of a shooter, so this half, step up and make shots. Gosh Darnit, make shots.' He stepped up in the second half and made shots. That's what he did."
On poor free throw shooting?
"I was very disappointed in our free throw shooting. We have to be better than that."
On offensive aggressiveness in the second half?
"That was a big thing we worked on preparing for this game. We wanted to drive the basketball. We did. When we drove, that also created opportunities for three-point shots. I was really proud of our guys in the second half. They came out, defended, guarded, rebounded. When a team averages eight turnovers per game and you force 16, that's a good night."
