Postgame Quotes

Dec 04, 2010 | Men's Basketball

Dec. 4, 2010

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#14/15 Memphis (7-0) 77, Western Kentucky (3-5) 61
December 4, 2010
FedExForum (Memphis, Tenn.)
Postgame Quotes

Memphis Head Coach Josh Pastner

Opening Remarks
Great win for the Tigers. Bottom line is we are 7-0, and I want to make sure Tiger Nation doesn't take 7-0 for granted. This is Tiger Nation that not only includes the city of Memphis, but all surrounding areas. This is your team, and you cannot be better than 7-0. Do not take that for granted. Appreciate that and enjoy it because winning is hard. Winning one game is hard so appreciate that.

With that being said, I thought we did a fantastic job defensively today. We held them to 31 percent from the field, and we did a terrific job on three point percentage defense and held them to 22 percent. We have two areas, flat-out areas where we struggled. Twenty-five offensive rebounds; that's the number one glaring issue. Twenty-one turnovers is number two, and that's 46 possessions we gave away. That just can't happen.

But I am proud of the way our guys responded after Wednesday's game. We came back with two great workouts, and I thought we moved the ball well. We had 17 assists on 28 made field goals. We probably had some more or missed a couple here and there. It is just one of those games where the other team gets a lot of second and third chances.

On the play against Western Kentucky
That is a good Western Kentucky team, and they will probably win the Sun Belt. They are a potential NCAA Tournament team if they win their conference tournament.

With that being said, I am proud of our guys. D.J. Stephens had a double-double and really stepped up for us. Wesley (Witherspoon) did some good things, but he got in foul trouble and lost his rhythm. I thought Joe (Jackson) gave us some good energy and a burst. (Joe) did a good job defensively, but he had five turnovers, and he is aware he needs to cut those down. I thought Charles Carmouche gave us some really good minutes, but he was also in foul trouble. Will Barton did a good job defensively and he attacked the paint in the second half. Will Coleman came in and gave us good minutes, he really did. Antonio Barton gave us good minutes and Chris Crawford did as well. Chris is a good player and he had three turnovers, and I get frustrated with some of his passes because they seem like lazy passes. Tarik Black came in and gave us really good minutes and Angel Garica gave us good minutes although he didn't play a lot. I wanted to get (Angel) in the game more, but I just didn't and he had foul trouble and the matchups affected that as well.

On the Kansas Game
Tuesday's game versus Kansas is going to be a big time game in a big time atmosphere. Bottom line is, as I told our guys, this is just another game on our schedule and we are not getting too high with the highs or too low with the lows. We are preparing for this game the way we prepare for every game whether it is Christian Brothers or Lemoyne-Owen or Western Kentucky or Miami. We are preparing the same way for Kansas. We aren't making this game bigger than any other game. We are 7-0 and that is the bottom line.

Western Kentucky Head Coach Ken McDonald

Opening Remarks
I thought the guys really tried hard, but we are just shooting ourselves in the foot a little bit with our turnovers. We were, at times, careless with the ball, and we didn't do some of the fundamental things you have to do, especially on the road. You can't spot teams 15, 16 points at half time and then have to claw yourself back into the game. At that point, there is just no margin for error, what so ever.

We did correct some things from our last game in terms of effort and energy. I thought we made a lot of hustle plays. A lot of guys came off of the bench and did some good things. We just have to develop into a smarter basketball team.

I talked to them (the players) after the game and I told them to play hard; that was our focal point. Now we have to just add smart. Our point guards cannot continue to struggle to just get us into the offense. They (the guards) had maybe eight or nine turnovers at the half and that just can't happen.

About the Team's Energy
We had a lot of charges. They (the officials) missed some charges that we took and we were trying to help position. We left the game again on the free throw line. We missed I believe nine free throws. We need to work on that. That takes time, and it gets a little mental at some point. The other thing that we need to correct is to play team basketball. I thought Memphis was a very good one-on-one team, and they were very one-on-one oriented. For them (Memphis) to have 17 assists and we only have 7, that is wrong. We need to switch numbers on that one (statistic). We need to do better. We just need to continue to watch tape and see where guys are open and keep moving the ball. In the second half we did that (moving the ball) much better. We just have to put two halves together, especially to beat a top 20 team.

About Battling Back to Cut the Memphis Lead to Six Points
That is the margin for error that is really tough to handle. If it is a four point game, that turnover isn't such a big game. But when you are battling back and you have exerted so much effort just to get back into the game it (the turnover) is huge. When you have that let down (a turnover) it is just tough to overcome. It is tough mentally as well. You have a run going and you have them back on their heels a little bit, and then they gain confidence. We will continue to work and get better, but once again I think we can go out and win these basketball games. Probably the toughest stretch is behind us, in terms of road games. We just have to continue to get better, and I think we have more opportunities ahead of us.