Memphis Postgame Quotes vs Prairie View A&M

Nov 24, 2014 | Men's Basketball

Nov. 24, 2014

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  Memphis Head Coach Josh Pastner

Opening Statement:
"I thought we did some good stuff. I was proud that we held them to 34.5 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from three-point range and had a plus-19 advantage in rebounds. Those are three areas that we did well in. I thought we moved the ball well in some places and got some good open threes. We're at our best when we can get a paint-touch and then kick it back out for an open three.

"We have to be better than the 16 turnovers. A couple of them were lane violations. It's better than 20, but it's still not great. We have to get better in different areas. This is a brand new team. I've been saying it since the summer. We're starting from ground-zero. It's going to take time. There's going to be some highs and there's going to be some lows. It's not going to be a finished product overnight. We have some guys that haven't played in a year or two. It's going to take some time. We just have to keep getting better and see improvement."

On which players impressed him...
"I thought Markel did a nice job. I thought he played well. I thought Pookie Powell did some good things. He's got to be better defensively. He's got to make some plays at the end there on the fast-break. That's just him learning. In high school or AAU ball, you just let the guy go, but that's not going to happen here. Kedren wasn't good in the first half, so I pulled him out. The second half was a little better for him. It's going to take some time to get the rust off of him. He told me he hasn't done in anything in over a year, so it's going to take time. He's going to get there; it's just going to take time."

On Shaq Goodwin coming off the bench...
"It wasn't demotion or discipline or anything like that. I felt it was something I needed to tweak to help our team and help him. He started for us the last six or seven games last year and would get into foul trouble. We would have to pull him out and sit the bench and then he'd give us nothing in the second half. I needed to help him and help our team. He accepted it and gave us good energy. He's a good young man. He's accepted it to do whatever is best for the team. He's a team guy. There are plenty of examples around the country of guys that come off the bench and are great players coming off the bench. He's a starter. He just won't have his name called."

On assisting on 15-of-24 field goals...
"That's been a staple of my teams, going on my sixth year here has been made field goals assisted. That's very important to me. That was rarified air against Wichita State (only four assists). We made some improvements in that, but we have to get better moving forward. We're going to get tested against Baylor Thursday. It's going to take some time with this team. We're young and new and it's going to take some time. We'll get there. There's going to be highs and lows with this group. I just hope there are more highs than lows."

  Shaq Goodwin

On the win...
"I think overall we had a good game. We hit a lot of key baskets, grabbed some rebounds and kept them under 40 percent from the field and 30 percent from the three-point line. The turnovers are another big thing that we need to correct. Not to dwell on that, but that past two games we've had 20 turnovers. To get it down to 16, to me that's moving in a positive direction."

On getting through screens...
"We definitely got the pads out in practice and got a little more physical. We knew we were going against a scrappy and blue-collar team. I'm just interested to see what we'll come up with tomorrow for Thursday's game plan."

On going to Vegas...
"I'm excited to play Baylor in the big tournament and to get there with this new team coming off of our first win. I'm excited to see what we'll do."

  Markel Crawford

On Prairie View compared to CBU... "I think CBU was more disciplined. As far as Prairie View, they were a more scrappy team. I think we did a good job of meeting the passes and just staying strong with the ball."

On running the point...
"Coach Pastner told me to keep the team together, keep the turnovers down, be the head of the team and make sure everything is flowing the right way."

  Austin Nichols

On getting the win...
"I think we were gelling more as a team tonight, which is pretty exciting. It's also fun to play when everyone is in a rhythm. If we can all stay in that rhythm, I think that we'll do pretty well going forward. It feels good to get our first win, especially as a home opener. We're looking forward to Thursday and hopefully we'll get another win in Vegas."

  Avery Woodson

On the team gaining confidence...
"I think it was nerves. We are trying to come together and form a team. We have a lot of individual talent. I think it's more of getting games under our belt and getting a good feel for each other. I think we all have to be productive in order for us to be a great team. I think that comes with playing games and getting a feel for everything. For some of us, it's our first time playing at this level, so it's all about being comfortable out there and that will come with time."

On Markel Crawford...
"He's part of the Memphis grit and grind. That's what he does. He plays hard all the time. He doesn't take days off. He's an energy guy. He talks on defense and offense. Markel is a great player."

  Prairie View A&M Head Coach Byron Rimm II

On the game...
"We fought pretty hard. We knew we were behind the eight ball. Our number one and our number two leading scorers are sitting in a Memphis Hospital right now and our number one rebounder is sitting in a Memphis Hospital right now with the flu. Our whole team is going through the flu bug. I really thought that we played well in spurts. We only had 11 turnovers. We had two turnovers at the half, with my point guard playing almost 40 minutes. So I'm really proud of the guys."

On the Tigers program and Coach Pastner...
"Coach Pastner is a really good basketball coach. I have known him a long time. He's from the Houston area. He's doing a great job here. He's got some horses in there, so it's hard to keep them off the boards. Once they start playing together and start clicking, I think they are going to be really good and really hard to stop."