University of Memphis Athletics
Memphis Basketball Postgame Quotes vs Western Illinois
Dec 23, 2014 | Men's Basketball
Recap | Box Score | Notes
Box Score (PDF) 
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Memphis Head Coach Josh Pastner |
"Good win. I'm proud of the guys. For the first half, I thought we did a good job defensively. Overall for the game, we held them to thirty percent from the field, twenty-one percent from three point rage, had plus-18 on the rebounds. We were plus ten on fifty-fifty balls, had nine, three consecutive stops in a row. We had seven the first half and only two the second half. We did a good job on Garret Covington, who was 1-for-11 with only four points and three turnovers in 26 minutes. He was the leading scorer in the Horizon coming in. Overall, I thought we did a good job defensively. Second half, we got a little sloppy, but had a good pace in the game for the most part. We attacked the paint. We had a 44-22 paint advantage. Overall, a good win for the Tigers."
On the absence of Shaq Goodwin...
"Team violation. That's just the bottom line with that and it will be lifted for the next game. The penalty was a one game suspension for him, for a violation of team rules."
On the growth of the team...
"We only had 12 turnovers. We had 17 assists on 31 made field goals. I thought Pookie (Powell) and D'Marnier Cunningham did a nice job for us there. Those guys combined for eight assists and four turnovers, which is a 2-1 turnover ratio, so I thought that was a positive for us. I love how we were on the glass 48 to 30. That's another plus-18 on the glass, so that's a big thing. That's been our calling card. We've been better in transition offense. We're getting better. As I've said from the beginning of the summer and preseason, there were going to be highs and lows, peaks and valleys with this team. I'm just really keeping my fingers crossed that the valleys and the lows are done with. As I've told the fans, there might be some more valleys and more lows with the youth of this team. We have to continue to get better, continue to work, continue to stay the course. We are playing our best basketball heading into conference play."
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Sophomore Guard Pookie Powell |
I know it's going to feel good to head into Christmas with this winning streak ...
"Yes it feels really good. With a four-game winning streak, we are all on the same page and it seems like we are clicking more so we are all feeling good about our play. We can go home and enjoy the break then get back and get ready to work. "
What has changed for you guys over the last few weeks?
"I think our chemistry. Everybody is playing well and playing together. We are learning from every game, learning from our mistakes and getting better every game."
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Sophomore Forward/Guard Nick King |
Is this year's team better on defense than last year's team?
"It's pretty much the same, we have the same capabilities but this year we are more together and talk more on the court. "
How much confidence has this winning streak given you guys?
"It's given us great confidence. We are learning more about each other every day and we have bonded more as a team."
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Senior Forward Calvin Godfrey |
With Shaq out tonight, your role increased, can you bring this consistently to this team? "It is definitely going to be my goal. Whenever I am out there focus and energy is all I want to bring. "
How big is it to get four wins in a row just before the Christmas break?
"It's huge for us. We needed it but we knew what we could have done in the beginning. It was simple stuff that caused us to lose games. Hopefully we have it all figured out and have our focus and energy figured out. "
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Western Illinois Coach Billy Wright |
Seemed like in the second half, the shots started to fall. Were you pleased with the offense in the second half?
"Overall, I thought out guys fought hard and did a good job trying to execute the game plan. I thought we did a good job doubling the post, but they are long and athletic. To our credit, we found out how hard we have to play at this level.
"Offensively, we just missed some shots. We are getting good looks, wide open looks and layups. We just have to get better at finishing with the basketball."
This was the end of a five-game stretch against teams picked in the top half of their league. What has this stretch taught your team heading into conference play?
"I think we've learned how physical the game is at this level. We keep learning each time out and we are a young team with seven new players trying to adjust to a new tempo. We're figuring it out, but against a quality opponent like Memphis, you have to be really smart for 40 minutes and we didn't do that with some careless turnovers. One thing I was disappointed about was our transition defense. I thought we gave up way too many uncontested layups."
