University of Memphis Athletics
Memphis Basketball Postgame Quotes
Dec 30, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2004
Memphis Head Coach John Calipari
"I think that tonight everyone could see that this team is coming together and working on the things that we are trying to get better in. We had 20 assists tonight. We created shots for each other. We made the game easy for each other. We swarmed defensively. We made open shots because we created for each other."
"They (ETSU) were a small team. When you have a 6-9 and a 6-7 guy going against a 6-4 and a 6-2 guy, you better rebound the ball. I thought we did a much better job of rebounding tonight."
"We have to go now and get incrementally better. We went and lost way too much stuff, and it hurt this team. I think we had to hit rock bottom. But it's not over. Now, it's trying to get better each week, so that by the end of the year -- like the other teams here -- we are playing as well as we can play."
"We didn't fold tonight. They got it together. We went with the high-energy guys, and they just got it together and made plays."
East Tennessee Head Coach Murry Bartow
"This was a frustrating game. We knew coming in that it was going to be a tough game, and that we were going to be out-manned, but Memphis was struggling some. They just busted out. Number one, John (Calipari) is a good coach and he has very good players, and you knew at some point they would bust out. They had not been scoring the ball very easily and tonight they made 11 threes, and we went 5-of-23 from behind the arch."
"When (Ben) Rhoda went down tonight, it feels like when it rains it pours. That makes it very difficult right now. A lot of tonight, we were playing with four guards on the floor, trying to guard a Memphis team that may have two or three guys play in the NBA. We have to try to get healthy, but more than anything, we just have to play better."
"When you don't have an inside game, which we really don't, you shoot a lot of perimeter shots. When you shoot a lot of perimeter shots, if those shots are going in, you look like a pretty good team. But if they aren't, you don't look like a very good basketball team, or even a very well coached team."
