Memphis Vs. Pepperdine Postgame Quotes
Jan 05, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 5, 2008
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Memphis Postgame Quotes
January 5, 2008
Game 13
Pepperdine (5-10) - 53
#2/2 Memphis (13-0) - 90
Memphis Head Coach John Calipari
We played well today. What about our fans giving a standing ovation to (Pepperdine) coach Vance Walberg. That was great, and it shows how knowledgeable our fans are about the game, and the contribution he made to me, my staff and this program.
Several players played well for us. I was so happy for Doneal (Mack) today. He had struggled recently. When he started making shots, did you know everybody on the floor tried to get him the ball? Did you see the bench? The last game, they did it for Jeff Robinson. They want each other to play well. Antonio said, `Leave Doneal in. Don't put me back in. Let him play.'
There's only so many things you can do (to defend us). The one thing we know you cannot do is put six or seven guys on the floor. That's assured. So you're only going to have five out there, and there's only so many things you can try to do.
Antonio (Anderson) is in a rhythm right now for us on both the offensive and defensive ends. Willie (Kemp) and Andre (Allen) are coming off the bench now and giving us a lift. It is a total team effort, and we need to keep building on that.
We open conference play on Wednesday against East Carolina. Some may say that it will be easy for us since we've won a lot in the league. But, go and look at our stats from the last two years and you'll see that the conference teams play us tougher than the non-league teams. Our field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage and rebound margin all have dropped in league play the last two years. All I know is that every conference gym we go to we will be the highest ranked team to play there, so they will be up to play us. We just have to be ready to match their intensity.
Pepperdine Coach Vance Walberg
Memphis is a heck of a team. They are about as good as they come, and they just wear you down. In the first half, we did a good job on the boards. We had a hard time handling the ball. We gave up 38 points on 21 turnovers. In the second half, we were down 13 at the half. In the second half, they just destroyed us on the offensive boards.
We have to make hustle plays. For us to be affective, we have to have them. We also have to learn how to take care of the ball. Memphis is a veteran team and John Calipari has done a heck of a job putting this team together.
