University of Memphis Athletics
Post-Game Quotes
Feb 20, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 20, 2010
Recap | Final Stats
Head Coach Matt Doherty
Post Game Quotes
Opening Statement
"We did show a lot of fight and I was proud of our guys for that. Memphis really shot the ball extremely well and some of that was our fault. I thought that was a big part of the game since they went 15 of 30 from the three point line. I don't think that is going to happen every night, but our defense broke down a little bit because we didn't get to the shooters early and then their points off turnovers killed us. We didn't turn the ball over a lot, but when we did, they converted. I thought those two areas were areas we didn't do a good job. If I would say a third, it would be we didn't get to the foul line. We only got to the foul line 12 times and only made seven. We are better than that."
Mouhammad Faye had another good game off the bench for your team. Talk about his performance
"Mouhammad has been good for us. We would have like to have gotten Papa (Dia) going a little bit more inside, but (Memphis) made a conscious effort to not let the ball go in there. I am proud of our effort, but still disappointed. The neat thing is we are disappointed we lost. The last couple of years our guys would be happy coming in here and playing them close. Now, our guys are mad that we lost."
After strong offensive outputs in the first half, your defense held Elliott Williams and Wesley Witherspoon to single digits in the second half.
"I think our guys located the shooters better. We understood that with dribble penetration we don't over help. We have to help with early help and get back to the shooters quicker and hope that our defensive rotation along the baseline was better and we were able to draw some charges in the second half. I am disappointed that we allowed them to shoot 48 percent from the field. Our field goal percentage defense has been one of the best in the league prior to the game. They shot the ball extremely well"
It was a spirited effort by the coach tonight as you got into it with some of the fans tonight. Talk about that moment in tonight's game.
"Memphis' fans are really good. Memphis is a basketball town and anytime I land in Memphis, people know basketball. People talk basketball whether you are in a cab or getting your bags at the airport. This is a basketball town and the fans here are good. It's give and take and they give me a hard time so I gave them a hard time."
Memphis Head Coach Josh Pastner Postgame Quotes
What happened in the postgame walk off the floor?
"It was just one of those things in the heat of the moment after the game. Some words were exchanged by some of the players. I was trying to get in there just to make sure there were no incidents, and you know people were upset, but it was no big deal. It was just the heat of the moment. You've got to remember the amount of energy in there; there were 17,000 people and great energy. We won the game. We're fighting for our team here every single time, so that just happens."
"SMU is fighting and playing hard. They are a good team and well-coached. It was just one of those things and just part of the game. The good thing is we won because winning is hard. We got to 20 wins. If you would have said back in April that we'd be 20-7 and 10-2 in Conference USA, people would be doing back flips, cart wheels, summersaults down Beale Street, and I really think that. But, we got to 20 wins, which is an unbelievable credit to these players and to the fan base. That's the reason we got to 20 wins -- the players and the fan base. There's no other x-y-z about it, the players have done their job winning the games and the fans have done their job with their support."
"I don't know what happened. You know I've known Matt (Doherty) for a long time. He's always been good to me, and I think he's a very good coach and they do a good job. Hey, the first game they kicked our butt, and there's no doubt about that. We are fortunate to come away with a good win tonight. We shot the ball well. I was a little bit disappointed in our defense. We allowed them to shoot 46 percent and 38 percent from three point range which is a credit to them because they played well. We had some great leads, and they still made good runs. They fought to the very end. Like I said, I have nothing but respect for Matt. He's done a good job. He's a very good coach and he's a good guy."
On the team's good shooting from the floor?
"We made our threes, but I told our team after the game, we can't keep living by that. That's great that we're making shots, but we've got to defend better. I'm just disappointed right now in our defense. We've got to defend better. We can't let teams shoot 47 percent from the field and 39 percent from three-point range. How about our free throw shooting? We were 13-of-15. That's one of the reasons we won as well."
On rebounding?
"You know, again we gave up 11 offensive rebounds. We've got to do better on that and we've got to do better on field goal percentage defense. Hey! It's a win. We got the win. We stepped up offensively. Again we've got to be better defensively and that's the bottom line."
