Post-Game Quotesheet
12/23/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 23, 2006
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POST-GAME QUOTESHEET
Pitt vs.
Quoting Pitt Head Coach Jamie Dixon
Opening Statement:
"When you play a 10-1 team with a 55 RPI you don't expect to win by 30. Tonight, we did what we had to do, especially defensively and on the boards. Even though Brian Roberts scored 21 points, we had a hand in his face and contested his shots the whole night. I just think we really played well in all facets of the game"
On the play of Levance Fields:
"We didn't tell him to do anything different tonight. It's all about getting better, and the best part for him in this game was his defense. We gave him a bigger guy to guard and he rose to the occasion; in terms of the outcome that was the facet of his play that contributed the most."
On the treatment for Sam Young's knees:
"I'm not sure exactly what the medical staff is doing but he's improved dramatically. We saw it in practice last week that he was being more aggressive, getting after balls better, and doing the things that make him a special player. He's a tough, hard-working kid and he deserves to have success. Hopefully, he can continue to stay healthy."
On Sam Young switching positions:
"Sam has played both small forward and power forward his whole time here. What you're seeing right now doesn't have to do with position, but rather that he's just improving as a player. Now that he's feeling better, it's great to see what he can do; when you're not healthy it's hard to improve your game."
On playing two difficult road games:
"First of all it's very tough to win on the road against top teams. If you look at some of the best teams in the country right now, I don't think any of them have a signature road win. But some of the problems that everyone cited, the defense and the rebounding in particular were things that we'd seen building for a while. When you lose a guy like Carl Krauser who rebounded very well for his position, it takes some time for new guys to adjust and learn to play the position in that style. Someone like Mike Cook, too who's new to the program, it just takes time. We'll eventually get there, but you have to keep in mind we're learning new things."
On the importance of winning this game:
"Even if we had won those two road games, tonight would have been an important game to win. You always want to play well; you always want to get better. I firmly believe you are only as good as your last game."
On Pitt's success tonight:
"I think a lot of it had to do with not fouling. If you look at our two losses, most of our opponent's points didn't come on field goals. Instead, they came from the foul shots. Not giving them a chance to get to the line was a big key for us tonight."
Quoting Pitt's Levance Fields
On his quick start:
"It really started in the
On Pitt's success tonight:
"It had a lot to do with defending better. We were relentless both in guarding their players and in getting after loose balls. We rebounded very well tonight too. There was some talk before the game that we weren't a very good rebounding team. When someone issues you a challenge like that, you like to step-up and answer that call."
On playing two difficult road games:
"It hurts when you lose, but I think we definitely learned some things. Tonight, we played like Pitt. We rebounded, we played tough defense and we showed our balance with how many people scored."
Quoting Pitt's Sam Young
On the health of his knees:
"The last two or three games I've been feeling a lot better. I've been icing my knee and doing some new exercises and that's helped. I knew when I wasn't playing as much before, it wasn't cause of my play, but because I wasn't 100%; it's good to be healthy again."
On playing more at power forward:
"I play the same at both positions, but my knees were really slowing me down before. My first step was much slower, and I had to jump from both feet to better distribute my weight. Not having to think about that stuff means that I can just go out and play."
Quoting Dayton Head Coach Brian Gregory
Opening Statement:
"Well you know, we talked all week about how good Pitt is. They're the best team we've played since I've coached at
On Pitt's depth:
"Our freshman did a good job guarding Aaron Gray, but [Sam] Young played good tonight. He's a good four player. He's very aggressive and feel comfortable there. Pitt didn't use their bench against
On Pitt compared to
"Now that's a good team [
On the play of Levance Fields:
"Because he's only a sophomore, he's only going to get better. He controls the game. The pace of play both offensively and defensively is determined by him. He's been shooting even better than he had been lately. He's tough enough that even when he's off, he knows when he has to make that big shot and he makes it when his team needs him. This
