University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Post-Game Quotesheet
1/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 12, 2008
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POST-GAME QUOTESHEET
Pitt vs. Seton Hall, January 12, 2008
Quoting Pitt's Head Coach Jamie Dixon:
Opening Statement:
"This was the kind of game we thought it would be. We had to grind it out the whole way and never could pull away like we would have liked. Give them credit for pressing the whole game and keeping the pressure on our ball handlers. We were very fortunate to get them without Paul Gause. He's a great player who really would have helped them defensively."
On the play of Sam Young and DeJuan Blair:
"You could see them interacting and having fun together from the moment we started practicing this year, which is very special. They have a very good feel for one another on the court and they're both very talented players. Both of them have great hands, and they can pass, rebound and score. It's a great combination for a coach."
On handling Seton Hall's press:
"I thought we handled it pretty well, although it could have been a little smoother it times. We work on breaking the press every day, and it's something we expect to see with Levance Fields out. I'm impressed with how hard they came after us even when they fell down by double digits. That's good coaching."
On Ronald Ramon getting more shots:
"Ronald's going to get more shots against a zone like today. It's just the nature of that defense. I thought our big men also did a really good job passing to the outside when they defense collapsed on them."
On facing
"I haven't seen
On the play of Sam Young:
"He's gotten so much better since he's arrived here, and that's the product of hard work. You saw today that he hit four three pointers, and shooting was his biggest weakness coming out of high school. He's worked so hard at it and gotten so good that we run sets now to have him shoot from the outside. It's a great lesson for our younger guys."
On DeJuan Blair in the atmosphere of the
"I haven't seen him have too many atmospheres he doesn't like. He'll have a smile on his face the whole time, and he'll be ready to come out, have fun and compete hard."
Quoting Pitt's Sam Young:
On playing against Brian Laing:
"Yeah, it was a good match-up for me. Brian Laing's a little bit shorter, so I was confident that I could get to the basket. When my outside shot started falling that gave me some space too, and they had a hard time containing me."
On playing
"It's definitely something we're all looking forward to, but me especially since I'm from the DC area. We played them tough here last year, but they won two out of three games from us on the season, so this time we're ready for a little revenge. I feel like we're the better team until they prove otherwise."
Quoting Pitt's DeJuan Blair:
On his play:
"If I play hard the points will come. That's more my teammates setting me up than anything. What I'm really proud of is being able to get double figures in rebounds. That's the part of my game that I pride myself on."
On facing
"He's a good player who's had a very good college career. I'll be there on Monday ready to go."
Quoting Pitt's Keith Benjamin:
On finding his scoring touch in the second half:
"It was a matter of me being more patient and more deliberate with my shots. I think I was a little passive early on, and I passed up some open lanes when I could have driven to the basket. The guys told me at halftime not to worry about it, that they'd get me some open looks. They came through for me on that and I was able to knock the shots down."
Quoting Pitt's Ronald Ramon:
On defending Seton Hall:
"We got away from what we like to do a couple of times, but we recovered nicely. We have to make sure that we attack the ball handler a little bit better and funnel the slashers towards our big guys. If we do that, they know how to handle them."
On facing
"I think about our two losses to them all the time. Both of those defeats took a ring away from us, so it's something that stays with you. They're coming into our house this time, so we have to make sure that we protect it."
Quoting Seton Hall Coach Bobby Gonzales:
Opening Statement:
"Clearly, even with the losses of Levance Fields and Mike Cook, Pitt is an elite team in the league. Inside they are on a different level and are more skilled than us. Sam Young and DeJuan Blaire are comparable to NBA big guys. We battled, but we had no answer for them. When Brian Laing went out of the game with a hip injury, that hurt us. We hung with them in the first half and we had a good two-man game going on but we need to do more to beat a team like Pitt. We need more guys to step up. Overall they out rebounded, out shot and out played us. Pitt is a cut above the rest and we are not at that level yet."
On Brian Laing coming out of the game:
"That made a huge difference. When Laing came out of the game we had to manufacture baskets. When Laing was at the 4 position they had a hard time stopping him. I think the only teams in the Big East that can suffer player losses like that are probably Pitt,
On the upcoming match-up between DeJuan Blair and Roy Hibbert:
"I think that DeJuan Blair is one of the best freshman centers I have ever seen, and I mean that sincerely. He is uncanny. He has great hands, is athletic and just a monster inside. Obviously he is a different player than Hibbert, but together that will be a tough match-up. DeJuan inside, Sam [Young] and Tyrell Biggs coming in off the bench, will be tough for
On Sam Young:
"The thing about Sam Young is that he is about 2 inches taller than Brian [Laing] and can do all the same things. He plays the 4 [position] but can also make shots. He is incredibly athletic. We tried to pick our spots with pressure and I'm proud of our team for battling and keeping it close. We will continue to get better so that we can steal more games."
On playing Pitt at home last year:
"It's obviously easier to press at home and players feel more secure at home. This year we have some depth problems and can't go after people as aggressively."
Quoting Seton Hall's Brian Laing:
On hip injury:
"I think it happened when Sam Young tried to steal the ball from me and his elbow hit my hip."
On matchup with Sam Young:
"I think Young plays a lot like me. He is a strong player and makes his shots."
