University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Post-Game Quotesheet
2/27/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 27, 2008
Recap |
Box Score |
Notes |
AP Gallery 
POST-GAME QUOTESHEET
Quoting Pitt's Head Coach Jamie Dixon:
Opening Statement:
"This is a hard-fought win against an NCAA tournament caliber team. I don't care what their record says, they've had some injury problems, and they have the talent to make the tournament. It was a grind tonight, but I'm proud that we managed to pull through. DeJuan Blair's free-throws were big for us down the stretch and that Levance Fields really stepped up his play in the second half. I think that three at the end of the game is going to be big for Levance in terms of getting his confidence back. I don't think people realize how tough it is to sit for eight weeks then come back and play."
On Pitt's rebounding:
"The numbers don't lie. We're not rebounding like we need to right now. I think some of that is that we start a smaller line-up. It didn't hurt us earlier, but it seems to be doing it now. With our schedule, we're also not getting in the practice time we need to right now. We have to get better at that moving forward, but we're still finding our way and improving."
On Levance Fields playing 35 minutes:
"He's got to go right now. You can't simulate game situations effectively enough in practice, and to get him where he needs to be he just has to play through it. He's a tough player, and I'm confident he's going to pull through and continue to get better."
On what he told the team after they fell behind 40-33:
"I can't remember specifically what I said, but I know we pulled it together after that. We got that big steal by Sam Young and the three by Levance Fields to really put the game away. I think we also did a better job defensively as the second half progressed."
On Pitt's shooting:
"We haven't shot it well, but I think we're getting good looks. We took too many threes tonight, but Ronald Ramon had a lot of good open looks, so what can you do? We have two guys playing with torn labrums and another with an infected finger. We're just going to have to play through it and keep trying to get good looks."
On Ronald Ramon surpassing 1,000 career points:
"Ronald is a winner. He's been on four 20 win teams during his time here. He's beloved on campus, and every point he's given to this team, he's given us even more as a person."
Quoting Pitt's Levance Fields:
On what it means to win this game:
"It's very exciting. We were very excited in the locker room after the game tonight. Obviously it's great to get back on the winning track, but this has to be a building block. We have a very tough game against
On hitting a three to put Pitt up 68-63:
"The ball wasn't falling for me tonight, so I was looking to get others shots. Still, I have enough confidence in myself and my shot, that if they gave it to me I'm going to take it. I had the same look against
On
"Teams are starting to get three or four offensive rebounds on a possession, and that can't happen. Rebounding is what we hang our hat on at Pitt and we need to do better. As far as the guards, I think we can box out and crash the glass better, but we just missed some long tip outs tonight. Part of that is just misfortune."
Quoting Pitt's DeJuan Blair:
On whether he thought the season was on the line when Pitt fell behind 40-33:
"You can't think like that. That's not going to get you anywhere. We play hard as a team, and we play harder when we fall behind. We want to grind our opponents down, and that approach doesn't change even when we're trailing."
On Pitt's rebounding:
"We have to get it together. There's no excuse for a team getting three or four on one possession. We're usually tops in the conference and we need to crash the boards harder so that we get back to that spot."
Quoting Pitt's Keith Benjamin:
On the importance of winning this game:
"We knew this was going to come. We just had to keep sticking with what we do, and start getting some stops on the defensive end. The crowd really kept us in it tonight. We didn't want to give up."
On Pitt's philosophy going forward:
"Our goal is just to keep fighting and grinding it out. We still have the opportunity to get a good seed in the Big East Tournament, so we can't get too caught up in this win. There's still work to be done."
Quoting Cincinnati Head Coach Mike Cronin
Opening Statement:
"This was a hard-fought Big East game tonight. I have to give Pitt credit. They played really well. Sam Young just took over in there, and DeJuan Blair really dominated with those offensive rebounds that he got. They made big plays. We made big plays. I'm sure it was a great game to watch. Our turnovers were too high. When the game was tied at 55, we got that three and then let them go down and score one, too to tied it at 58-58, and I don't think we ever climbed back up. This was a tough road loss. We really needed this win being in the situation that we are in the conference."
On comparing this year's Pitt team to last year's:
"When you have a senior center, someone who is a first-team All-Big East in Aaron Gray and then you've got a fifth-year senior in Levon Kendall, you've got a lot of experience under the basket, and that makes all the difference. I know. I've got young guys down low. No one has more than two years of experience and it makes games tough. Freshmen aren't going to be as good as veterans in rebounding or on defense. DeJuan Blair is good, but he's not going to be where Aaron Gray and Levon Kendall were until he's at least a junior. We have same problem as Pitt, we're both young down low. The best teams out there have veterans under the basket. Still, Pitt has a great coach, and they find a way to win. They'd just lost too much recently to lose again tonight."
On what the difference in the game was:
"Our turnovers were too high. We gave Pitt too many easy baskets and we were just unable to play defense. Sam Young was a difference. His play tonight was huge. DeJuan Blair's ability to block out when Pitt was struggling to make their three-pointers, that really hurt us tonight, too.
On the momentum swing:
"This game got really physical. We just turned it over too much, and they tightened up. We didn't understand or deal with the heat the Pitt was bringing. Sam Young really stepped up and put the ball in the basket. He's just a great player."
On Sam Young:
"He can score in so many ways. He's just a great player. You know what he's going to do, and you still can't stop him. That's the sign of a great player, and that's Sam Young."
