University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Post-Game Quotesheet
1/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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POST-GAME QUOTESHEET
Florida State at Pitt • Petersen Events Center • Pittsburgh, Pa. • January 14, 2015
Pitt 73, Florida State 64
Quoting Pitt Head Coach Jamie Dixon
Opening Statement:
“That was a great win for us against a very good team, a team that plays a similar style to us and the great thing is that we got it done with rebounding. That was our emphasis the past couple of days and we paid the price in practice and won that battle against a good rebounding team. We took care of the ball at the same time and defended after a slow start. I think we found our man-to-man in the second half and did a better job in that area. We held them to 32% shooting [in the second half], had to change things up in the second half with the zone and pressing them a little bit. I wish we could have shortened the game instead of lengthened it with our free-throw shooting, we had the right guys shooting free-throws, they just didn’t go down. We put them in the right spots so I thought we executed well. We had a lot of great performances, obviously Aron [Phillips-Nwankwo] was terrific for us. I figured he would give us energy, I don’t think I could have predicted that he would play that well, but I knew he would help us because the guys like him so much and respect how he works. It was terrific to see and no kid has worked harder and has improved more in college basketball than he has in five years. It’s a great story, he’s a great kid who has given us so much and gave us more on the court today. I thought Chris [Jones] was terrific, got good bench play and got more guys in there, big guys specifically, who did some good things. We have had different guys all year long, whether it be Aron today, Sheldon [Jeter] against Boston College or Ryan [Luther] out in Hawaii, it is just one of those types of teams that we are going to have to do that all year long.”
On Michael Young leading the team in rebounding:
“We really emphasized it in practice and did a good job; I think the offensive rebounding is something we have to get better at, 15 is a good number and Mike had eight of them. I felt we took good shots, so that gave us opportunities to get rebounds, but Mike was better and also play well defensively today. We really tried to get the message across the past two days and I think our guys responded. We have some guys having to play different than they have had to before, but that’s the adjustment and growth and improvement that they have to make. It has taken time and I wish we could have done that the day they got here, but it is a process we are going through.”
On the team showing a sense of urgency during the game:
“We have not played well in certain games and I really thought we were going to play well the last game. I thought we had a great preparation going into it, we got out to a lead and the losses we have had this year, we actually got off to good starts. I don’t know if it’s to say that we were not ready to play, but we really put in the work in practice the past few days. It’s been physical, demanding and I think it was good for us. I think we improved from it and if you are going to lose a game, you want to at least improve from it and I certainly think we did that.”
On winning his 300th career game tonight:
“I haven’t really sat down and thought about them, but it was nice for the fans and people have congratulated; I haven’t really put it in perspective in terms of comparisons, but it does reflect being at a place for a long time and I am very thankful for that. I’ve always been thankful for the opportunity every day and I have been very fortunate to be at a great place, a great university and to work with great people. That’s been 16 years of that, and that’s not always the norm in college coaching, so very fortunate for a lot of great kids, people and fans. I think our fans and the Oakland Zoo were terrific tonight.”
On what the insertion of Phillips-Nwankwo did for the team:
“I think Aron brings a unique skill set for us. His body has changed over his time here, he’s probably put on 40 pounds. He has gradually gotten better each year and he has had some injuries over that time as well. His mom passed away last year and he has had some time away this year, so he has been through a lot, but he earned it. I felt him being out there was going to bring energy for our entire team tonight, although you couldn’t predict he would play that well, but he has earned it.”
Quoting Pitt forward Aron Philips-Nwankwo
On entering the game and giving Pitt momentum:
“That was the plan. In practice, I’m the guy who plays hard with energy. If I got [playing time] I knew I was going to do the same thing.”
On his standing ovation in the second half:
“I noticed it. It was a good feeling. It was a better feeling knowing I contributed to the win for us. That was the best part for me.”
Quoting Pitt forward Michael Young
On improving the team’s rebounding ability:
“It felt great. The past two practices we have been really physical. We were outrebounded by so much last game and that was an embarrassment. Rebound is just about effort. That showed today.”
On if he knew Philips-Nwankwo had this type of playing ability:
“I always knew he had it in him. Throughout the year I would tell Coach [Dixon], “Put Aron in.” I knew he was a tough strong guy. So if he came in the game, he would at least get rebounds and hold guys off. He’s going to bring that toughness that we always needed. When he played today, he played 19 minutes. It immediately showed and he impacted the game.”
Quoting Pitt forward Chris Jones
On where his aggressiveness developed from:
“In the last couple of games, I felt like my shot wasn’t really falling. I just wanted to get to the basket and the free throw line, and build off of that confidence. I think I did a pretty good job tonight getting to the rim.”
On whether he was determined to make a dunk tonight:
“No. I knew [FSU] was big so I didn’t want to go in there and try to shoot a floater or double-pump. I just wanted to go in there strong—which ended up in a dunk. So, I’ll take it.”
Quoting Florida State Head Coach Leonard Hamilton
Opening Statement
“I think that most people that saw the game tonight know that they did a tremendous job on the offensive boards. We got 10 offensive rebounds and they got 15 and it seemed as though Aron Phillips-Nwankwo had eight or nine put-backs. For whatever reason we were not able to finish our plays once we got our offensive rebounds and I thought that made the biggest difference of the game. They did a very good job of being patient. We didn’t turn the ball over very much and we had enough opportunities to make layups but somehow tonight. They did a tremendous job taking advantage of every mistake we made. When they would miss a shot and we didn’t rotate the block, the big fella out [Michael] Young seemed to always be at the right place at the right time. That’s kind of an instinct you just develop that you can hardly teach. Even when we blocked a shot it seemed like the ball fell in his hands and he finished the play. That’s just a guy being alert, being focused, being really in to the game and understanding the importance of going to the boards and keeping the ball alive. You have to give him a lot of credit for that.”
On missing easy shots:
“We had a lot of opportunities and open looks. It seemed as though we just couldn’t finish our plays. You have to give them a little credit because they were defending us. It was a very physical and aggressive game but we were physical and aggressive too, we just couldn’t finish our plays and we were not able to finish our layups. Once we missed a few layups and they got a little bit of a lead on us, they were able to be a bit more patient and they continued to execute and I thought because we fell behind a little bit we were a little anxious and put a little more pressure on ourselves and we were very counterproductive.”
On low-percentage shooting:
“As a coach you play it over in your mind. The conversation with our staff… we just missed too many point-blank layups. Boris Bojanovsky, he had three point-blank layups that he usually finishes. The night we played Syracuse, we shot very well from the perimeter. Tonight we just couldn’t finish the ball well around the basket and they did. I think that all has to do with focus and guys just being in tune and seizing the moment and understanding importance of winning a basketball game. I can’t fault our kids for effort, but their level of concentration when they had those opportunities was a little better than that.”
On Phil Cofer’s performance:
“He’s a youngster for a freshman. He’s a very high-energy type of guy. He’s improving with each day in to every possession, verbally, physically, and emotionally. But he’s that way in practice. A lot of times you start to see freshmen come around in the middle of January. Hopefully this is just the beginning of what he’s capable of doing. Obviously we needed it.”
On being used to playing Pitt:
“I thought they played with a sense of urgency. Their body language and how they were communicating with each other, it seemed like this game was very, very important to them. But they’ve always played that way. This is their system. They’re hard-nosed, tough, competitive guys and that’s Jamie’s system and what he teaches. In the first half, I thought [Jamel] Artis and [Michael] Young played at a very, very high level. Artis seemed like he was on fire and that kind of challenged us a little bit. Young was just methodical with his approach.”