University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Post-Game Quotesheet
1/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Recap | Box Score | Notes
POST-GAME QUOTESHEET
Georgia Tech at Pitt • Petersen Events Center • Pittsburgh, Pa. • January 17, 2015
Pitt 70, Georgia Tech 65
Quoting Pitt Head Coach Jamie Dixon
Opening Statement:
“We did a lot of really good things. There are a couple of things we can work on and get better at, like taking care of the basketball. That is something we’ve been doing a good job of with low turnovers, defending better and making free throws. Those are important things we are doing well. I thought we did a good job. I knew it was going to be a good game against a very good Georgia Tech team that has played five very close games in conference play. Watching the tape, you feel for them in the games they’ve come up short on because you know how tough and close this all is, just as the score indicated today as well. You keep battling and going out there, try to stay healthy, get your whole squad out there and compete. We did that today and we had some great performances. I thought we took good shots and took care of the ball. We didn’t shoot it great, but we will shoot it great it next time. That is what I told our guys and that is what I believe. We changed defenses a little bit and used a lot of different guys. I think it wore them down a little bit. Jamel [Artis] is really good against the zone. We did a better job as the game progressed but at some point we are going to have to hit some shots. We have faced it all year and know it has been a challenge. I do believe these guys are working hard. It was a great win against a very good team who is as good as they can be with that record because you know how good they are and how close their games have been.”
On forcing turnovers:
“We are trying to force more turnovers and we have done that. We are being aggressive. They are plus nine on the year for rebounding, that is their strength. They were leading the country at some point as far as rebounding. There are some challenges there. We wanted to win the battle; we didn’t, but we did everything we needed to do, so that made up for it. That was the challenge. [Marcus] Georges-Hunt is a very good rebounder. [Quinton] Stephens and [Robert] Sampson also rebounded. They have a very good front line as far as going to the glass. We emphasized and talked about it. We got down early and never seemed to make it up but the second half was about even and that was where we could pull away.”
On playing Chris Jones despite low scoring in first half:
“Chris [Jones] didn’t get going in the first half because he had two fouls in the first half and only played five minutes. He played really well last game. He is probably our best shooter. [Josh] Newkirk is right there as well. We also wanted Chris to guard [Marcus] Georges-Hunt. That was a concern as well. We think he is our best match-up in that area. A lot of different things went into it. Josh will have a good game next game. He gave us some good drives. We have to do a little better job of balancing out those minutes to a degree. I think we had good bench play. Aron [Phillips-Nwankwo] was terrific defensively. That is all we needed at that spot and he was our best defender for the post defense. Ryan [Luther] gave us a couple good offensive rebounds.”
On playing Duke on Monday:
“I haven’t given it much thought until our guys are practicing tomorrow. We will be ready to go and fly down there and get ready. I guess they won today is my understanding. We have to take care of the ball and knock down the ball. We have to make them take contested jump shots. I believe our best basketball is ahead of us and we have fought and battled to put ourselves in a spot where we are in contention.”
Quoting Pitt forward Michael Young
On being outrebounded and still winning:
“We took care of the ball. Overall, we were able to execute and play well down the stretch.”
On shutting Georgia Tech down at the end of the game:
“We were just being solid. They didn’t have a lot of shooters on the floor, so we didn’t have to pressure them outside the three point line. We played our defense and really got after them.”
On playing against zone defense:
“We were prepared for zone. They haven’t really shown it too much. Our coaching staff does a great job of preparing us for every game.”
Quoting Pitt guard Cameron Wright
On his first half:
“My teammates did a great job of finding me. I couldn’t have done it without them. They delivered the passes on time. They did anything and everything I could have asked of them to do, and that’s why I love them.”
On getting this win at home:
“Obviously, you want to win every home game. An opponent comes to your home floor, you want to win. We still have to give Georgia Tech credit. They are a really good team and play every team really tough down to the wire.”
On their confidence going into Monday’s game against Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium:
“I believe they won today. They are a really good team and a ranked team. We just wanted to get through today, with Georgia Tech. We were really focused on Georgia Tech today. We will be preparing tonight and tomorrow for Duke. We are excited to go to Cameron Indoor Stadium.”
On free throws at the end of the game:
“After the Florida State game, the entire team made the extra effort to get free throws up on our own and together as a unit. Free throws are big. Just like today, it can come down to the wire and we need to make our free throws. That’s what we did tonight.”
On applying pressure:
“The coaches want me to be more aggressive on the ball. They like me, James [Robinson], and Josh [Newkirk] pressuring the ball. We are just trying to be solid and rebound the ball.”
Quoting Georgia Tech Head Coach Brian Gregory
Opening Statement:
“I think that over the last couple of weeks, Jamie has done a great job of getting back to Pitt basketball with the toughness and the physicality that they have been known for. Obviously, they have a pretty good arsenal offensively. I thought (Jamel) Artis played well, that gives them a big boost when he is able to score. I have all the world of respect for (Michael) Young and James (Robinson) and Cameron (Wright), knowing those guys for a long time. It’s just a really good team that is really starting to play well. At the same time, I thought we competed. I thought we played with the toughness that you need to play with on the road in a tough environment. (We) got the game in the last four minutes again and were just not able to make some plays down the stretch. Unfortunately in this league, sometimes that last step is the hardest one. You are playing against a team that over the last ten years has the fifth most wins or something like that in college basketball. You are playing against a great program and we just have to keep on fighting.”
On the stretch of turnovers late in the second half:
“That was a tough stretch right there. You can’t do that, not in this league, not against a team like Pittsburgh. Like I always said, you have to get the ball up on the rim for us. We are shooting the ball better and we are shooting well at the free throw line when we get fouled. We are an exceptional offensive rebounding team and so we have to get the ball up on the rim. When you turn the ball over, especially at that time, you can’t make those mistakes. What it does is just keep putting so much pressure on your defense and your defensive rebounding.”
On what is preventing the team from getting an ACC win:
“As I just said, some crucial plays. Not being able to put the ball in the basket at crucial times. We’ve had some shots at the rim in all five of those games or we haven’t been able to take care of the basketball at that time. As I said, the defensive stops were there for the most part. You aren’t going to get a stop every time and what that does is put so much pressure on your defense. At times, you have to find someone that is going to win those games for us. Right now, we are still kind of searching for that.”
On the late game defensive strategy:
“Well, we wanted to set up our defense and get some traps in the backcourt to see if we could force a turnover and make them make some free throws potentially if we did foul.”
On the shooting struggles in the second half:
“We had a couple turnovers in that (stretch). One or two were kind of unforced. We got the ball in the hands of the guy we wanted to have the ball and we were just not able to make a couple plays down the stretch.”
On playing more zone defense today:
“They struggle to shoot and score at times this year. They are a very physical screening team. Offensively, they kind of wound us up a little bit on the offensive end against our man to man and we just thought we might be able to play some zone and it was relatively effective. They (went) 2-11 from the (three-point line) and Cam hit that one, you have to live with that.”
