University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Post-Game Quotesheet
2/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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POST-GAME QUOTESHEET
Boston College at Pitt • Petersen Events Center • Pittsburgh, Pa. • February 24, 2015
Pitt 71, Boston College 65
Quoting Pitt Head Coach Jamie Dixon
Opening Statement:
“That was a good win. It’s a win we needed. I thought our fans were terrific; it’s great to have that support. We’re looking forward to our Senior Game—we just really need to thank our seniors. We look forward to having everyone out there. I talk about our seniors [now] because they’ve been [tough]. We have Cameron Wright who has had a dislocated finger, a broken foot and still struggling with the ankle. With the two days off we’ll have him recover. Aron [Phillips-Nwankwo] had a dislocated shoulder and he’s still out there giving us minutes. Derrick [Randall] who was battling; he wasn’t playing and now he is and getting those minutes. These guys have battled through a lot of adversity. They may not have the [stats] like some of our seniors in the past but I think they’re really battling. I think Cameron played great even with the foul trouble. A lot of good things have come from those guys and we just really need to thank them.
We had the lead (15 points) and it got away from us. You can’t miss lay-ups because they do normally turn into transition baskets for the other team. Those hurt us. [Olivier] Hanlan was terrific; he kept going and making free throws, but we made the plays. We got the ball to the right guys and did some good things by getting the ball inside which is what we wanted to do.
It was another good win. Moving forward, we’re excited about our next game on Sunday.”
On rebounding:
“If you look at [the stats] they had the high turnover numbers. If you turn it over, you can’t get defensive rebounds, so that was big. I don’t know what the number was at half time but I think it was eight, so they had that early. Offensive rebounds were disappointing in the first half. We had one on 13 missed shots. We had nine or eight in the second half, so we got that fixed. That was probably our biggest thing we talked about at halftime was getting offensive rebounds. So getting one offensive rebound was clearly not adequate or sufficient. We came out in the second half and executed. We got the ball inside and did the things we needed to do.”
On overcoming the size of Syracuse’s players:
“They’re a big team. They played with four guys out on the perimeter and they have size but rebounding is not a major strength for them. So we wanted to out-rebound them by a bigger number (and obviously tied-up is not sufficient enough.) [Eddie] Odio has good size, they played him at the four and [Dennis] Clifford is a presence in there offensively and defensively. They spread out the floor and really give those guys room to drive so that makes it hard to guard at times. Mike [Young] and Jamel [Artis] are becoming more patient, making them better offensively, so they can pass, put on the floor and dribble. It just gives themselves the options to do all those things.”
On if Mike Young’s confidence carried over from the previous Syracuse game:
“I think so. I know he didn’t have a big game prior to that, he was getting double-teamed. I feel good about him. He did a good job of getting the ball in the right spots.”
On if tonight’s game will affect play for the rest of the season:
“We got the team going with the free throws; that was something we talked about. We don’t want to give [opponents] free-throws and that’s something we have to do. We have to do a better job with guys who have foul trouble. We went into a zone at the end and that helped slow it down a bit. Our defense isn’t perfect yet; we’re trying to get better.
On Jamel Artis' offensive play:
“He’s such a good passer, and we like getting him the ball in the right place. I think we don’t want to settle on jump shots because he’s such a good free-throw shooter and that’s important. Those are things we want to do and play through. They didn’t really double-team him much so he could get other guys’ shots because of his passing ability.”
Quoting Pitt forward Michael Young
On Boston College’s 15-0 run:
“We had to execute on offense. They made some transition layups. We had a turnover here and there. [Olivier] Hanlan had it going the whole game. He was capitalizing on our mistakes.”
On his matchup with Clifford Dennis:
“In the Syracuse game, I had a good game, I was aggressive down low and was able to get some things going. I started out this game pretty well and made a few shots. I got into foul trouble early but I was able to get it going offensively. Coach is always saying get it inside, and lets play inside out. If they can get it to me and let me make a play, make a read or go score. For the most part, we were trying to get inside to me or Jamel [Artis].”
On Olivier Hanlan:
“He had it going every play, regardless of what we threw at him on defense. They run a lot of good sets for him. They executed really well. The guys that knew they weren’t getting the ball still ran hard as if they were getting the ball and they ran their sets well. He made some tough shots, got to the rim and was 14-14 from the foul line so he was attacking. He had a really good game. We were just trying to contain him and play the best defense we can.”
On the NCAA Tournament:
“The team doesn’t sit down and talk about it. I can’t talk for everyone but we don’t look into stuff as far as who is in or who is out. We are worried about what we can do next game. We can’t worry about the tournament. We want to make it, but you got to win games to make it so we are just worried about the next game.”
Quoting Pitt forward Jamel Artis
On Jamel Artis and Michael Young combining for 46 points and 17 rebounds:
“The first time we played Boston College, it was very tight going down the stretch, an overtime game. We wanted to come out here and be more aggressive- rebound, play defense, score. Our team looked for us a lot so we just tried to be strong this second game.”
On turning 14 turnovers into 20 points:
“It was huge. We try to get turnovers and make transition points. Coach Dixon preaches that a lot. The first half, we didn’t get transition points. Second half, we tried to get more stops and get more points on the board.”
Quoting Boston College Head Coach Jim Christian
On production from only two players:
“That has been the story for us. Olivier [Hanlan] was 14-for-14 from the line and the other guys were 3-for-10. When you shoot like that, it is going to be hard to win on the road. I challenged Olivier today, about playing the whole game with focus, energy and effort. He is such a tremendous offensive player, but I thought he played hard the entire game today. On both ends of the floor, he chased every screen. He pressured the ball and kept us in what we are trying to do. That is as good of a game as I’ve seen anybody play.”
On issues Pitt’s Michael Young presented for BC:
“He presented a lot of issues. I love him. He is one of my favorite post players because he works every possession. He got some huge rebounds late. You have to do something with him every play because of his physical presence, not just posting up. He was aggressive right from the beginning. They went to him right in the first possession. He attacks the basket from the perimeter and post very well. I thought he was a huge key.”
On what was working well for BC during their 15-0 run:
“We just made some shots. We guarded well and were able to force some turnovers. We got out in transition for that little stretch. We made shots, but we have to have other guys step up. It’s unfortunate that we have two guys that have been very consistent. The other guys are trying but they haven’t been very consistent and productive at this level. It is tough because that is what makes us go through scoring droughts. We don’t have a tremendous amount of depth and it is difficult to continue to stop guys because they get a little fatigued and that wears us down. We couldn’t’ have played with bigger hearts or any harder. We just have to play a little better. To win, we have to make free throws. There were a couple pivotal stops that we have to knock in big shots.”
On the difference of Pitt since the first meeting:
“They beat us twice. They are shooting the ball better. I told my team today that these programs win with culture. After the loss to Virginia Tech, when they’ve won as much as they’ve won, and guys have gone through here and have been taught by the guys who’ve played before them that it’s not acceptable and if you want to compete in the NCAA tournament, you turn it around and that is what Pitt does. I don’t know if they get individually better, but the culture wins. That is what we are trying to develop. We haven’t developed that kind of culture where you understand what points of the year where to turn it up and play better, individually and collectively. That is what they’ve done. There is a greater sense of urgency because of that culture and it is easy to see because that is what winning teams do. “
On Pitt being an NCAA team:
“Pitt is going to have to play themselves in and that is how you should want to do it. They are playing well at the right time and that is a huge component. I am biased because I am in the league. For me as I grow my program, I need to see six to eight teams get in the tournament to try to help our program. The good thing about it right now is that it is irrelevant who is a tournament team or not. Every time you step out there, you have to earn it. There are certain teams that are locks and they are not one of them. But there are certain teams that are playing themselves in and they are one of them. I am sure that is what Jamie [Dixon] wants and the players want, too.”
