University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota-Central Florida Quotes
12/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Post-Game Quotes
Minnesota Interim Head Coach Jim Molinari
On Minnesota’s defense:
“Overall, the defensive effort in the first half was strong, and that includes rebounding. We really stressed defense and rebounding. I’m sure we can watch the tape and see stuff we can do better, but I was proud of our defensive effort. UCF came in very confident, but our strength inside really helped us.”
On the play of Jamal Abu-Shamala:
“I thought Jamal gave us a huge lift. I wanted to get Damian (Johnson) in there to help our rebounding, but I thought Jamal did a great job. He has huge character and when people like that keep working, good things will happen.”
On wrapping up a tough stretch:
“First of all, we’ve had 10 games in 22 days, so I’m extremely proud of our team. We could’ve finished it better, but after playing that many games, we really hung in there and held off. Dan Coleman had an outstanding game. He rebounded, he went to the basket and he hit his free throws.”
On Minnesota’s rebounding:
“Players don’t learn what you teach, they learn what you emphasize. We really broke down what we had to do, talked about how we’re going to do it and came out did it. We emphasized rebounding and our guys rose to the challenge.”
Minnesota players
Sophomore guard Jamal Abu-Shamala
On his improved shooting:
“I told myself that if got an open look, I was just going to put it up and try and get some confidence back. After I hit that first one, I felt a lot more comfortable out there and got into a little bit of a rhythm.”
On looking to try and score more:
“As a shooter, I’m always looking to score. It all just depends on if I get an open look. That’s why I’m out there. If I don’t get an open look, I try to move the ball and get someone else a shot.”
On the team’s energy:
“There were key points that we did a lot better with. Guys were rebounding and getting bodies on the other team instead of trying to have a jumping match. We’re athletic but some teams are still going to out-jump us. We just have to be more physical.”
Junior forward Dan Coleman
On his own performance:
“My teammates found me and I had a couple of easy looks to get myself started and got to the free throw line.”
On bouncing back from getting out-rebounded by UALR:
“That left a bad taste in our mouths, so we made a concentrated effort to change that. We lost by such a small margin, and the rebounds were a big part of it. Everybody was sharper and more focused for this game.”
On Lawrence McKenzie’s performance:
“He had an all-around game--assists, rebounds and distributing the ball. As a jump shooter, they might not always be falling, but overall he played a very good game.”
UCF Head Coach Kirk Speraw
On preparing for Minnesota:
“They’ve been making subtle changes over the last four games. They’ve become a lot tougher and a lot more sound in what they are doing. They’re taking care of the basketball and limiting their turnovers, so they’re improving. The other night against Little Rock, it all just kind of bounced funny on them, but I knew they would come out with great energy on the boards. They did a great job on the boards tonight and took the game to us.”
On not being able to recover from Minnesota’s run in the first half:
“I really thought at halftime if we made our changes and played more like the way we were capable of playing, I thought we could make a game of it. We missed some shots in the first half that contributed to that run and that hurt our guys’ confidence a little bit. For a group that has gone through what they’ve gone through, in regards to the Gophers, it seems like their body language and everything is very positive. You have to give them credit for staying after it and staying focused on what they’re trying to do to become a better basketball team. Coach Molinari has done a great job getting through this transition.”
