University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Quotes
12/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
POSTGAME QUOTES
Minnesota 74, South Dakota State 60
December 10, 2008
Attendance: 12,388
Minnesota Head Coach Tubby Smith
“We started a bigger lineup with Ralph Sampson III tonight. I thought they did some good things for us tonight. Damian (Johnson) came to rescue a couple times for us throughout the night. I also thought Al (Nolen) really did a good job of controlling the flow of the game. We knew South Dakota State was a tough team coming into the night.'
“We had some opportunities tonight in the paint, and I don't think we finished like we should. They were also able to get some second and third opportunity shots, and that hurt us on the boards. We have a lot of things we need to work on, but right now our guys are focused on their exams.'
On the Louisville game:
“Rick (Pitino) is a great coach, and his teams are always among the best in the country. It will be a challenge for us. We are going to have to play a lot better then we did tonight to compete in that game, but I think we are capable of that. We use a lot of different combinations and lineups and I think our guys are pretty excited about playing that game.'
On Damian Johnson:
“Damian was a big key for us tonight. Playing wing is his natural position. He showed a lot of versatility, putting it on the floor and driving to the basket. He also stopped the bleeding a couple of times with some big shots.'
Junior forward Damian Johnson
On preparing for
“We have to learn how to play a full game instead of just one half. In the second half, we let them come back and make it into a game when we had a chance to put it away. We came in talking about coming out fast and not letting them get confidence on the road because they're a great shooting team. When they got hot it let them keep the score close.'
On stepping up...
“I think I was ready to perform and I was focused before and during the game. I didn't let things distract me. I didn't let things like not hitting a free throw affect my game.'
On having Iverson and Sampson in the lineup together...
“Those guys work really well together. Two six foot eleven inch guys working together is hard to stop. That's a pretty tall lineup and should help us rebound. We started out rebounding pretty well but we started slacking in the second half.
On whether tonight's starting lineup is the best for the team...
“We have a lot of lineups that work well together. We don't have a best lineup, it's more of a situational thing. Sometimes you might need a smaller lineup and other times you might be playing a more physical team and might need a bigger lineup for rebounding.'
Sophomore guard Al Nolen
On preparing for
“
On Iverson and Sampson in the starting lineup together...
“I think Ralph (Sampson) and
On being outscored 36-35 in the second half...
“We cannot let up. These past couple games against Cornell and tonight against SDSU we've been inconsistent. Last time against Cornell, we started slowly and came out strong in the second half. Tonight we got off to a fast start and let them back in it. We have to learn how to play for forty minutes and never give up an inch.'
South Dakota State Head Coach Scott Nagy
“They have a lot more depth then we do. We just don't have the kind of depth that they do yet, but we will next year. I thought the first half cost us the game. In that half, we gave them 25 points off turnovers and second-chance shots. We are just not going to beat people with those kind of numbers.'
“I like the heart that the kids at Minnesota have. We really outrebounded these guys here last year, and they might wanted to make sure it did not happen again so they started the big lineup tonight. In the first half, we were completely out to lunch. We battled in the second half and had a chance, but they just had too many players for us.'
On Minnesota's full-court pressure:
“Our turnovers did not come in the press, they mostly came from mistakes in the half-court when we drove to the basket. There were some charges and we also threw the ball into the stands. It was more things like that in the half-court. I don't remember a turnover we had in the backcourt. In terms of the press, it was mostly that we did not get it done in our halfcourt offense.'
