University of Minnesota Athletics
Postgame quotes
12/2/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
POSTGAME QUOTES
Minnesota (7-0) 66, Virginia (3-3) 56
Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minn.
Attendance: 12,424
December 2, 2008
Minnesota Coach Tubby Smith
Opening Statement...
“It is a good win for us against a quality team. They are a very young team similar to us. We did the things we had to do to get the win. We played defense, we were focused, and we were a little anxious with our shot selection early on. The key was that we eventually settled down. “
On the game...
“I think we faired well. We passed this test. We didn’t shoot the ball very well, but we were consistent with our defense and were able to make adjustments. It was team effort: we were quick to the ball, and trapping well. We were able to get second shots [after] taking it to the basket.”
On Damian Johnson...
“He’s so aggressive - he’s a guy that can do so many things. He’s got the length and the athleticism and the toughness. He’s been working really hard to keep weight on and be stronger. He’s a guy you really have to have if you’re going to be successful. He can make up for other mistakes other players make because he’s very intelligent.”
On Colton Iverson...
“He is really fearless. He has total disregard for his body. That’s what we saw when we recruited him that’s why we recruited him. We saw that determination and that commitment to teamwork. He was able to get all of those points for us in the first half and that was important I think four of those points came from stickbacks. He’s always working hard and always going toward the basket. He’s a pretty good athlete, too. He jumps well, he runs well and he has good hands. When you have two talented post players like Colton Iverson and Ralph Sampson III, it is a real luxury.”
Virginia Head Coach Dave Leitao
On overall perception of the game...
“The game played out exactly how I thought it would. Minnesota was very well coached and efficient with the ball. I knew that at the end of the night it would come down to which team would make the least mistakes. Minnesota was that team.”
On Minnesota’s pressure defense...
“We’ve seen pressure defense already this season but Minnesota was more aggressive. We didn’t attack the pressure the way we should have and that made them more aggressive with the pressure. The crowd got into it more and it put us back on our heels.”
Minnesota guard Lawrence Westbrook
On game atmosphere...
“I think it was like a Big Ten atmosphere because it was on ESPN. Coach Smith talked about representing the Big Ten and we made the shots we had to and played tight defense and came out with a win.”
On team’s explosive offense...
“I think we have a lot of scorers and shooters on this team, even though we didn’t shoot the ball very well tonight. I think in a couple possessions, Blake (Hoffarber) made some big three pointers. I think we’re definitely capable of going on winnings streaks when we score a lot.”
On difference between last year’s Big Ten-ACC Challenge and this year’s...
“I think the crowd helped us out a lot. We fed off their energy. We buckled down our defense and got a lot of deflection. Al (Nolen) had five steals and that really helped us out so that just led easy buckets for our offense.”
Minnesota (7-0) 66, Virginia (3-3) 56
Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minn.
Attendance: 12,424
December 2, 2008
Minnesota Coach Tubby Smith
Opening Statement...
“It is a good win for us against a quality team. They are a very young team similar to us. We did the things we had to do to get the win. We played defense, we were focused, and we were a little anxious with our shot selection early on. The key was that we eventually settled down. “
On the game...
“I think we faired well. We passed this test. We didn’t shoot the ball very well, but we were consistent with our defense and were able to make adjustments. It was team effort: we were quick to the ball, and trapping well. We were able to get second shots [after] taking it to the basket.”
On Damian Johnson...
“He’s so aggressive - he’s a guy that can do so many things. He’s got the length and the athleticism and the toughness. He’s been working really hard to keep weight on and be stronger. He’s a guy you really have to have if you’re going to be successful. He can make up for other mistakes other players make because he’s very intelligent.”
On Colton Iverson...
“He is really fearless. He has total disregard for his body. That’s what we saw when we recruited him that’s why we recruited him. We saw that determination and that commitment to teamwork. He was able to get all of those points for us in the first half and that was important I think four of those points came from stickbacks. He’s always working hard and always going toward the basket. He’s a pretty good athlete, too. He jumps well, he runs well and he has good hands. When you have two talented post players like Colton Iverson and Ralph Sampson III, it is a real luxury.”
Virginia Head Coach Dave Leitao
On overall perception of the game...
“The game played out exactly how I thought it would. Minnesota was very well coached and efficient with the ball. I knew that at the end of the night it would come down to which team would make the least mistakes. Minnesota was that team.”
On Minnesota’s pressure defense...
“We’ve seen pressure defense already this season but Minnesota was more aggressive. We didn’t attack the pressure the way we should have and that made them more aggressive with the pressure. The crowd got into it more and it put us back on our heels.”
Minnesota guard Lawrence Westbrook
On game atmosphere...
“I think it was like a Big Ten atmosphere because it was on ESPN. Coach Smith talked about representing the Big Ten and we made the shots we had to and played tight defense and came out with a win.”
On team’s explosive offense...
“I think we have a lot of scorers and shooters on this team, even though we didn’t shoot the ball very well tonight. I think in a couple possessions, Blake (Hoffarber) made some big three pointers. I think we’re definitely capable of going on winnings streaks when we score a lot.”
On difference between last year’s Big Ten-ACC Challenge and this year’s...
“I think the crowd helped us out a lot. We fed off their energy. We buckled down our defense and got a lot of deflection. Al (Nolen) had five steals and that really helped us out so that just led easy buckets for our offense.”
Players Mentioned
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