University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota-High Point Postgame Quotes
12/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Minnesota head coach Tubby Smith
" I thought our guys played with purpose. We played with good concentration and good focus tonight. You're always worried that the team might be looking ahead to the holiday break, but this was a good performance for us.
"A lot of guys had a chance to get out there and perform tonight. I think that will give us a lot of confidence, especially going into Big Ten play against Michigan State. Blake [Hoffarber], Devron [Bostick] and Devoe [Joseph] were the ones that really helped us to pull away. That shows that they're getting better; they're learning the system. They are starting to understand where their shots are going to come from and how hard we're going to play.
"High Point is the second-youngest team in the country. I've scheduled and played High Point a number of times before coming to Minnesota; they're athletic and they were able to get up and block shots at times. They're pretty physical, too. I think they'll do pretty well in the Big South this year. We're like every other team. We're battling with the hope that we're getting better. A school like High Point plays some guaranteed games and I'm grateful that they came up here."
Sophomore Guard Blake Hoffarber
On how Minnesota looked in final non-conference matchup...
"I thought we looked pretty good. I think we had some ups and downs that we've seen before so far this season. We had a lot of guys play really well which was great to see. It's going to be a benefit to us to have a lot of guys that can contribute during the Big Ten season. It was great to see everybody stepping up like they did today."
On newcomes impact on the game...
"They stepped up big for us today, hopefully they can maintain that throughout the season because we definitely need them. When everyone is clicking like that and everyone is playing well I think it is tough to beat us."
On trying to not look past High Point to Michigan State...
"We haven't prepared for Michigan State at all. We were only focused on beating High Point. We always like to take the approach of playing one game at a time. We'll start preparing for Michigan State tomorrow morning."
On whether one guy on Minnesota that coaches point to take a big shot in a big game...
"I think the coaches have confidence in a bunch of guys to take a big shot. I think you have to get the feel for the game and see who's hot. Coaches usually know who's been hitting shots. I think the coaching staff has confidence in me to take big shots but they also have confidence in a bunch of guys."
Junior Guard Devron Bostick
On main challenges adjusting to Division One basketball...
"More than anything it's learning Coach Smith's system. It's been a challenge to learn how the defense is played and to recognize how hard you have to play to be successful."
On the newcomers success against High Point...
"Our success means that we're getting better as the season goes on. Our confidence goes up as we feel more comfortable. We're ready to play with the big boys now."
On how team feels about getting contributions from multiple players...
"It feels good. People are getting more playing time and having a chance to get better."
On finishing non-conference season with 12-0 record...
"It feels good to get things started off right. Now our goal is to just keep that going into the Big Ten season."
High Point Head Coach Bart Lundy
On how the game changed...
"For 32 minutes we played decent basketball. But it was that seven or eight minute stretch in the first half where we lost our intensity and turned the ball over and Minnesota hit a bunch of threes. You have to give them credit, they turned us over and they made the shots."
On High Point's performance...
"I thought Steadman (Short) really played hard. He's been getting better each game but we have to be better as a team. I thought we need to do a better job hitting our shots and getting our rebounds. We won't play a better team than Minnesota and we have to do those things to win."
On High Point Alumni Tubby Smith...
"There's nobody at High Point that does not recognize Tubby Smith's name. He's done so much to contribute as a student, after graduating, and still contributes to High Point University. I don't think there's an alumni we're more proud of not only for his accomplishments, but for what he does for our university. He genuinely loves High Point and we're very very proud to have him as an alumni."
