University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota-Penn State Postgame Quotes
12/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Minnesota-Penn State Postgame Quotes
Penn State Head Coach Ed DeChellis
On Lawrence Westbrook:
“Westbrook is a very good player. We came in to shoot a practice today at noon, and Westbrook was out there shooting. I don’t know how long he was out there before we got there, but the kid works at it, and he makes the tough shots, and he got a couple good rolls, but as I told my team, it was a possession game. They made a couple of big shots when they had to.”
On his team coming into the second half with more intensity:
“This is the first time we’ve had guys play in this kind of atmosphere. We only have a few guys back. Everybody else is new. We had some new guys in spots, and they were shaky, but I thought that as the game went on they got more comfortable. In that second half we came out and got a basket right away, and that was important for us. We got the lead, but we just turned it over too many times.”
Minnesota Head Coach Tubby Smith
Opening Statement:
“We had a special weekend, and a good game for us today after having the 1989 team and Coach Haskins and his staff and players. Everybody had a fun time, and I was glad to kind of bridge that gap, and celebrate the 20th anniversary. It was a hard fought game. Whenever you play a Big Ten opponent it’s a challenge. Penn State is a very good team. They beat Virginia in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. It was a special night, and it was a good comeback. It was a good test, because we hadn’t really made a comeback yet this year. We had really struggled in that area. We came out in the second half and looked flat, and they made some shots. We’ve got to give credit to Penn State, because they made the adjustments, but we missed some shots. I thought Penn State did a good job at getting us to go their pace, but we got it going back up and down, and I think we got it back to our speed.”
Lawrence Westbrook
On his matchup with Talor Battle:
"Talor is a good player. He gets a lot of respect and love. I don't want to take anything away from him but in the Big Ten there are guys like Damian (Johnson) who doesn't get enough respect. He does a lot of good things. He hit probably two of the biggest shots of the game to seal it up for us. I'm a good player. Sometimes I get overlooked because we play in a different type of system than a lot of other teams. I definitely matched him shot for shot and we got the victory."
On his performance:
"The Big Ten season is where all the men play. A lot of people are saying this and that and questioning our schedule. I look at this time in the Big Ten and the level of competition and you have to step up. You have to play. I have been thinking about these guys a long time. I couldn't even sleep last night. I definitely want to lead by example."
Damian Johnson
On the close game:
"We weren't as prepared as we should have been coming out of the half and we let them get on a run. We let them get a little bit of momentum. Blake and Lawrence hit a couple of big threes and got us the lead back. Once we got the lead, I think we held on to it pretty well."
On being prepared for Penn State:
"We shouldn't have been surprised. Most games we watched of them this year, they were down and came back. They have a team that's real gritty. They scratch and fight and they have a great player in Battle. I think the way that Lawrence played today and the plays that Al (Nolen) made on defense against Battle really slowed him down."
