University of Minnesota Athletics
Postgame Quote
11/11/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 11, 2011
Minnesota Head Coach Tubby Smith
Opening remarks:
"This game was a real good test to see where we are at."
"(Bucknell) is one of the top 50 teams in the country. They are well-coached, and well-executed."
"I'm real impressed with Ralph (Sampson) even though he fouled out."
"Real happy that we were able to execute down the stretch of the game."
On executing down the stretch:
"Good teams don't beat themselves."
"We stuck with the game plan down the stretch."
On the frustration of missing shots the team has made in the past:
"I'm not worried. It's early in the season. We have one of the best defenses in the country, and I'm glad we kept our composure."
"I have a lot of confidence in the team. We're a good shooting team even though we only shot 40-percent after shooting 50-percent in the first half."
"We need to shoot better than 65-percent at the free throw line."
On composure:
"We gotta keep shooting. Eventually it will go in."
On finishing:
"We had 30 points in the paint where we should have had 50."
"I am encouraged by the way we played tonight and the way we played down the stretch. We had the right people doing the right things."
Minnesota Players
Trevor Mbakwe
On the key to pulling away at the end:
"It was really important for us to stop the threes down the stretch and for us to just keep putting up shots… but the key was to defend their 3-point shots."
On picking it up and finding his focus:
"I got off to a real slow start, when I got my three fouls I went back to the bench and got my head back in the game."
On defense:
"Julian (Welch) had some key moves on defense, coach wants us to be a full court team and I think tonight we came out and did that."
On the season opener:
"We all just want to finish games off this year…Tonight we did that and it's a good way to start the season off."
Austin Hollins
On his key 3-pointer bringing the life back into the crowd:
"It's a great feeling but the main thing is keeping the confidence up…we had to keep our confidence up and just keep shooting shots"
On whether he thought during the night that they were playing the "same old game":
"I didn't think of it as the same old same old…it was a matter of stepping up, keep shooting the ball, and knocking the shots down"
On if he thought tonight went smoother than the exhibition games:
"All the nervousness was out with everyone and we went out and executed and everything went smoothly."
Bucknell Head Coach Dave Paulsen
General thoughts:
"Minnesota is a very good team, obviously formidable. We said we had to have single-digit turnovers and hold them to single-digit offensive rebounds. We really could not keep them off the offensive glass or convert on our offensive end."
On Trevor Mbakwe's play:
"(Mbakwe) is a terrific player. He is bigger and stronger than our guys. We got into foul trouble trying to keep him off the glass. He was just too much and (Austin) Hollins hit a big three at a crucial juncture."
On his team's slow start:
"We just had to do what we do and play composed. We could not worry about the opponent or the atmosphere. To our guys' credit, we really bounced back. Again, you can not really replicate the size and strength of Minnesota in practice."
Mike Muscala
On coming home:
"It is good to be home and see familiar faces. I wish I would have played better for them. We wanted to win and it was disappointing at the end, but we just need to take it in stride."
On first half struggles:
"I got to the line, but I wasn't making my post moves. I need to continue to work on that. I need to work on staying aggressive even if the ball does not go down. I need to keep playing."
On rebounding:
"I think rebounding is just a mindset thing and I have to be able to work on my game to be a better rebounder and also be a force offensively."
