University of Minnesota Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Alabama A&M
11/21/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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Minnesota Head Coach Richard Pitino
On having seen enough progress after 5 games going into a tougher stretch in the schedule…
"Yeah, I think you can look back at that providence win. If you can draw back on a road victory earlier in the season that's huge. Obviously, we are going to a neutral site situation coming up, but we got to play at Arkansas, we got to play at Nebraska early, so to do that was great. I did tell them, I said, I don't know if we have played a great 40 minutes at home. Physically we have done some good things but mentally not as much, and I thought today they were really really good cause, I mean those are really thought games to play in as well and I thought out guys were really really mature about it."
On the starters and the bench guys…
"I want our starters to play crisp minutes together … I saw that, that they were all really good. Then obviously I want to get the bench guys some minutes. Devonte, we continued to ease him in and he showed good things. Michael Hurt played 18 minutes and did some good things. Jamir, Isaiah, all those guys, those are good minutes for them. Not to mention we got to travel tomorrow, and we have to prepare for two games, so it was good to get a rest as well."
On the next game coming up…
"We are all UMass right now, and I know Alabama, I think they play BYU, so we are going to do everything possible to prepare for UMass. If we are fortunate enough to win we will turn the page. So, you know, we get back to work tomorrow and really prepare hard for a very very well coached team."
On retiring the nickname Low Motor Murph…
"I do. You have to keep it in the back pocket in case he goes back but I think he's been terrific. What I love about him is, he understands that if he plays hard, how good it makes him look. And he's not a selfish kid, he wants to win. But that's how he helps the team … by rebounding the ball, by living around the rim. You know, he did it at Providence, versus a though opponent as well. So, he has worked very very hard in the off season, putting in the time. He's just confident right now, he's saying all the right things, he's taking the coaching, so yeah, we might have to retire that one."
On this year's tougher schedule…
"Yeah it is, I thought it was our best team. I think when the schedule, the program grows. To play two true road games, very very difficult, obviously with the change of the schedule now playing at Nebraska, it still feels like the non-conference. So, you're playing three true road games before Christmas. Fortunately, we got an older team, but we have had that in mind. Alabama is another terrific team, I know UMass is an extremely well coached team. Providence was a terrific one, and Miami. So, we are going to be touched but fortunately these guys are an experience group ... our bench is not experienced but our staring five is experienced."
On Davonte Fitzgerald…
"I thought he physically was moving really well today. This is a great game for him just athletically, I mean that dunk. He's moving good. I think physically he's a 100 percent. Now mentally, just getting caught up to the flow of the game, you know because he hadn't played for two years. But this was a good day for him to get all that out of him and continue to play. So, I like what I saw."
On Isaiah's shooting and having had freshman struggling with shooting before…
"I think Isaiah is just getting the flow of the game. There's a lot being thrown at Isaiah. Not to mention, the weight of kind of his name and all those things, it's going to take some time and that's okay. He knows that, he's a willing learner. He's a streaky shooter, so I don't necessarily worry about that as much as the other side. It's not football, he's got to play offense and defense, and he'll learn from that too, but he's just a freshman."
On Isaiah dealing with fans and the attention…
"We talked a lot about human nature this year, in the offseason, just talking about how to deal with expectations, how to deal with you know, people talking about you good, rankings, all those things. You can say that stuff is irrelevant… they want it. They want to be ranked. They want people to talk about them, they want great crowds like tonight, that's what they want. That motivates them, as crazy as it sounds, it does. That's okay. With Isaiah, it's getting him to understand that, you know, if you play the right way, what you ultimately want will come. And that's going to take some time. If you want to win and you want to go to the NBA one day. I think that all the fan fair he has, that is really cool, but at the end of the day that's not the end goal and I think Isaiah knows that."
On Jamir Harris…
"I liked what he gave us tonight. I mean obviously three 3's, he gets off the ground quick, he does a lot of really good things. Defensively he was good. He's undersized but he laterally moves really well. So I think when Jamir just figures out how to fit in, freshman sometimes just need to figure out how to not screw up, and when Jamir figures that out I think he's going to be a really good weapon for us."
Junior Forward Jordan Murphy
On what he and his teammates did to ensure they weren't looking past Alabama A&M…
"Watching college basketball in general, we have seen a lot of upsets, we have seen a lot of people who have lost to teams and been close games to other teams that may not be at that same levels as other teams. So, we just basically said we can't look over anybody. Anybody can beat anybody at a given night. So, we keep that in the back of our minds."
On Coach giving the bench extended minutes tonight…
"Tonight, was a good night to get our bench some more experience under their belt. Play some minutes, and just go out there and keep that energy and defend. Coach has been on us about defending and I think we defended pretty well tonight. That was a big stepping stone especially for the younger guys and just us. Knowing that us, older guys, need to set the tempo and be leaders for the younger guys."
Redshirt Senior Forward Davonte Fitzgerald
On how he and the bench will be valuable to this team…
"These next give games are going to be pretty big and so the bench is going to have to step up a lot. Our starting five has a really good flow going out there, so it's really our job to come in and not allow any downfalls and…just get the [starters] the rest they need. They really have a good flow and if we can help them, we can continue to get better."
On his knee and whether he thinks about it while playing…
"The rehab was really good. Ever since I got cleared, I haven't really had that thought. I haven't really been cautious at all. So, I feel really good out there…just credit to the training staff and the doctors getting me ready."
