University of Tennessee Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Vols 71, ETSU 61
December 31, 2014 | Men's Basketball
Recap |
Final Stats |
Notes |
Photo Gallery 
Tennessee Head Coach Donnie Tyndall
(Opening Statement)
"Let me start by saying, once again, the teams we've played have been very very good and well coached and this one was no different. I have the utmost respect for Coach Bartow, we've been buddies a long time, but aside from that he's a fantastic coach and is team is really really good. Their disciplined, their tough. Now with that being said, I though our guys did an nice job tonight of withstanding their runs. Every time they made a big bucket or what could have been a deflating three pointer, our guys kept their head up and kept grinding and went to the other end, executed, scored ourselves, or got stops back at the other end when it was needed. I know a lot of you might say 'well the way you play you give up a lot of threes', and they made 13, and that is a lot, but our system and our stye of play when you make a team shoot 32 of their 48 balls from behind the line their gonna make some, but the advantage of that is that you only put them on the line 9 times so they're not getting points from driving the ball, and they're not in rebounding position. The only get three offensive rebounds. So when you give up some up things, some made 3's like we need, you gain some things in regards too rebounding opportunities and not putting them on the line. Overall, It was a good win. We're ecstatic to be 8-4, 4-0 in this little home-stand we thought was very very important to do. I thought our kids competed again for 40 minutes."
(On responding to runs)
"We told our guys for three or four days, look they're the second-best 3-point shooting club in America. So don't be surprised when they shoot it from 26 feet, that's what they do. Don't be surprised when they shoot it off one pass, that's what they do. And we just didn't get too them. It's hard to say `well man he's at 26 feet', but good players and good team, if that's their strength, they play to it. We didn't execute early defensively. To their credit, they made some deep, tough shots. But you have to be tough enough of weather the storm , and we've been though it all year to this point. And whether it's at the VCU game, when we cut it too eight, we're tough then. Whether it's Kansas, we're down 13, we tie it up, we're tough then. In every game we've had to withstand a run or multiple runs and tonight I thought we did job of staying composed, staying the course, and eventually it won out. "
(On what he said before UT's 12-0 run that featured four offensive rebounds)
"I just think the biggest thing was let's get a good shot on the rim, make the extra pass. They were changing their defenses up from man to zone and the bottom line - we drove the basketball and created some rebounding angles. Guys great effort to keep it alive, get another shot, keep it alive, get another shot. Again, our conditioning and our stamina is pretty good in the second half and it has been all year. Maybe on that one possession there, it was pretty evident."
(On Tennessee's slow offensive start the first four minutes of the game)
"We worked the last three days against mostly zone. We expected to play against 40 minutes of zone. Don't get me wrong, we worked a little man-to-man. But they opened the game in man-to-man and we were almost unsure or on our heels a little bit. Then they make all the 3s and we go to the other end and we look a little bit like a deer in headlights. Once we kind of settled in, made a couple of buckets, caught our breath and collected our composure, we were fine. But you're right, the first four minutes I think a lot of our offensive weakness or our lack of productivity was a result of them scoring at the other end so quickly."
(On Derek Reese's contribution to the win)
"Well, no question, Derek is a guy who we talk about - he's not a true post player. He's more of what we call the skilled four man. But he did a nice job tonight of finishing a couple of balls, staying aggressive. He gets five rebounds, 12 points, got to the foul line three times. The thing with Derek is, it's a mentality. When his mind is set on being aggressive and not hesitant or reluctant to make the right play, he's a good player. If he had part of Armani's personality or mental makeup, then he'd be even better. But he's certainly improving. He and I, we've got a good relationship. We talk a lot. I don't sugarcoat anything with him, but he's the type of guy who wants to get better and is constantly asking what he can do. I thought he did some nice things tonight."
(On Robert Hubbs III looking more confident on the floor)
Again, tonight you look at his stat line: two rebounds, four assists, a steal. Three weeks ago, he might not have had two rebounds and four assists on his entire six or seven-game stretch. So now he's doing some other things and as we talk about, you get a little swagger when you make some shots. I like Robert's mentality now. He's aggressive, he's not hesitant, he's not worried about making mistakes. This was his season high, if I'm not mistaken, 28 minutes. I think he's just going to continue getting better and better.
(On growth through non-conference play)
"Offensively, it's going to be a work in progress, and I'm probably going to be saying that as late as the SEC Tournament. That's just our team. We don't have a go-to post player. We don't have that true point guard who just makes the game easy for everybody else. With that being said, we shared the ball incredibly well. Nineteen assists and 26 made baskets is a great ratio. We're going to continue to improve at the offensive end. I think defensively we've done a nice job. We've got to get better in our rotations in our press. In the halfcourt, we're probably ahead of where we are in the full court. I like where we're at there. We've got to understand that our margin of error is so small, we've got to continue to improve every day. If you would have said before the season, `would you take 8-4'? My mentality is, `Let's be 12-0' but with the schedule we've had, 8-4 is pretty good with the least experienced team in our league."
(On Richardson and Punter at point guard)
"I think early in the year, we really thought Kevin would be our point guard. By coincidence or luck, toward the end of practice one day, Josh said, `Let me run the point.' I said `OK, that's fine.' He slid over and I could tell he kind of liked being at the point and we rolled with it. When Josh is out, there is no doubt I have confidence in Kevin to come in and play that position. It's not his natural position just like it isn't Josh's. He's tough with the ball. He's confident. He has a swagger about him as well, and he's not going to shy away from those minutes at the point guard position at all."
Tennessee Senior G Josh Richardson
(On ETSU's man-to-man defense being a factor)
"No, I was just calling normal sets. We did come prepared to play zone, but I thought we could have adjusted better."
(On clamping down on defense)
"They were running two guys on the east side, and we weren't guarding them in the first half, so in the second half, we adjusted and slowed them down."
(On stopping long runs)
"We have to start playing defense smarter. We went over all their sets in practice and acted like we had never seen it before. I think, after a couple of minutes into the game, we started guarding the three-point line a little bit better."
Tennessee Junior F Derek Reese
(On playing 32 minutes off the bench)
"That's definitely the most I've played. I was just going out there, doing whatever I can for the team and helping the team win. I wasn't focused on the subs."
(On Coach Tyndall's rotation and staying in the game)
"Yeah, he has confidence in you. If you're rolling out there he'll keep you in. If you go out there and play hard, you're going to stay in. That's what you want, you want good playing time. It gives you confidence, and that's what you need."
(On having the upper-hand at the half and ETSU's come back in the second half)
"They're a very good team and one of the best shooting teams I've ever played against. In our rotation, we have to make sure we get shooters out, and [Rashawn Rembert] hit six threes in the first half, so we knew we were going to be in a dog fight. They're a very good team. We just came out and competed."
(On the key to the second half)
"We just started rotating more. I was calling out exactly what they were running and making sure everyone was in the right place. Everyone was in sync more on the defensive end and the offensive end. Also, we had mental toughness. When you see people hitting three's like that, you probably put your head down, but we didn't sit there and do that. We just kept playing and kept doing what we can do."
ETSU Head Coach Murry Bartow
(Opening statement)
"I am disappointed. We had our tails kicked on the glass. I thought we were in a good position to win. The game plan was going the way we wanted it to go. During the first 30 minutes, we felt really good about where we were. Tennessee has been a second half team all year. They are 7-0 at home, and they play really good in the second half. We did some good things, but the rebounding was what ended up costing us. We had worked hard on it. We don't have a five man in our program right now. We aren't as big and thick as were were two weeks ago."
(On Rashawn Rembert's lack of scoring in the second half)
"We didn't do anything differently. They got smarter in terms of their coverage, and he just didn't get the looks. We ran the same stuff in the first 21 minutes as we did in the final 19. They covered him closer and didn't allow as many clean looks. He got open in the first half, but they didn't let that happen in the second half."
(On positives from the game)
"I think there is a lot of positive takeaway. We fought hard against an SEC team on the road for 30 minutes. We kept our turnovers to a workable number. Petey McClain had 11 assists, which was a positive thing in the game. The fact that we can play Tommy Williams in a game is positive. We know Rashawn, Jalen and Lester have to make shots for us to be good. There were some good positive moments."
ETSU Senior G Rashawn Rembert
(On hitting two three's at the end of the first half)
"Our coach told us that it would be a dog fight. They were undefeated at home, and this is one of the toughest places to play. At that point, when they were starting to build a lead, coach told us that the last three minutes are crucial. We came out and made plays, which lead on into the second half."
(On hanging with Tennessee until the end) "It shows that we can play with anybody. Tennessee is a really good second half team. We have watched plenty of teams come in here and play them hard. To play with them for the first 30 minutes, it shows that we can play with anybody. We have to play 40-minute games."
ETSU Junior F Lester Wilson
(On coming back home)
"It was fun. I would have loved to have this game under my belt. It was a game that we could have and should have won if you ask me. If you ask any of my teammates, we didn't feel like it was going to be an upset if we beat them. We considered it as a game that we should win. It hurts just as bad as losing by 25 to another team. It hurts when you know you had the game."
(On returning to Thompson-Boling Arena)
"I felt like we could win. I wanted to show everyone that ETSU isn't someone to sleep on. We aren't just another team. We are a legit team as well. We felt like we had something to prove. We did it for 30 minutes, but we didn't do it for 40."
