Postgame Quotes

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VIRGINIA BASKETBALL
Postgame Quotes
Virginia 79, Hampton 65

Virginia Head Coach Dave Leitao

Opening Statement:
“Some guys were wondering how we were going to play coming off of a 12-day layoff. I was anxious to get back on the court to see where we were from two weeks ago, not just because of the layoff, but because we hadn’t played really good basketball before then.”

“Do I think we played a great game? No, but I thought we played pretty well, given the circumstances and everything that we faced, not just with the layoff, but with injuries and that kind of thing. We had enough depth with Mike (Scott) playing well and Jerome (Meyinsse) coming off the bench playing well. With guys like that contributing, we could win the game by enough of a margin that gives you an opportunity to be on the road to becoming a better team.”

On Mike Scott:
“He has been getting better and better. He didn’t get in a lot of foul trouble. They don’t have a traditional post in that most of the time the ball was inside the free throw line. There was a lot of action and opportunities for offensive rebounds for them. I thought he more than held his own. And he gives us an option to go-to down low. He has responded, not just tonight, but throughout the season. As we play more and more games, I think he will continue to get better.”

On Jerome Meyinsse:
“He has been doing a better job on a day-to-day basis and he proved himself worthy tonight. He is going to earn a lot more time on the floor. He and Mike (Scott) probably have the best touch in the post. He needs to stop banging so much. He has a terrific turn-around and that is how he can be more effective with his touch. That is more to his advantage.”

Hampton Head Coach Kevin Nickelberry

Opening Statement:
“If you came in and told me before the game that (Sean) Singletary would score 12 points and they would have 21 turnovers and we would still lose by 14 points, I would tell you it probably is not possible. But at the end of the day we had opportunities to score inside and we missed layups and shots under the basket. They made theirs. Our guys made some questionable decisions and we got out of it during their run in the second half. They did a good job making decisions and making their shots.”

On defending Virginia
“They shoot a lot of threes and we prepared for threes. We made them get inside and chased Singletary and Diane. Our goal was to have Diane not score. We had been able to do a good job of stopping two guys, but their run in the second half killed us.”

“In their passing game, they try to spread things out and make you check all four people, but we couldn’t cover all four. We only checked two. (Adrian) Joseph made his shots and I tip my cap to him.”

On the struggles tonight
“Rashad (West) struggled tonight and for the first time in a long time, he didn’t hit a three. I come from Holy Cross and Clemson where you win with defense and by stopping people. We just didn’t get it done tonight. You can’t beat anyone when you give up 79 points.”

On missed opportunities
“We had shots in the first half to go in with the lead, but we didn’t play well down the stretch. We had them on their heels and called some plays but we missed some very easy shots.”