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VIRGINIA BASKETBALL
Postgame Quotes
Virginia 66, Richmond 64
Virginia Head Coach Dave Leitao
Opening comments:
“It’s a little bit off balance right now. On the one hand, this is the time of year where you just win and move on. You can scratch, claw, fight your way to victory by a few points and just try to do that. On the other hand, what I saw for the better part of the game was listlessness more than anything else. We were getting exposed and carved up on the defensive end. That’s obviously not too pleasing and something that we have to find a way through. Being in tournament play for 20-some years, and listening to the guys talk on TV and radio just makes me laugh, because your last game really has nothing to do with your next game. If your team is hot, all it takes is another hot team to knock you out. So you just have to find a way to win and move on. Our next game isn’t until Monday, which will give us some time to prepare and get back into the gym and work, especially on the defensive end.”
On his team’s defense over the course of the game:
“We’re a team that sometimes needs things to be very literal. We need to prepare for specific things, and we only had one day of prep to talk about what we needed to. We kept getting caught. We didn’t have enough preparation time to make defending their perimeter game doable. Most importantly, we weren’t psychologically ready to defend that, even if we hadn’t practiced it. Those kinds of things will come back to bite you if you’re not ready. Before you know it, you’re down ten, and everybody in the arena including myself, thought it was over. To see how we respondedI think on nine out of their last ten possessions we got stopswas proof that we do have the ability to do it. We just need to be able to be locked in a whole lot more.”
On coming from behind to win:
“One of the biggest challenges for me is to be able to get inside and read the mindset of our guys. We have capabilities, but we have shortcomings as well. Some of the things that happen, we can control. Others there’s not a whole lot that we can do about it. When things were getting bad tonight, we decided at that moment to control it.”
Virginia Senior Guard Sean Singletary
On making defensive stops down the stretch:
“It all started with our sense of urgency. Its something we have done throughout the season, but not often enough. We knew we had to make some key stops, and tonight we were able to do that. “
On the opportunity to keep playing:
“You definitely always want to keep playing. Although this might be the lesser of the three tournaments, there are a lot of teams that aren’t playing at all right now.”
On fatigue from long gap between games:
“It could be a number of things. It isn’t something that we would dwell on though. It might have played a role in the way we started the game, but in the end, we were able to get past it.”
On resting a little bit before next game
“It is definitely a good thing. Some guys have been hurt or just worn down from our season. Some guys also have a few things to work on in practice. If we can find a good balance, get some rest, and get some work in, then we will be in good shape.”
Virginia Senior Forward Adrian Joseph
On playing in the CBI:
“It’s tough because it isn’t the NCAA tournament, or even the NIT, but it is a chance to play more basketball, and we have to stay focused.”
On falling behind early, and possibly ending the season:
“We talked about it at timeouts, and we all realized that this is not how we want to end our season. Even though it’s the CBI, we don’t ever want to lose, especially at home.”
On recent reduction in playing time:
“It’s definitely something that’s frustrating, especially after the amount of work I’ve put into this program. Sitting on the bench isn’t easy. It’s just something I have to deal with, and be ready for my chance.”
Richmond Head Coach Chris Mooney
Opening remarks:
“I would like to congratulate Virginia and their team. They have a great coach and a great team, and I wish them well as they move forward. I thought our guys played really well, and I wish we could have won the game at the end, but I am very proud of our effort. I think we have many great things in our future.”
On Richmond basketball overall:
“I think that we have some good, young players, and we are pleased with the direction that we are heading. Certainly a win tonight would have been great, but I think that it is clear that we have some good, young players who play very hard, care about one another, and I hope that we can continue to do well. We are pleased with this season, and we hope that this will be a stepping stone for the future of Richmond basketball and that we can continue to be competitive in the meantime.”
On the last six or seven minutes of the game:
“I thought that they (Virginia) were able to get to the foul line. The game had been physical, and the last six minutes it just seemed like they were able to get to the foul line. In the last minute, they had four fouls to give, and we were in the double bonus, and that really changed the game, being able to get to the foul line.”
On Richmond’s play tonight:
“I thought that we played well. They (Virginia) are a good and aggressive defensive team, and I thought that we were able to take advantage of some of that aggressiveness and got ourselves some lay ups and good shots. I thought that we probably could have shot a little bit better, and if we shot a little bit better maybe the game would then be different, but I thought that we played well. We played hard, and I am really pleased with our effort.”
On what was going on during the last minute of the game:
“I thought that they would just keep fouling us. Kevin (Smith) is a great athlete, and we thought that if he threw it up there, someone might be able to catch it. The second play would be to throw it forward and then call another timeout. We would just be inching down the court, and I thought that maybe we could catch them a little bit with Kevin’s athleticism.”