Virginia and James Madison Postgame Quotes
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Nov. 8, 2013
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Tony Bennett Quotes
On highlights of the game:
“We got some offensive rebounds and some advantages, like touching the paint. I thought in the second half we guarded a little better in terms of contesting shots. I think the first half we were very impatient, the shot selection was poor, and they got a lot of open looks. They [JMU] ran some good stuff to get their guys open; Coach Brady does a good job of getting his guys open. I thought we were a little lost, but we learned from that and will certainly have to play better.”
On Anthony Gill:
“He did some nice things. He is aggressive, and he draws fouls. We have got to cash in at that free throw line and we didn’t shoot the three ball well or the free throws, but you saw him, he is aggressive, he draws contact, he plays through contact and goes for the basket. We saw that for sure.”
On Malcolm Brogdon:
“I thought he was very good early on. He was a steady force for us. He knocked down some shots and made some plays. I thought in the second half he showed some rust, he got in trouble, got up in the air, and got lost. I thought defensively he was getting a little flat footed and gave too much cushion, but then he picked it up. All things considered, it was good to have him out there. He is such a strong player and he knows what is going on. I expected some rust, but the way he got us off to that start was great.”
On JMU defense:
“They were unconventional in the way they guarded us, by switching from man-to-man to a zone. They kept changing things up and we couldn’t quite get comfortable and I thought that that was smart on their part. We finally got a beat on it and it was good to see some of those guys get out there. I was hoping Thomas [Rogers] would get a bucket, but hopefully we will have another day for that.”
On playing London Perrantes:
“The plan is to redshirt Devon [Hall]. Right now, I am comfortable with a nine-man rotation. That doesn’t mean we wouldn’t go ten and it doesn’t mean that foul trouble couldn’t make that change. London was out for three weeks with a shoulder injury, but he showed some nice things before that, then after that, and in the scrimmages. He doesn’t get sped up. Now, that will be tested in our next outing, in terms of keeping his composure and not getting sped up, but he certainly has a natural feel for that position and I thought he did some things in that first outing. He got taken advantage of a little bit in the post, but, again, showed composure and has worked well.”
On playing their defense:
“Our shot selection early everyone took the first chance they got, there were some open looks and they just let it fly. We almost didn’t get a chance to get established on the glass and we said let’s just rotate the ball and get on the paint. We had a size advantage. I didn’t do a good job early on thinking, “Are they running a zone or a man?” We called too many things and our guys weren’t too steady. Then we decided we would just be simple and just run what we have been doing and look to touch the paint.”
On distributed scoring:
“I think we are a more balanced team this year. Guys will get shots and I am hoping they are going to fall. I am not going to say we are a great shooting team, but we have guys who can get it going and I think that can open up the game.”
Virginia Player Quotes
Senior Guard Joe Harris
On getting back out on the court:
“It’s awesome. Other than going against each other, that kind of gets old after a little while. And we had a couple of scrimmages, but to go play in front of your fans there is nothing like it other than actually going and doing it. So for us to go out and finally have our first game is definitely exciting, and we are just all really happy that the season is under way.”
On making improvements:
“I think that can be said about the beginning of every season. I think it would be a problem if we were perfect at the beginning of the year and we had nothing to build off of for the rest of the season. So the fact that we might have been a little sloppy in some areas or weren’t working hard enough defensively or picking up on schemes, any of that stuff, it isn’t a bad thing. That’s the way the beginning of the season usually starts. And it’s good for us to go back to the drawing board, have something to learn from, and try to be more productive from here on out.”
On Malcolm Brogdon’s contributions:
“Malcolm did I thought a great job today. He does a great job of getting into the paint and creating for guys, but he can also knock down open shots. So you have to consider him a threat, you can’t leave him open. Overall I think he did a great job facilitating and a great job defensively also.”
Sophomore Forward Anthony Gill
On this years versatility:
“I think at every single position, no matter where we swing it on the court – somebody is a threat. Once we get a better feel for each other, our offense will definitely click more.”
On Tuesday’s game against VCU:
“VCU is a good team, but we’ve been prepping for JMU. We don’t take any games for granted, so we’re going to come back to practice the next couple days, and we will definitely work hard.”
Freshman Guard London Perrantes
On his nerves before the game:
“Definitely. But I got a huge surprise from my parents. They showed up and I didn’t know about it, so I kind of got my jitters out then. I had a few tears come out but I wasn’t too nervous. I saw them about an hour before the game, and I’m happy that they were here.”
On his 25 minutes of playing time:
“I didn’t know it was going to be that much, but I knew I was going to be able to play just because of the scrimmages and what we were doing. But I’m happy to go out there and help the team win.”
On Tuesday’s VCU game:
“It’s going to be a fun game. We have two days of practice in between. We’re just going to practice like it’s a regular team, nobody different. We’re excited though.”
UVa Center Mike Tobey
On Coach Bennett’s postgame remarks to the team:
“He told us we need to pick it up for next game. We have VCU next, so we need to pick up our intensity and level of play. It’s a good team we play next.”
On UVa’s improved post play late in the first half:
“Coach stressed getting the ball inside. This year we have a really good interior with the addition of Anthony Gill. One of our main strengths is our frontcourt so we definitely stressed that.”
On pregame nerves:
“Just going out there in the first game of the season you have those jitters. I think after the first couple of plays we get used to being out there. Mostly just being in my second year is different. Last year going into the first game I was extremely nervous, but this year it was just another game.”
UVa Guard Malcolm Brogdon
On his success shooting tonight:
“I’ve changed my form to where it’s more consistentnow. I have really focused on it and I think it’s paying off now.”
On his first game back:
“It was great. It was a great feeling just being out there with my teammates, not watching from the sidelines. Getting my first win since my freshman year was nice. I have easy teammates to play with. We’re really unselfish and play well together. I’m really excited for our future.”
On his two turnovers in the second half
“I went into the paint and got up in the air then tried to make a pass, but sometimes it just wasn’t there. But you learn from that and move on and fix it for the next game.”
UVa Forward Darion Atkins:
On UVa’s success inside the paint:
“We can do different things really well. It’s really difficult for the other team to guard us, as you saw tonight. The big men can go off the bounce or face up, do a lot of different things.”
On the pressure to perform with such a deep team:
“I definitely feel like I need to be productive right away when I’m in there That’s one thing I have noticed – if you don’t know your ‘p’s and q’s’ right away – then you can get subbed out pretty quick.”
On UVa’s dominant rebounding:
“We have more depth in the frontcourt. We have four bigs who can be really physical and crash the glass. That’s one thing Coach is emphasizing hard this year. He wants us to crash the glass hard, and if we all go for it then one of us will get it.”
JMU Coach Matt Brady Quotes
On game:
“Tony and his staff did a tremendous job. They’re outstanding defensively in the country and it is very difficult to get penetration of any kind on them. For a while there, about nine or ten minutes, we were hanging around and I thought we were doing what we wanted to do defensively, but we could make any shots. So, I will give them some credit, but I thought we missed some open shots that could have made the game a little tighter and put a little pressure on them. I think the difference in the game was their size and strength.”
On Malcolm Brogdon’s return:
“His return didn’t surprise me, but it may have surprised some of the guys. I know he is a good player and we told our guys when they came out with the lineup that we weren’t sure whom they were going to play at point guard, but I thought that added to their scoring. Tony has a lot of guys that are going to help them figure out how to have a great season.”
On missed opportunities:
“I thought we had a combination of very difficult shots that you can’t have when you’re on the road and want to beat a quality team. Then, we had some open shots that we missed. I thought we defended them as well as we could with our match-up zone. We had six or seven possessions where we were taking difficult shots and we have to get beyond that, and I hope that we do. The combination of difficult shots, open shots, and not making shots, then you will struggle with a team like this.”
On avoiding offensive droughts:
“We have to play really smart. I said to the team that we, at JMU, have to be able to play with each other and share the ball. We have a team that is willing to share the ball, but we haven’t learned how to do it against outside competition just yet. I think the guys need to take advantage of the situation and it’s just not how you want to play winning basketball. This was a good learning experience for us. As a coaching staff we will look at the tape and get better from it.
On Andrey Semenov:
“When Andrey takes good shots, he’s as good of a foreman as there is. The question is: is he going to play the way we need him to play, and if he does he will help us become a really good team. I think shot selection is a big deal. We’re going to play together, and we need everyone to do that. Andrey is going to have some nights where he has good nights and there will be other nights where teams are going to guard the heck out of him. So, we will still be in the game with a chance to win.”
On shot distribution:
“We thought that Taylor Bessick would play for more than nine minutes. I think the rest of it is fairly fair. I think that Ron Curry and Charles Cook should be nine or ten shots a game, but I think beyond that it’s fine. We need a couple of these guys to come of the bench and make some shots to help us there.”
On physicality:
“Well, it’s a learning experience. To be honest with you, this is a really good team with a bunch of older guys that fly around in the lane. We could talk about it but when freshmen are playing other freshmen on the court, or freshmen playing against sophomores, it’s not the same thing as playing outside competition. We have not responded well when we have played outside competition in terms of physicality. It will be a learning curve with this group.
On perimeter shots:
“We’re going to get better at that. I think we will get to a point with the length of our guys where we can drive the ball. The issue is that trying to drive the ball against Virginia is an uphill battle. Tony’s [Bennett] teams are always so good defensively, especially in penetration.”