Post-Game Quotesheet
11/29/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 29, 2006
POST-GAME QUOTESHEET
Pitt vs. Robert Morris, November 29, 2006
Quoting Pitt Head Coach Jamie Dixon:
Opening Statement:
"I thought we played very well tonight against a very good team. Not to put too much pressure on them, but I think Robert Morris is probably going to win their league. We hit all of our goals in the game; we held them under 40 % shooting, outrebounded them by more than 10 and had less than 12 turnovers and the game was still close. For the game to still be that close tells you how well they played too. Obviously we didn't shoot as well from three as we would have liked, but I think all of our shots were good looks that just didn't fall. To win by 14 against a good team when you shoot 2-17 from beyond the arc says a lot."
On the play of Ronald Ramon:
"Our numbers speak for themselves. After Ronald [Ramon] missed a three, the next play I called was to get him another open look from back there. My confidence in him, and more importantly the team's confidence in him to hit those shots is limitless."
On Pitt's outside shooting:
"If you look at it, all 17 of our three-pointers were good shots. When they don't fall and you still win, that's an indication that you're doing things right. We built this program with the idea that defense and rebounding had to be there every night, because sometimes the shots don't fall."
On the improvement of Aaron Gray:
"Aaron was great on every front tonight. As has become the norm with him, you've seen improvement in his conditioning, his athleticism and his range. Some of the jumpers he hit tonight showed off his ability to shoot from the outside, but I was more impressed with his athletic ability on the defensive end. Towards the end of the game when we really needed a stop, he chased down some very long rebounds which is not always easy for a guy his size."
On Aaron Gray's defense:
"We always like to run our offense from the inside out, and that takes smart, well-rounded players down there. A lot of these non-conference schools are putting out smaller, quicker line-ups, which can be difficult to guard for a guy like Aaron [Gray]. He's able to make the necessary adjustments though, which again speaks to his improvement."
On Pitt's offensive strategy:
"We like to run our offense from the inside-out, and that takes smart play and good decisions from our big men. As I always say, Aaron [Gray] in particular is great at passing the ball out, even though it doesn't always show up on the stat sheet. We as a team have tremendous confidence in our shooters, although it's not hard to be confident when you're shooting close to 50% from three-point range."
On how Pitt defended A. J. Jackson:
"Levon [Kendall] and Tyrell [Biggs] in particular did a fantastic job in holding a great player to only six points tonight. We play team defense, but we stressed to both those guys before the game that they needed to pay extra attention to him because he's such a good scorer. He's a player that likes to shot off of pick and pops, so we worked to make him put the ball on the floor which he wasn't as comfortable doing."
On Pitt's ranking:
"It's fun to talk about and it's certainly something that's great for the University and the program, but you can't worry about those things. I didn't lose any sleep over the fact we didn't climb to number one in the polls."
Quoting Pitt's Aaron Gray:
On Pitt's play:
"They gave us a bit of a scare, for sure but we weren't really surprised. They're a good team that plays hard and they came out with a lot of energy. We struggled a bit with our shots, but I thought we did a good job matching their intensity when it counted."
On Pitt's outside shooting:
"The game plan all season is to force the ball inside, then work it out to the perimeter for an open shot. It worked tonight and guys were getting great looks, but sometimes they just don't fall. It's good to know we were still able to win."
On adjustments Pitt made:
"Coach Dixon kept telling us the whole game that our plan was working, we just had to stick with it and keep doing what we were doing. The only correction he made was to tell us to be a little more patient. We had good looks, but we wanted great looks. That's how you play Pitt basketball."
Quoting Robert Morris' Mark Schmidt:
Opening statement:
"I'm really proud of our team's effort tonight. They fought until there were about 13 minutes left in the game and then things got away from us. The effort our players gave was what we were looking for. I told them that if we could be in the game still with 10 minutes left, we'd have a chance. Unfortunately, things didn't quite go that way. Aaron Gray is this team's X-factor. He did yet another good job and in the end it's his force inside that makes the difference."
On getting the inside shot:
"We knew we weren't going to get many inside looks tonight and that we'd have to shoot the ball well and execute. We needed those open shots and we had some. We just got that lead and then couldn't expand on it. Pitt answered and got the ball inside to [Aaron] Gray."
On Ifeanyi Ehirim's performance:
"Ifeanyi [Ehirim] is really starting to get confident. He had a few points tonight and also had that big dunk. He's got a ways to go as a player, but he's young. If he keeps working hard and keeps improving, he's going to be a good player."
On the play of Aaron Gray:
"The key for Pitt is Aaron Gray. If you can shut Aaron Gray down, you have a chance to beat this team. When he's inside and Pitt is shooting well as a team, they're very hard to beat. That's why this team is No. 2 in the country."
On Pitt's ability to contain A.J. Jackson:
"Pitt is a good team. They're No. 2 in the country and have Aaron Gray who stands at seven foot and Levon Kendall who stands at 6'10". A.J. is 6'5" and going up against those guys is a lot more difficult that facing someone your own size. It was hard for A.J. [
Quoting Robert Morris' Derek Coleman:
On playing Pitt:
"Being a great team, like Pitt is, they execute shots and know how to go inside. They went inside to [Aaron] Gray tonight and he beat us. They're a good team. This loss wasn't good. No loss is good, but Pitt's just a good team."
On getting into foul trouble:
"We never get in trouble with fouls at home, but always seem to on the road. I understand how it works and why. I didn't when I was a player and I'm sure it's hard for the players to understand, but now, as a coach, I understand."
