University of Connecticut Athletics
Connecticut 103, Bridgeport 57
11/7/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 7, 2010
November 7, 2010 Connecticut vs. Bridgeport
Connecticut Head Coach Jim Calhoun
"I think if you look at the 80 minutes we've played in exhibition, we probably have eight or nine guys who have played well at different times in different places."
"We're building, hopefully, this 10-man team. I would like in a month from now, playing games in December sometime, talking about our 10-man team. That takes all of us and commitment by everybody. There's only one guy right now who is slated in to play a ton of minutes, and that's Kemba. I think it will give us depth and will allow us to press and run more. But that kind of remains to be seen."
"The thing that surprised me today, and made me happy, actually, was the fact that we were able to press a very small, quick team. And that, to me, was a pretty good sign.... I thought we did a good job of rotating and disrupting the game and getting the game in our pace."
On Kemba Walker "He just seems to be at a different speed than everybody else."
On three-pointers "I thought we really shot three-pointers well the whole game. I thought we took four ill-advised threes. I thought Coombsie shot threes that he'll make. He took one rushed. I think we're capable of putting up 12 or 14 for 20."
On Niels Giffey "Niels started off very well. We will get the ball into the post if he's in the game because he's a solid, solid passer."
On Jeremy Lamb "In the first game, he was slow shooting the ball and was kind of feeling his way through the game. We got on him pretty good about it at practice and right after the game. Today, he just attacked.... He's a very good shooter, and he added by rebounding, blocking shots and being very active. He played more aggressively than he has. That's what he's going to have to do. His speed still could be better, because he's very fast."
Player Quotes November 7, 2010
Kemba Walker On Jeremy Lamb "We try to enforce on him a lot to be more aggressive. We need him to score baskets. I'm not going to score every night so we need guys to step up. He's one of the guys who has the potential to step up."
What impresses you about his game? "He does everything real calm and laid back. But he's extremely good. He can really score the ball. And that's something we need from him. We need him to be aggressive every play. He's smooth - that's the word I'm looking for."
"He can really run when he wants to so that's something we try to get him to do every play."
Are you ready for the season to start? "We can't wait. We're anxious. We're just together so we all can't wait to get going."
Is it fun having so many freshmen on the team? "It's a lot of fun because of the youth we have. We're all real close. We're all good friends. It's a lot of fun playing with them."
Jeremy Lamb "We were a lot more exciting today, a lot more focused. My teammates are picking me up. They were looking for me."
"Coach always encourages me to play full speed and just show what I can do. He is challenging me in practice."
Jamaal Coombs-McDaniel "That was our first time going through a press as a team so it shook us up a little bit. We got a lot of easy layups when we did break it."
On shooting more threes this year "We still have to get it into our monsters. Alex has been playing real good. He put in a lot of work this summer. We still have to get it into those guys. If I don't shoot it, I don't need to be out there."
Alex Oriakhi On Bridgeport "They gave me a scare [early]. We were only up 10 or 12 points. I was wondering what was going on."
On preparing for season opener "We got better from the AIC game, I felt. We're just going to keep doing what we've been doing in practice."
