University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn 66, USF 61
12/31/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 31, 2010
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December 31, 2010
UConn vs. USF UConn Coach Jim Calhoun
"The crowd was late but terrific. We gave them 8-0 to cheer about, but after that we didn't give them very much."
"We didn't do a good job of fast-breaking. And that was one of the keys."
"We never really had an answer for [Augustus] Gilchrist . We didn't have much of an answer for [Ron] Anderson. We didn't have a terrific answer for anybody inside it appears."
"Gilchirst might be as good, if not, the best big guy in the league, and one of the best big guys in the country."
"We didn't play that well. We were able to force 16 turnovers which might be the difference."
On playing zone defense
"I can't think of the last time we went 10 straight minutes with zone."
"[The zone] saved us. We extended the two guards in a press mode and got a couple of steals out of it."
On Kemba "I was reading the other day that if you're going to be classified as a magnificent player, you've got to take your team to magnificent places. Well, down nine and looking like maybe you're out of it, Kemba certainly was the sparkplug we needed."
Connecticut Basketball Connecticut v. South Florida December 31, 2010 Connecticut Player Post-Game Quotes
Kemba Walker What sparked the team more, the dunk in the second half or tough defense? "The tough defense. I thought we came on strong in the last five minutes of the game."
"It was a good win for us. It was a tough game. I thought they played extremely well. We just fought, and we were fortunately to come out with the win."
On play at end of game "I just wanted it more. I just want the ball more at times, and I got it."
On UConn defense at end of game "Early on, their bigs were just kind of killing us. The zone just helped us slow them down and make them take tough shots."
How did the game-tying three not deflate you? "It didn't, honestly. I thought it was a tough shot. It was far. We shouldn't have let him take that three, but it didn't really deflate us because we fought so hard, first of all, and it only tied the game up. And we had a chance to take the last shot. We were a little fatigued, but we stuck with it. I think momentum was with us going into overtime, and we took advantage of it."
Shabazz Napier "It really taught us how to be more mature, and how to gut a win out there. I really like this win."
"It builds up our confidence. A win is a win for us. Even though we didn't play so well, we like this win."
"Once we slowed Gilchrist up, we just got rolling with it. "
Jamaal Coombs-McDaniel On working hard even when the playing time hasn't been there "I've chosen to keep working hard in practice and, hopefully, one day something good will happen. And we got a big win in overtime at home so everything's paying off."
On playing the last five minutes of the game "It just shows signs that he's starting to trust me a little more. I have to keep doing rebounding and playing defense so I can be in the game a lot more. Nevertheless, we go the win and he says a tremendous win. And if he says that it's a good win."
What got the team going once you were down nine? "I think when we switched to the 6 (zone). They didn't have many shooters on the outside and that really messed up their flow of offense and took away their big guys, as well. The zone worked and that's how we got a big win."
On his complaints on Twitter after the Pittsburgh loss "I was very frustrated -- more about the loss than how we played as a team. I have to mature more. It's something I learned from - knowing that's what people want to see and make a stir out of it. I'm glad it happened now than later. And it will never happen again."
December 31, 2010
Connecticut vs. South Florida South Florida Coach Stan Heath
"That was a tough, tough game for us. I thought we did all the things we could have done to give ourselves a chance to win, and we just came up a little short."
"Give UConn a little credit. Especially Kemba Walker. What a terrific player. We thought we were doing a pretty good job, and it just seemed like the last three minutes he had another gear and he got a little bit stronger than the rest of us, and made some terrific plays."
"I'm proud of my team. We've been on a little bit of a skid. At the same time we continue to battle, we continue to fight. To come into a place like this on New Year's Eve and battle toe-to-toe with a top-ranked team...I think our guys should feel like, `Hey, we're not too far out of the woods from being a team that can win games.'"
"That's a team, with a guy like Kemba Walker, that can do a lot of damage. Because you can keep it close, in the last few minutes, he can make some big-time plays. So hats off to him and hats off to UConn."
