University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn/Stony Brook Postgame Quotes
11/14/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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UConn Head Coach Kevin Ollie
Opening statement
"Between the two halves I thought we really came out in the second half and really played UConn basketball. That's a phenomenal team, [head coach] Jeff [Boals] does a great job with those guys. Very hard to guard because they've got their fours and their fives picking and popping every time we try to get over the hook, they made a three. So we've been tested early and our guys have showed that they've got guts and they kept playing and [junior guard] Jalen [Adams] finally got his wakeup call in the second half. He was sensational getting to the baskets and [graduate student forward] David [Onuorah] setting good screens and I thought [freshman forward] Tyler's [Polley] big 3 in the second half to start our run really got us going on to a great start there. Down nine with five minute to go, a lot of people in the arena probably thought we were going to lose but those guys who were on the bench with me, they hung in there and they went on a 17-0 run. They were phenomenal, Terry was in foul trouble but he was talking to our guys and I thought J stepped up and was a leader and the All-American that we know he is."
On graduate student forward David Onuorah
"Just energy, he was getting every rebound when he was playing out there and he was setting phenomenal screens. That's how J was getting open on some of those plays that we were running. He just came in there, he's a very smart player but he plays with juice and I thought his juice was phenomenal today, one of the reasons we got back in the game."
On the defensive effort
"We were switching, we were talking, we were rebounding, David was talking and then we had just phenomenal ball pressure. I thought our ball pressure was great, we got ten steals, that's where I wanted to be at. We had 19 turnovers but we made them turnover 18 times so our pressure was phenomenal in that last five minutes and that's what we've been working towards. Traditionally, we might not get them in the first part of the game but we eventually get it if we stay with it, I thought our guys stayed with it tonight."
On last year
"We definitely wouldn't have won that game last year. This team right here just shows the resilience, just shows the heart, we don't want to be in those situations but just to be in them early so that we can come back and play UConn basketball was a great feed for our guys. Everybody that played. The bench guys, they were on fire and it just lead to us getting easy buckets and J stepped up and everybody stepped up to play. Everybody put an input on the game that got in the game."
Graduate student forward David Onuorah
On being back
I got hurt in the Providence game and I've been rehabbing since then and it improved to the point where I could practice yesterday so that went well and we felt like I could play today. I was really excited to play today.
On setting screens
Yeah, I mean I think it's a simple thing to do to set a good screen and get your teammate open. It works to get myself open too. That's where I need to get my quickness back but it's coming back and I felt really good today, especially in warmups. I mean I think just that progression and getting better and better every day so I'm excited for all that.
On coming back tonight
We really came together so I mean, it was a big experience for us that we could really look back on and now say, hey we were there, we were down nine and now we can look at that and build upon that. That was huge for us to get stops and be able to convert against offensive end as well.
Redshirt freshman guard Alterique Gilbert
On the defense in the second half
Yeah absolutely. You know, it starts with defense and that's something that we took for granted in the first half and that's something that coach emphasized at half time. Just trying to come out and make plays.
On how the deficit can help in the future
It definitely gave us confidence but at the same time we just have to come out and play from the start instead of waiting until the second half and three minutes left in the game and things like that but we all stepped up. Jalen stepped up big time, we all came together as a team. It definitely gave us confidence though.
On his shot
I feel like it's coming along. Step by step, game by game getting better. My teammates definitely put me in better positions for making shots. David setting screens, [junior forward] Eric [Cobb] setting screens, just getting me a second to get my shot off.
Junior guard Jalen Adams
On coming back to win the game
I think the main person to say something was Terry (Larrier). I think he had a turnover after that, but they had just hit two big shots and he told us to relax and said that we were only down nine and there is five minutes left, we are in good hands.
On this year's team versus last year's team
I can't even compare last year's team to this year's team, it is just a whole other team. I think this team just runs on energy. I think when one person has high energy, everyone just [plays] off of it.
Stony Brook Coach, Jeff Boals
On leading most of the game, but losing:
"Give them a lot of credit, the experienced guards that they have, you know, they closed out the game. I was proud of our guys, with five and a half (minutes) to go we were up 52-43 and there was a fifty-fifty ball, we make a good deflection and instead of grabbing it and dunking it to go up 11, they get the ball and come back down and bang a three. We come back down and miss and they come back and get an and one and now it is 62-59. At the end of the game they made plays."
What the team gets out of this type of learning experience:
"Well I think we competed and we will always compete. Playing in an atmosphere like this and against a good team, good guards, I think we have to realize it is a forty-minute game. Once they amped their pressure up we lost our poise and turned over the ball uncharacteristically. We missed a couple of wide open shots and missed a couple of free throws and that all adds up against a good team."
On six different players hitting a 3 point shot:
"Yeah our depth is our strength and the way our offense is designed is to create the defense to shift and move around and we are going to get open looks. It is just a matter of stepping up and knocking them in."
