University of Connecticut Athletics
UCONN_LIU POSTGAMNE QUOTES
11/17/2021 10:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball
UConn Head Coach Dan Hurley
On Andre Jackson:
"He was in all the right spots defensively. He was just flying around making impact winning plays. There are some things that we will be able to do in games when he is not making shots. Things that we will unveil obviously as the season progresses and as the opponents change. But it was about his energy and his integrity on defense and the way that he was all over the court. I mean that's his super power. [...] You can see his free throw shooting, his technique, it's sound. He's got a pretty nice release."
"He's got rare athletic gifts. He's by far the best athlete I've ever coached. Speed, quickness, above the rim. It's a joke what he can do. And he's physically strong. He's an intense individual. He does freakish things all the time. There's a lot of clips that we can't put on social media from practice because the guy that he did it to would not recover."
"I just think it's all about what he's doing on the defensive end of the court. He knows when he makes mistakes defensively. He knows that his energy and his defense and getting on both backboards and getting out in transition has got to be where his game begins. Obviously, the other elements will surface. His ability to get to his floaters, to step into a three. When he is consistently that type of disruptive defender, like a shutdown corner in the NFL, who just makes all these plays defensively, he's going to start feeling himself and it's going to lead to really good things on offense."
"[After the Coppin State game] We talked about his focus, we talked about his concentration, we talked about his identity, and I think he was just in a great mind space today, whether he made the first three or not, but it certainly had to feel good for him."
On Tyler Polley:Â
"We need Tyler. We need the shooting. [..] But Tyler is a critical guy, that three-point shooting is a weapon. He's got to try and put less pressure on himself. He is a critical player."
On Isaiah Whaley:
"We didn't start winning here until that guy got in the lineup. The last third of year two here and the way that, that guy rehabbed and got himself and dragged himself out on the court - probably about 80% today - but that guy is so critically important to us winning. And to the way this program has changed. I'm really proud of the Wrench."
LIU Head Coach Derek Kellogg
On his team's play:
"I loved our fight in the first half. I thought we executed very well. For a team that I think is a top 20 team I thought we were able to go toe-to-toe with them for the first 16-17 minutes of the first half. I thought their size, their rim protection and their intensity cranked it up there in the second half. I was pretty happy with my team there for a little while. I felt that once we realized we couldn't win, the guys just kind of started playing street ball."
On the UConn defense:
"They do a great job. They're big, athletic, and he's got them tuned in to what they're trying to do. They have an older, mature team. I think they are going to be a handful in league play because they are going to be locked in every night and when they make shots like that it shows why they are rated so highly."
UConn Players Tyler Polley, Andre Jackson
On keeping high pressure throughout the first three games
"We are a mature team, we have a lot of upperclassmen. In every game we are taking an approach of just coming out, playing hard, and not taking any game for granted. We got a D-Team as well, so if one guy is off or a couple guys are off, we've got guys off the bench that can step up and can shoot.
On how the team's defense backed up the slow start that the team had offensively, and his personal 3 for 10 made shots.
"That's our identity and just playing defense and rebounding. We know we got scorers on the team. We got guys on the team that can make plays, so we know if our shots are not falling we are not worried about that because we know the shots will fall eventually, we are going to make plays eventually, that's what we do on the defensive end. If we lock in there, I think that we are hard to beat.
On personal mindset after the first shot goes in and how it determines his energy for the rest of the game.
"I was definitely happy that it went in. I think it was more about just shooting it and seeing it go up. It definitely gave me more confidence that it went in, but I was happy that I put it up. It definitely freed me up."
On his text conversation with Coach Murray after the Coppin State game and the advice he received.
"He just told me that I just have to be better. I had the rebounds, but I definitely had to be a better, bigger presence on defense. Have more ball pressure, be more destructive and I just wasn't that against Coppin State, so I took that advice and tried to bring it into practice and into the game, and it worked for me. Finding my identity on the defensive end is something that the coaches appreciate, and I went on to have a good day."
On rejecting the alley-oop dunk and his mindset during the play
"I felt good about the play, but that was just more out of instinct. I saw the man running ahead and I knew he was going to throw the lob, so I went and tried to block it. Once I blocked it, I was just trying to get back on defense, back into what they were going to do next, but he back cut me and dunked it. I was happy to get the block, but it kind of got erased because he made the dunk after. It was just the anticipation of the lob."
