Postgame Quotes
February 10, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 10, 2010
East Carolina Head Coach Mack McCarthy
On The Team's Performance
"I thought the start of the game indicated that we were focused and had bounced back from what was a really disappointing performance Saturday. I thought a bigger statement about the team was the way that we lost the lead in the second half, but didn't hang our heads. We came back and regained the lead. I think that speaks volumes for where they are. They're still trying to do everything it takes to win.
"I'm really happy for the team to get this win here at home. Probably other than the George Washington game, this is the best we've played at home."
On East Carolina's Offense and Tulane's Defense
"Our offense bogged down a little in the second half, mostly because of foul trouble. We're sharing the basketball a little more. It puts other people in positions where they have to make decisions.
"It was tough tonight because Tulane played four guards, put a lot of pressure on us and denied the basketball. They took some passes away that would have kept the offense flowing a little better. We still had some possessions where we made some decisions that weren't good. In the first half Brock had eight assists and no turnovers. When the ball was out of his hands, we still struggled a little bit."
On The Changes To ECU's Offense
"On the one hand, you want to have the ball in Brock's hands a lot. But I thought we started relying on that too much. It's fine when Brock has the ball in his hands and the other team is pressing and he's making decisions four-on-three, five-on-three or even four-on-two. When it's five-on-five, his height and the fact that everybody is focused on him keeps him from being as productive. It makes the decision making for him harder. He wasn't getting a lot of help, either.
"Tonight we didn't execute perfectly, but we still had some more ball reversals with some inside-out action. He had more opportunities to drive and either get fouled or make the shot."
Junior Brock Young
On The Team's Approach On Offense Tonight
"These past couple games we haven't played with a lot of energy. There was no push to the offense. Tonight we have more push. We have a new set where there is more spacing so the bigs can isolate in the post and the guards can screen up top. We had a nice flow in the game tonight.
"This offense is simpler. We screen away, the bigs flash and we just keep moving."
Junior Jamar Abrams
On The Win
"It feels good. It feels like a weight has been lifted off our shoulders. There's not so much pressure to get a win now. We're just playing the game and having fun."
On The Team's Energy
"I think our shots going in gave us that extra push. We need to bring that every game, even if we're not making shots. Tonight the shots really made our defense flow and that made everything easier."
Tulane Head Coach Dave Dickerson
On The Loss
"Congratulations to Coach McCarthy and his club. They really put two good halves of basketball together. For a team to come back and play as hard as they did after the performance at Marshall is commendable to the staff and the players."
On His Team Being Shorthanded
"We were shorthanded. We didn't have our two leading scorers in Kevin Sims [wrist injury] and Kris Richard [ankle injury] but I'm really proud of our players and the way we fought for 40 minutes. We gave ourselves a chance to win a game on the road."
On The Difference Between His Team In The First Half And Second Half
"I thought we defended better. In the first half, I thought East Carolina had us helping a little too much. They made 5-of-8 3-pointers in the first half. We came back in the second half and made a few adjustments."
On Brock Young
"It was hard for our young guards to handle Brock Young. He was the `X' factor in the game tonight. I have a freshman point guard starting and a sophomore backing him up. Neither one of those guys was tough enough or mature enough to stay in front of Young. We couldn't keep Young out of the lane.
"I thought that was a big factor in the game. If we could have had an answer for him on the defensive end, it would have given us a chance to get a good road win.
"He won the game for them. That's what good players do in this conference."
