ECU, Wright State Postgame Quotes
March 18, 2014 | Men's Basketball
March 18, 2014
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East Carolina Head Coach Jeff Lebo
Opening statement
"We lost to a good team tonight. I thought their physicality was something that was going to be a problem. They have five seniors with something that I call man-strength. I thought they were really disciplined to go inside against us. [AJ] Pacher is a terrific player. He made an unbelievable play after we cut it to four when he drained that three. That was a dagger. I thought that was going to be a little bit of a run for us when we cut it to four. I give them credit, they've got a good team."
On their defensive pressure against Akeem Richmond
"It was hard to get him looks out there. They had some size on him, too. [Matt] Vest is 6-5, a great defensive guy and he is way more athletic in person than he is on tape. He's smart; he could see things happening. He could see screens, getting over or under or through them with his strength. I'll give him credit, I thought he was outstanding tonight."
On the progression of Prince Williams and Michael Zangari this season
"They've gotten better, there's no doubt about it, but I think they've got to continue to get better. I've challenged all of our guys that are coming back next year. There's going to be a lot of new faces, it's going to be competitive every day in practice. We really only had seven that we played this year. I think they were great, they worked really hard, but there is naturally some complacency that comes into play. That's just the way it is. Hopefully things will be a little different next year and we can get some growth individually and growth in the program. I'm proud of this group; this group is unbelievable."
On going into the American Athletic Conference next season
"We've got a lot of change happening with our program so there's a lot of moving parts. We're going to have to grow and figure out the recruiting in this league. It's going to take some time. We haven't been recruiting knowing that we're going to be in this league for very long. We're going into a league with some very challenging teams and teams with history. It's quite a commitment in this league to be good at basketball. We're very proud to have been in Conference USA but we're very excited about the future and what it might hold."
Wright State Head Coach Billy Donlon
Opening statement
"First I want to congratulate East Carolina on a fine season. Jeff Lebo is a terrific, terrific coach. Akeem Richmond is a phenomenal player; I wish him a lot of success beyond college. I thought our experience and our depth made the difference in this game. We're playing nine guys 15 or more minutes and they all played very, very well tonight. Our offensive game was pretty good for 40 and our defense was pretty good for 25 or 30 minutes. Any time we go out and get a win I'm really proud of our group. We've got a good team. To lose a conference championship at home on Tuesday night a week ago to play in the NCAA tournament, and for our guys to give that kind of effort, that's a quality character in young men. When you lose a championship game two years in a row to the same team, for those guys to come here in this tournament and put forth that kind of effort, speaks volumes about the kind of young men they are."
On Pacher's 3-pointer to stifle ECU's run
"It was huge. We had a broken play there late and AJ stepped up and made a senior shot."
Senior Guard Akeem Richmond
Reflecting on his career
"Right now I'm just numb, but I really can't complain because I had a pretty good career. I just want to thank God for allowing me to be in this position. I want to thank Coach Lebo for giving me the opportunity. I also want to thank the media and all the fans, and everyone who supported us this year. We really appreciate that."
On playing his final game at home
"It really meant a lot. Playing in front of the home crowd and having my family and my friends here to support me after a loss was needed versus being on the road in El Paso. I wouldn't have been by myself flying back to Greenville. It would've been a long flight too, so I'm happy we played here."
On Wright State's defense against him
"They were just glued to me. When I was coming off screens, they were just switching and they were face guarding me the whole time."
Sophomore Guard Prince Williams
On building off this game heading into the off-season
"It gives me a lot of confidence and some momentum to get better in the areas I have to work on. I just want to continue to stay aggressive and play my game."
On taking over the offense
"I have to give a lot of credit to my teammates; they give me the confidence to do that. Sometimes when we are in the huddle (Akeem Richmond) just tells me, hey you have to take over right here somebody's down or somebody's offense isn't going as well as they want it to be. When he tells me to take over I feel like I have the capability to do that."
On Wright State's focus on Akeem opening his game
They were just so hugged up that it gave me a lot of room to operate and get to the rim, and I just wanted to take advantage of that and make some plays at the rim.
