ECU, Tulsa Postgame Quotes
January 24, 2015 | Men's Basketball
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East Carolina Head Coach Jeff Lebo
Opening statement
"That's a hurting bunch in that locker room right now. We battled our tails off against a really good team, but they're an experienced group, used to winning and good teams find ways to win. For them it was the foul line and that was the difference in the game. Twenty-nine to 12 [on free throw attempts] and they out score us by 14 there. We took care of the ball well, both teams I thought did. The difference was their ability to get to the foul line and get some points in the paint. That is something that's going to be challenging for us all year and that's not going away."
On Tulsa's offense
"They're good, but they don't shoot a lot of three's. Coming into the game they had made 16 3s in conference play, that's it. Thirteen were by Woodard and they had three 3s by the other people so we knew they were going to take it to the rim. We knew they were going to attack us inside. That's what people are going to try to do against us."
On the Pirates' offense
"I thought we moved the ball well. One of our better games on offense but they're good defensively. I thought we executed really well. We shot 12 of 28 from 3 and we didn't turn the ball over."
On what will take to win in conference
"It's going to take some time. That team is an NCAA tournament team and they won a championship. They never panicked and we got to figure out how to do that. We need to figure out who we're going to go to. They already knew who they're going to go to late in the games. We're trying to figure that out still. We need to get some consistent play."
Tulsa Head Coach Frank Haith
Opening statement
"Obviously it was a great win for us, and I give East Carolina a lot of credit. They played extremely hard and they shot the ball extremely well. They are a great 3-point shooting team and they had it going. I'm proud of my guys on how tough we were down the stretch, how we were making plays we needed to make. Big plays, like big rebounds, big stops, and great free throws. All and all, we played a team where it's hard to win. Winning is hard, but winning is really hard on the road against a team who is well coached and work their butts off. Again, I give them credit on how they executed."
On his team's aggressiveness
"We are not a great 3-point shooting team and I thought we settled for some early shots in the first half because they were playing zone. We were 1-for-12 and we weren't as aggressive in the first half as we needed to be. That is not who we are. We are a team that plays very well off the bounce and we were not as aggressive as we needed to be."
On Michel Nzege's performance
"Looking at his numbers and what they were, I said to my assistant `I like the way he moves and he could be a problem because he is aggressive and has a high motor'. He plays extremely hard and he had four offensive rebounds in the first half. He was being very active and based on what I saw on tape he could be very capable."
Junior guard Terry Whisnant
"Today really shows the heart of this team, and that we are able to play with anybody in this conference as long as we do the things we need to do."
"[Tulsa] are just always in attack mode and they don't shoot too many 3s. (Shaquille) Harrison just likes to attack and get in the lane. Both [Harriosn and Woodard] are good players. We just came up short tonight."
Sophomore forward Michel Nzege
"I guess everybody we play feels like they can get something inside, because that is what were lacking right now. Our guards are doing all the work and for us to win we need to have a more balanced offense. We cannot rely on the guards all the time, so I have to bring some energy inside. It is not only about the points, its about the blocks, diving on the floor, and deflections on the rebounds."
"I just let the game come to me and I try to do all the dirty work. Offense comes easy for everybody; everyone who plays basketball can score a basket. But it is hard to get all the rebounds, and I try to do all the hard things. I just try to come in the game with the mindset of Dennis Rodman, or Kenneth Faried."
