Postgame Quotes vs. Charlotte
November 16, 2015 | Men's Basketball
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East Carolina Head Coach Jeff Lebo
Opening statement
"Offensively we put the ball in the basket tonight. We struggled in the first game but offensively we were sharp close to 60 percent from the field and 63 percent from three. We were very efficient; we didn't turn the ball over, particularly in the second half. Prince Williams probably played his best game since his sophomore year. Fifteen points - and what I'm more proud of - is that looking at the point guards both he and Lance (Tejada) had no turnovers for the entire game. Michel (Nzege) and Caleb (White) were terrific, Clarence Williams was outstanding in the zone with nine points and 11 rebounds, Kentrell Barkley contributed too with big 3s, so it was a good overall team win against an instate rival so hopefully that'll give us some momentum as we go west to play Cal who's a top [15] team with three potential NBA first rounders."
On Caleb White
"I think that Caleb can bring so much more. He doesn't know how good he can be. He's very athletic, he doesn't show it all the time. He's very fast, he doesn't show it all the time. We're trying to get more out of him, he's driving the ball a little better for us now and playing more physical. We're just trying to teach him to affect the game in more areas than just shooting the basketball, so he's been solid for us, very efficient."
On earning his 300th victory
"It's special for me I didn't even know it really but it's nice. I've had great assistant coaches that have shared in that. I've had a lot of players hat have been very good players that have helped me stay in this business for a very long time. It means a lot to me and to do it here hopefully there will be a 400 here at East Carolina soon. It means a lot but it also means you've been around for a long time."
On Charlotte coach Marck Price
"Mark was one of the best players I ever played against. You look at him and you see him down there and you don't realize he's 5-11, 6-0 and his jersey is hanging in Cleveland. [He was an] all-star in the NBA. It's crazy how good he was. He's been a good friend and a terrific guy. Your first year is always tough when you take over as a coach but he'll get it going there, I know he will."
Charlotte Head Coach Mark Price
Opening statement
"Obviously disappointed in the loss, but we knew coming in it was going to be a tough place to play, a challenge for our young team. You hope that a team takes you lightly, and maybe has an off night a little bit, but East Carolina played well. They hit shots, really kept us at bay. We fought, tried to keep it within the six to eight point range to give ourselves a chance, and we were unable to kind of keep it from getting out of hand there at the end. Give East Carolina a lot of credit, they played a good basketball game tonight."
On the Pirates' 14-2 run in the second half
"Our rotation had to get a little shorter tonight for us to have a chance. I thought our guys got a little tired, to be honest. They have some talented players. [Caleb] White is a very good player. We knew he was going to be a mismatch for us tonight. We just don't have the size on the perimeter right now to match up. We tried to go to a zone to combat it a little bit, but then they hit some big shots. We knew our challenges were going to be rebounding, we got thoroughly out-rebounded, we knew that was going to be a challenge for us. So far we've been able to hang in there, and win the free throw battle, but they won that too. So when you get out-rebounded and get beat in free throws, it's kind of hard to win."
On Charlotte's 3-point shooting
"We need to be able to score the three ball to have a chance and particularly against bigger teams, to try and stretch them out on us. They did a good job. We were actually doing a pretty good job in the man to man. Jeff [Lebo] pretty much went zone the end of the first half, pretty much the whole second half and that kind of took some things away from us there. Overall I felt like it was a step forward for our young team. I thought we played, we battled, we didn't quit. I saw a lot of good things, we've just got to continue to grow and get better as a team."
ECU junior Caleb White
On Michel Nzege's play
"It creates a lot of driving lanes knowing you have someone under the rim, someone that's really going to finish, who drives and stuff. So when he's playing like that it opens everything up."
On the team finding its rhythm
"They just came in and provided a spark. I think everybody kind of settled in tonight from the first game, there were a lot more jitters. I think everybody kind of played their role a little bit better, they were more settled in, and the game came a little easier to them."
On his early aggressiveness
"I just try to come in locked in, and be aggressive. Last year, most first halfs I was kind of lackadaisical, just nonchalant in the first half, and would turn it up in the second half. I've just been trying to come with the approach to be aggressive throughout the whole game."
On Prince Williams play
"It's great to see the hard work pay off, because he is arguably the most talented player on the team, and it's just about translating it consistently throughout the game. I was very happy to see him play well."
ECU junior Michel Nzege
On tonight's play
"Things went pretty well. Our guards and wings, Caleb [White] and Prince [Williams], they're very aggressive, so the defense is concerned about them. So they kind of forget about the bigs down low, so it gives us a chance to score the ball. Once we become more aggressive, the defense got tight on us, and it gives them a chance to score the ball from the outside. It's a good balance for us right now."
On 14-2 run
"I think it was defense really. We knew we had to tighten it up, we knew we had to lock up defensively, so we just came out with that mindset. It was really just being a more defensive minded team the second half."
On putting together a team effort
"I've always thought that we have a team with a lot of talent. So if someone's not having a really great performance, someone else can come in and step up the plate. Like it didn't seem like Kentrell [Barkley] had a great game, he didn't have a really good game offensively tonight, but still somebody else stepped up. Look at Clarence [Williams]. Clarence had nine points and 11 rebounds. He was a monster on the boards. So anybody can come in and step up."
