Feb. 10, 2007

Recap |  Box Score |  Notes

POST-GAME QUOTESHEET

Providence at Pitt, February 10, 2007

 

Quoting Pitt's Head Coach Jamie Dixon:

 

Opening Statement:

 

"This game went exactly how we thought it would. It was a tough match-up and a very good win against a very good team. They're one of the few teams in the conference with a higher rebounding percentage than us, so we knew that would be a challenge. I thought we defended well, not great, but that's an area where I always think there are things we can do and ways to get better. But this is a good showing against a team that I think has a good chance to make the NCAA tournament."

 

On the play of Aaron Gray down the stretch:

 

"Aaron did some really good things, particularly when the game was on the line. He had some early foul trouble, but he fought through it, and when he caught the ball inside was still able to finish strong."

 

On keeping Aaron Gray in with three fouls:

 

"It's always a tough call for a coach. Sometimes you have a tendency to sit a guy too long with the worry that he's going to pick up his third or fourth foul. I was very tempted to put Aaron back in the first half when he had two fouls, but I though if we could get to halftime with the score close we'd be in good shape. When he got the third foul though, I thought we were at a point where we really needed him in there and he came through."

 

On Providence's rebounding:

 

"It's something they do exceptionally well, and I give them a lot of credit for this performance. They start Geoff McDermott at small forward and he rebounds the ball exceptionally well, so they're very deep in that regard. They're also one of the few teams that start a bigger line-up than us, and I think they used that advantage today."

 

On the play of Providence's Herbert Hill:

 

"I think Hill is an NBA player, which is something I told my players before the game. He really speaks well for their program since he wasn't a highly recruited guy coming out of high school. He's worked very hard to get where he is and been very well coached too, and he really exceeds in all facets of the game."

 

On Pitt's schedule:

 

"You have to play what they give you, be it nine days off or one day off. We had some guys off the bench give us good minutes today, so I think we'll be rested and ready to go against Louisville Monday night. We also have an exceptionally bright group of guys who I'm sure won't have any trouble picking up the game plan in a short time."

 

On the play of Mike Cook:

 

"He did some things differently tonight, but really it was just hitting the open shots when he got the chance. It's a long season and guys will go through slumps sometimes, so you just have to be careful not to overreact and panic about it. He's been giving a solid overall effort, playing good defense and rebounding the ball, so it was just a matter of time before his scoring touch returned."

 

Quoting Pitt's Aaron Gray:

 

On his success tonight:

 

"It was just me working hard for position, and guys getting me the ball at the right time. I was catching it close and in that situation it's just making sure you go up and finish strong."

 

On the play of Providence:

 

"They're a very good team. They beat a very good Marquette team already, so they're a scary match-up for anyone. They have a lot of good players who are physical and succeed in a lot of areas and never allow you to get comfortable. It says a lot about us that we were able to beat them."

 

On the physical play:

 

"This is the Big East, so referees traditionally allow a lot of contact. I like it though, because if I get pushed on one end, it means I can push back that much harder on the other end. It's the kind of game that I enjoy playing and where I excel."

 

Quoting Pitt's Antonio Graves:

 

On Pitt's half-time adjustments:

 

"It was very simple; we had to get stops and rebounds. They were getting easy put-backs, and getting to the free-throw line, so we knew we had to stop that. We focused on boxing out better and making sure we matched their physicality, and were able to come out on top."

 

Quoting Pitt's Mike Cook:

 

On his play:

 

"I felt a lift today as soon as my first shot went in. Those wide open looks were shots that I'd been missing in other games, so to get that first one told me this was going to be different. I know for this team to be successful, I need to score, so I took some extra time this week to work on my shot and to get myself out of this little slump."

 

Quoting Providence Head Coach Tim Welsh:

 

Opening Comments:

 

"Throughout the year, we've talked about a renewed attitude and believing we can win against quality teams. That was not the case against Marquette, but we did a better job tonight. However, to beat Pitt you can't have any lapses and we had some defensive lapses tonight. I thought we did well offensively. We worked our outside-in game and really pushed the ball at them. You have to play their [Pitt's] specialist the right way and they have a lot of counters with their offense. We fell behind and maybe fatigue had a little bit to do with that. You really have to pick your poison with Pitt, they have so many weapons and so many people that can hurt you. At the end of the game they got to a lot of loose balls and a lot of things seemed to go their way. You can't go 7 for 16 from the free throw line on the road and expect to beat a good team like Pitt. We hung in the game tonight with toughness and we really tried to take it at them, but it's still a loss. I felt our guys grew up a lot tonight, but at the end of the day, it's still a loss."

 

On controlling the boards:

 

"Toughness has been our M.O. all year. In the last four or five seasons our teams haven't had a real physical presence and I think that this year's team has that presence. Rebounding has been an emphasis for us every game, but it was especially important tonight because we know how well Pitt controls the defensive boards."

 

On Aaron Gray:

 

"He's a tough player. He's got the size, strength, experience and he's in great physical condition. He's also a very smart player. We put Hall on him tonight to try to body him up, but he was still able to shoot over the top. They [Pitt] do a really nice job of getting him the ball inside and in positions where he can be effective."

 

On Providence's man-to-man defense:

 

"We went with the man-to-man because of their excellent perimeter shooting. Rarely do teams shoot 43 percent from the three-point line, but Pitt is one of the few that does. I've seen teams try to use zones against them this year and they probe and attack the zone very well. [Aaron]Gray is a big moving target in the zone and they [Pitt] like to flash other shooters into the lane as well. They can put a 47 percent and a 51 percent three-point shooter out on the court at the same time, so we decided to play man and use the defense to energize ourselves."

 

On Herbert Hill:

 

"I think that his performance tonight proves that he's not only one of the best big men in the conference, but also one of the best in the country. He played tough tonight. He missed some bunnies, but he played through it and really helped us to stay in the game."

 

On Aaron Gray sitting down with 3 fouls at the 16:00 mark in the game:

 

"Anytime he's [Aaron Gray] on the floor he's a weapon, so when he sat down it really opened things up for us. We can do a lot more things when he's gone and we can go to a quicker lineup when they're [Pitt] not as big. It's always a plus for us when he's not in the game."