Dec. 30, 2006

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POST-GAME QUOTESHEET

Pitt vs. Florida A&M, Saturday, Dec. 30, 2006

 

Quoting Pitt Head Coach Jamie Dixon:

 

Opening Statement:

 

"We passed the ball well. Anytime you have 23 assists on 26 baskets it means your guys are being unselfish. Once or twice we may have passed up an open shot, but that's a problem that most coaches would love to have. I also thought we did a particularly good job on the defensive end. We knew coming into the season that was an area we needed to improve, and we have, especially on the perimeter."

 

On what this game means long-term:

 

"In a game like this it's another chance to get guys good minutes. We may play several upper-classmen, but a lot of them haven't played for four years. It's always good to get even experienced players more opportunities to see the court. It was also the first time we've seen a two-three zone, and that will help us a lot heading into Syracuse."

 

On the non-conference schedule:

 

"We've definitely put ourselves in a good position. We have the highest RPI ever in Pitt's history heading into Big East play, which is a great accomplishment. I think we've played the toughest schedule in the conference as well as having played more road games than anyone else, which puts us at an advantage."

 

On Pitt taking 31 three-point shots:

 

"We shot 42% from three, which is a very good percentage. I'm actually a little surprised it was that high, probably because some of the shots we missed were wide open looks. In all of the film we watched they played very little man-to-man, so we knew coming in it would be tough to score from the inside. The number of outside shots we took is a reflection of us stepping up to that challenge."

 

On the play of Aaron Gray:

 

"Maybe once or twice he could have gone up with the ball instead of passing it out, but Aaron makes great decisions. His passes aren't always assists, but often they're the type of passes that lead to assists. I'm not worried when a player of mine is unselfish."

 

Quoting Pitt's Levance Fields:

 

On Pitt's non-conference schedule:

 

"We put ourselves in a good position, especially since right now we have the highest RPI in the history of our program. We've played the best schedule in the conference so far, and that will definitely help us out when we start playing Big East teams."

 

On Pitt taking 31 three-point shots:

 

"They came into the game with the intention of taking away our inside scoring.  To do that, they played us with a very soft zone, so we moved well, passed the ball well, and our open guys just kept shooting."

 

On how this game prepares Pitt for the Big East:

 

"I think it was particularly good for us to go up against a two-three zone, which we hadn't done yet. Going into Syracuse it's important to have played against it already. As we head into 2007 and conference play, we're battle-tested."

 

Quoting Pitt's Ronald Ramon:

 

On facing Syracuse:

 

"Syracuse plays a good zone defense, so we'll have to be ready for it. We saw some of it tonight, but they'll be much more aggressive with it. We'll have to be ready to shoot from the outside."

 

Quoting Pitt's Mike Cook:

 

On preparing to play his fist Big East game:

 

"I'm very keyed up. I've been waiting a long time to do this, especially sitting out last season. It's what I came to Pitt for, and to get my first conference game in that big arena in Syracuse is especially exciting."

 

Quoting Florida A&M Head Coach Mike Gillespie Sr.:

 

Opening Comments:

 

"We've had four tough games so far this season: Maryland, Illinois, Florida and Pittsburgh. This Pitt team deserves all the recognition they've been getting. We came into tonight wanting to make them shoot. We had no answer for that mountain in the middle [Aaron Gray] so we wanted to make them go out. [Antonio] Graves and [Mike] Cook's shoots were our gambles and our gambles didn't work. They were on and we were undersized and overmatched. Losing Brian Greene for the amount of time hurt. That was hard. He's a Big East player and to not have them in the game, that hurt. I'd love to see this Pittsburgh team play Florida. I'd go to that game. Tonight we played well. I was proud of the way the team played. This was our last tough game and it will be nice to enjoy our last 18 [games]."

 

On planning the defense:

 

"Pitt came into this game shooting 33 or 34 percent from behind the three-point line. We wanted to make them shoot and we wanted to stop [Aaron] Gray. We were affective with that and with not letting him get the ball and score. But if Pitt continues to shoot the way they shot tonight, they're going to be a Final Four team. This was a great experience coming here to the Peterson Event Center. It's a great venue, Pitt's a great team and everyone here was very hospitable. I was very aware we were coming into the home of a Big East team and that this would be a Big East level game here at Pittsburgh. I enjoyed playing this team and I enjoy Jaime [Dixon] very much."