Jan. 12, 2013

Notes

Ole Miss vs. Missouri - Postgame Quotes

Ole Miss Head Coach Andy Kennedy

On defense:

“I was really pleased with our defense.  We knew coming in Phil Pressey is very dynamic with the ball.  Our transition defense was huge, we did a great job in transition, and a great job against their ball screens.  With Bowers being out it really affected the game, he’s an all-league caliber player.  The way they started with Earnest Ross at the four I was really concerned with them playing four guards and with Pressey having the ball that they could run a lot of ball screens and get it to Oriakhi.  I was afraid we would get strung out, and we had to be at the point of attack and handle him.  Every time we kept him in a contained area we did a good job, but when we gave him space he made us pay.  I don’t think they ever got into an offensive rhythm and that’s a tribute to the effort our guys gave.”

On MurphyHolloway:

“He’s an all-league player, he’s a man.  If the season ended today then he’d be the league MVP.”

On the flow of the game:

“I felt like we were in control throughout the game honestly, now that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to win, you still have to make plays.  Offensively I don’t think we were very good at all, I know everybody coming in was anticipating a 90 to 89 game, but every game takes on a personality of its own and that game turned into a very physical slugfest with the high-level athletes in the paint.  Neither team really got into an offensive rhythm, we were just fortunate enough to manufacture enough baskets to win.  We made foul shots and were timely.  We had almost twice as many turnovers than assists and were 20 points below our average, but defensively we were good enough to get it done.”

On start in SEC play:

“It’s opportunities really, we don’t control who we play or when we play them.  Right out of the chute we got challenged early.  We got challenged by Tennessee on the road, and then played one of the best teams in the country in our own home, and we just did what we were supposed to do by protecting our home floor.  If you have any aspirations of playing meaningful basketball in March that’s what you have to do.”

Missouri Head Coach Frank Haith

Opening Statement:

“Ole Miss played great.  I thought they were much tougher than us. They played with much more energy.  Their fans were great.  I thought we really didn’t do things we’ve done all year.  We didn’t attack.  We only went to the line six times, they went twenty times.  They were way more aggressive than we were and it showed on the scoreboard.”

On offensive struggles:

“We were timid.  We missed so many lay-ups.  We didn’t attack with any aggression.  We were looking for someone to bail us out as opposed to going and making plays.”

On Ole Miss:

“They are a good team.  I said that going into the game.  They are a veteran ball club.  We did a good job on Henderson but obviously did not on Holloway.”

On playing without Laurence Bowers:

“It’s part of the game and we aren’t going to make excuses, but it is difficult.  He’s your leading scorer and the guy you run your offense through at times. It really affected us at the beginning of the game. I thought Laurence had done a great job in the first half helping us get going, and this is the first game not having him so that really stymied us a little bit to start the ballgame.”“When we had opportunities to go and make plays we were not aggressive enough. We were avoiding contact as opposed to taking contact on. We have got to have more composure when playing on the road and we didn’t have that.  We shot quickly, contested threes instead of being aggressive.”