|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 13, 2009Devan DowneyZam FredrickDarrin HornTAMPA, FLORIDA Mississippi State – 82 CLAUDE FELTON: We'll begin with South Carolina. Opening statements from Coach Horn. COACH HORN: One of the things that was important to us heading into this game was getting off to a good start. Played with a lot of energy, and defensive intensity. I thought our guys did a terrific job of that. Really set the tone early on in the game for how we wanted to play it. And really maintained that throughout the first half. Obviously, Mississippi State's a good team. We knew they were capable of making some shots and they'd make a run. But our first-half effort was really good. Then, in the second half we let them get loose for a few threes and went through some periods where we weren't as good offensively. They were able to get the lead. Down the stretch couldn't get anything to go down when we needed them to. CLAUDE FELTON: Questions for the student-athletes. Q. Could you guys just talk about containing with the defensive intensity that Coach talked about. Barry Stewart in the first half. And then what changed in the second? How did he get the open looks that he got? DEVAN DOWNEY: I think, I don't know. I don't know if he got a few open ones. He got his confidence up, you know. Next thing you know he was getting step backs. The few shots he hit was just tough shots. He stepped up and made big shots. ZAM FREDRICK: Yeah, he made one dribble pull up early and got his confidence up. Then like Devan said, he made a couple of step backs and he was feeling it. So he made some tough shots. A couple of them with hands in his face. A couple of us hanging on, a couple of times it was me. But my hats off to him. He made tough shots when he needed to. Q. Did it seem like State really pushed the ball a lot better in the second half? The balls really seemed to push a lot better in the second half than in the first. Maybe that's how they got some looks in transition? DEVAN DOWNEY: I don't really think they pushed the ball better. Like Coach said, our defensive intensity it was just lacking in the second half. We didn't do a good job of merging defense, talking, communicating. Everything we did in the first half, it just went out the window in the second half. Q. Can you just talk about your last two match-ups with Dee Bost? What does he seem to do well against you? DEVAN DOWNEY: What you want me to say? I mean, he outplayed me two games. He won two games and I didn't win any. So for respect, he outplayed me. CLAUDE FELTON: We'll continue with questions for Coach Horn. Q. Did you sense that Barry Stewart was becoming comfortable with the shot the way the players did? COACH HORN: Well, like they said, I think he got a pull-up a little too easy in the first few minutes of the second half. That seemed to get his confidence going. A couple of those shots he hit were step backs with people hanging all over him. One of the great things about tournament time is sometimes with all things being equal, both teams doing what they want to do well, it comes down to making shots. I think that kid, maybe more so than anybody on the team, made some really tough ones and in important times during the game. In the second half they were really important for him. Q. Where does your team stand now? What is your feeling on postseason evaluating where you are? COACH HORN: You know, I've been saying for a long time I don't see how you don't take one of the top three or four teams from the SEC in the NCAA Tournament when you go back and look at our overall season. Being divisional co-championship in the east. I think that we've proven that we're definitely worthy of that. But those decisions are beyond our control. End of FastScripts |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|