|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NCAA MEN'S REGIONAL SEMIFANLS & FINALS: INDIANAPOLISMarch 27, 2009Russ PennellINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA Louisville – 103 BILL BENNER: We're joined by coach Rick Pennell and Arizona student-athletes. We'll open with a statement from coach, then take questions for the student-athletes. COACH PENNELL: First of all, I'd like to start off and just congratulate Louisville on an incredible game. They shot the ball extremely well. Shared the ball extremely well. 29 assists is a great indicator of how well they moved the basketball. Unfortunately for us, we just had no answer. You know, I thought we got some good looks at the basket that didn't go in, then we just weren't quick enough on our rotations on the defensive end. Game got away from us. But, you know, I think there's a reason that Louisville is seeded No. 1 in this tournament, and I think they showed that tonight. BILL BENNER: Questions for the student-athletes? No questions for the student-athletes, we'll dismiss you back to the locker room and continue with questions for coach. Q. If Louisville continues to play that way, continues to shoot that way, is anybody going to beat 'em? COACH PENNELL: It's going to be pretty tough to beat 'em if they do that. They had a little bit of everything going tonight. Their guards shot it pretty well. Their forwards were on the glass. Clark shot it well. And really one of the things that we were concerned about was handling their press. I thought for the most part we did a pretty good job of that. But offensively they were just really precise tonight. When they play like that, they're gonna be really difficult to beat, which obviously I think that's their 31st victory. They've only been solved five times. I think it's a pretty good indication of how good they are. Q. If somebody is going to solve them, what are the keys, what type of team will give them a hard time as they continue to advance? COACH PENNELL: I think it has to be someone that has the quickness to really put pressure on them against their full court press and go score easy baskets. Yet Louisville kind of preys upon people who try to do that. You know, we saw in film in the Big East tournament good teams like Syracuse, Villanova, some of those teams, would eventually get wore down. But I think it's going to take some really good guard play, and then a very underrated part of their game is their offensive rebounding. They assault the glass. And it's gonna take a team that's got enough size and enough depth up front that they can keep Louisville from getting easy second-chance points once they do miss a shot. Q. Uncertain future for you. COACH PENNELL: It's pretty certain (laughter). Q. But as far as looking ahead, are you going to go back and let 'em know that you would like to continue on in this job? Do you think a loss like tonight is going to hurt? COACH PENNELL: Well, you know, I think our season just finished about 30 minutes ago and I really haven't thought much past my, you know, postgame talk to the players. This has been an incredible year. And the guys did exactly what I asked them to do: to put all their own agendas on hold for 2008/2009. And I did the same thing. What we need to do is enjoy the season for a day or two and then we'll all move forward and see where that takes us. But right now, the last thing I'm thinking about is, you know, any job than the one I just finished. BILL BENNER: Thank you, coach. 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
|