Dec. 22, 2009
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Georgia Tech Basketball Post-Game Quotes
vs. Kennesaw State (Dec. 22, 2009)
Head Coach Paul Hewitt
On working on half-court sets both offensively and defensively:
“The first half was a case of us just not executing, but we’re going to get it worked out. In the second half, I thought we did a much better job executing and getting the ball where we wanted to. This team is going to be a good team by the end of the year and we’ll be right where we want to be. It’s probably a little tougher than I expected at this point and maybe that has something to do with Iman [Shumpert] not being in there at the point. The good news is that he should start practicing when we get back and god willing he’ll be able to play in the Charlotte game on Jan. 2.”
On the play of Zachery Peacock and Maurice Miller:
“Both of those kids played good ball games today. Zach has been very consistent for us all year. Going back to Puerto Rico we talked about him shooting the ball more. When he does that, he opens up the floor and takes our basketball team to a whole new dimension. With eight assists, Mo put forth a very solid effort today.
“He does a good job of spelling Mfon. He knows this, but as a junior I want him to be challenging him for a spot. Mfon has come in and earned it, but maybe Mo can start to get some of those minutes back.”
On what you tell the freshmen now heading into the holiday break. Zachery Peacock said he was going to tell them to get their bodies and their minds right.
“I couldn’t have said it any better myself. He’s right. We’re not where we want to be. We’re two games under where I thought we’d be at this time when I looked at the schedule at the beginning of the season. We’ve had a little adversity with the Iman situation, but I still thought we were capable of playing better in Puerto Rico and of winning the game against Florida State. That game on Sunday night was as tough a loss as I’ve endured here. I will say this. Don’t give up on these guys yet. We played four freshmen on Sunday night and they’re going to get better. Our upper classmen are going to re-gain the edge that we need to play with.”
Kennesaw State Head Coach Tony Ingle
“The bottom line is that we couldn’t make shots. You need to make a shot along the way to keep your confidence up, and not from an individual standpoint, but from a team standpoint. Everybody was waiting for someone else to make a shot, and consequently, no one could. Georgia Tech played good defense, but we had some (good) looks. And we had some shots we should have made. And right before halftime they built on the lead a little bit, but we were in the game. And (we) could have made it even more interesting if we had made some shots early. We came out in the second half and played okay. We tried to dictate tempo as much as we could. Our strategy was to stay as close as we can as long as we can, make a good showing and hustle and execute.
“They’re a good basketball team, too. We finished hustling, scrapping and playing all the way to the buzzer.
“The frustration, from my standpoint, is knowing how hard our guys work and how hard they want it. They want to make those shots. They want to play close. Obviously, you want them to win. That goes without saying.
“I saw some things in my players that we got to get worked out after we get back from Christmas.
“This is a great team to play before the Christmas break. It gives us a good test. But we will not play a team this good until we get to the NCAA tournament. We’ve got to work hard and hopefully play a team like this in the NCAA tournament. And to play better (than today) when that happens.”
