Dec. 31, 2005
– BETHUNE-COOKMAN HEAD COACH CLIFF REED
“In the second half, Georgia Tech picked up the intensity and played a little harder and we were unable to make shots and be able to hang in the game. Of Mike Williams, Sam Barber and Antonio Webb, only Sam had a solid game and in order for us to be able to compete against this level of competition, all three guys need to play at their optimum level.”
Does playing this type of non conference schedule prepare you for your MEAC schedule? “I really don’t think so. If I want to get ready for my conference schedule, when you are at a program like Bethune Cookman which has been a losing program for so long, you need to have success, so you need to schedule people who you think that an opportunity to have wins against because having confidence is the most important thing for these kids mindsets. In order for you to win, you need to experience winning. Playing these games helps you some with recruiting and with seeing the level you need to play at to make the NCAA Tournament, but you really only need to play one or two, not six or seven games like we have this year.”
On the play of Anthony Morrow: “We understood that he was the one player on the perimeter that could really hurt us. We had a couple of lapses in the first half, and gave him a few wide open looks where if we don’t allow those shots, we could have possibly been up at the half and made it a different ballgame. He got them going – he scored eight straight points and he was solid. He’s like any other guy who sees the ball and makes a few shots, he starts seeing the ball more and more plays are run for him because he’s confident and that obviously led to success for Tech tonight.”
GEORGIA TECH HEAD COACH Paul Hewitt
“I continue to see some improvement on the defensive end. Over the last three games, I think we’re doing the right things. The last game against Air Force, a team that had shot 49 percent, we held them under 30 and to follow up today and hold another team under 30 – I like the improvement there. But offensively, we still seem to be struggling with the concept of moving the basketball, reversing it and finding open players, knowing when to attack and when not to attack. In the second half, we did a much better job of creating some jobs and some post-ups, and we did a much better job of running the floor. But even though it was better in the second half, I still thought it was inconsistent. I think the kids have done a terrific job of trying to understand what we want them to do defensively, and it’s starting to show. We’re more cohesive, we’re understanding how to play screens, and we’re talking a lot more. When you communicate, you allow your teammates to react quicker. The more we communicate, the quicker we are defensively. That’s why you’re seeing more contested shots.
[on Morrow] “We need to do a better job of getting the ball in his hands. That’s something we did not do well in the Air Force game. It’s something we made a point of today, especially with Mario West out, to try to get him more touches and more involved. I still think, actually, he can get some more shots. I think he’s getting better defensively.
[Mario West’s status] “His status is 2-3 weeks, but he came to me today and said he was feeling a lot better. We’re not going to rush him back. And we got the go-ahead to start working Lewis Clinch this week with some light workouts. I doubt if either one will play against Vanderbilt.
