Georgia Tech Head Coach Josh Pastner
Opening statement:
“First off I want to give a lot of credit to Elon. I think [Elon head] coach [Mike] Schrage does a great job. I’m very impressed with their team and the stuff that they run offensively and defensively. I think they’re going to be a really good team in their league, and I’m a big fan of coach Schrage and what they’re doing there. Secondly, I’m really proud of our guys’ defensive effort. I thought we really guarded at a high level. That’s who we are, what we do and what we’re about. We had to guard at a really high level against a team that came in fifth in the country in three-point shooting, so, really proud of our defensive intensity. And that’s who we’ve been and that’s what we’re about, like I said, and we really executed and followed the game plan.”
On the play and development of Asanti Price and Bubba Parham:
“Asanti wasn’t a highly-ranked recruit at all. I think we did a good job evaluating him. He’s known to be a really good shooter and he hasn’t shot the ball well, but he’s a very good defender and he comes up with some other things like on the glass and makes other winning plays. He really should only be a senior in high school, he turned 18 just recently, so he’s a young freshman and he’s going to continue to be good. It’s the same thing with Bubba [Parham]. They just need to get hot in a game on their three-point shots just to get off where they’re stuck right not with their shooting. Asanti made one late and Bubba made one late, but those two just make a couple shots and things could just change because they’re both very good shooters. But both are being asked to do things defensively, 50/50 balls, diving on the floor, running the team, running this, running that, so that’s where the understanding of not just being able to focus on offense and being able to do all those type of things, and then be able to score the ball. So, it’s just going to take a little more time. But both Asanti and Bubba have done a nice job with the rebounding, they’ve done a nice job on the glass.”
On if the team’s early struggles on offense was due to Jose Alvarado being out:
“We’re a better team with Jose and so I think we had to get used to not having him out there. I thought Elon gets credit defensively. I thought they did a very nice job defensively, so I want to give Elon full credit on that. But I think it took us some time to adjust, not having Jose. And for Bubba just to continue to understand the point guard role and being able to run a team, and that’s just all part of the growth process that we have.”
On how the team responded after struggling early in the game:
“I’m just really proud of these guys. We’ve got a great group of guys and they played their tails off. Did you see how hard they played against NC State? And NC State played so hard too, that was a high-level game. Our team played so hard, and even tonight, they played so hard. And usually teams can have a let down here and there, but what I’m proud of, and I really believe this, is being older, getting old and staying old, allows you to understand that every possession is precious. When you have a younger group, they might not understand that, how you can’t take a possession off. Just like I coach and live with every possession, the players have got to play like that. And that’s part of being an older team, they get that and understand that. This is a tremendous group of young men. I’m so proud of them. They play so hard. They get full credit. They’re just a great group of guys.”
On the long layoff between games between now and Nov. 20 against Georgia:
“We’ve got to get better and we’ve got to keep improving, so this will give us time to keep improving. I don’t mind downtime if we’re 2-0. It makes you sleep better at night. If you’re not 2-0, then you want to play the next game. It’s just kind of the way the schedule falls. It’ll ramp up in December with the games the way [the schedule] is.”
Elon Head Coach Mike Schrage
Opening statement:
“First of all, I want to thank Josh Pastner for allowing us to schedule this game. I moved to Atlanta in 1984 and my Dad has been a professor here ever since. This program has meant a lot to me. He [Coach Pastner] knew that, and he knew my Dad’s relationship. [He] wanted to schedule the game for us and I appreciate that.
I’m proud of our guys. As we’re going to build this program, we’re going to fight, and we’re going to be tough. I think you saw that tonight. We’ve got play smarter. Their zone really bothered us. I’m glad they got out of it to be honest [because] it helped us score a few points. I’ll always root for Georgia Tech and for Josh [Pastner] and what they’re doing … but I’m proud of guys and our effort. I think we’re going to have a lot of success going forward if we can sustain that and keep building it.”
On Georgia Tech’s athleticism and length:
“I thought we tried to challenge [James] Banks a little too much. We knew we were going to have a tougher time against him. We’re trying to have an attack-and-don’t-settle mentality. A lot of the program before was just shooting threes. We want to shoot the right threes, but we want to get in the paint. So far this season, we’ve been doing a good job of getting to the free throw line and getting inside the paint. Today we knew it was going to be hard once we got in there to shoot it. It was more about kicks and getting it out. I thought we made some tough decisions in there. It’s part of our process and we’ve got a young team. It’s part of our process to live and learn and we knew we’d have an awful tough challenge tonight.”
On missing open shots:
“I think we have a good shooting team. We shot really well in the last two games, obviously against different opponents than what Georgia Tech provides… I do think some of those that rattled in and rattled out if they go in there’s a different momentum in the game and it ends up being closer there at the end. But we didn’t make them and we’ll have a lot to learn from this game.”
On Hunter McIntosh and the Atlanta area:
“I’ve always recruited Atlanta being from here. I’ve liked the idea of getting back home. I’ve got a lot of Atlanta pride. [Marcus] Sheffield is a good example of that. He came out to Stanford with me, and now he’s here with us at Elon. Anytime I can see my parents. I always save the school I’m at a lot of money because I always stay in Sandy Springs with my parents every time I come home. But McIntosh is going to be a really good player for us. He’s already had good moments. He has a certain poise to him and maturity at that position that I think you used to assume at the point guard position but these days you don’t see it as much. He’s got that and it’s about his growth and his development, but he’s got a really bright future.”
On coaching at Georgia Tech:
“I went to about every game from 1984 to 1990… Lethal Weapon 3… and then I started my high school career and it was hit-and-miss from there. But it meant a lot. It meant a lot. Now it’s a little bit different than the old Thrillerdome, but I’ve been here. My brother graduated from here a few years ago and I think I caught a game here near Christmas when I was at Stanford. I think they’ve done an amazing job with McCamish now. It meant a lot. There are only two places I can go where I can get really sentimental. That’s why I can really appreciate Josh Pastner allowing this opportunity for me, my Dad and my family. It’s Georgia Tech and Indiana. It meant a lot to play here tonight and I wish we hit a few more shots.”
