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Game Recap
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Post-Game Quotes 11/5/2005 Postgame Quotes Vanderbilt Head Coach Kevin Stallings (Opening statement:) “I thought there was some good, there was some bad, and there was some ugly. And if you would have asked me what I expected before the game, I would have told you some good, some bad, and some ugly. It’s really good for us to play them because they’re organized, they’re skilled, and they’re tough. Everybody in this part of the world — as well as others — but especially in this part of the world knows what a good coach Don (Meyer) is, so that was really a good experience for our players.” “DeMarre (Carroll) got in foul trouble in the first half and that caused us a problem because without J.T. (Julian Terrell) playing, we had to go to a lineup that we’re not very used to practicing with. But I thought by and large our guys gave a good effort. We didn’t defend them very well in the second half; that was pretty obvious. Given where we were personnel-wise, I thought things were reasonably solid.” (On learning lessons from playing a fundamentally sound team:) “I don’t know that our guys take lessons; I like to think that we’re reasonably fundamentally sound. I think what you saw was two very contrasting styles and because of our styles being so contrasting, we had trouble with the way they played and they had trouble with the way we played. We did a nice job offensively, but I hope we learned something from them because that’s a team you can learn from.” (On who played well:) “I liked how Dan Cage played, I like how Ted Skuchas played for the most part. Everybody that went in the game played well, but everybody that went in the game had some muffs too. What I do like seeing is that we had five guys in double figures and almost had a sixth. I that will be representative of what you’ll see as the season goes along because I think we’re going to be a team that’s very balanced.” (On Derrick Byars at point guard:) “Right now he’s our backup point guard, for at least a couple more games. He was not as good at that spot today as he’s been in practice, but that’s a lot to ask of him. He literally played four positions today. That’s not bad — out of basketball for a year and you come in and all the coach does is ask you to play four different spots. We have guys around here who have trouble learning one spot, let alone four. Derrick did admirably for sitting out so long, Davis (Nwankwo) did some nice things for being out for awhile.” (On Mario Moore’s suspension:) “It was a violation of team rules; he violated rule number three. There are only three (rules), so I’ll give them to you. Rule number one is be on time. Rule number two is go to class every day. And rule number three is do your best. And he didn’t do his best. Those are our three team rules and he violated number three. (On the disappointment of starting his senior year with a suspension:) “It’s disappointing. I know he’s disappointed and so am I, but we’ll recover from it.” (On the point guard position in Moore’s absence:) “Just what you saw today. We’re going to try to play and get a little more organized. Mario — obviously being a senior — does the best job of organizing us, but Red did a decent job today of that. I hate to look down and see that he had four turnovers, but I’m not displeased given the fact that we were without two guys that under other circumstances would have been starting the game.” (On Alex Gordon’s progress:) “Red’s made some progress in the last week or two, not that he hasn’t made progress since he got here. He’s trying to understand what we’re asking for, and if he continues to do that he’s going to be OK because he can make shots, he can get his hands on some balls; he had six steals. He’s doing a better job of running our offense and getting us organized, and if he continues to do that with more efficiency and reduces his turnovers, we’re going to like how he plays even more.” (On the point of emphasis going into the regular season opener:) “Defensively we’ve got a lot of work to do. I’m a little disappointed at that, but not completely surprised at it. They made us look bad on defense, so that’s it.” Vanderbilt Player Quotes “We haven’t played in nine months. Practice isn’t the same as games but the On the absence of Mario Moore and Julian Terrell: “He’s someone who is going to bounce back quickly. His goal is to help Shan Foster: On his performance Northern State Head Coach Don Meyer On Vanderbilt: On the keys to the game: On playing Kentucky and Vanderbilt: On return to Nashville: |