Dec. 1, 2007
Vanderbilt Head Coach Kevin Stallings:
Opening statement:
“Other than the last three minutes, I thought we had a good performance on both ends of the court. I thought we defended well. I thought we rebounded the ball well. We moved well on the offensive end of the court, which led to being able to drive inside and to get to the foul line. I thought we played very well and had good play throughout.”
On Vanderbilt’s defensive effort:
“I thought we played well defensively until the last 5-6 minutes when we got sloppy. It was one of our better defensive performances of the year. Late in the game, we started fouling and gave up some easy baskets. For the first 30-45 minutes, we played about as well as we could play.”
On the match up with Georgia Tech:
“We just played well today. It’s interesting because I felt like we played well a year ago against them. I went back and looked at the tape of that game and we were awful a year ago, but we defined awful in a different way. I don’t think that either one of us was a good team then. Both of us got better as the season went along.”
On Vanderbilt’s inside play:
“It’s very helpful to have (Alan Metcalfe and Andrew Ogilvy) be productive. Alan’s played well since the very beginning of the season and the beginning of practice. He has the look like Dan Cage and Ted Skuchas did last year, where seniors understand what it’s supposed to be about. If the season’s going to go where we want it to go, it’ll be key for us.”
Vanderbilt Players:
Forward Shan Foster:
On the team playing to its potential:
“Coach talked about after the game that when he envisions the potential of our team and how good we can be, that is pretty much the thought that comes across his mind. And it started on the defensive end. We paid attention to defense, we were very aware and very physical from the beginning of the game and it just carried on out.”
On limiting Georgia Tech’s Anthony Morrow:
“We knew that he was a great player and he is an awesome shooter. I just tried to take away his attempts. Guarding someone like that who gets the ball off quick, you try to limit his attempts and if you limit his attempts then it is kind of hard to make shots when you aren’t taking any.”
On Georgia Tech pressing:
“We are a tough team to press because we have guards that can handle the ball great and we have shooters who can knock down shots, and we have big men that are going to dunk and get wide open layups at the end of it. We just stressed getting the ball out quick so that they didn’t have time to press us. Our guards did a great job of getting the ball up the court and we were able to convert.”
On avoiding a hangover after a double-overtime win on Thursday:
“We just came back from a tournament in South Padre Island (Texas), where we played two nights in a row. We feel like we are one of the best conditioned teams in the country and we are ready to step up and take any challenge that is thrown at us.”
Center Alan Metcalfe:
On Vanderbilt’s play:
“Like Shan (Foster) said we locked in on defense and that was one of the main things that we emphasized. They’ve got a few really great scorers and our guys did a really great job on them. We knew it was going to be a battle down low too. When you look at (Jeremis) Smith – he is a great rebounder – and he is coming out with zero offensive rebounds, you know that the big guys and everyone else has chipped in on the boards which is what we needed to do.”
On Vanderbilt’s offense:
“Offensively, we’ve got some great shooters and when we are battling like that down low, it is easier for the guys on the outside to jump up and knock down shots when they know that they’ve got big guys that are going to back them up if they miss. Once they get into a flow, it is pretty hard to stop them.”
On his play this season:
“There is a little bit of pressure taken off with a great player like Andrew (Ogilvy). Coach just wants me to come in and be solid and run the floor. Most of my baskets are underneath and the guys are getting me the ball and I’m just trying to go up strong and finish. It is a number of things as to why everything is coming together for me. I’m getting a little bit more confidence each game now and the guys are knowing where to get me the ball and we are moving the ball around. It is all clicking for the whole team, so it is just fun to play with them right now.”
Georgia Tech Head Coach Paul Hewitt:
Opining statement:
“Vanderbilt played well today. They executed really well. Their big guys along with Foster were a big concern for us coming in. They shot a very high percentage and just played well.”
On Georgia Tech’s press attack:
“I thought coming into the game that they would be a little tired after playing on Thursday. Give them credit, they were ready and executed well.”
On the contributions of Ogilvy and Metcalfe:
“Ogilvy is very poised for a freshman. He’s very impressive. We watched tape on him and I thought we did a good job of stressing to our big men just how good he is. For a young player, he has good feet and feel in the post. He’s a rugged kid. He’s a really good player and Jermaine Beal is really solid as well.
On Georgia Tech trying to recruit Ogilvy:
“We were aware of him. I will say that he’s a little bit better then advertised.”
On the balance of Vanderbilt:
“They’re a good team. I’m not sure you can say that they’re a better team then last year after losing (Derrick) Byars, the SEC Player of the Year. They’re really impressive right now and very well coached.”
On Vanderbilt’s defense of Anthony Morrow:
“They just guarded him well and played physical defense. I’m disappointed that we didn’t execute things that we wanted to in the first four minutes of the game. We didn’t start well in the beginning to get Morrow involved more in the game.”
On the changes of Vanderbilt this season with Ogilvy:
“The sets are the same. You know that they are going to execute well. They had a little more backdoor sets last season then this season. This year, there is a lot more screen action to get the guys in the low post more involved. Anytime Foster sets a backscreen, he will get his own screen.”
On struggles in the first half:
“They executed their sets early and we were trying to attack them off the dribble defensively and they did a good job of making extra passes. They were consistent were making extra passes to get extra three-pointers.”