March 8, 2008
Vanderbilt Head Coach Kevin Stallings:
On Mykal Riley:
“The difference in the game obviously was what (Mykal) Riley was able to do in overtime. He was fantastic and our hats go off to him. We had our chances but mentally we were not in the mindset to win today. The best thing we have going for us is our team attitude and today that wasn’t our strength. We deserved to get beat and hopefully it will be good for us.”
“Riley made some good cuts and we gave into fatigue. We didn’t follow defensive fundamentals and we just managed to not make a play.”
On the upcoming SEC Tournament:
“I think that any team in the league can do some damage in Atlanta, but because of some degree of foul shooting Alabama has lost some close games.”
Vanderbilt Players:
Forward Ross Neltner:
On Mykal Riley:
“We were pretty successful in the second half. But you’ve got to give him (Mykal Riley) credit. He’s got one of the purest strokes in the league. We got to see it tonight.”
On the loss:
“It is what it is. We just have to prepare for the SEC tournament now. Wherever we get seeded, whoever we get to play, we have no control over that now. Obviously we’re upset about it, but we just have to try and prepare for whoever we have to play next.”
On second half adjustments:
“We wanted to come out in the first four minutes of the second half and cut into their lead. We were just trying to get some stops. We were shooting 50 percent in the first half. We started the second half with seven out of nine stops and that’s what allowed us to get back into the game.”
On Vanderbilt’s defense:
“A lot of times when you go on runs it’s because your defense is stepping up. You might get steals for layups. All kinds of stuff like that. All of us played a part in it. Our offense was attributed to our defense.”
Center Andrew Ogilvy:
On his layup towards the end of regulation:
“I knew that if I could try and go at the ring then that’s what we needed. We needed a three point play. I knew that I had to try and draw the foul. I wasn’t really thinking about trying to miss the shot.”
On failing to secure the East’s 2-seed for the SEC Tournament:
“That (two seed) is something that we knew we were playing for. We also messed up our record for regular season wins, but when it comes down to it, tournament play is what it’s all about. We know that we can get it done in the tournament.”
On playing the upcoming SEC Tournament in Atlanta:
“It doesn’t concern us. We know that we’re not playing at home, but we’re not playing at anyone else’s home either. We know that although we’ve had some trouble on the road we’re confident that we’ll be able to get it done.”
On overtime:
“In overtime they just got a lot better looks than we did. They made some key shots. If someone scores 13 points in overtime, it’s pretty hard to try and keep up.”
Alabama Head Coach Mark Gottfried:
Opening statement:
“Our team has played hard all year long. You go back and look at all of our road games and at the end of the day we didn’t get the job done. Our guys played really hard today–they always do. Their attitude has also been great and that contributed to our win today. This was a great team win for us and I am really excited for our guys.”
On the win:
“I think the way we played today should be contributed to the way we came back and practiced hard after those losses we had. The overall spirit has been good. The practices have been good. Now, I am excited to say that it is time to switch gears and get our focus on Atlanta. We are excited about the opportunity to go over there and play whomever. We want to go to Atlanta and do well.”
Alabama Players:
Center Richard Hendrix:
Opening statement:
“It feels good to send the seniors out with a win on their home court and to end the season with a win on our home court. It gives you something to work towards and gives you momentum going into the tournament.”
On Mykal Riley:
“He did a great job. He bounced back after committing that foul. After that he just took over in overtime.”
On Alabama’s ability to make shots at the end of the game:
“Coach always says miss them early and make them late. We missed them early and made them late.”
On overtime:
“Just get it done was the attitude we had to have in overtime. Just get it done. We had to have some things go our way. It didn’t start off the way we would like it to but we bounced back. That’s a positive for us. It’s good that we can show that to ourselves.”
Guard Alonzo Gee:
On the win:
“I felt like my teammates and me just came out and played hard. We were just able to get it done tonight. It was a great win for us tonight. Vanderbilt played pretty good too.”
On Shan Foster:
“We played team defense and we were just very aggressive on him. We just tried to keep him without the ball. We just were able to play great defense. He is a great player. He’s a great shooter. You just have to try to keep the ball off him.”
Guard Mykal Riley:
On the win on Senior Day:
“Today is a new number one memory for me. I made a stupid play in regulation and was able to come back in overtime.”
On his foul on Andrew Ogilvy towards the end of regulation:
“I was just thinking put it behind me. It’s over now. That play is over. Just move on. You always have to put stuff behind you and keep playing.”
On Alabama’s defense:
“We were able to make a lot of defensive stops towards the end today. We played good defense. We were able to contest shots and make plays on the offensive end.”