Feb. 28, 2009
Vanderbilt 96 – South Carolina 83
February 28, 2009 – Memorial Gym
Kevin Stallings, Vanderbilt Head Coach
Opening Comments:
“That was a little better. I’m really proud of our team. I’m really proud of our crowd. You could tell there was an energy that didn’t have to be there with the students gone and us losing to the last place team in our division. I’m proud that our crowd didn’t give up on us. I thought we got great play from A.J. Ogilvy and Jermaine Beal. In the first half, I thought we did a good job defensively. In the second half, we were content to score with them. I thought our defense on [Devan] Downey was very good. He had 24 points, but it took him a lot of shots to get there.”
On the Mood Coming off the Georgia Game:
“We had two good practices. I told them that this was a fork in the road. A lot of teams and individuals would be ready for the season to end with us not being in play for the tournament other than our conference tournament. I think they responded extremely well.”
On Playing Up Tempo:
“We always try to play up tempo. On some nights, the shots go in. Jermaine [Beal] did well from three. When the shots go in, it looks like we’re playing up tempo. When the shots don’t go in, it doesn’t look [like we’re playing up tempo.] We want to be the aggressor. That’s our way to win.”
On Coaching a Group of Young Players:
“I want them to play every possession in practice or in games to the best of their ability. That’s what I know how to do. That’s what will make us better. There’s no magical formula. We know where we are and we know what got us here. Our job is to do the best we can. I was concerned coming into this game that if we had a letdown, it would [be bad] for our fans.”
Vanderbilt Players
A.J. Ogilvy, center
On his game tonight:
“We were more concerned about how we performed against Georgia and it was a team effort, not just me coming out. It was about everyone coming out and making sure that (Georgia) wasn’t the way we were going to end the season.”
On why the team was successful:
“I think it was a combination of how we played at Georgia and how we’ve practiced the last few days. It has really been clicking on offense the last few practices and we came out tonight and were loose and Coach (Stallings) told us to just have fun. We just came out and enjoyed the game.”
On the team being the aggressor tonight:
“Before the game, Coach talked about how we had to be the aggressor and make sure we threw the first punch and keep throwing punches after that. We did a good job of that and kept them from scoring a lot of points in the first half and managed to put some points on the board at the same time.”
Jermaine Beal, guard
On the team being the aggressor tonight:
“We just came out loose and were the aggressor. Coach told us to the move the ball and drive the ball when we had a chance to drive the ball. We were just having fun out there. We were smiling and joking around out there. When we play like that, we can win a lot of ball games.”
On the difference in the team’s confidence level tonight:
“We don’t have that much to lose right now. We know our standing in the conference, but our season is far from over. We are just trying to get better and to have fun, and seize every opportunity we have.”
On going against South Carolina’s press:
“South Carolina forces a lot of turnovers. Coach (Stallings) told us once we pass half court just to attack the rim and that is something we definitely did. A.J. (Ogilvy) and Jeff (Taylor) had some layups.”
Darrin Horn, South Carolina Head Coach
Opening Statement:
“Vanderbilt gets all the credit. They were incredible. They came out big offensively and defensively. We couldn’t get any stops. They pressured well. They played extremely well.”
On Defense:
“Defensively we didn’t come out and take them out of anything. It built their confidence. We needed to play well tonight. We’re on the road; they’re a young team, but a good team. We needed to capitalize on that and we couldn’t. Our troubles snowballed from the beginning.”
South Carolina Players
Zam Fredrick
General Thoughts:
“We gave away too many free shots tonight and allowed Vandy to get into an offensive flow. They made good plays and were able to get comfortable tonight.”
On facing A.J. Ogilvy:
“He played well tonight. He took advantage of his opportunities.”
On SEC East race and tomorrow’s Tennessee vs. Florida game:
“If we took care of business tonight, we wouldn’t have to worry as much about that game. We’re going to treat every game as a must-win and we’re going to play our game with no pressure. We’re college basketball fans so we will be watching that game tomorrow.”
Devan Downey
General Thoughts:
“We didn’t set the tone on defense tonight and that led to our bad start.”
On facing A.J. Ogilvy:
“We gave him some easy looks tonight. He was able to hit all of his shots from inside and even midrange jumpers. We should have done a better job defensively tonight.”
On SEC East race and tomorrow’s Tennessee vs. Florida game:
“If we were able to win tonight, they’re would have been no worries. We’ll be watching the game tomorrow.”