Feb. 28, 2015
Recap | Box Score | Notes | USATSI Photos 
| Howell’s Photos
Kevin Stallings postgame vs. Alabama 2/28/15
On the win:
“In the second half, our guys played great on both ends, I thought. In the first half, we looked kind of out of it. It might’ve been due to the distractions I’ve created in the last day or two, it might’ve been fatigue from Thursday night after a hard-fought game, or it could’ve been both. We shook the cobwebs out at halftime and I told them after the game that it was me in the first half, and them in the second. Our defense was better and, therefore, our offense got better. After the first time that he was in, I thought Wade [Baldwin] was fantastic throughout the game taking care of the ball, making shots, getting the ball to where it needed to be. Matt[hew Fisher-Davis] played well again, and so did Luke [Kornet]. Luke came off the bench and gave us another good game. I don’t know what I’m going to do without James Siakam because his energy in the second half was so key to our ability to get going. I’m just really proud of my team. I’m grateful for their effort, how hard they played, and how well they played in the second half.”
On Wade Baldwin’s 15-point game:
“Wade played great at Tennessee. Wade’s had some really, really good games and has, as I said, already got the single season assist mark here for a freshman. He’s grown immensely as a player and as a person, I think. Every now and then he and I still run into each other, but that’s ok, I run into several. I’m just really proud of him, because he’s gotten better as a teammate, he’s gotten better as a player, and he’s gotten better in leading this team and doing what it takes to make this team win.”
On a poor first half performance:
“If our play was a result of my being a distraction. You can’t be inside their bodies, you don’t really know what caused it. Some of it was Alabama, they were terrific in the first half, so some of it was them. But we were missing lay-ups and just doing things that were a sign of either mental or physical fatigue, or both. Like I said, I’m just going to take [blame for] the first half, because we shot 38% and scored 27 points. We only got to 27 because Wade hit those two late threes. That might’ve been the biggest part of the game for us, just getting us back in there within striking distance.”
On his emotions after a tumultuous few days:
“I’m the same as I was yesterday and the same as I’ll be tomorrow. I’m regretful for what happened and happy to coach this basketball team.”
On he and Wade Baldwin receiving loud ovations during pregame introductions:
“I [received an ovation], and so did Wade, which I thought was even better. As I’ve said, I don’t want this to be about me, and I kind of made it about me the other night and that’s my own doing. This is not about me, I had my turn… I got to play in the Final Four and I had my turn. This is about these guys, and I really like how they’re coming together. I think we’re playing our best ball. We had a great month of February, we were 6-2, and it could’ve been better. We talked about playing our best ball at the end of the year, and it seems like we’re coming together right now and it’s really fun to watch.”
On a personal sense of relief:
“I’m glad we won. Yes, I would’ve been extra disappointed if I created a distraction had we lost, because then I certainly would’ve known how much of an impact that had. My son and I agreed before the game that there were a lot of reasons why it would be good to win today.”
On the team’s confidence, down 11 points at halftime:
“I hope so, because I think that they’ve earned the right to be confident. You have to earn your confidence and I think that, over the course of this month, they’ve earned the right to be confident. We’ve beaten some good teams, we’ve won here, we’ve won on the road, we’ve been ahead, and we’ve been behind. We’ve had a couple of freshman moments too, but it’s okay. We didn’t have any panic at halftime. As a matter of fact, [Assistant Coach] Tom Richardson told them that this is exactly where we were on Thursday night. We were 11 points behind, so let’s just go out and play the second half like we know we can and we’ll be alright, and that’s what they did.”
A shooting over 50% from the three:
“That’s a great equalizer, shooting and particularly three-point shooting. When they’re going in, it can be deflating for the other team because they may be playing good defense, but at the end of the shot clock the guy kicks one out and bangs one on you. That’s what it felt like happened to us at their place. We would get deep in the clock sometimes, and it would inevitably end up in somebody’s hands and they made 11 threes, and we were fortunate to win. Shooting covers a multitude of sins, that’s an adage you hear coaches say a lot. I thought the rest of our play was good, too. We couldn’t get it going inside, Jimmie Taylor did a great job on Damian [Jones]. We tried, but we just couldn’t get it going on the inside, but then we got it going on the outside and, fortunately, that was enough to carry us.”
On the influence this week’s events have had on him:
“I want to be different, in terms of not making those kinds of mistakes. Am I going to coach entirely differently? No, I’m going to be me. Our guys, and I’m being honest about this, our guys want me to coach them hard. When I’m quiet mouse, they don’t like it. They want me to coach them hard. Do I need to get better? Sure, I need to get a lot better. Is it embarrassing that I put me, my team, our program, and our school into that situation? Yes, very much so. I’m a big boy, I shouldn’t be embarrassing this place. I apologized to [Athletic Director] David Williams and the Chancellor. That’s not the role I’m supposed to be playing. I’m supposed to be bringing credibility to the place in any way that I can, and I take that part very seriously. Just like I take seriously that our team is going to act right. We’re going to have good sportsmanship and all those things. That’s never going to decrease in importance to me. Again, am I different? If I could change myself in some ways, snap my fingers and do it, then by golly I’d do it. But, just like becoming a better player, it takes time. I’m just like my team, I’m a work in progress.”
Sophomore F Luke Kornet
On first half struggles:
“We didn’t come out with a lot of energy that might have been part of playing Thursday. Coming off such a big win like that and then coming to practice the next day… you’re still feeling that win and you have to turn your focus. We just got beat on the boards in the first half. In the second half we just focused on everything we knew we needed to do and fix from our first half mistakes. I think we did a good job at boxing out and getting stops and that helped us win.”
On three-point shooting during second-half run:
“When you get on a run like that, everyone starts feeling it. I think the biggest part was just us getting stops and being able to get then in transition. Once we get into transition everything starts opening up and there are miss-matches where people can get open shots. In the first half, we weren’t getting a lot of stops so it was slower. The shots that we were getting weren’t as clean of looks.
On his personal shooting:
“It’s getting back to how it was earlier in the season where I was just in a rhythm where every time I got the ball I knew it was going in. I’m starting to feel like that, where every time I shoot thatt if it’s not going in I know exactly what I did wrong. That’s definitely a great feeling.”
Freshman G Wade Baldwin IV
On sinking two threes going into the half:
“I think that those shots were good. I definitely owed it to my team after committing two back-to-back turnovers and poor defense. I felt like I kind of owed the team and I apologized at halftime. For these past two games we’ve both been down 11 points and had great second halves.”
Rebounding from Thursday night’s incident”
“He’s a great coach and I love playing for him. He’s been nothing but great ever since the incident happened and he’s definitely remorseful about it. I’m just happy to be playing for him and getting back out on the home floor and hoping to win these last two games from our seniors. “
Looking forward:
“We’re just moving on to the next thing. In January we had our tough losses. February is over now and we were 6-2. Now we hope to move into March and continue this win streak. “
On taking more shots from behind the arc:
“I think today Riley (LaChance) had a slow start in his scoring, and when that happens I defiantly want to step up and be that extra scorer for our team. He (LaChance) is a terrific scorer; able to hit mid-range balls into the basket. Matthew (Fisher-Davis) had a great game also. I’m just the x-factor between those two, so me hitting threes is just a plus for our team.”
Alabama head coach Anthony Grant
Opening Statement:
“It was a tale of two halves; Vanderbilt in the second half was outstanding. From an offensive stand point we had a tough time getting stops and matching up. They did a great job with the ball movement and being able to get threes. The run they went on in the second half, obviously you look at it and we weren’t able to handle that. I thought earlier in the half we got some good looks that we couldn’t get to fall to answer their run. They opened up the second half on a 17-3 run and that changed the game around from the first half. Give them credit, I thought their defensive intensity picked up and forced us into some turnovers that we didn’t commit in the first half, which led to opportunities for them. They had some guys that really stepped up. (Wade) Baldwin went 4-5 from the three. Luke Kornet is playing really good basketball right now; look at the game he played at Tennessee and he continued that tonight especially in the second half. I thought they had a lot of guys who performed well in the second half. We really need to be able to get ourselves to the free throw line and attack them, and we weren’t able to do that. We weren’t in a fouling situation so they got 25 free throws to our ten, there’s a big difference there. Down the stretch it was a two possession game with a couple of minutes to play and we needed to put up some stops and rebounds… we weren’t able to do that so give Vanderbilt some credit. “
On changing defensive strategies:
“We felt like they were in a rhythm and we wanted to try to be their rhythm and we couldn’t. Whether that was man or zone they were able to get good ball movement and player movement to fin open shots and knock them down.”
On Luke Kornet’s play:
“He’s a seven footer that can stretch you form the three. He’s a good passer and active. Kevin (Stallings) put him in a great spot where he does what he does best. So he’s a tough cover.”
On Vanderbilt’s multiple offensive shooters:
“Tonight you knew coming into the game with (Matthew) Fisher-Davis, (Riley) LaChance, and Kornet that those guys were the main culprits. I thought the two threes Baldwin hit in the first gave him some confidence and rhythm. We talked about the need to defend the three in the second half. With as many shooters as they had out there they really hurt us with the middle ball screen action today and they were able to find the open shooter. We didn’t do a great enough job rotating fast enough to them.”