March 17, 2012
SAMFORD QUOTES
Saturday, March 17, 2012
HEAD COACH MIKE MORRIS
Opening Statement…
We are definitely very excited to be here again. This is our second time in a row to make it to the NCAA Tournament so we are excited about that all the things that come with that like the opportunity to play on a national stage. At this time of the year that’s what you want to be doing. I am very pleased with our team and I thought we put together our best three games of the year in the conference tournament and that is a direct correlation to our senior leadership. We are excited about being here in Nashville. We have a good recruiting base and several players from the Nashville area so I think that we can have a good crowd. I’m not overly excited about playing Duke who is a top five team in the country but we are looking forward to that challenge. We know that it’s going to be a big challenge for our basketball team, but one that I know we are looking forward to playing in.
On what his team needs to do to upset Duke…
We probably need to grow a little bit in the next couple of days in terms of height. I think our maturity level is pretty good but I think if we could grow physically that would be great. I think we have got to do what we do. Obviously, we have a big challenge but I think it’s doable. Obviously, you have seen what has happened on the men’s side with the two 15 seeds. That can happen and basketball is a sport that that can happen in more than other sports. No matter, no matter how good you are, how tall you are, if you are supposed to win, the ball has to go into the goal at some point in time and that takes some rhythm and timing and that sort of thing. We have to shoot the ball well. That’s one of the strengths of our team. We are ranked in the top of conference and even in the country in terms of three-point shooting and three-pointers made per game. We will put five people out there usually, or at least four, that can all make a three. That’s important to us and that’s what we have to do. We will have to do a good job of keeping them off the boards with their size. Their guards post up and their guards rebound and that is going to be huge. If they have a lot of offensive rebounds it’s going to be tough for us to win this game. What we can do is get some back cuts and those sorts of things that we look to do within our offense. We have to do both of those things offensively is shoot threes and get to the rim a little bit with some back cuts and really get to the rim around the paint. They are a team that can shoot the three but they do a great job of a lot of high-low stuff around the goal.
On his freshmen with Vanderbilt ties…
Taylor Reece is from Brentwood Academy right here in Nashville. Both of her parents played right here at Vanderbilt. Her dad is 6’8″ and her mom is about 6’5″ and she at 6’3″ she is actually the runt of the bunch. We kid her because she has a 16 year old sister that is 6’4.” She is a very good player. She is very skilled and she can shoot the three. She has been a starter for us since day one. She is a nursing student and just a bright young lady. We are very fortunate to have her. She fits what we do around the goal but she is really skilled. She is probably second or third on our team in assists and also one of our better three-point shooters at 6’3″ and obviously, us coming to Nashville, we have another starter in Hannah Dawson that is from Shelbyville. We have another point guard, Shelby Campbell is from Murfressboro. So within 40 minutes we have three of our top six players. With Taylor, I think it’s a special time for her with both of her parents playing at Vanderbilt and her playing as a freshman playing in the NCAA Tournament on this court.
SAMFORD PLAYERS
Paige Anderson
On the setup of Memorial Gym:
“It was kind of weird to start out where the benches are at the ends of the court. A lot of it has to do with having a feel of what you’re doing, and you have to be doing that anyway. You have to get comfortable with yourself. It’s not that bad.”
On if the team gained any confidence watching #15 Lehigh defeat #2 Duke in the Men’s NCAA Tournament on Friday:
“My belief is that you go into every game the same way. You play as hard as you can.”
Jazmine Powers
On the setup of Memorial Gym:
“You have to know what you’re doing on the court. That’s my job.”
On rebounding from last year’s NCAA Tournament experience despite losing two seniors:
“We know we’re a talented team. We knew we could win it and rebound… When we made it last year, we were just excited to play. This year, we’re ready to compete.”
On Samford’s Nashville connections:
“We have a couple of players from Tennessee who will have fans here. I’m from Decatur, Alabama, so I’ll have a few [fans] too. [Their presence] will be very exciting.”
On if the team gained any confidence watching #15 Lehigh defeat #2 Duke in the Men’s NCAA Tournament on Friday:
“It definitely lets you know it’s possible. Anyone can beat anyone. [That’s the beauty of] March Madness.”
