Dec. 2, 2006
Vanderbilt vs. Toledo
Memorial Gym
December 2, 2006
Vanderbilt Head Coach Stallings
“We obviously feel great considering how well Toledo shot the ball and how well Keonta Howell played. We feel great to have won. We knew they were a great basketball team and could cause trouble with their quickness. Our guys stepped up at the end of regulation defensively. To be five points down in overtime, our guys showed toughness to get in going in our favor.”
On Jermaine Beal:
“Jermaine Beal wants to do what he thinks we want him to be doing. He’s a freshman and has been coached by us for a few months. How he played in practice during the preseason and this week is why he won the starting job. After the first couple of games, his confidence took a hit, so we’ve tried to take some pressure off of him.”
On the Team:
“We’re in one of those situations where we’re trying to figure things out. We’re searching for our strengths while trying to fix our weaknesses. Injuries are a part of whole season, but for 30 days, we coached a far different team that the one we have now.”
On Vanderbilt’s Defense:
“We have a long way to go defensively. I have to be a better coach defensively. That’s my fault. We have to continue to get better. I thought we played better defense in the second half. Our best defense was probably in overtime, which is encouraging because that’s when we need to be the best.”
Vanderbilt Guard Jermaine Beal
On the last shot in overtime:
“Coach told me to go off of the screen and I took the defender. I didn’t even see it go in. It was a great feeling.”
On His Confidence:
“For the first few games, I was struggling. It’s a great feeling to come out and win. Tonight was a great team effort.”
Vanderbilt Forward Derrick Byars
On Jermaine Beal’s overtime shot:
“We have all the confidence in the world in Jermaine Beal. He’s been making those shots in practice and took advantage of a smaller guy defending him.”
On Vanderbilt’s Defense:
“We showed grit. We knew tonight was a must win game for us and we wanted to get a victory by any means necessary. We showed a lot of resolve. We have a bunch of competitive guys in that locker room and being 1-3 was disappointing. We came out and tried to start a nice win streak.”
Toledo Head Coach Stan Joplin
“We had our chances. We didn’t make the plays down the stretch. We didn’t make a free throw and a rebound and we turned the ball over. The effort was there and we had a chance to win, we just ran out of time.”
“[After our last game] we talked about sharing the basketball and making extra passes. We did that tonight. We made some things happen and that’s how we have to play.”
