Murray State University Athletics
Weekly Press Conference
12/15/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Quotes from head coach Mick Cronin during the weekly men's basketball press conference at Pagliai's restaurant on Dec. 15 following the Racers' 100-80 win over Chicago State last Saturday. MSU will put its perfect 7-0 record on the line Wednesday as the Racers host rival Southern Illinois at 7:15 p.m. at the Regional Special Events Center.
Opening statement:
"I couldn't be more pleased with our guys' effort to this point. In the last few games, Cuffy (Cuthbert Victor) has stepped up and played like an All-American. I think we have a tough team to defend. At TCU, Kelvin Brown carried us in the first half. Somewhere along the lines, a scouting report got out on us that you have to stop him. If you listen to (Western Kentucky head coach) Darrin Horn's comments after the Western game, he said that they stopped Kelvin Brown. Well, you can't just stop him on our team. Cuffy's proven that with his performances of late. We've got four guys scoring in double-figures and two other guys closing in on it. Cuffy's performance (against Chicago State) has to be one of the better performances I've ever seen, at any level of college play. He proved that you can actually stop a guy, block his shot, get the rebound, outlet it and go finish the play on the other end. I tell you, I'm really enjoying the chance to get to coach him for one year."
"It's a big week for us. Opportunity knocks for us to get a chance to play some Top 40 teams in the RPI. We're probably only going to get to play three of those teams this year, and to put yourself in a position for an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, you have to beat those kinds of teams. If you want to jump up in the RPI, you've got to beat the teams with the RPI points. Wednesday is a chance for us to get one of those teams at home, which gives you, theoretically, a better chance to win. We're pretty healthy, and we don't have to go to class with the semester ending, so we're getting focused on basketball for Wednesday. SIU is as good as anybody I've seen on film this year."
On SIU's strengths and what they do best:
"They play tremendous defense. They're giving up only 36-percent from the field, which I would assume puts them in the top 5 in the nation. They're also defending the three-point shot very well. They're only allowing 25-percent from the three-point line. They really hunker down and play tremendous man-to-man defense. They pick up the ball full-court with their point guard, and they disrupt you offensively. They have great ball-pressure, and they have unbelievable help-side defense. We're going to have to get some transition baskets against them because they're just so good in the half-court defense. Conversely, on the other end, they really take care of the basketball. I think they're only averaging 11 turnovers per game and we're forcing 20, so something's got to give there. I think it's going to be a test of styles. They're really an efficient basketball team. They have great balance. They have tremendous personnel, 1 through 8. They have great balance, but they also have a great player in Darren Brooks. They also have about six other guys averaging between 8 and 10 points per game, so they have about seven guys that can really score the basketball."
"It'll be a test of styles. Coach (Matt) Painter is an Indiana guy. Even though he played at Purdue, he's a Bob Knight guy. Motion offense, man-to-man defense and eliminate mistakes. They don't turn it over, and they take good shots. They don't give up easy baskets. We try to force turnovers and create easy baskets, so it's really going to be a test of styles. I think our crowd may be able to play a factor if we can get the press going and get them rattled a little bit because we're going to have get some easy buckets against this team."
On SIU guard Darren Brooks:
"He's a guard version of Cuthbert Victor. He shoots a high percentage for a guard. He's taken twice as many shots as anybody on their team and he's still close to 50-percent from the field. He also averages 7.8 rebounds per game, for a guy that plays some point guard for them, as well as the shooting guard. That's unheard of from the guard position. He's not a flashy guy. Some guys are all show and no go, but he's all go. He's very, very efficient. He's got an old-school shot fake. He has a mid-range game as well as shooting the three, and he can post people up. He's also their leading offensive rebounder from the guard position."
On the importance of the SIU game:
"The next game is always your most important game. I consider SIU a national program. Whenever you get two at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons the way they have, it says volumes. They're a couple of possessions away from going to the final eight two years ago in the NCAA Tournament. Last year, I felt they were a couple of bad calls away from beating Missouri in the first round. They're a high quality program. Because they're not in one of the top six conferences, they may not be as well known nationally, but, they're as good as we're going to play all year, and that includes Pittsburgh and Louisville. For us, it's an opportunity to see how good we are against a quality ball club. They're a team that I fully expect to get another NCAA Tournament berth from what I've seen, which means they're going to beat a lot of people. So, if we were able to come out of Wednesday with a win, they're a team that'll give us a lot of RPI points back as the year goes on."
On the matchup with SIU and what he is concerned with:
"With this game, I'm really concerned with implementing our style of play. We can't get into a grind-it-out, half-court affair against them. That's how they practice, and that's how they're efficient. We've got to get this game going up and down the floor. We've got to create some turnovers and get some easy baskets. We average 90 points per game and they give up 62, so something's got to give. My biggest concern right now is trying to find a way to score against them. We're going to have to get some fast break points and get going up and down because they're extremely solid in the half-court. They've got several guys who have redshirted and they've got a wealth of veterans on their club. Whenever you have that and they've been in the same system, that really makes a difference. Even though this is Matt's first year as the head coach, he's been coaching these guys and he recruited most of them. They know their style of play very well."
On what he feels the Racers have to do to earn an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament this season:
"We have to win. I told our guys 26-4. I have a weakness, though some may call it a strength, but I'm real honest with our players about everything, on and off the floor. They asked me what I thought it would take for us to get an at-large bid and I told them 26-4 in the regular-season. Then, we probably have to win our first two games in the conference tournament. That's just the reality of our situation, and that's the hand we're dealt. You have to make the most of it and continue to win ball games."
On whether the Racers have exceeded his expectations so far:
"My big question mark was chemistry and attitude. We've passed both of the those with flying colors. We have great team chemistry. We've meshed a couple of new guys -- Kelvin Brown and Adam Chiles -- with the guys that have been here for a long time and they've accepted those guys. Both of those of guys have started a lot of games and our veteran guys have accepted that. They've also accepted the coaching staff, the change in the style of play, the work ethic and the effort we demand, and that's been the big key."
On the matchup with nationally ranked Pittsburgh on Saturday:
"Size wise, we'll struggle to match up with Pittsburgh. Coming from that level, I know all their guys pretty well. Chevy Troutman is a tremendous rebounder. They have a pair of 6-10 guys and a 7-foot guy off the bench, who's a freshman and just a monster. So, we'll struggle to match up with them size wise. We have pretty good talent, and we can score the ball. We can match up with people on the perimeter. Pittsburgh struggles with a back-up point guard, where we have a pair of point guards, so I think that's an advantage for us with most teams we play. The fact that we have both Adam Chiles and Kevin Paschel playing pretty well is a real positive. Size is usually the biggest difference in programs like ours and the bigger schools, so I think that'll be our biggest disadvantage. That and the fact that Pittsburgh hasn't lost in their new building."
