Murray State University Athletics
Weekly Press Conference
1/13/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Quotes from head coach Mick Cronin during the weekly men's basketball press conference on Jan. 12 at Pagliai's restaurant following the Racers' sweep of "Death Valley" last weekend. Up next, MSU hosts Samford on Thursday and Jacksonville State on Saturday in Ohio Valley Conference action at the Regional Special Events Center.
Opening statement:
"Those were two big road wins for us, especially when the team picked to win the league, Austin Peay, went on the road and won their first three OVC games, all on the road. I'm kind of keeping my right eye on them. We've got to somehow keep pace with them since we only get one chance to play them."
"We were able to get our assist total back up, therefore our point total was back up. Chris Shumate is starting to play extremely well. He's moving without the basketball a lot better, which is something he's got to do to get himself some chances because he's not a guy that creates his own. I'm really happy with Antione Whelchel. He's 35-for-51 from the field inside the three-point line. I was happy with his aptitude this weekend. He shot the three in the second half against Morehead State, and afterwards, we talked to him about driving to the basket and recognizing the defense. Against Eastern Kentucky, he took the ball to the basket with authority. I think in the OVC, he's just too big and too strong and too athletic for the other team's small forward, and he's got to exploit that and use that to his advantage. The best thing about this team is that you can talk to a guy about that on Friday and he goes out and does what you ask him on Saturday night."
"Kelvin Brown is back, offensively, where he's causing a lot of problems for people because you can't play one-on-one. Cuffy (Cuthbert Victor) draws so much attention that if you focus on one, the other guy kills you."
"I'm concerned with our turnovers, especially against Eastern Kentucky. We're getting a little bit careless with the basketball. If you do that with a lead, eventually it's going to come back and bit you. So, that's an area that we need to get cleaned up. If you run into a raucous crowd and you're No. 1 or 2 in your league, it's going to be a big game and you've got to be able to take care of the ball. I thought it hurt us early in the EKU game, and it kind of let Morehead State back in the game. We just weren't taking care of the basketball the way that we needed to."
On the primary challenge Samford will pose for the Racers:
"Their offense will be the biggest challenge. Their offensive spacing and their reads are very good. When you run that Princeton style of offense, you have to spend a lot of time on it and devote a lot of time teaching it. Coach (Jimmy) Tillette's been there a long time, and he's got guys that have been running his stuff. They don't even have to run plays because everything's predicated on a dribble, a spin dribble, a pass or a back-door cut. It's ridiculous. As I'm watching film on them, I'm just trying to figure out how we're going to win. Of course, I'm watching them play Memphis and they're up six with two minutes to go before just missing on the win. They shoot over 40 percent from the three-point line, and they shoot it at all five positions. So, if you take away the back cuts, they'll just pop out and shoot 22-footers. The bottom line with them is if they make three's, they're tough to beat. The three is a big part of their offense because nearly 50 percent of their shots from the field are from behind the three-point line. So, we're going to have to defend the three-point shot. The problem is if you press out on their shooters, they'll go back-door on everything and shoot layups. It'll be a big challenge for us. It's a totally different game preparation than any other game because of their offense. They just carve you up. Playing Samford is like going to the dentist and getting a root canal."
On earning a pair of road wins to open the OVC and the race to the conference championship:
"I don't know much about "Death Valley," but I do know that any road trip is tough. Any road win is a good win. I'm just as concerned about going 40 miles to Tennessee-Martin after they nearly pulled off a sweep this weekend. For us, my biggest concern is Austin Peay because they could go 15-1 or 14-2 in the league, and we only get one chance to play them at their place. If you look at what they did last year, especially after the OVC season started, we'd all be silly to think that they're not going to continue to win because they've got senior leadership. We've just got to continue to keep winning games because it's going to be tough to keep pace with them. I think they're going to be a tough out for anybody because they know how to win and they've got seniors that are tough. Fortunately, I've got some seniors as well. Our guys are committed to winning, and we're playing some good basketball right now."
On the fan support so far this season and the excitement around the Racer basketball program:
"I'm hoping our fans remember we have a team, and that we're in the middle of our season because we haven't been home in so long. I need to drive around town all week and make sure that everyone knows we're back and that we have a double-header on Thursday night at the RSEC. I don't know who does the attendance numbers, but I think it would be pretty safe to say that we're leading the conference and doing it fairly easily, if you were doing it by counting each person in each seat. I'm excited about getting our students back on campus. I've been elated with our fan support. I think it's only going to get better. We have our loyalists, and we'll continue to pick up new people with our style of play, and hopefully, the excitement we create."
On how the Racers have handled adversity through the early portion of the schedule to win 12 of 14 games:
"We practice up and down the floor, and we practice with the thought that it's a 40-minute game. People may play us tough for 30 minutes, but I'm committed to playing our bench. I thought we were able to wear Eastern Kentucky down over the last 5-to-7 minutes. Part of the reason I didn't call a timeout after they had regained the lead there in the second half was because I could see that their guys were getting weary. I knew I had three or four fresh guys getting ready to check in. The last five minutes, we went from down three or four to up 11. Our guys have been pretty resilient, and they've bought into our style. The best part about playing the up-tempo style and the pressing style is that you're never out of a game. We've been down some this year, and that was probably an advantage for us on Saturday night. If we get down by 10 in a game, it's not the end of the world for us. With our style, we don't have to change everything to get back in a game."
