Murray State University Athletics
Weekly Press Conference
2/9/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Quotes from head coach Mick Cronin during the weekly men's basketball press conference on Feb. 9 at Pagliai's restaurant in preparation for the Racers' pivotal Ohio Valley Conference road games this week at Tennessee Tech (Thursday, 7:30 p.m.) and Austin Peay (Saturday, 7:30 p.m.).
Opening statement:
"Obviously, those were two big wins for us on the road last week. We probably played our best half of the year in the first half at Eastern Illinois. Defensively, we were all over the place. Saturday, we showed great character as a team to continue to battle for 40 minutes and find a way to wear SEMO down. SEMO is a team that's extremely talented, and can beat you at a lot of different positions. They were hitting on all cylinders and playing a great game. Our guys hung in there and took their best shot, and still found a way to win the game."
"We got a lot of contributions from a lot of different guys last week. Andi Hornig had a great game on Thursday, and Kelvin Brown came back and had a good game on Saturday. I thought Adam Chiles played his two best games of the year, from a defensive standpoint and a leadership standpoint. All of the guys are working hard, and we win as a team. We won two important road games last week and Cuthbert Victor, who's probably one of the leading candidates for OVC Player of the Year, didn't have a dominating performance in either game. But then again, he still finds ways to help us, whether it's blocking shots, rebounding or just getting a defensive stop. I couldn't be happier with our team's attitude right now as we head into this week."
On whether playing on Thursday nights and coming back and playing on Saturday has had a negative impact on the Racers' energy level:
"I think there's a lot of factors that go into it. I think our energy level was down a little against Morehead State (home on Jan. 31) because it was our fourth game in eight days. This past week, we were on the road and had a fairly lengthy trip between games and then turned around and played at two o'clock in the afternoon. Still, I thought we played hard and I don't know that it made much of a difference. I really think we were fresh. We tried not to get after them to hard in practice on Friday so we could be fresh because I really thought we were going to have to play a 40-minute game to pull out a win on the road. Playing on Thursday and Saturday is new for me, and I'm learning how to deal with it. I actually called a few friends in the Pac-10 back in December to see how they handle it because they also use that type of schedule."
On Thursday's opponent, Tennessee Tech:
"They have two of the best players in the league in Cameron Crisp and Willie Jenkins. Those guys can score points, and they can score them in bunches. They've also got several other guys that can make shots, so they pose a lot of problems for you with their offense. They can score and spread you out. They've got two guys in Jenkins and Crisp that don't need a lot of help and don't need a lot of screens to get open. They can just grab the ball and go get you a basket, and that's tough to defend. If you look at them at home, they're 10-2 with their only two losses to Austin Peay on a tip-in at the buzzer and to East Tennessee State who's 19-4 and went to the "Big Dance" last season. It's going to take a tremendous effort for us to be able to go into Cookeville and come out with a win on Thursday night."
On what makes Tech's Willie Jenkins so tough to defend:
"He can score from a lot of different spots on the floor. He can post up. He can shoot three's. He's also got an intermediate game off the dribble. He's a 6-5 guy that scores from a lot of different spots on the floor. If you double him in the post, you're not going to stop him because he can go outside and knock down shots. If you guard him with a bigger guy, he can take him off the dribble. When you look at guys that are leading their league's in scoring like he is in the OVC, they're usually guys that are versatile. They're versatile enough that just because you do a good job on them inside or outside, they can find other ways to beat you and Jenkins can do that. He's a very good player."
On whether he thinks his team will be looking past Thursday's game at Tech towards Saturday's game at league-leading Austin Peay:
"The big game for us is Thursday. Tech is 10-2 at home. They led Austin Peay by eight with seven minutes to play and lost on a tip-in at the buzzer. They also had the ball two times in the last minute but just didn't pull it out. I look at a team's home record because that's where we're playing them. I'm not giving you the Lou Holtz talk here. It will take a monumental effort for us to win at Tech. Austin Peay is undefeated in our league and they had to escape with a win at Tech. That's a credit to Austin Peay and their seniors. But Tech is a very dangerous team. They're a quality ball club. They're also in third place in the league and we're in second place, so I'm sure their sights are set on us. If I was Tech, I'd be thinking 'if we can beat Murray, and Peay beats them, then we're just one game behind them with four to play.' Tennessee Tech is the only game I'm concerned with right now."
On one of the biggest concerns for him as they prepare for Tennessee Tech:
"If you look at their point guard, William Moore is a guy that has an assist-to-turnover ratio of over 2-to-1, which scares me because they're a guard-oriented team led by a strong point guard. Because they have a lot of ball-handlers, it's going to be tough to force them to turn the ball over, and that's a scary thing for us. Moore is a guy that has a lot of assists. He's a left-handed senior with experience. With him and Crisp, you're talking about a senior backcourt that's been deep in the OVC Tournament over the last couple of years. Now, you add Jenkins to the lineup, combined with their tough early season schedule, and I think that's why they're rising in the OVC standings."
On Saturday's opponent, Austin Peay:
"They're a devastating team defensively, and they know how to win. I don't think their talent gets enough credit because of their style of play. Unlike us, they're not scoring in the 90's a lot, so their kids don't average the numbers that are as impressive to a lot fans and people around the league. But if you want to go player-for-player, they've got great players. Adrian Henning is a tremendous athlete and a tremendous basketball player. Josh Lewis just dominates in the middle defensively. They know how to win, they've got a senior point guard (Corey Gipson) and a lot of senior leadership. Anthony Davis may be the best wing guy in the league. He can make shots, and he's very athletic. They've got great players, they've got a great coach and they have a formula for success. They know how they made it to the NCAA Tournament last year, and I think that's a big factor in it. I know I've been through that before. When kids learn what it takes to win, it's a lot easier the next time because they understand it. That's why you see Austin Peay win so many close games. They know how to win down the stretch. They have great composure, and that comes from their leadership."
