Murray State University Athletics
Cronin reminds fans of 6 p.m. tip for Thursday game with APSU
1/10/2006 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
UPN The Beat, WQWQ-TV in Cape Girardeau, Mo., will also carry the game.
Fans should also remember the Lady Racer game against APSU has also been moved to 3 p.m.
Here are Cronin's comments from his weekly media conference today at the Racer Room in Stewart Stadium.
On Darnell Hopkins and his excellent play since being named a starter four games ago: "I think Darnell has justified being in the starting lineup. You know I'm not a big stat guy, but Hopkins is shooting over 50 percent from the field and over 40 percent from the three-point line, and he's got more assists than turnovers. He's also our strongest guard as far as getting to the basket."
On MSU guard Trey Pearson: "Trey seems to be more comfortable at the point guard spot; he's had very high assist numbers and very few turnovers. He's also done a great job playing as a defensive point guard. He's got a lot of steals on the ball, picking guys at mid-court and other places, and his steals have gone through the roof lately. Putting Trey at the point forces him to have the ball in his hands. When he's at the two-spot, people can put a bigger player on him and make it hard for him to get the ball. One thing about Trey that I appreciate is all he wants to do is win; he doesn't care where he plays, but you know that it's important for all of our guards to play well."
Lack of consistency on offense: "Lately, some guys play well in the first half, some guys in the second half. We played extremely well against Rice for a half, but we really haven't played a complete 40 minutes since the EKU game (Dec.8). We're going to have to play better to beat a quality opponent like Austin Peay."
MSU lost a lead in the second half against EIU Monday, but held on to win: "Well, it was a positive late in the game to see us get something done on both ends of the floor. Guys made good decisions with the ball and not showing panic. We got a lay-up and a steal, and that should give us confidence the next time we're in that situation."
On the different combinations of lineups Cronin has used: "You've got to understand that I don't sit around thinking this guy has to get more minutes and things like that. Here's what happens in games: Josh Gomes gets hit, and no one can guard him. I'm thinking I've got to get Keith Jenifer in the game, and then later, we're having trouble scoring, and I'm thinking I've got to get Darnell Hopkins back in the game. It's all about how the game is going and how we can get advantages in match ups."
On Keith Jenifer's underated defense: "I think his defense goes unappreciated sometimes. I don't know if most people understand how hard it is to stay in front of Josh Gomes or Mike Robinson of EIU one-on-one to a point where they can't drive by you and literally can't get a shot off, which Keith did twice last night. I wish our fans would cheer and show him appreciation when that happens. He's out there doing the best he can. He's not a great three-point shooter, but that doesn't mean he doesn't deserve respect."
The Racers played four games in a week. Were they tired? "I was playing the bench as much as I could. We didn't practice Sunday. The only guys working out today are the ones who didn't play a lot. Plus, we'll do a lot of film work. We'll get in at least one practice -- actually, we had a practice Monday morning for Eastern Illinois just trying to get them some rest. Fatigue is a factor right now, no doubt about it., but everyone has to go through it in the OVC with our cramped schedule. We had a lot of workouts early in the year knowing that when we got to this point, we would have to back off. You try and get as fundamentally sound as possible and hope you can carry it over and not slip too far."
On the Austin Peay rivalry: "I'm hoping this game will get some adrenaline flowing like it was Saturday night against SEMO. Our energy was great and I thought we played well against them. Whenever you have 25 assists and only two turnovers, you've got guys who are mentally in the game and are not making mistakes. Hopefully, our attention to detail will return Thursday, or we will get beat, I can tell you that. We should not have to motivate our guys. They know we're playing Austin Peay; they know the crowd will be fired up. Hopefully, everybody in town will tell my guys how important this game is and get the guys pumped up. I can guarantee when we go back to Clarksville, it'll be a nice warm welcome for the Racers."
On APSU's recent play: "I think it was hard on them to play at UT-Martin without Zac Schlader. If they had him, they'd be tied for first. I think everybody needs to understand that. They have two guys who have been to three straight OVC championship games. When you have guys like Austin Peay has who know what it takes to get to the title fight, they start telling their teammates to listen to Coach Loos because he knows what he's talking about, we're going to improve. Hampton and Schlader know what it takes to win, and they make sure the others know that."
On Shawn Witherspoon: "He leads by example because he plays hard every night. No matter if it's 15 rebounds or eight assists, every night he finds a way to stuff the stat sheet. He may be struggling from the perimeter -- he's a better shooter than that -- but he hasn't let it affect the rest of his game. He's a veteran player who wants to win; he knows how hard you have to play. I think that's why Hopkins is starting as well. He has to continue to give us that kind of leadership, and he needs to impart upon his teammates the work ethic that needs to be there. He understands, he's very coachable, he's bought into our system. We need to have more guys like Shawn Witherspoon if we're going to have a great team."
