Murray State University Athletics
Billy Kennedy's Weekly Media Conference
11/12/2007 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Racers are coming off a thrilling 66-65 win in their season and home opener Saturday over the Rider Broncs. The win was the Racers' 18th straight in home openers and it made their record in the
Here are some of Billy Kennedy's comments from the news conference.
Kennedy's opening comments
“The thing I was most proud of in the Rider game was how we kept our composure. We had a situation where there were so many fouls called and the game was disrupted many times. Last year I can remember when we played at Austin Peay our guys not handling that, but they did a good job of keeping composure and not getting too frustrated with the officiating and the stoppage of play. That's one of the reasons we were able to hold on and win. Overall, we were able to play a lot of people and get experience out of it and hopefully we gained some confidence because we've got our hands full the next couple of weeks.”
Georges Fotso, Tony Easley, and Tarod Sanders did a good job defending Rider big man Jason Thompson Saturday. Does that make you feel better about the Racers' post position?
“Our guys tried to do what we wanted to do and that was big. We heard about this kid (Jason Thompson) and he was a very good player. We got him to where everything wasn't going in the post and when you put a 6-10 player on the perimeter it's a positive. I was pleased with Fotso, he didn't play much but he set the tone early. Tony Easley did a good job and so did Tarod Sanders. Our help defense was really good, but our recovery defense wasn't good in the second half. That's where we've got to get better and put it all together.”
How do you feel about the play of Kevin Thomas?
“He's a true point guard. To play two games now and have only one turnover in the minutes he's played and as fast as we play offensively and defensively is a credit to what he's getting done. He played probably five minutes more than I would like him to play and we want Tyler Holloway and Ray George to play more minutes. That's a concern in playing him too much when we begin playing Thursday and Saturday. He's done a tremendous job for us so far.”
Having a close game in the season opener, is that good for the team?
“I think so, we don't have as much experience as
What is the primary challenge in taking on
“Their athleticism. They're forcing teams to turn the ball over and they score off their defense, you can't let them score like that. Against Kennesaw State it was a two to four point game in the first half with about a minute in the half and they were down 13 (at the end of the half). They have the ability to score in a hurry. Western plays pressure man to man defense. They will play some zone, but mostly they're going to speed you up. When we play them it will be their fifth home game in a row. They're very athletic, talented, and experienced.”
How do you go about defending WKU's guard tandem of Courtney Lee and Tyrone Brazelton?
“You can't turn the ball over, they score a lot of points off turnovers. Courtney Lee is one of the most talented guards in the country and has been now for a few years. Brazelton causes a lot of problems with his quickness and athleticism. Our decision making will be important. Playing an early season game on the road against a talented, experienced team is a concern. We're going to have to have some composure and discipline on the offensive end and be able to get back on defense because they play fast. They want to shoot it quick, this won't be like the Rider game.”
Talk about the play of Danero Thomas?
“He is developing a presence and he knows we need him to make a play and he did (with two three point shots late in the Rider game). We had so many opportunities to break the game open. We missed a couple of lay ups, but that's part of it. It's an early season game. I was glad to see someone step up and make a play because coaches can coach all they want but players have got to make plays. It was good to see Danero step up and make plays.”
For the fans, the Western game is big. But for the players, is it big for them, they've never played Western before?
“I think they understand that it's a big game. None of our players have played against Western, but they know how big a game this is. They know Western is good, they know college basketball. We'll be excited to play. It's whether or not we can handle that excitement, this team hasn't been in a situation like this yet. This game is great for our school, I'm excited about the game also. I know the tradition and history of this game and I appreciate that and I'm fortunate to be part of it.”
RACERS at WESTERN KENTUCKY
TIPOFF: Saturday at 1200 p.m. CT, Diddle Arena, Bowling Green, Ky.
RADIO: WFGE (103.7 FM, Murray), Neal Bradley, play by play. Nathan Higdon, color - Listen Live through GoRacers.com
