Post-Game Quotes
January 23, 2005 | Men's Basketball
(#10) Washington 66, Washington State 48
Sunday, January 23, 2005
Bank of America Arena/Seattle, Wash.
POST-GAME QUOTES
WASHINGTON HEAD COACH Lorenzo Romar
General Comments:
"To be able to go out and win that game the way we did against that team, minus a couple of poor decisions on our end, I thought that was an extremely good effort today. I thought we did a very good job of guarding and for a large part of the game rebounding. Our guys handled the situation very well."
On any surprises in the game:
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
"The fact that Jeff Varem only had six points is a great testament to our defense. He is one of the hardest guys to guard in this league. This year you expect to see him in double-double numbers, so I thought our guys did a great job on him."
On controlling the tempo of the game:
"We were able to score at times in transition. But for me sitting here I would be pumped up even if we would have only won by one point. The fact that we were able to win by 18 points despite it not being an up-tempo game makes you feel pretty good. If we would do this every time we play them we wouldn't have to be up-tempo."
On applying half court pressure:
"We played in the lanes a little more and shot the gap a little more."
On the slower pace of the game:
"There are several teams in our league that play that way. We will probably play seven or eight games similar to this one in conference play. We played Cal and Stanford like that, with a slower pace. We've seen it before, but not quite this slow."
On scouting Washington State:
"I dread playing against them because they are good. They got a chance to beat you. Whether you play Washington State in Russia, or at home or in Pullman they are going to challenge you. It is always a tough ball game and I think that's what I dread most. For us to come out and play the way we did I was very pleased. Our win last year at Washington State was probably the most gratifying win from the coaching perspective, and we always anticipate a tough game. "
WASHINGTON STATE HEAD COACH DICK BENNETT
On the Huskies' Pressure Defense:
"They prevented us from doing anything that we needed to do to stay competitive. Their quickness was overwhelming; we have been in that situation before, once before, and this was the same. Our limitations were more evident, and they just continued to push the envelope, that's why they are such a good team."
General Comments:
"I think there were a couple of times that had we made relatively open shots, it might have made it more interesting. But in reality, that is part of the game, they missed their fair share too. It looked like a mismatch; we had to stay close. The only thing that irritated me was in the first half, when there was still a chance to stay competitive, a couple of guys made horrible decisions and forces. We warned them about that, at times no shot is better than a bad shot, no move is better than a bad move. A bad move or a bad shot is just going to get turned around on us. We fell into that trap."
On slowing the pace of the game:
"If we did one thing, that was the only positive."
On the play of Thomas Kelati and Robbie Cowgill:
"A couple of our kids just played their hearts out, I thought Thomas (Kelati) and Robbie (Cowgill), gave a great effort. That is why I played them, they were the only ones who were willing to match the intensity that was required. That is why I continue to use them."
On possible letdown after Huskies built lead:
"Our will was broken, but that is the way basketball is. Will's are broken all the time, you just have to rebuild. You try to do that at halftime. I didn't like what I was seeing from guys that I thought could deliver a little better. I don't think we got the play from guys I thought might be capable of playing in a game like this."
