TicketsCincinnati Head Coach Mick Cronin
Opening statement:
"The score was lopsided tonight at the end, but I thought Western Carolina's kids, to be able to dive on the floor the entire second half when you are down 30-plus, showed unbelievable character. I have a lot of respect for Coach (Larry) Hunter and what he has done throughout his career. My father and he go way back. Their physicality was something we hadn't seen yet, so I thought that was very good for us. The way they blocked out, the way they attacked our big guys and the way they made us finish with strength around the rim, which we didn't always do. I thought they threw Nysier Brooks off with their physicality a little bit, Kyle (Washington) a couple times and Gary (Clark) as well. Even though the score was lopsided, I guess what I am trying to say is we got a lot out of tonight. And, obviously, I am happy with the way we defended in the second half, holding them to just 26 percent. We did a good job of staying focused, not looking at the scoreboard and maintaining our defensive intensity and our principles while trying to become a better basketball team, which is the key."
On the defense playing well in the first half until a late run by Western Carolina:
"You have to give them credit. We lost (Matt) Halverson and he made some good shots. We lost him in the press. See, that is one thing about pressing: if a team is willing to fire it before you can recover, it is a way for them to get a clean look off on your team. Coach Hunter is a veteran guy, so he basically said, 'if you are going to press, I am going to put Halverson in the corner and he is going to shoot it before you can get out there.' So, that is what happened on that one."
On playing different lineups this year:
"I told you guys that we are not going to start the same lineup every game. It is no big deal. I wanted to see how (Nysier Brooks) handled starting a game. I think Justin (Jenifer) has earned the chance to start; nothing against Cane (Broome), I just think Justin has played really hard and has worked really hard and I thought he earned it. (Nysier) has worked really hard as well. So, there is no mystery behind it."
On Eliel Nsoseme not playing tonight:
"He had a little hamstring that was bothering him, so we pulled him out of practice yesterday. Of course, he wanted to play tonight, but, I didn't think we were going to have to have him because it is a long season. But, Bob Mangine thinks he is okay. He thinks that, if we had to have him, he could have played."
On what he hopes to get out of these early-season games:
"I have a lot of respect for Coach Hunter. They had four starters back. Now, obviously, the game got lopsided, but, it wasn't that long ago that they beat Louisville. You just never know when you schedule these games; teams lose guys and there are so many kids that transfer out of mid-major programs now that you just never know what you are going to get when it comes to fruition and when it is game night. I do know that when you play Coach Hunter's team, they are going to play power basketball and they are going to be physical with your big guys. Bellarmine can't do it, Embry-Riddle didn't have enough bodies to do it and Savannah State just let it fly. With Savannah State, we had to work on defending the three and transition defense. Tonight, I wanted to see how our big guys handled their physicality and, now, I can show on film that if you don't grab the ball with two hands, look what happens. When you stand up in the low post and the guy gets up under you, now you can't turn around and make your shot. They are walking up under you on every play. It is just a defensive tactic to walk up under a guy and we didn't handle that well. There are just some things that happened out there that, as a coach, you tell the guys, but, until it happens to them… you obviously want a close game to happen at some point because you are going to need to deal with that. But, there are things that did happen tonight. That is why I was saying that, the score aside, we got a lot out of it tonight."
On the play of Mamoudou Diarra:
"He and I had a little meeting about what he needed to do to become a player. It is the same meeting I had with him before he signed his papers. He is a good kid and took it to heart. If he has zero turnovers, he is going to play. He has size, his defense it pretty good and has a pretty good understanding of playing defensively. His wingspan and his standing reach is the longest and tallest on our team. He has a chance to really help us. He just needs to understand that he is not playing point guard."
On if not starting made you more determined:
"Cane and I were just talking about it. We come from basketball. We've been playing in elite leagues forever. We've been coming off the bench. We've started. Been the best player on the team, been the worst player on the team. (Not starting) really didn't faze us. We were just excited and ready to play."
On Mamoudou Diarra seeing action tonight:
"He has a lot of impressive talents and just some God given things that he was granted in terms of his height and length and jumping ability. He's just got to get a little more disciplined but he's going to be a great player. I've been telling him all the time, 'you have a lot of skills, but you just have to make sure you are disciplined and make sure you are paying attention.' That's what college basketball is all about. I was happy for him to see that success."
#15 Cane Broome, G
On what it means to score 110 points in back-to-back games:
"It means something to us because it's just giving everybody confidence to go out there and play well. Everybody is cheering for each other. Everyone feels like they contributed. So it's a good thing that we scored 100 points."
On what impressed you the most about how the team played:
"Unselfishness and being there for each other. Even at the end of the game when the walk-ons got in the game and seeing everyone happy. Even when we go through stuff on the court, just to look at the bench and seeing everybody else is cheering the guy on. When we are coming in subbing for someone else that might have made a mistake, we tell them to just forget about and keep your head up. We just try to stick to that and get better every day."
On the play of Keith Williams and Trevor Moore:
"They both got individual things that stick out. You can tell they come from good programs, whether it was an AAU program or high school. I don't look at them as freshmen. I look at them as little brothers. Trevor is probably the best shooter on the team by far. Keith is probably one of the best on the team at penetrating. As time goes on, you are going to see more of them as they become more confident on the court. They come in and work hard every day (in practice). They are going to be great contributors to the program."
Western Carolina Coach Larry Hunter
On the key factors that decided the game:
"They are a very talented basketball team. I think their size and physicality was a factor. They pressed us the entire game. They took us out of a lot of our execution. We are still getting better at that but you know I thought they shot pretty well. Jarron Cumberland is a good player. They got a lot of good players. And they brought in good players. They just kept grinding us. I was extremely proud of our effort and energy. We are going to get better. And honestly, we were just a little overmatched this evening."
On some areas that pleased you about your team and some things that you can build on:
"The fight. I thought we competed and battled with a lot of consistency. We had position on the boards a number of times. We had it inside. We attacked the basket. And you know, we didn't come out with any basket or free throws. They jumped up over us and we got a rebound on a number of occasions. So that's just the difference in personnel."
On your thoughts on this Cincinnati team:
"They are a nationally ranked team and deservedly so with what I saw tonight. They thought they had good chemistry on the court. They really work hard defensively. That's a trademark of a Mick Cronin team. They shared the ball well. And they played hard. So those are things that jumped out to me about Cincinnati."
Opening statement:
"The score was lopsided tonight at the end, but I thought Western Carolina's kids, to be able to dive on the floor the entire second half when you are down 30-plus, showed unbelievable character. I have a lot of respect for Coach (Larry) Hunter and what he has done throughout his career. My father and he go way back. Their physicality was something we hadn't seen yet, so I thought that was very good for us. The way they blocked out, the way they attacked our big guys and the way they made us finish with strength around the rim, which we didn't always do. I thought they threw Nysier Brooks off with their physicality a little bit, Kyle (Washington) a couple times and Gary (Clark) as well. Even though the score was lopsided, I guess what I am trying to say is we got a lot out of tonight. And, obviously, I am happy with the way we defended in the second half, holding them to just 26 percent. We did a good job of staying focused, not looking at the scoreboard and maintaining our defensive intensity and our principles while trying to become a better basketball team, which is the key."
On the defense playing well in the first half until a late run by Western Carolina:
"You have to give them credit. We lost (Matt) Halverson and he made some good shots. We lost him in the press. See, that is one thing about pressing: if a team is willing to fire it before you can recover, it is a way for them to get a clean look off on your team. Coach Hunter is a veteran guy, so he basically said, 'if you are going to press, I am going to put Halverson in the corner and he is going to shoot it before you can get out there.' So, that is what happened on that one."
On playing different lineups this year:
"I told you guys that we are not going to start the same lineup every game. It is no big deal. I wanted to see how (Nysier Brooks) handled starting a game. I think Justin (Jenifer) has earned the chance to start; nothing against Cane (Broome), I just think Justin has played really hard and has worked really hard and I thought he earned it. (Nysier) has worked really hard as well. So, there is no mystery behind it."
On Eliel Nsoseme not playing tonight:
"He had a little hamstring that was bothering him, so we pulled him out of practice yesterday. Of course, he wanted to play tonight, but, I didn't think we were going to have to have him because it is a long season. But, Bob Mangine thinks he is okay. He thinks that, if we had to have him, he could have played."
On what he hopes to get out of these early-season games:
"I have a lot of respect for Coach Hunter. They had four starters back. Now, obviously, the game got lopsided, but, it wasn't that long ago that they beat Louisville. You just never know when you schedule these games; teams lose guys and there are so many kids that transfer out of mid-major programs now that you just never know what you are going to get when it comes to fruition and when it is game night. I do know that when you play Coach Hunter's team, they are going to play power basketball and they are going to be physical with your big guys. Bellarmine can't do it, Embry-Riddle didn't have enough bodies to do it and Savannah State just let it fly. With Savannah State, we had to work on defending the three and transition defense. Tonight, I wanted to see how our big guys handled their physicality and, now, I can show on film that if you don't grab the ball with two hands, look what happens. When you stand up in the low post and the guy gets up under you, now you can't turn around and make your shot. They are walking up under you on every play. It is just a defensive tactic to walk up under a guy and we didn't handle that well. There are just some things that happened out there that, as a coach, you tell the guys, but, until it happens to them… you obviously want a close game to happen at some point because you are going to need to deal with that. But, there are things that did happen tonight. That is why I was saying that, the score aside, we got a lot out of it tonight."
On the play of Mamoudou Diarra:
"He and I had a little meeting about what he needed to do to become a player. It is the same meeting I had with him before he signed his papers. He is a good kid and took it to heart. If he has zero turnovers, he is going to play. He has size, his defense it pretty good and has a pretty good understanding of playing defensively. His wingspan and his standing reach is the longest and tallest on our team. He has a chance to really help us. He just needs to understand that he is not playing point guard."
Cincinnati Player Quotes
#24 Kyle Washington, FOn if not starting made you more determined:
"Cane and I were just talking about it. We come from basketball. We've been playing in elite leagues forever. We've been coming off the bench. We've started. Been the best player on the team, been the worst player on the team. (Not starting) really didn't faze us. We were just excited and ready to play."
On Mamoudou Diarra seeing action tonight:
"He has a lot of impressive talents and just some God given things that he was granted in terms of his height and length and jumping ability. He's just got to get a little more disciplined but he's going to be a great player. I've been telling him all the time, 'you have a lot of skills, but you just have to make sure you are disciplined and make sure you are paying attention.' That's what college basketball is all about. I was happy for him to see that success."
#15 Cane Broome, G
On what it means to score 110 points in back-to-back games:
"It means something to us because it's just giving everybody confidence to go out there and play well. Everybody is cheering for each other. Everyone feels like they contributed. So it's a good thing that we scored 100 points."
On what impressed you the most about how the team played:
"Unselfishness and being there for each other. Even at the end of the game when the walk-ons got in the game and seeing everyone happy. Even when we go through stuff on the court, just to look at the bench and seeing everybody else is cheering the guy on. When we are coming in subbing for someone else that might have made a mistake, we tell them to just forget about and keep your head up. We just try to stick to that and get better every day."
On the play of Keith Williams and Trevor Moore:
"They both got individual things that stick out. You can tell they come from good programs, whether it was an AAU program or high school. I don't look at them as freshmen. I look at them as little brothers. Trevor is probably the best shooter on the team by far. Keith is probably one of the best on the team at penetrating. As time goes on, you are going to see more of them as they become more confident on the court. They come in and work hard every day (in practice). They are going to be great contributors to the program."
Western Carolina Coach Larry Hunter
On the key factors that decided the game:
"They are a very talented basketball team. I think their size and physicality was a factor. They pressed us the entire game. They took us out of a lot of our execution. We are still getting better at that but you know I thought they shot pretty well. Jarron Cumberland is a good player. They got a lot of good players. And they brought in good players. They just kept grinding us. I was extremely proud of our effort and energy. We are going to get better. And honestly, we were just a little overmatched this evening."
On some areas that pleased you about your team and some things that you can build on:
"The fight. I thought we competed and battled with a lot of consistency. We had position on the boards a number of times. We had it inside. We attacked the basket. And you know, we didn't come out with any basket or free throws. They jumped up over us and we got a rebound on a number of occasions. So that's just the difference in personnel."
On your thoughts on this Cincinnati team:
"They are a nationally ranked team and deservedly so with what I saw tonight. They thought they had good chemistry on the court. They really work hard defensively. That's a trademark of a Mick Cronin team. They shared the ball well. And they played hard. So those are things that jumped out to me about Cincinnati."