Dec. 31, 2005

Maryland Head Coach Gary Williams

On the game:
"We did a good job of staying unselfish today. We had 28 assists and a good shooting percentage. I thought the second group came into the second half and played well, especially in terms of running the offense. We did a good job of coming out ready to play, and also being ready to go at the start of the second half. That was good to see, so we're looking forward to playing on Wednesday night."

On the bench play:
"In the second half, the bench played really well. That was good to see that they were able to come out and perform and get some significant minutes."

On Parrish Brown:
"He's like a freshman coming in here. It takes time to learn a position, especially one like point guard, so it's a hard thing to go out there and play great right away. He's starting to relax out there. I want him to look for his shot, because then teams have to play him and that opens things up for the inside game. He can shoot, he just has to feel comfortable taking the shot."

On the first half:
"We were unselfish. We scored 56 points in the first half, and I thought that the ball was moving well considering the situations we were in. I would like to single out Ekene Ibekwe who only had a couple of shots in the first half, but he still worked hard defensively and on the glass. He's been a top scorer the last few games, so that was good to see."

On James Gist and Will Bowers:
"They both played well. James is starting to become the player that I know he can be and Will looked a lot more confident out there. They have to keep that going in practice and the next game."

On D.J. Strawberry:
"He's starting to become a better shooter. I thought he did a good job running the offense today. He's starting to get confidence in his shot, and he's not afraid to take it if he's open."

Maryland Guard D.J. Strawberry

On the game:
"Coach tells me to try to start the game off fast and to get my team involved early. That's what I did today and that is what I will continue to do."

On watching film to prepare for games:
"When I look at tapes I look at how teams trap and how teams play their defense. I didn't used to look at that, I used to go out and play. It's definitely helped my game and it will help me in the long run."

Maryland Guard Parrish Brown

On getting significant minutes:
"We've been working hard in practice this week and last week, so it felt pretty good to get a lot of playing time out there."

On Maryland's game mindset:
"Coach has been stressing playing 40 minutes to us. Last game against Delaware State we played well in the first half but not in the second half. We're concentrating on playing the full 40 minutes."

VMI Head Coach Duggar Baucom

On Maryland's play:
"Maryland had a lot of weapons. They really shared the ball ... they're a very athletic team. They were getting a lot of points off the boards and were cleaning up misses. Unfortunately, we couldn't really hit anything and they scored seven straight baskets in the beginning. It was 13-0 before we even got a shot off."

On Maryland's defensive effort:
"Their pressure was intense and we worked on that. We can't simulate that in practice ... It's a bad combination, when we're throwing it up in Section 126, and they're making 7-for-7. I told them these guys can pressure Duke, don't think they can't pressure you."

On Maryland's scoring:
"They had a lot of confidence. Intimidation, I think, is the best word for it. They took our candy and we couldn't do anything about it."