Postgame Quotes
1/4/2006 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 4, 2006
Maryland Head Coach Gary Williams
On the game:
"Our bench really got us going in the first half. Guys like James Gist and Will Bowers inside and Parrish Brown really came in and picked us up. We're getting good defensive efforts from a lot of our players right now, and that has to continue. You have to give [Texas A&M-Corpus Christi] a lot of credit because starting up a Division I program is probably the hardest thing for a school to do."
On the start of ACC play:
"There are no off nights for the next 16 games, if you include Temple. I'm looking forward to it. If you're a player or a coach, you have to like the next two months of the season. We have to be ready from the start, especially on the road, and we need to play forty solid minutes. I'm excited about it."
On forcing turnovers:
"We're pretty long and active, so we're able to get our hands on a lot of balls. D.J. Strawberry is just a pain in the neck to play against. He anticipates very well. I think we can appreciate him more this year because of what he went through last season."
On Nik Caner-Medley:
"Nik has played well. He's a proven player. He might have a better year this year and not score as many points because we have so many guys who can score in double figures. Points aren't everything to people who pay attention to college basketball. Winning is the important thing, and I think our seniors understand that."
On the start of the second half:
"Everybody played a lot of minutes in the first half, so I think we were fresh in the second half, and we might have worn them down a little."
On defensive intensity:>br> "I felt good about it. Our defense saved us in the first half. We've been consistent defensively. We've worked hard in the last month, so now we're finding out where we are."
On Will Bowers:
"Will was really active inside tonight. He can shoot and he showed that touch a little tonight. The highlight of the night for him might have been the 3-pointer he made, but the real highlight was how active he was inside. That was great to see."
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi head coach Ronnie Arrow
On the game:
"Our opportunity tonight was to play a tough team in a major conference...At this level you have to be very physical. They're very big, they're very athletic. They're strong and they cover a lot of areas. We let an opportunity get away to show what we can do, but Maryland had a lot to do with that."
On Maryland's run at the end of the first half:
"Tonight they just took us out of it. We weren't getting good shots. When you play a team like this, you have to play with your full arsenal."
On Maryland's press:
"That's absolutely the worst we've attacked a press; usually we don't have any problems with the press."
On the tight game in the first half:
"This is a forty minute game. I thought the guys we had at the end executed better, I was upset with some of the calls, but the officiating didn't have anything to do with it. They just took it right at us. The difference in the game was Maryland having 33 points off of our turnovers. We knew we couldn't give up easy buckets like that. It was a really good game for them. We're better than what we showed. "
Senior Nik Caner-Medley
On the Terps season thus far:
"After the BC game we were trying to get to 11-2 and that's where we're at so we're happy about that. We have to stay positive and we can keep getting better. If we can get some good wins early in the ACC season we can be in a good position."
On tonight's game:
"I've been patient and I knew scoring was going to come to me. I've always been a scorer. I've been focusing on trying to take good shots."
On last year's overtime loss to Miami:
"That game's fresh in my mind. Particularly because there was a chance for us to win at the end but they called a charge on me. We only got to play them once last year so that's one of the games that got circled. We're really focused on going in there and getting the ACC season started."
Senior Chris McCray
On the play of the backcourt:
"D.J. and I work hard and that's something we take pride in - that's our defense. We're going out there every game just playing hard and having fun. But the fun time is over, now we just have to win."
Junior D.J. Strawberry
On his play tonight:
"I hit a jumper right before the half and I came into the locker room and did not think I played well. I wanted to come out and play better in the second half and hit more shots and just play calmer. I thought I did that."
On his offensive game:
"I have a lot of confidence in my jump shot because I've worked on it so much. I think I've earned the right to shoot those shots and I'm confident I'm going to make them."
