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University of Maryland Athletics

Men's Basketball Maryland Athletics

Postgame Quotes

Dec. 6, 2007

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Maryland Head Coach Gary Williams
Opening Statement:
"We had a couple of guys really bring energy to the game tonight. Especially in the second half, Bambale Osby was great and played with a lot of emotion. In the first half when Dino Gregory got in the game, I thought he did an outstanding job. That's good to see and that's good for Dino as he battles for playing time. In the first half we had our chances to stretch the lead a little bit. We were careless with the ball. We really took care of the ball in the second half, which is a good sign. In terms of rebounding, I thought we were attacking the glass more than we have been. James Gist was around the rim most of the time tonight which is where he needs to be to be effective."

On Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes sharing point guard responsibilities:
"Both Eric Hayes and Greivis Vasquez played a lot of minutes and they both played well. I thought Greivis hit Eric a couple of times right at the right time where the defense couldn't react to the pass and gave Eric open threes. We tried to go with Eric at point guard for most of the situations. We sometimes forget who is at point when they are both out there, especially on the outlet pass, but we're working on it. We'll get used to that."

On Bambale Osby being the sixth man:
"The one thing Bambale does is study things. In those three or four minutes before he gets in the game, he gets a feel for what the other team is doing defensively and the guy he is going to guard. It's to Bambale's advantage, and I think he feels that way right now, to come off the bench as the sixth man. He enjoys that, he knows he's going to get his minutes. It's great that he can do that because it gives me a veteran player to put in the game."

On Maryland's offense:
"I don't think we ran a screen-and-roll play all night. They were playing a match-up most of the time so those weren't the best plays to run. I wanted the players to see that we could depend on our basic offense to score."

On Dino Gregory:
"He has been playing well in practice and in the back of my mind I was looking for an opportunity to get him in. At the end of the first half we weren't playing particularly well, and James had gotten his second foul, so we put Dino in and I was glad we did."

Maryland Senior Bambale Osby:
On the Morgan State team:
"They came out really tough, they were a tough match-up. We were looking at the tape and breaking it down and they have got some really good guards who can play and they really know how to go after it. "

On his defensive play:
"My teammates do a really good job up front, trapping and going for those passes. Coach is always saying to me, `Boom you can't give up the two [point shot]'. If you've got to foul or block it, whatever it is, give your teammates a chance to get in there, that's what I try to do."

On starting the second half:
"Coach put me back in the starting lineup, I didn't start the game and he put me back in the lineup for the start of the second half. Not to take anything away from Braxton, Braxton is doing fine, but Coach told me we needed to start the half better so I said to myself that I'm back in the starting lineup and I've got to bring it."

Maryland Sophomore Eric Hayes:
On the second half play:
"We needed to share the ball with each other and in the second half we came out and really did that well. We passed the ball three or four times before we took shots and I was able to get the ball back with open shots."

On his individual play:
"I am feeling more comfortable every game and I'm not where I want to be yet but it's a gradual process going on and I feel its going pretty smoothly so far."

Maryland Senior James Gist:
On the play of the team during the second half:
"The more we pass the ball, the better our looks are going to get. That's what we focused on during the second half. The second half we just calmed down a little bit, we got more of our own looks and we looked for each other. It was all about trying to win the game for each other not for just being individual players and we came out at the end."

On scoring 1,000 career points:
"Actually I didn't even know but I mean that's a great accomplishment, to score 1,000 points and hopefully I can score a lot more before the season ends."

Morgan State Head Coach Todd Bozeman
On tonight's game:
"I congratulate Maryland. Those guys shot the ball very well tonight. I have to tip my hat to them. As a team, you have to be able to adjust and that is what they did tonight. We were at a disadvantage not having a point guard coming in but that does not take away from the fact that Maryland played hard and answered everything that we were able to throw at them. We shot the ball well from the free throw line but we just could not respond to Maryland."

"It is growth for our program for this to be considered a good game. We grew and we had some guys step up and I think some guys matured a little bit tonight. Our goal is to prepare ourselves for our conference and this was another step in doing that."

On the players:
"Marquise Kately played 40 minutes and it was tough on him. I am proud of him, Reggie Holmes and Jamar Smith because those guys played a lot of minutes. With a team that presses on a continual basis that is pretty tough. Marquise only had three turnovers and for a guy that doesn't play point guard that is great. I am proud of him for that."

On assessing the team's performance at hal-time:
"I felt good about it but in the game, you have two halves. We told them they have to keep up the pace because Maryland was not going to take the pressure off. You have to continue to find the open men and press the ball."

On Morgan State's injuries:
"It will help us down the road because we were able to play without those guys so long. This is able to give us some flexibility and versatility or to have a big lineup. Young guys got some playing time and I'm proud of them. We battled."

On Gary Williams:
"I have a lot of respect for him. He has done a tremendous job winning a national championship. He told me to get healthy and I told him congratulations and good luck."

Morgan State Junior Forward Marquise Kately
On three players playing between 38-40 minutes:
"We were kind of tired, but we have no excuses. They came out and they played really well in the second half. They just wanted it a little bit more."

On the impact of tonight's game on the team:
"It's a learning experience. We just have to keep learning, not take a step back, and take steps forward."

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Players Mentioned

James Gist

#15 James Gist

F
6' 8"
Senior
Eric Hayes

#5 Eric Hayes

G
6' 3"
Freshman
Bambale Osby

#50 Bambale Osby

F
6' 8"
Senior
Greivis Vasquez

#21 Greivis Vasquez

G
6' 5"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

James Gist

#15 James Gist

6' 8"
Senior
F
Eric Hayes

#5 Eric Hayes

6' 3"
Freshman
G
Bambale Osby

#50 Bambale Osby

6' 8"
Senior
F
Greivis Vasquez

#21 Greivis Vasquez

6' 5"
Freshman
G