Dec. 22, 2010

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Head Coach Gary Williams

Opening statement:
"Pe'Shon Howard started because of how he played in practice. Cliff (Tucker) didn't start because we wanted to give him a chance to look at the game before he entered. He had not been shooting the ball too well in practice lately, and I thought he looked very comfortable on his shot once he did get into the game. As far as the game itself, I was pleased that we came out with a good effort and intensity. Games like this after exams when you haven't played for ten days are hard because players are leaving to go home. You never know the mindset of the team, so you worry a little bit.

"NJIT had played Seton Hall and Rutgers tough for a half, so if you do not come out strong against them, they get the confidence and can hang in the game with you. That was my biggest concern going into the game and I think we did a good job. Adrian (Bowie) played well tonight and looked comfortable out there. We also had some guys who played very hard off of the bench. Hopefully, as practices go on through this next period, we will continue to learn more about our team."

On substituting Pe'Shon Howard for Cliff Tucker:
"Everything depends on practice this year, and that is why Pe'Shon was out there tonight. A lot of it is how we play different people on the court. He came in and Adrian (Bowie) was playing very well at the off-guard, so it made sense to put Pe'Shon into the game. You never know how subbing a player is going to affect them. You may lose a player, or you may motivate them. I really thought bringing Cliff off the bench would help him. All of the guys are aware that every spot is open. But every team does the same thing. Last year we had our five, and it wasn't hard to put the same line-up card out there every night. But this year is different, and that is what makes coaching fun."

On the offensive balance:
"I think we really concentrated on learning how to move within the offense. A lot of guys got some really good looks tonight, and hopefully we get better at that. As you play better teams, you have to be able to run a good half-court offense and get a lot of layups in transition. That's our goal and we are working towards it. Tonight I thought we had some good looks and for the most part we passed the ball well and were not selfish with the basketball. We didn't force any passes tonight, and sometimes that comes because the team is so young."

On the improvement in free-throw shooting:
"We have been focusing on that in practice, but there are only so many drills you can do. There are so many amateur psychiatrists that write letters to the office. I actually have had some engineers send me diagrams with how the elbow should be bent. I always send them back because I didn't take any engineering classes here. But that shows that a lot of people care about the program. Tonight was good, and sometimes it can be contagious, either negatively or positively. I thought James Padgett looked good from the line tonight and that shows how hard they have been working."

On Dino Gregory:
"I think he has confidence in his jump shot. It is a gradual process. When a guy comes out of high school and is a center, he doesn't have that shot. We have been working with him to add that to his arsenal, and Dino is comfortable to take that shot when he is open. It's good because you need someone besides the three perimeter guys to be able to hit that shot. It really opens up a lot for us offensively."

On James Padgett:
"I really think he has gotten better. He has worked hard, and he is going against Dino Gregory and Jordan Williams every day in practice, so that is going to elevate his game. Last year, he didn't get a chance because he had that stomach problem. But now he is healthy and he is playing a lot better."

On Terrell Stoglin taking the last shot of the half:
"He is a good shooter. We teach our kids that if the defensive player is behind the screen, you shoot the ball, and if he goes around the screen, you drive it in and pass it off into the corner. His man went behind the screen, so he took the shot. He is a good shooter with a lot of confidence in his shot. A large part of the point guard's deal is to get us to play well offensively, whether that is making the shot or the pass. It is a tough position, and that is why a lot of coaches were point guards because you have to be so intelligent."

Junior Guard Sean Mosley

On what they were able to get out of the game:
"I think we definitely wanted to come out with the intensity that we were able to in the beginning of the game with our tempo. I think we have to get better at closing games, no matter who we are playing we are trying to prepare for the next team and that's an important thing that coach talked to us about. We are taking it one game at a time and not looking past any opponents but we have to take better care of the ball in the second half and play defense for 40 minutes."

On what the team did well tonight:
"Every game we try to get better as a team and the couple of days that we had off we were able to get better at running our offense and it showed today against NJIT. We came out early on both ends of the court, we were able to hit some shots and find some open guys as well as play defense and get a couple of blocks on the defensive end."

On his play as of late:
"I have been down the past couple of games and my teammates have been doing a great job saying positive things to me. My teammates and I consider ourselves men in practice and the last couple of games we have had good practices. It all shows in practice how important each and every game is because you get better in practice. When you get into games and things go your way or not but on the defensive end we were able to put the pressure on them early."

On the long break between games:
"We have six veterans who know what it takes to work hard especially during exam week. You have to study hard for classes but having the long break was a great opportunity for us to get better as a team both defensively and offensively. We were able to take advantage of the extra time that we had before this game."

Senior Guard Adrian Bowie

On what the team tried to improve upon:
"Transition defensively, high intensity offense and rebounding on both ends. We tried to improve in those areas so we can be a better team both defensively and offensively."

On Pe'Shon Howard's play in his first start:
"I think he did a good job. Pe'Shon is confident and is able to spread the wealth around and we put down the shots. "

Sophomore Center Jordan Williams

On his string of double doubles and approaching a team record:
"It unbelievable to put my name in the same list as Joe Smith, he is a legend at this school. I don't look too much into it. I just try to play basketball. If I had zero points and zero rebounds and we won the game I would be happy. Competitively and personally I would have been upset but we won the game."

On spreading the ball around tonight:
"We tried to move the ball a lot, and either five or six of us were in double figures tonight. I thought we did a great job tonight getting everyone involved. I'm not going to get 27 every night and it's good to know that my teammates will step up."

NJIT Head Coach Jim Engles

Opening statement:
"I thought we competed and I thought we executed. I thought the turnovers in the first half really hurt us. I thought that put us at a huge disadvantage. We were very tentative in what we were trying to do. I thought in the second half we played with a lot more composure and we executed offensively the way we're supposed to. Every time you play against a team like Maryland it's always an uphill battle and I really like the way we competed in the second half and we have some positives that we can sort of build on as we go and play teams that are more our level."

On his team's play:
"I was pleased with the effort. I was just discouraged a little bit with the way we handled some of the turnovers in the first half. I thought there were things that were controllable and I thought we got a little tentative against Maryland. I think they [Maryland] can do that to you and they make you think a lot the way they play. I was really impressed with Maryland. I think watching them play and in some of the games I've seen on tape, I think they've got a real nice nucleus for a good year."

On moving forward:
"We have a few days off for Christmas and then we play [Long Island] on the 28th [of December] and we play St. Francis New York on the 30th [of December] and our league starts up mid-January."