Maryland-Hofstra Quotes
11/16/2018 10:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Maryland Head Coach Mark Turgeon
Opening Statement:
"Really proud of my team. I was nervous about this game because I think they're a really good team. They have two graduate seniors, three seniors, three juniors in the rotation. They're a good team. They're well coached. They were going to zone us. I was nervous a little bit, and we didn't play our best basketball in the first half. But I was really proud of the way we responded. We established Bruno [Fernando] in the second half right away, opened things up for everybody else. I thought we executed at a high level - think we shot 65 percent in the second half. We rebounded well, only had three turnovers in the second half, and one was late. We were good. Really proud of the guys. I told the guys that they should be really proud of this win. You look around at scores… it's hard to win. Then you've got [Hofstra Guard Justin Wright-Foreman] making shots like he made just to keep them in the game. I was proud of our group. It was a great second half."
On high-energy plays and how they help energize the team and the atmosphere:
"Well I just think we played with great energy in the second half, but those [plays] were big. Anthony [Cowan Jr.] on the break, Bruno saving that ball and then us chasing it down and scoring…and then Darryl [Morsell] had a highlight play. Those are always exciting to see. I wish the dunk would've went in. I thought in the first half that they were the aggressor, they were the tougher team. That's the reason they had the lead. I thought we responded well to the halftime talk. We played as a group on both ends; that's what I'm really most proud of. Those hustle plays was what we talked about at halftime - we had to have a few of them because they had them all in the first half."
On Bruno Fernando coming off the bench and how he responded:
"Just why Bruno didn't start - I'm about teaching life lessons and I'm just going to leave it at that. It's more important than winning to me. It's my job. He responded great in the second half. First half wasn't as great; he got two quick fouls. Second half he was tremendous. I don't know if I took him out, I think he played the whole 20 minutes. He established himself. His ball screen defense got better as the half went on, he tried to get every rebound, he blocked… one time he showed on the ball screen, threw it to his man underneath the basket then he went and blocked it. That's almost impossible to do. I'd say the second half he responded the right way. We all did. Our whole team did."
On playing primarily only six players in the second half:
"Yeah I just want to win. Ricky [Lindo Jr.]'s minute was really good. He was physical. His minute was really, really good. You knew he was out there, right? The guys that started the second half were really playing well. I thought they kind of got into a groove. I don't like not playing Serrel Smith Jr. in the second half and all that, but that's a good team. We're young and we've got to build confidence within our group and I think we did that tonight. They get it. But it doesn't mean we're going to do that the next game. We had to do it tonight."
On if Fernando has limited his outside shooting because he realizes his inside presence:
"I think he only shot two threes last year. He made one of them. Maybe 15-footers. Don't ask me that question, because Bruno wants to shoot all threes. He is playing at a high level. I don't know if there's a player in the country that's improved as much from this time last year, to this time last year, as Bruno Fernando. He's dominant, handled the double team great, his energy, his talking, his leadership has been amazing. I would like for Bruno to shoot more 15-footers as our season goes on, but we've been seeing a lot of zone, so he's great around the basket. We have expanded his game a little bit. He's a much better perimeter player than he was - I think he made a three versus Lynn, which doesn't count, right? But don't ask me that question, because he wants to shoot all threes if I'd let him."
On if not starting Fernando was an example of him establishing what he wants for the rest of the season:
"Well, lucky for me, I have a deep team. I thought Ivan Bender was terrific. We were up 9-2 when we subbed Bruno in. Ivan was good. I'm at a luxury this year where I'm in control. Last year this time we were down to like six guys and it was hard. The players were pretty much in control. But because we have so many good players, I can be in control, which is good. It means we're going to be a better team."
On Eric Ayala's performance:
"Eric's a winner. When we need him to make plays, he makes them. He did that tonight. I thought him and Anthony really fed off each other. Sometimes he'd bring it, sometimes Anthony would bring it. Sometimes he was at the top of the zone, sometimes Anthony was. I thought they really fed off each other tonight great. Eric's a winner. We've been working really hard at shooting the ball. We didn't get as many good looks in the first half as we did in the second half. We got good looks in the second half because of Bruno, we established him, which is hard to do against the zone - establish your guy in the middle, but we were able to do that. It was good to see Eric make shots. We've been working. We've been doing a lot of shooting lately and I think it's starting to carry over. But he was terrific, and I thought his defense was good. Really good."
Junior Guard Anthony Cowan Jr.
On the difference between the first and second half of the game:
"I think the defensive end definitely picked up, I don't know how much they (Hofstra) scored in the second half. I think the defensive intensity really helped us out throughout the game."
On his message to the younger teammates when experiencing a deficit at the end of a half:
"Just stay with it. My biggest message is this is college basketball...Not every game no matter if its low D1 or mid major, it's going to be a basketball game. There is nobody that is going to come in and lay down, so we are just going to have to bounce back during the second half."
On being more comfortable being the guard playing point then playing off the ball:
"I can do both. Eric did a great job controlling the tempo especially in the second half. I don't mind doing both."
Freshman Guard Aaron Wiggins
On the team's play in the second half:
"I think we just played with a little bit more intensity, a little more energy and we played a little more aggressive. We played a lot more confident, getting shots up and we just executed our plays a lot better trying to get inside of the zone, open the court up and open the floor up for us."
On what triggered the change from the first half to second half:
"Going into the locker room at halftime coach just emphasized playing with more effort and just playing with more confidence, shooting the ball as if we are going to make every shot and just playing together as a team. We just have to consistently make sure we play with effort and together."
On starting or coming off the bench
"For me it doesn't really matter. I just want to be able to affect my team positively and be able to do whatever is necessary for our team to win. It's not my decision whether I'm starting or coming off the bench, coach knows what's best and I'm fine with that. Whatever he wants is what goes, and I just want to be able to help my team get a win and that's what we were able to do tonight."
Freshman Guard Eric Ayala
On shifting the in game intensity:
"Just playing tougher. In the first half we were not getting on the ball for loose balls, missing box outs, and we made an emphasis to come in the second half and just play harder. It wasn't any 'Xs and Os' type of thing but coach wanted us to be more tough and we see that in ourselves we just need to play tough."
On Bruno's presence:
"You all know Bruno. Bruno is a monster -- he dominates. I think he went 8/8 tonight, so people just double teaming him makes it easier for us to be ready and make shots."
On his performance in the second half:
"I think I had two fouls in the first half so they kind of took me out of the game for a little bit, but I rested and stayed ready. The opportunity presented itself in the second half more than it did in the first half, so like I said staying ready, aggressive and confident."
On tonight's teamwork:
"When you're playing with other good players it's all about being efficient. Anybody could get going at any time any night with this team, it could be a new person every night so you know just staying in the gym and getting my reps up."
Opening Statement:
"Really proud of my team. I was nervous about this game because I think they're a really good team. They have two graduate seniors, three seniors, three juniors in the rotation. They're a good team. They're well coached. They were going to zone us. I was nervous a little bit, and we didn't play our best basketball in the first half. But I was really proud of the way we responded. We established Bruno [Fernando] in the second half right away, opened things up for everybody else. I thought we executed at a high level - think we shot 65 percent in the second half. We rebounded well, only had three turnovers in the second half, and one was late. We were good. Really proud of the guys. I told the guys that they should be really proud of this win. You look around at scores… it's hard to win. Then you've got [Hofstra Guard Justin Wright-Foreman] making shots like he made just to keep them in the game. I was proud of our group. It was a great second half."
On high-energy plays and how they help energize the team and the atmosphere:
"Well I just think we played with great energy in the second half, but those [plays] were big. Anthony [Cowan Jr.] on the break, Bruno saving that ball and then us chasing it down and scoring…and then Darryl [Morsell] had a highlight play. Those are always exciting to see. I wish the dunk would've went in. I thought in the first half that they were the aggressor, they were the tougher team. That's the reason they had the lead. I thought we responded well to the halftime talk. We played as a group on both ends; that's what I'm really most proud of. Those hustle plays was what we talked about at halftime - we had to have a few of them because they had them all in the first half."
On Bruno Fernando coming off the bench and how he responded:
"Just why Bruno didn't start - I'm about teaching life lessons and I'm just going to leave it at that. It's more important than winning to me. It's my job. He responded great in the second half. First half wasn't as great; he got two quick fouls. Second half he was tremendous. I don't know if I took him out, I think he played the whole 20 minutes. He established himself. His ball screen defense got better as the half went on, he tried to get every rebound, he blocked… one time he showed on the ball screen, threw it to his man underneath the basket then he went and blocked it. That's almost impossible to do. I'd say the second half he responded the right way. We all did. Our whole team did."
On playing primarily only six players in the second half:
"Yeah I just want to win. Ricky [Lindo Jr.]'s minute was really good. He was physical. His minute was really, really good. You knew he was out there, right? The guys that started the second half were really playing well. I thought they kind of got into a groove. I don't like not playing Serrel Smith Jr. in the second half and all that, but that's a good team. We're young and we've got to build confidence within our group and I think we did that tonight. They get it. But it doesn't mean we're going to do that the next game. We had to do it tonight."
On if Fernando has limited his outside shooting because he realizes his inside presence:
"I think he only shot two threes last year. He made one of them. Maybe 15-footers. Don't ask me that question, because Bruno wants to shoot all threes. He is playing at a high level. I don't know if there's a player in the country that's improved as much from this time last year, to this time last year, as Bruno Fernando. He's dominant, handled the double team great, his energy, his talking, his leadership has been amazing. I would like for Bruno to shoot more 15-footers as our season goes on, but we've been seeing a lot of zone, so he's great around the basket. We have expanded his game a little bit. He's a much better perimeter player than he was - I think he made a three versus Lynn, which doesn't count, right? But don't ask me that question, because he wants to shoot all threes if I'd let him."
On if not starting Fernando was an example of him establishing what he wants for the rest of the season:
"Well, lucky for me, I have a deep team. I thought Ivan Bender was terrific. We were up 9-2 when we subbed Bruno in. Ivan was good. I'm at a luxury this year where I'm in control. Last year this time we were down to like six guys and it was hard. The players were pretty much in control. But because we have so many good players, I can be in control, which is good. It means we're going to be a better team."
On Eric Ayala's performance:
"Eric's a winner. When we need him to make plays, he makes them. He did that tonight. I thought him and Anthony really fed off each other. Sometimes he'd bring it, sometimes Anthony would bring it. Sometimes he was at the top of the zone, sometimes Anthony was. I thought they really fed off each other tonight great. Eric's a winner. We've been working really hard at shooting the ball. We didn't get as many good looks in the first half as we did in the second half. We got good looks in the second half because of Bruno, we established him, which is hard to do against the zone - establish your guy in the middle, but we were able to do that. It was good to see Eric make shots. We've been working. We've been doing a lot of shooting lately and I think it's starting to carry over. But he was terrific, and I thought his defense was good. Really good."
Junior Guard Anthony Cowan Jr.
On the difference between the first and second half of the game:
"I think the defensive end definitely picked up, I don't know how much they (Hofstra) scored in the second half. I think the defensive intensity really helped us out throughout the game."
On his message to the younger teammates when experiencing a deficit at the end of a half:
"Just stay with it. My biggest message is this is college basketball...Not every game no matter if its low D1 or mid major, it's going to be a basketball game. There is nobody that is going to come in and lay down, so we are just going to have to bounce back during the second half."
On being more comfortable being the guard playing point then playing off the ball:
"I can do both. Eric did a great job controlling the tempo especially in the second half. I don't mind doing both."
Freshman Guard Aaron Wiggins
On the team's play in the second half:
"I think we just played with a little bit more intensity, a little more energy and we played a little more aggressive. We played a lot more confident, getting shots up and we just executed our plays a lot better trying to get inside of the zone, open the court up and open the floor up for us."
On what triggered the change from the first half to second half:
"Going into the locker room at halftime coach just emphasized playing with more effort and just playing with more confidence, shooting the ball as if we are going to make every shot and just playing together as a team. We just have to consistently make sure we play with effort and together."
On starting or coming off the bench
"For me it doesn't really matter. I just want to be able to affect my team positively and be able to do whatever is necessary for our team to win. It's not my decision whether I'm starting or coming off the bench, coach knows what's best and I'm fine with that. Whatever he wants is what goes, and I just want to be able to help my team get a win and that's what we were able to do tonight."
Freshman Guard Eric Ayala
On shifting the in game intensity:
"Just playing tougher. In the first half we were not getting on the ball for loose balls, missing box outs, and we made an emphasis to come in the second half and just play harder. It wasn't any 'Xs and Os' type of thing but coach wanted us to be more tough and we see that in ourselves we just need to play tough."
On Bruno's presence:
"You all know Bruno. Bruno is a monster -- he dominates. I think he went 8/8 tonight, so people just double teaming him makes it easier for us to be ready and make shots."
On his performance in the second half:
"I think I had two fouls in the first half so they kind of took me out of the game for a little bit, but I rested and stayed ready. The opportunity presented itself in the second half more than it did in the first half, so like I said staying ready, aggressive and confident."
On tonight's teamwork:
"When you're playing with other good players it's all about being efficient. Anybody could get going at any time any night with this team, it could be a new person every night so you know just staying in the gym and getting my reps up."
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