Postgame Quotes: Maryland 66, Penn State 59
12/1/2018 8:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Mark Turgeon
Opening Statement:
"Has anybody in the room talked to or met a president before? It's pretty special, right? I was lucky enough to meet [George H.W. Bush] when I was at Texas A&M. He just had a big influence on me. One, he made me feel like I was the past president and he was the basketball coach at Texas A&M. He was a good role model in how much he loved his wife, Barbara, and his family and how much he loved our country. Today's a sad day for me because of that, but I've got a great story - one of the greatest moments of my life. My son, Will, was a third grader at the time and we were on the football field before the game - it was Military day and Bob Gates was there, President Bush… 41 was there - he walked up to us and said hello. It's pretty cool when a president knows your name - you don't have to introduce yourself. He always made you feel great. He asked my son - he was wearing his uniform - 'What's that uniform from?' And he said it's from a soccer game. Then he goes, 'You know, soccer was the first game I ever played,' and Will goes, 'Yeah, I know. I read it in your library.' And for the next three or four minutes, he was so impressed with that, that he talked to my son. It's a moment that I'll always remember. A great moment in my life. We lost a great man… our country lost a great man. Hopefully we can all be a little bit more like him… a servant to the country and do what's best and continue to be good husbands, good fathers and everything else."
"Great win today. Every time we play Penn State here it's a great game. They're tough. [Josh] Reaves was terrific. We did a lot of great things. Jalen Smith defensively had his best game since he's been here. He did a great job on [Lamar] Stevens - 19 points on 24 shots. His length was terrific. Started well, then they were great, then we weren't very good, cut it to one at the half. Then we were good again and then they got the lead again. In the end, our defense was terrific. Our rebounding was great and our execution was better in the second half. Our biggest problem is turnovers. We've got to fix it. If we're going to be any good on the road, we've got to fix it. Just a great win. 1-0 sounds a lot better than 0-1, that's for sure."
On Anthony Cowan Jr.'s propensity to hit clutch shots:
"He's made a ton of those. Maybe not a lot of them late in the game like that, but when the shot clock's going down, he make's tough shots. That's why you recruit. We were getting a little confused with their switching, when they were switching or not switching, and we weren't recognizing situations very well late in the game, but that was a big time shot. Melo [Trimble] did it for us a lot. Anthony did it tonight. It was a big time shot. Just proud of him. I thought he was much better in the second half. I thought his defense was terrific. Just got to take care of the ball better."
On the physicality of the conference schedule:
"Yeah, it's crazy. With the [Big Ten]-ACC Challenge and you play preseason tournaments and then you start league play in December, late November and early December is pretty hard on Big Ten teams. But it is what it is. You've got to play the games. Wednesday was an emotional game. Fought hard to come back. We lost. Losing is hard; it was the first time we lost. I had a lot of conversations with some players Thursday just trying to get them back mentally to where we needed to be. I thought mentally we were pretty good today, considering what we went through. But yeah, it's going to be tough. We've got 19 more of those and only eight more at home because we gave up one home game to play in New York. It is what it is. We've got to become a deeper team for us to be successful in league play. It is physical. I think we could make life a little easier on ourselves if we just take care of the ball a little bit more."
On Bruno Fernando and Jalen Smith:
"Yeah, they were terrific. As long as Stix [Jalen Smith] could guard Stevens, we were going to stay big. I thought Bruno could guard him a little bit. He guarded him well in the one possession. I think hopefully as we move in to when we play them in February, Bruno can give us a little minutes there too…Slowed it down a little bit, called a lot more sets to get the ball to the right guy. Every game is different but tonight the big lineup was the good lineup."
On how he's seen Jalen Smith improve defensively:
"Yeah, it was terrific. We guard the ball a lot. We work on guarding the basketball a lot. I thought Stix just used his length and stayed down. I thought his first step defense was really good today. Didn't come forward and put a hand on him, he used his length and gave space. That's a huge deal today, what Stix did. Let's not take that lightly. That's a heck of a player that he was guarding and for Stix to take that next step for us was really big."
On if taking players off the bench will be a game-by-game process:
"We wanted to win the game. That's what's important. Our locker room is really happy right now. We coached to win the game today, but I've got to figure it out. Got to get Serrel [Smith Jr.] because Serrel's a good player, and I've got to figure out our backup post, what I'm going to do there if it's not small. I've got until Thursday to try to figure it out. We'll see. I think that's important and then figuring out how to take care of the ball."
On how the team was able to shut down Penn State guard Josh Reaves in the second half:
"I thought he made some really tough shots in the first half. I thought one he double pumped and it went in and I was like, 'You've got to be kidding me.' Cut it to 12-9. The thing about Josh Reaves is that there was like three of them on defense. Every time you turned around he was getting a hand on a ball. He really dictated the game defensively. Second half, Darryl [Morsell] played more, Darryl guarded him. I thought around the rim, our length bothered him when he went to the rim, because he's very good at finishing in there and I thought our length really affected him. Then he missed some shots that he made in the first half. But he was terrific…he good for them."
Jr. Guard Anthony Cowan Jr.
On performance late in the game:
"My coaches and teammates really kept their confidence in me. I saw the chance to be able to shoot one when the time was coming down and just decided to run that."
On history of shooting clutch shots:
"My biggest thing is always making the best play. But then like you said with the shot clock going down you have to shoot it. I think that kind of takes the pressure off a little bit and I am able to knock them down."
On forgetting turnovers and performance in the first half:
"I just want to make sure we win as a team. Like you said the shots just weren't falling for me. I just wasn't making the best decisions with the ball. But when it came down to it I just wanted to make sure I made shots to give our team the best chance to win the game."
On being a young team and not being able to put games away:
"I don't want to give it that excuse because we did it against Marshall [University], they were also a really good team. We just have to lock in a little bit more, obviously cut down the turnovers. I mean it's still a very young season, so I think we can just get a lot better with that and then we can be a really good team."
Fr. Forward Jalen Smith
On aggression and playing time:
"I think it was just me forgetting last game because that did put a toll on me with how I played last game. I didn't think I played that well, so I just went into this game forgetting what happened in the past and kept playing."
On developing short-term memory of previous game performance:
"It's a long season so it's going to help me out a lot just forgetting about what happened and just focusing on the next mission."
On guarding forward Lamar Stevens and how he has developed defensively:
"It was a challenge guarding him, I heard he was averaging at least 23 points per game so just knowing that I was able to limit him to however many points he had just helped my team."
On mindset for guarding Penn State's best player:
"I believe it made me more focused. From the last practice I just have been focusing in on Lamar [Stevens] just watching everything he does and studying him. Just so I could know how to guard him in the game."
On chemistry with forward Bruno Fernando:
"Bruno [Fernando] and I have good chemistry, we have been either been playing against each other at practice or playing with each other sometimes. Just knowing where he's at, and he knows where I am at, it just helps us out with spacing on the court."
Sophomore Forward Bruno Fernando
On getting used to the physicality of opposing players:
"I think it is something I am used to; I just think we weren't ready in the first half. I didn't think we played basketball the way we were capable of. I don't I think we were as tough as we were supposed to be. You got to give Penn State credit, they punched us first to try to get a win. I am glad we came back in the second half, and we got the job done."
On the difference between the first and second half:
"I think we just played tougher. I think the first half they were tougher; I think we came back in the second half ready to play. We were not really worrying about the refs so much and just tried to play our game and run our offense and let the games flow."
On Jalen Smiths' defense:
"It was great; I am really proud of him. He took on the challenge and he responded. He did really well. That's something to be proud of. Obviously we are going to have a lot of games with this level of difficulty, so he is going to have to guard a lot of players. I am glad he did the way he did, and it shows as a positive sign for the team."
On Anthony Cowan's performance down the stretch:
"Honestly, Anthony just did what Anthony does. That's really what it is."
Opening Statement:
"Has anybody in the room talked to or met a president before? It's pretty special, right? I was lucky enough to meet [George H.W. Bush] when I was at Texas A&M. He just had a big influence on me. One, he made me feel like I was the past president and he was the basketball coach at Texas A&M. He was a good role model in how much he loved his wife, Barbara, and his family and how much he loved our country. Today's a sad day for me because of that, but I've got a great story - one of the greatest moments of my life. My son, Will, was a third grader at the time and we were on the football field before the game - it was Military day and Bob Gates was there, President Bush… 41 was there - he walked up to us and said hello. It's pretty cool when a president knows your name - you don't have to introduce yourself. He always made you feel great. He asked my son - he was wearing his uniform - 'What's that uniform from?' And he said it's from a soccer game. Then he goes, 'You know, soccer was the first game I ever played,' and Will goes, 'Yeah, I know. I read it in your library.' And for the next three or four minutes, he was so impressed with that, that he talked to my son. It's a moment that I'll always remember. A great moment in my life. We lost a great man… our country lost a great man. Hopefully we can all be a little bit more like him… a servant to the country and do what's best and continue to be good husbands, good fathers and everything else."
"Great win today. Every time we play Penn State here it's a great game. They're tough. [Josh] Reaves was terrific. We did a lot of great things. Jalen Smith defensively had his best game since he's been here. He did a great job on [Lamar] Stevens - 19 points on 24 shots. His length was terrific. Started well, then they were great, then we weren't very good, cut it to one at the half. Then we were good again and then they got the lead again. In the end, our defense was terrific. Our rebounding was great and our execution was better in the second half. Our biggest problem is turnovers. We've got to fix it. If we're going to be any good on the road, we've got to fix it. Just a great win. 1-0 sounds a lot better than 0-1, that's for sure."
On Anthony Cowan Jr.'s propensity to hit clutch shots:
"He's made a ton of those. Maybe not a lot of them late in the game like that, but when the shot clock's going down, he make's tough shots. That's why you recruit. We were getting a little confused with their switching, when they were switching or not switching, and we weren't recognizing situations very well late in the game, but that was a big time shot. Melo [Trimble] did it for us a lot. Anthony did it tonight. It was a big time shot. Just proud of him. I thought he was much better in the second half. I thought his defense was terrific. Just got to take care of the ball better."
On the physicality of the conference schedule:
"Yeah, it's crazy. With the [Big Ten]-ACC Challenge and you play preseason tournaments and then you start league play in December, late November and early December is pretty hard on Big Ten teams. But it is what it is. You've got to play the games. Wednesday was an emotional game. Fought hard to come back. We lost. Losing is hard; it was the first time we lost. I had a lot of conversations with some players Thursday just trying to get them back mentally to where we needed to be. I thought mentally we were pretty good today, considering what we went through. But yeah, it's going to be tough. We've got 19 more of those and only eight more at home because we gave up one home game to play in New York. It is what it is. We've got to become a deeper team for us to be successful in league play. It is physical. I think we could make life a little easier on ourselves if we just take care of the ball a little bit more."
On Bruno Fernando and Jalen Smith:
"Yeah, they were terrific. As long as Stix [Jalen Smith] could guard Stevens, we were going to stay big. I thought Bruno could guard him a little bit. He guarded him well in the one possession. I think hopefully as we move in to when we play them in February, Bruno can give us a little minutes there too…Slowed it down a little bit, called a lot more sets to get the ball to the right guy. Every game is different but tonight the big lineup was the good lineup."
On how he's seen Jalen Smith improve defensively:
"Yeah, it was terrific. We guard the ball a lot. We work on guarding the basketball a lot. I thought Stix just used his length and stayed down. I thought his first step defense was really good today. Didn't come forward and put a hand on him, he used his length and gave space. That's a huge deal today, what Stix did. Let's not take that lightly. That's a heck of a player that he was guarding and for Stix to take that next step for us was really big."
On if taking players off the bench will be a game-by-game process:
"We wanted to win the game. That's what's important. Our locker room is really happy right now. We coached to win the game today, but I've got to figure it out. Got to get Serrel [Smith Jr.] because Serrel's a good player, and I've got to figure out our backup post, what I'm going to do there if it's not small. I've got until Thursday to try to figure it out. We'll see. I think that's important and then figuring out how to take care of the ball."
On how the team was able to shut down Penn State guard Josh Reaves in the second half:
"I thought he made some really tough shots in the first half. I thought one he double pumped and it went in and I was like, 'You've got to be kidding me.' Cut it to 12-9. The thing about Josh Reaves is that there was like three of them on defense. Every time you turned around he was getting a hand on a ball. He really dictated the game defensively. Second half, Darryl [Morsell] played more, Darryl guarded him. I thought around the rim, our length bothered him when he went to the rim, because he's very good at finishing in there and I thought our length really affected him. Then he missed some shots that he made in the first half. But he was terrific…he good for them."
Jr. Guard Anthony Cowan Jr.
On performance late in the game:
"My coaches and teammates really kept their confidence in me. I saw the chance to be able to shoot one when the time was coming down and just decided to run that."
On history of shooting clutch shots:
"My biggest thing is always making the best play. But then like you said with the shot clock going down you have to shoot it. I think that kind of takes the pressure off a little bit and I am able to knock them down."
On forgetting turnovers and performance in the first half:
"I just want to make sure we win as a team. Like you said the shots just weren't falling for me. I just wasn't making the best decisions with the ball. But when it came down to it I just wanted to make sure I made shots to give our team the best chance to win the game."
On being a young team and not being able to put games away:
"I don't want to give it that excuse because we did it against Marshall [University], they were also a really good team. We just have to lock in a little bit more, obviously cut down the turnovers. I mean it's still a very young season, so I think we can just get a lot better with that and then we can be a really good team."
Fr. Forward Jalen Smith
On aggression and playing time:
"I think it was just me forgetting last game because that did put a toll on me with how I played last game. I didn't think I played that well, so I just went into this game forgetting what happened in the past and kept playing."
On developing short-term memory of previous game performance:
"It's a long season so it's going to help me out a lot just forgetting about what happened and just focusing on the next mission."
On guarding forward Lamar Stevens and how he has developed defensively:
"It was a challenge guarding him, I heard he was averaging at least 23 points per game so just knowing that I was able to limit him to however many points he had just helped my team."
On mindset for guarding Penn State's best player:
"I believe it made me more focused. From the last practice I just have been focusing in on Lamar [Stevens] just watching everything he does and studying him. Just so I could know how to guard him in the game."
On chemistry with forward Bruno Fernando:
"Bruno [Fernando] and I have good chemistry, we have been either been playing against each other at practice or playing with each other sometimes. Just knowing where he's at, and he knows where I am at, it just helps us out with spacing on the court."
Sophomore Forward Bruno Fernando
On getting used to the physicality of opposing players:
"I think it is something I am used to; I just think we weren't ready in the first half. I didn't think we played basketball the way we were capable of. I don't I think we were as tough as we were supposed to be. You got to give Penn State credit, they punched us first to try to get a win. I am glad we came back in the second half, and we got the job done."
On the difference between the first and second half:
"I think we just played tougher. I think the first half they were tougher; I think we came back in the second half ready to play. We were not really worrying about the refs so much and just tried to play our game and run our offense and let the games flow."
On Jalen Smiths' defense:
"It was great; I am really proud of him. He took on the challenge and he responded. He did really well. That's something to be proud of. Obviously we are going to have a lot of games with this level of difficulty, so he is going to have to guard a lot of players. I am glad he did the way he did, and it shows as a positive sign for the team."
On Anthony Cowan's performance down the stretch:
"Honestly, Anthony just did what Anthony does. That's really what it is."
-Terps-
Players Mentioned
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CBS Saturday Morning | The Voice of the Terps | Johnny Holliday Spotlight
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