University of Tennessee Athletics
UT-Memphis Post-Game Quotes
January 06, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 6, 2011
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Tennessee-Memphis Post-Game Quotes
TENNESSEE HEAD COACH Bruce Pearl"We needed that. I thought that we won that game on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday of this week in practice. I thought we made progress. Two out of those three practices were outstanding. We practiced with contact for three straight days with a game on the fourth. I rarely do that. I just felt like we had that much to work on because, again, prior to Christmas, we had those four games and then two games when we came back from Christmas. Six games in a period of time when we hadn't had one hard practice. We shouldn't need it, but we did need it.
"I thought the guys were physical. I thought they were aggressive. It helped us that Memphis, playing on the road for the first time, didn't shoot well early. I think you can see how talented they are. I think you can see what they are capable of. They closed the gap at the end of the first half and lit it up at the end. To start the second half, they made a couple of shots. They're very talented and a very good basketball team. Obviously, there are a lot of guys on that basketball team that we recruited. So I know them well and have great respect for them.
"For us, it's another ranked opponent. It's another comparison that the committee will make when it's all over. That's why you play this schedule. It's why RPI is what it is. We headed into conference play to try to fix some of the things that were ailing us.
"We're not going to be too excited about this. We're going to keep it in perspective. We understand the intensity of what conference play is going to be like heading into that first game. Nobody is in second place, nobody's in last place, nobody's in first place. That's probably the biggest thing that I'll be drilling home tomorrow at 4 o'clock when we practice here for Arkansas. Arkansas is in first place by virtue of their non-conference record. Playing on the road in the opener is tough."
On the timeout early in the second half ... "We agreed that it was not to be too terribly negative. It was what it was. We had a pretty good defensive possession and they made a tough shot. Then we came down on the other end and Scotty (Hopson) got to the rim but didn't convert and didn't get the foul called. And then we didn't get back. I just thought it was important that, OK, let's start this half over again. So not a lot of panic, not a lot of yelling. Just, you know, let's start this half over. I told them, `I'm not going to sit here and yell at you. They made a big 3, we missed a shot in that transition, no big deal. Let's just settle down.'"
On this being his final game before the eight-game SEC suspension ... "Jimmy Dykes (of ESPN) asked me a good question after the game. He said, `Tell me about your speech on Friday night before you can't have contact with the players.' I told him it's going to be like my speech on every Friday night. We didn't say one word about anything in there (the locker room). No reason to. We're going to continue to do what we do as routinely as we possibly can do it. The only difference is tomorrow rather than me working with one of the assistant coaches on the scout, Tony (Jones, associate head coach) and I will work with that assistant coach on that scout. Tony and I will probably spend a lot of time between now and the Arkansas game so he's got a real good feel for what I'm seeing and I've got a real good feel for what he's seeing. It really wasn't emotional at all. Let's just go about our business. We're going to be a man down against Arkansas. The guys will step up and the coaches will step up. The game plan will be set and we'll keep it as routine as we possibly can."
MEMPHIS HEAD COACH JOSH PASTNER
"There is not too much to say other than Tennessee beat us. They shot the ball really well. The biggest thing is we've got to play defense and we've got to care about Memphis on the front of the jersey.
"We went into the game saying we were going to beat them with defense and we played zone. Went to a box-and-one, we played a sagging man and said, `Hey, you are going to have to make some threes.' They made some threes. The two biggest keys was we had to get back in transition and limit them to one shot. They started making stuff and even when they missed, they were getting second and third chances. So we kept trying to do different things and, again, they kept shooting the ball well.
"We made a good run - we were down 10. Antonio (Barton) had that shot in the second half, I thought it was going to go down - it was an open look. But we missed it and they came down and hit a three.
"Bottom line is Tennessee deserved to win the game. They shot the daylights out of it.
"I don't want the guys to forget this feeling - it's a disgusting feeling, a sickening feeling. But once the sun comes up tomorrow, we've got to change our focus and find a way to make sure these guys are ready to go on Saturday. We open up league play and we have to make sure there are no lingering effects from this game."
