University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn 87, Coppin State 70
11/20/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 20, 2011
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November 20, 2011
Connecticut vs. Coppin State
Connecticut Head Coach Jim Calhoun
Fang continues to amaze. Being blasted on Friday night at Oklahoma, traveling all day....and getting here and having to play at one o'clock. It's difficult. He continues to amaze me how good a job he does. They're a senior team, I think they'll be pretty good in their league. He just said to me "the toughest kid you have is the little guy with the ball." And he's a hundred percent right about that.
During this four game stretch, we showed some really good things, and we showed some things defensively that really aren't quite there yet.
We found away, eventually, to get some points, mainly because our guards got it going.
We seemed to always be out of position defensively with their zones.....I didn't think it was the effort, I thought it was much more we seemed to be out of space. And we have to do a better job with that.
On Napier
To come in and do a triple double, with all that pressure on him: Don't foul, take care of the ball, let's not turn it over. He was really good....He is one tough kid. He is crafty. I thought he was just terrific. And I loved his spirit, keeping everybody up.
On Lamb
It bodes well for UConn in the future, because he had to play through some pain. When he went down yesterday, he went down pretty good. We had it x-rayed. We did not think he was going to play until 12:30, maybe 20 minutes of. Maybe 15 minutes to go, 13 to go on the clock. I thought he was very good.
On Smith
At times last year he was good because he was lively. And he hasn't been lively this year. He's looking for his jump shot. I told him, "If you miss a play, if you don't completely get through our offense all the time, good things will happen to you if you're lively." And I thought he was really lively defensively.
On Olander
Tyler can be better, but if he keeps throwing those double doubles up, it's going to be difficult for me....
November 20, 2011
UConn Men's Basketball vs. Coppin State
Coppin State Head Coach Ron "Fang" Mitchell
Of course the results are not what I wanted. You've got to give Connecticut credit for putting the pressure on us. When they had to turn it up, they turned it up. When the second half started, they continued the pressure and we never really got going after that.
You appreciate every time you have a lead, okay. Everything went sour after they took the first lead. And then the struggle began. Our kids understand. You get used to being on the road like this so there shouldn't be any pressure. If they fold under the pressure then I need to do more recruiting.
Connecticut, I mean, they're very strong, and [Shabazz] Napier, he's a tremendous player. He and [Jeremy] Lamb just went to work on us.
On Napier's triple double
It was magnificent, his performance. I told my coaches I haven't seen a triple double in a long time especially from a point guard. I mean that's really unbelievable. That tells you a lot about his heart. Anytime you get 12 defensive rebounds and you're a point guard, you're going in there and mixing it.
Player QuotesUConn UConn v. MaineNovember 17, 2011
Shabbaz Napier
On getting a triple-double
At halftime Coach said, `you know who are highest rebounder with 7 rebounds?' I was like, "wow." That's when the coaches said you might get a triple-double... I was like, `if I get it, I get it.'
It's been tough on Roscoe. I always told him, `you let Coach play for you. Play your game.' A lot of players, such as DeAndre, he's been playing well but he has a problem when he makes a mistake or misses a shot. His first thing is to look at Coach. I'm like, `you don't need to look at him. He's seen you miss a shot. ` You don't want him to look at you back because nothing good's going to come out of it. The guys just need to play. We all got a scholarship to play at a top school, and we're just here to have fun and play.
On the talking that went on between you and Gallo
We go way back. We're already in a rivalry - he's from Lynn, MA and I'm from Boston so we've played each other a lot of times. It's one of those rivalries where there's a lot of love, though. He supposed to stand up for his teammates and I'm supposed to stand up for my teammates. At the end of the day, he's my enemy on the court, but off the court he's one of the coolest guys ever.
We're happy we're 4-0 but not happy with the way we played.
When you hurt it, did you think there was little chance you were going to play today?
Yesterday I kept saying I was going to play but in the back of my mind I didn't think I could. This morning I was out on the court and I really couldn't move. Me and the trainer thought there was no way I could go. Then I went up and dunked it and it kind of stretched it out. I don't know what I did to it but I started to move a lot better.
It got a little stiff and I wasn't really able to do all the stuff I could. I missed a couple shots. Then at the end of the half I started to make a couple of shots and it led on into the second half and I was able to knock down some shots.
On regaining his confidence after a shaky first two games
After the first two games, I started thinking a lot. That was shame on me, because I am sort of a veteran now that I'm a sophomore. So, I know what to experience. So then I just started playing basketball and being Roscoe and everything opened up. We had a great game, everyone did.
On the enthusiasm after Shabazz hit you with the no-look pass for a dunk
That was missing -- just playing basketball.
