Maine Players
SU Basketball vs. Maine
Player Quotes
12/5/09
#4 Wes Johnson
On the team scoring so many points in the first half:
"Everything was just going our way at first. The shots were falling and we were getting the looks."
On the team's commitment to defense:
"I think that is the main model for us. I think that going into the game we know we were going to shut it down. I think going into the game the main thing we focus on is defense and rebounding. We know the offense is going to be there, but we talk about defense a lot."
On what he takes away from a game like this one:
"We played man (man-to-man defense) in the second half. I think we just had to play defense in our man and that will help us out in our zone. Getting the other guys in and building they're confidence, I think that will help us in the long run too."
#1 Andy Rautins
On the upcoming game against Florida:
"It is going to be key for us to keep playing unselfish. We know that Florida is a physical, athletic team and they are going to get up and down the floor. We have to get back in transition and rebound the ball well.
On how important trust is on the court:
"Trust is prevalent out there. Most of our buckets are coming off of assists right now and everybody is being really unselfish. It's easy to play with guys who know how to be in the right place at all times, like Wes (Johnson) and Arinze (Onuaku). Everybody is playing unselfishly and hopefully we continue to play that way. We are going to be tough to beat if we do."
On the defense this season:
"It's definitely our focus. We needed an identity at the beginning of the year and we established ourselves as a great defensive team. We're going to keep that going. That is going to be our main focus because our defense generates our offense."
#32 Kris Joseph
On playing in Florida:
"We're going to prepare for this game just like we always do. We're not going to take anything for granted. We know that they are a good team. We're going to go down to Florida and just play hard and concentrate on defense."
On the offense today:
"Our defense helps generate our offense. We get a lot of breaks and we have a lot of wings that can run the floor this year. That is what's going to happen when you have a lot of guys that can get up the floor."
On whether the game was too easy:
"I don't want to say it was too easy. The game was still hard and Maine was still competing after we were up that many points. Most teams would lie down at that point, but they didn't. We never laid down ourselves, even though we were up that much. It's not that we wanted to embarrass them, but we wanted to keep our goals where they should be and that's to work for the whole 40 minutes."
