Postgame Quotes (vs. Wichita State)

Nov. 28, 2009

Nov. 28, 2009

Postgame Quotes

Cleveland State Head Coach Gary Waters:
"I thought Wichita State came in here focused in knowing what they had to accomplish and they are a good team and we knew that. They basically took it to us and we didn't respond. We just came back from a tournament in Cancun where two teams took it to us and we responded there, but not today. They played solid defense, and shots were falling for them. During the second half we played zone, which is something we don't usually do."

"They shot good field goal percentages on us, and I may be forcing something on this group of young men when it isn't who they are and that is the pressure defense. Against Kenutcky we went pretty hard, but we had big guys in foul trouble, and we ran out of gas against Virginia and we were in foul trouble again. This may not fit the team so I need to go back to the drawing board and figure this out. With this team you need to look at them in January and February, not now. They don't quite know each other, but give them some time and they will."

"We didn't shoot well and I will say that. Norris had two good games in Cancun and all of sudden he can't shoot, and they played great defense against him. I know what Wichita State does, and why they do it and that team is going to be good this year. We are doing this year what they did a year ago with adding new players and regrouping. That's the name of the game, I don't think it will take us the whole year to figure it out though with Aaron inside and Trey shooting the ball. We just need to get Norris back in action. I will give them some rest and go back to the drawing board and I think something good will come out of that. Coming back from Cancun I told them, in Cancun we played Kentucky and Virginia hard and played good basketball and got nothing to show for it. We had to regroup ourselves at home where we usually don't lose, but the Wichita State team came in very focused and brought it to us."

"I thought the ones that hurt us were inside, Garrett is going to be a player for them, he knows basketball and he is big and you can't do anything against his size. Gregg has to cherish him for the future. They are playing good together and they know their roles on the team. We let their point guard do too much at the beginning, we usually don't do that and we did this game."

"The next couple games are going to be tough, I don't think we are ready for them yet, and both teams are playing well. Each team has lost once I think. I have to take the lumps as I get them and we have to learn from them. You don't have to lose to learn, but right now that's what we are doing. I just don't want them to lose their confindence."

Cleveland State's Trevon Harmon:
"You can blame it on the trip if you want to, but we should be prepared for anything that comes at us. We knew Wichita State was a good team, we played them last year with everyone coming back. We should have been prepared, but we came out flat. We need to regroup and find ourselves with two hard road games coming up."

"It's more on us, we have new faces on the team, and some people don't understand certain roles. We let Wichita State come in here and throw the first punch, when we need to come out from the start."

Wichita State Head Coach Gregg Marshall:
"We are proud of the effort today, the defensive effort, proud to get a win here at Cleveland State. With the eight new guys, Gary Waters is rebuilding the program after two great years. This year they will be in the top of the Horizon League, so for us to get a win on the road in Cleveland is great."

"Something we talked about before the game is, in order to win on the road you can't be the same as the home team, but more bouncy and energetic than the home team. The home team has so many more advantages playing at home and our team is ready to take that step with winning on the road. Winning against Iowa on a neutral court, and then here at Cleveland State, we certainly have the confidence. In order to go from a good team to a really good team you have to win on the road."

"Norris Cole, when you watch video of him, he has gotten off to a great start and we wanted to make sure we didn't give him anything easy, we kept him in check and our post players did an excellent job and our guards continued to work. Jared Cunningham, we knew his game, he is a very skilled player. They missed some shots that they would normally hit and D'Aundray had some great looks. But they just played back-to-back games in Cancun, and it's hard to come off of that."