March 10, 2010
Houston Head Coach Tom Penders
Opening statement:
"We were ready to change and do a lot of different things today, but we had the big lead. We decided to
stay real vanilla in our playing, which meant straight-up, gap, man-to-man defense, no trapping and no
switching. We might save a few things for tomorrow. We did the same thing with offense, and we were
lucky to be able to do that. My goal was to have nine guys play double-figure minutes. We didn't quite
make that goal, but almost. We had eight guys play double figure minutes, which was good. You are able
to do that when you have a big lead. But people can also see what can happen when you take a couple of
great players out of the game, and the other team has nothing to lose, and they get a couple of shots and
get the score down to twelve. That is college basketball. Just ask the Seton Hall coach. You worry about
that as a coach. `Did I sub to early? Should I have waited until the five minute mark?' All those things go
through your head, but our kids maintained their poise. The most important stat for me today is that we
battled fairly even on the boards and we are not a great rebounding team. We also kept our turnovers
down. Points off turnovers, 18 to 7; that is always a huge statistic. We are either 1 or 2 in the country in
fewest turnovers per game and 19 assists shows unselfishness as a ball club. We have to keep that up.
Sometimes, Aubrey [Coleman], as great as he is, feels like, `I gotta do it myself.' With Maurice back, it is a
relief number 1 and he is a real important part of our success this year. He has played well after the early
season and adjusting to this level. We are a much better team with Maurice [McNeil] out there.
On being "already dead":
"D.M.W., dead man walking, if you are already dead what do you have to lose? The most dangerous
person in a war or fight is the guy that already thinks he is dead. And that is was we have to be. I have
been through this walk before."
#12 Aubrey Coleman, UH
On getting in the flow of the game:
"Our plan was to come out early and execute the game plan. We would have been happy to come out of
here with a one-point win today. We knew they were going to make a run, but we had a big lead. That is
why we were able to cruise through to the finish like we did."
On distributing the ball to teammates:
"It was my goal coming in. I know that every team is trying to stop me. So early on, I was just moving it
around and trying to get warm and comfortable. That is when I attack. That was my goal coming in, just
trying to get everyone involved. Not trying to be Superman like coach says I do at times."
#3 Maurice McNeil, UH
On the key to the game:
"I think the key to the game was sharing the ball. Desmond [Wade] and Aubrey [Coleman] had a whole
bunch of assists and they made a whole bunch of plays. Some of them we did not finish on, but we got the
foul. They had like 5 assists, but had we connected it would have been more like 10. We were sharing the
ball and we were playing together. We have nothing to lose, really. Like coach says, `We are already
dead.' So we play like dead men out there."
On the next game against Memphis:
"They are a great team, and I think they are already in the [NCAA] tournament. We just have to go out
there, play hard and battle with them. We cannot take any plays off and we have to play hard. Even though
we beat them, they beat us pretty bad too. So we have to remember that and also play hard. We cannot
take any plays off."
East Carolina Head Coach Mack McCarthy
Opening Statement
"The game was a lot like most of our season. We had some really good moments. We didn't quit. We had a
section there where we made a lot of mental mistakes, offensively and defensively, and didn't overcome
those. It was a lot like the regular season. A lot of potential and coming up a little short, but we were really
resilient and they never quit.
What was the difference from the first half to second half?
A couple things. First it was the turnovers, and the second thing was offensive rebounds. We gave up five
offensive rebounds, between those two things that was nearly 20 points and we were down 13 at the half.
We've done that on other occasions. When we've taken care of the basketball, gotten good shots and shot a
decent percentage, it's pretty rare to lose the game. I can count on two, three or four fingers teams that
have shot 50 percent and lost the game. For a long time it was one. It's happened two or three times this
year. Turnovers and offensive rebounds have normally been the culprit in regards to that outcome."
Is Houston a team that could make a run in this tournament?
"They can make tough shots. I don't think anybody understands how good a coach Tom Penders is. His kids
believe in themselves and what he's doing. They don't have all the pieces but they have some nice pieces.
They have small men who can step out and shoot the ball, big men who can run the floor and guard pretty
good for their size. And, of course, Lewis and Coleman are really incredible. We had Coleman guarded a
few times, and you can guard him, and he still makes shots. That's why those people with the NBA logo
were sitting in the corner watching him."
#10 Brock Young, ECU
Difference in the first half from the second half.
"We were a little more patient on offense, and trying to go inside-out and kicking it out and trying to shoot
open shots."
#1 Darrius Morrow, ECU
Talk about your head coach Mack McCarthy:
"Coach Mack is a great person, and a great coach. I look at him like a father figure. He's probably the best
coach that I've played for. I wish him the best.
