Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Men's Basketball vs Benedictine -- Postgame Quotes
11/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 20, 2007
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Northwestern Basketball
November 20, 2007
Northwestern 95, Benedictine 63
Postgame quotes
Northwestern Basketball Head Coach Bill Carmody
Opening statement...
"That first half it was 50-30, and we made every shot. If we hadn't, because we hadn't been shooting that great...I thought they played very well. They are a well-coached team, the guys played hard. We just happened to have one of those nights where we were making a lot of shots. The first half sort of set the tone for everything, you're up 20 or so. I thought that they played hard, Benedictine; we couldn't stop the 3-point shooters the first half or second half. They shot 13-of-27, so they get a lot of credit. I was happy with our guys, because I thought we were moving the ball, spreading it around, they were unselfish, so you like to see that as a coach. I was happiest with [Mike] Capocci and [Jeff] Ryan, because Mike hasn't done that much, and I think he's going to be a pretty good player for us, he sort of got into the flow a little bit better. Then Ryan was just more aggressive, trying some things. He got around the basket, made some stuff around the hole, and I think he has to do that, because he's a pretty good sized kid. He's about 6-6 with long arms, he jumps, and sometimes he plays like he's 6-2, so I was happy with [his performance tonight]. The team competed, Benedictine did the whole game, and that was good for us."
On 3-point shooting in the second half...
"I think that maybe that they were pushing out on us a little more. Whatever the reason, I don't think we took as many, either. I don't know what we took in the second half; we didn't make any in the second half that I can remember. I thought we got our hands on some passes in their zone, and that helped get us some easy shots, but I thought they did a pretty good job, I guess they must have stopped us."
On preparing for a Division III school...
"We're trying to establish something, we really don't have a win going into the game, and you got to get your win and you got to go play hard and start pushing the ball, and I thought little Mike [Thompson] was finding the right guy all night. He did a nice job doing that, and I told the guys, 'You have to stay with that little squirt,' because he's up there half the time and he doesn't have anybody to throw it to, so I was happy to see that. Don't say I said squirt to the guy, either. But, I told you this a month ago, he makes the right decisions, he's a ball player.
On the play on Mike Thompson tonight versus in the DePaul game
"I sure liked it Saturday, the way that he played. I think that he is one of those guys that knows what's called for. The other guys weren't making them, so he starts shooting them. Tonight, maybe he didn't have to do that as much, find the right guy. He's a talented kid, so whatever is called for, so far, he's been doing."
Benedictine Head Coach Keith Bunkenburg
Opening Statement...
"I'm just disappointed in our defense. We really only had one day to prepare, and obviously when you go against an offense that back cuts and is really active offensively, you need probably two or three days to prepare for something like that. One thing I thought we did well was that we didn't get caught backdoor too often. The only thing that really hurt us was penetration. They were a little bit quicker than us on the wings, and even at their bigs. I was really proud of our kids. I thought they fought hard. When you get down by a pretty good chunk you can bury your head and give up a little bit but I thought our kids fought all the way to the end and I was really proud of them."
On Northwestern's success from behind the three-point line...
"Obviously they haven't shot the ball real well until tonight, so we were really packing in a little bit. We said, 'Hey, lets see them beat us from the perimeter.' And they obviously did. Once they start making some of those three's in the first half, you have to tighten up on some of their shooters. Especially Okrzesik and Moore, they shot the heck out of us. So, we tightened up a little bit and stopped giving up some of those easier shots. The game plan was to force them to the perimeter. Obviously more power to them, they did a great job."
On his own team's ability to hit from behind the arc...
"Our first game we played Wittenberg and we shot 60 percent from the three-point line in the first half and 44 percent overall. We have that potential. Danny Klecan, he's one of our best players, he hasn't shot the ball well up until today. But he is a good shooter. I'm not going to sit here and say he's not a good shooter. It was really nice to see him get off and do well. Hopefully that's something he can carry on for the rest of the year."
