Robert Morris Head Coach Andrew Toole
“Obviously a lot of things for us to take from this experience. Everybody wants to build the story up from last year’s game. Obviously these are two completely different teams. We played an excellent basketball game tonight. A lot of times we followed our defensive formula the best we could and unfortunately at the end of those possessions, they got offensive rebounds or made 3’s. We were trying to figure out how many 3’s they would have to make to beat us, and obviously seven is the number. I’m proud of our guys in terms of their fight and continuing to play hard throughout the entire game. We’ll build on those things and learn from some of the mistakes so that when we get in some more atmospheres going forward we will be more equipped to play better.”
“For the most part. I think there was a handful of shot we rushed and didn’t have enough poise on. Obviously, with their size and athleticism I think there were times where you think you’re open and then you’re not very quickly. There were certain possessions where we did a very good job and went for open shots that we didn’t make in the beginning of the game. I think that kind of hurt our spirits a little bit. We needed to make some shots early to continue to keep it close and we did not do that. For the most part, I think we took some pretty good shots. I thought we could have been a little crisper in our offensive executions to get some more of those good shots. Obviously, they do a good job defensively and that makes it incredibly hard.”
“Obviously, their talent is better than last years team. Last year they did not have a low-post presence that they could hurt us with. We had to make a choice going into the game today whether we were going to try and take away perimeter guys or try and flood the paint. We opted to try and flood the paint because we thought we could slow (Julius) Randle down. You know, 10 points and 15 rebounds isn’t bad, right? Unfortunately, they were able to hurt us from the perimeter and they haven’t been able to have both things going this year. Last year they didn’t have that low-post threat that we really had to focus on. We were able to take away Julius Mays on the perimeter and make (Alex) Poythress put it on the floor and things like that, which we weren’t able to do this year due to some of their backcourt play. I think from a defensive standpoint, (Willie) Cauley-Stein was a great shot blocker last year and a great rim protector for them, but I think they have so much more size and length on the perimeter that it makes it difficult for you to run your offense.”
“I thought they would play similar to the way they played tonight. Obviously, Aaron (Harrison) hadn’t shot great until tonight. Like I said, we had to make a choice. I think they are great in transition. They do a good job of pushing the ball and putting pressure on your defense. I don’t think we did a good job in transition defense. Both (Aaron and Andrew) Harrison played with such great poise. It’s hard to speed them up and hard to rattle them. It’s a handful.”
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