2002-03 BKM vs. Charleston Southern -- quotes
12/14/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
U-M Head Coach Tommy Amaker
Opening statements ... "Obviously we are pleased to win two games in a row. I think our defense was the difference in the game, holding them to only 53 points. Graham Brown was a major force in the low post for us. He contributed with big rebounds as well as finishing plays like we worked on during practice with him this week. LaVell Blanchard also had a big game and if we could have kept him out of foul trouble he could have went off for more than 24 points this afternoon. To end a game with 20 assists means that we did a good job of distributing the ball to help others get shots, and as a coach you love to see that."
On spreading the ball around ... "The sharing of the basketball is something that I love to see. We have been able to put two games together with good passing games and you can see when we are able to swing the ball around the court without turning it over we can get some wins."
On what winning can do for this team ... "I think right now it is a positive feeling for our kids to go into a positive locker room after the game. It is important now for them as they head into the week of finals; it is one less thing they have to worry about. We have put together two wins in a row and hopefully we can continue to do so."
On the players getting opening looks as they get comfortable with the offense ... "I think that is a big part of it. We ended the half well with LaVell's bucket and we did the same against Bowling Green. That all comes with the guys feeling comfortable with each other on the floor. If we can continue to do so we will continue to win games."
On the plans for the week ahead ... "It is a great time to get a win with the guys going into exams. It couldn't be a better time for the guys to get this win as they only have to worry about doing what they came here to do and that is get an education."
U-M Junior Wing Bernard Robinson Jr.
On winning back-to-back games ... "I think we've been playing good basketball and hitting our shots. We've helped that by playing good defense and hopefully we can continue to play the way we've been playing."
On creating his own shooting opportunities ... "I usually try to look to pass the ball first but if they don't step up I figure I can go to the rim and try to get to the free throw line. Today I did that and I was able to knock down a few shots."
On the offense finding its flow ... "I definitely think we're clicking. We're starting to run the floor a lot better and we're getting easier buckets. I think that's helped our offensive game a lot."
U-M Freshman Center Graham Brown
On converting six of his seven shot attempts ... "I just went out there and tried to play as hard as I could and just get as many rebounds and put-backs as I could."
On playing defense and only committing one personal foul ... "You just have to space your guy and let him make his move and then put a body on him and see what he can do. He's going to make his shots and you're going to stop him sometimes too. It goes both ways."
On collecting seven rebounds ... "They had a couple of guys going to the glass pretty hard. You just have to do as much as you can to get rebounds. The most important about the offense is to get the rebound so you can pass it and run the court."
U-M Freshman Wing Lester Abram
On scoring in the second half ... "The shots I was missing in the first half were in the post and they were easy shots. I knew my offense would come around sometime."
On spreading the ball around on offense ... "The reason we were losing the previous games was because we weren't sharing the ball and kind of playing selfish. We had to get that out of our system and spread the ball around to people who were open instead of keeping to ourselves."
