University of Massachusets Athletics
Post-game Quotes
November 18, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 18, 2005
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UMass Coach Travis Ford's general reaction to the game : "Well, I'm glad it's over. We survived. First of all, what I've been saying about Harford all week has to be intensified even more about how good of a basketball team they are going to be. They are very well coached. They've got a senior basketball team that's going to be very good.
"We came out very tense and I thought I was one of the leading candidates for being the most tense. There was a lot more pressure on us than there was on them. It was out home opener, my first game here, and I think our players felt that, `Hey we've got to win this basketball game.' They came out in a zone, which wasn't the greatest thing for us out very much because we didn't have a chance to come out, run our offense, and get loose. It was a great game plan by them.
"Defense is one thing we've hung our hat on and that's one thing that, I thought, we finally did. Offensively, we were never there tonight. Rashaun scored a couple points, but I didn't think that he played that well offensively. He played well in spurts. We didn't execute well or shoot well. On defense, we dug down and finally started playing defense and that was the difference in the game." Chris Lowe on his first collegiate game: "It felt real good. Coach just told me to play my game and come out there, play defense, and everything else would fall into place. I went out there and sparked the team on defense, went on a little run, and got back in the game. I didn't expect to play 25 minutes. I just expected to help the team win. If it was two minutes or 25 minutes, it doesn't matter; so long as I help the team win."
Jeff Viggiano on the positives coming out of the game: "I think just being in a close game. In both of our scrimmages, even against Seton Hall, the games really weren't even close. With all the new guys we have, playing a close game in an intense situation is going to help us out down the road."
Jeff Viggiano on the Minutemen's slow start: "I hope it was just nervousness, or jitters, or something. We just grinded it out, kept playing hard, and those things happen. You get wins when you're playing hard, even when your shots aren't falling, or things aren't going your way."
Rashaun Freeman on his strong second half: "I was a little too amped up (in the first half) and missed some shots I usually make easily. At half time, I wasn't mad but, anxious to get back out there and get back to work."
Hartford Head Coach Larry Harrison:
"This was a tough loss. I am really concerned about our guard play. We have two young guards, Chris Cole, a freshman, and Rich Baker, a redshirt sophomore. Even though we played well, we didn't run the offense we needed to run at the crucial times."
Coach Larry Harrison on team's second half play:
"We took care of the ball better in the second half. We didn't execute at the crucial times to win the game."
Center Kenny Adeleke on his first game played in over one year:
"I'm excited to be back out on the court. It was the first time in ten years that I sat out a full season. We let one get away, but have others to play. We have to focus on the games coming up and try to get W's."