March 4, 2010
Recap | Final Stats
Athens, Ohio -
Head Coach John Groce
Opening statement:
Obviously, overall, it was a good night for us. I think the thing I’m most proud of is when both teams combined for 6 for 32 to start the game, I felt like our defense didn’t flinch, and that is a great sign this time of year. I thought that was probably the longest stretch of time that we maintained that level of defense all season. I think that was the most exciting thing I took from the night. I felt our guys showed great poise in trying to settle in against the zone. I though Bassett and Cooper pushed the ball at breakneck speed at times and got us out in transition before they could get their zone set. That, I thought really made a difference in terms of getting easy baskets, some wide open three’s and some DeVaughn Washington plays in the end of the first half that got us some momentum. Kenneth van Kempen played a vital role in the game defensively. I’ve said this all year and this isn’t something that shows up in the stat book, but I think in terms of 4’s and 5’s in this league, I think he’s the best defender in the front court. I knew he was really locked in when he dove for that ball in the first half.
On D.J. Cooper’s progression throughout the season:
I thought he was really locked in defensively as were all the guys. He’s one of those guys where good guards can impact the game without scoring a ton of points. He had six points, but yet he found ways through rebounding, getting deflections, steals and passing to make our team better. Every guy on our team has a pretty good feel for what their role is. They’re taking pride in their role, and the guys are playing very well together.
On his experience with K.V.K:
I’ve said a lot this week that I’ve coached a lot of players at a lot of different places in 17 years. I can probably count on two hands guys that have totally reached their maximum potential and he’s one of those guys. The improvement that he’s made from last year to this year is about as good as any I’ve seen. He got himself in better shape, is a better shooter, is scoring around the basket and is rebounding better. Saying all of that, the two best things are, one, all he cares about winning. He doesn’t care if he goes 4-9, 7-9, shoots nine times, or doesn’t shoot at all; he just wants to win. That’s an unbelievable feeling as a coach when you have a guy like that. The second thing is that I don’t have to worry about him at all. I mean, I’m talking zero. He’s a double major, represents our program off the court at the highest level, and optimizes the term student-athlete. It’s for all those things that I’m proud of him, who he is, who he has become as a player, how he’s grown as a person, and that’s what this experience is supposed to do for guys.
Kenneth van Kempen
On playing his last game at the Convocation Center:
It was emotional for me; I’m glad me parents and my brother could make it. The crowd was fantastic tonight and it was an honor for me to hear my national anthem being played in the Convo. It’s an honor to hear the national anthem for sport. In Holland, you don’t hear it before every game like you do here, so that was great to hear that.
On his feeling walking off the court at the Convocation Center:
That was also emotional; I couldn’t keep my tears in. I didn’t expect to go out with five fouls, but it was definitely emotional to be done. I’ve had a great career here and hopefully it gets better moving into the tournament. I really appreciate what the fans have done for me.
Armon Bassett
On pushing the tempo in the last four minutes of the first half:
We just tried to keep on pushing it, and there always seems to be a spot in the game that if you keep pushing it will finally open up. We got some steals, DeVaughn had some good finishes, Tommy was hitting shots, D.J. was finding people and everything was just clicking.
Bowling Green Coach Louis Orr
On the game in general and Luke Kraus:
This is one of those games we’ve got to put behind us. It’s obvious we didn’t play well. I want to give credit to Luke Kraus. He really brings some fire and some grit to our team. He played well tonight, and I’m really proud of him. We’ve got to shake this game off and get ready for the game on Sunday.
On team’s effort and what they were playing for:
Any time you step on the court, you’ve got to compete. Ohio didn’t have a problem competing. Any time you step on that floor, you’ve got to embrace that competition and fight fire with fire. It’s obvious that’s something that was missing. We’ve got to let this game go and move on to the next one.
On the slow start and Ohio hitting shots toward the end of the first half:
Initially our defense was getting stops, but we had too many empty possessions on the offensive end. Instead of playing inside out, we played outside in. We had too many turnovers and they fed off our turnovers. They had 25 points off our 20 turnovers. We knew once they got in transition that they were a dangerous team. You allow a team to get their confidence, give them easy baskets while you have empty possessions on the offensive end, and you have a slow start. We didn’t do that, and they got it going and kept it going.
On Ohio’s shooters:
The guys that shoot three’s for them shot well. There wasn’t much they didn’t do well tonight. There wasn’t much we did to prevent them either.
