Kent State v. Akron Post Game Quotes
3/8/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Kent State Head Coach Geno Ford
On being able to coach senior Guard Al Fisher, senior Guard Jordan Mincy and senior Forward Julian Sulliger during their senior years:
There haven't been three higher character or better kids to have than these three. Going through an entire season I haven't had one meeting with any of them that I didn't call, meaning they didn't come to ask why I didn't get more shots, why don't I get more minutes, why don't I start? I wanted to win so bad for Jordan [Mincy] Jules [Julian Sullinger] and Al [Fisher] because of that reason. I've coached for 15 years and I don't think I've ever had three guys that have never asked what's in it for me at any point.
On the intensity of junior Center Brandon Parks:
He's had better statistical games but I don't think he's played with that much fire. You can see in his eyes that that he was on a mission. He went after every rebound, he grabbed balls in traffic that we just haven't seen him grab every time. He was on another level today, he played great.
On Julian Sullinger's play during the first half:
In the first half Julian gave us a chance to win. He almost had a double-double at halftime and if he doesn't play like that we're done, games over. He was the one guy that kept us in it. Everyone struggled in the first half but Julian, he was the one guy that willed us to keep it close.
On Al Fisher ability to finish a game strong:
The thing about Al is that he's the only guy that we have had here that is completely capable of being 0-10 and with 2 minutes to go, if he gets the ball I would bet my life he's going to make a play and score. I think some of that is the way he carries himself, he's confident but he's not cocky. He's a great teammate, guys like him, he's very easy going. He's kind of on cruise control and when its late he has an uncanny ability to forget the first 36 minutes of the game like it never happened.
Al Fisher
On playing after losing junior Guard Chris Singletary:
Chris is a big part of our team. Loosing him was bad but we still had 40 minutes to play so we knew we had to keep doing what we always do. We had to stick together and focus on the game plan and try to get this win. We just did what we had to do no matter who came on the court. Everybody that came in contributed big today.
Mike McKee
On making the go ahead three pointer with 1 minute left in the game:
I was running the wing and I wasn't looking for the ball and I heard Al yell 'Mike'. I turned and looked and the ball was on me already so luckily I didn't have time to think about it, I just caught it turned and shot it. I just happened so quick I didn't have time to think about it which was probably a good thing.
Brandon Parks
On the intensity he brought to the game today:
It really helped me when Fish [Al Fisher], Mike [McKee] and Frank [Henry-Ala] really got me going today just seeing Frank play the way he did after not getting a ton of minutes on the season. It got me going as a player and when one big thing happens for you the next ones come easy, that's all I usually need is one thing to get me going then after that I can get going easy.
Akron Head Coach Keith Dambrot
Opening Statement:
First, I think we have a great deal of respect for Kent State and their winning program. I like their guys, I like their coaching staff, it hasn't changed since Geno's been the coach. They play hard. I have to be the biggest fan. I felt all year they still have good talent, good players and they showed today that when their back was up against the walls they made plays. Secondly, I feel bad for our guys. Our guys have given me unbelievable effort every single day. We just have to learn how to make plays when it matters. We made multiple mistakes in execution, handling the ball and then leaving a guy wide open, which is a communication problem. And I feel badly because our guys put ourselves in position to win and we just kind of handed it off when it mattered.
On their approach to the tournament:
We've been hit in the mouth about 55 times this year so, for some reason our guys seem to be able to rally ourselves. I think it's me, I think I have the hardest time rallying myself, more so then them. But, things could be worse.
Akron senior Forward Nate Linhart
On having trouble finishing games:
It's frustrating. It's kind of the story of our season. We play well in the first half, and then I don't know if it's a combination of being young or just what it is but, we've had our struggles for sure. We're going to work on it, hopefully clean it up before the MAC tournament and see what we can do from there.
Akron sophomore Forward Brett McKnight
On the play inside:
The first game we had our way inside. But this game they tried to double team me. During the game we hit some shots but some other shot we missed, and we should have closed the game out if we made some of those three-point shots that we took.
