Kent State vs. Western Michigan Post-Game Quotes
1/30/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Kent State Men's Basketball vs. Western Michigan
Kent State Head Coach Geno Ford
Opening Statement:
"We drew up everything but making sure that he (redshirt junior guard Rodriquez Sherman) dunked it. We were trying to keep the floor spaced. We screened for him in the backcourt to try to give him a head of steam. We put Mike in one corner and Tyree in the other, figuring if they helped in from the corners we'd kick it out and shoot a three. Obviously, we told Rod, 'Go 'til they stop you.' If that's drawing it up, I guess it was drawn up. It was an unbelievable play. I don't know that I've ever seen a game end on something like that. What a special play he made."
On play of Western Michigan senior guard David Kool:
"We couldn't guard him. We tried different guys on him; we put bigger guys on him, we put smaller guys on him. We double-teamed him about five or six times, and he scored during a couple of them. He was playing at a high level today. He's a very, very good player. He's a tough matchup because he can post you and make jump shots. We were just fortunate that we made the last great play."
On play of senior guard Chris Singletary:
"Chris kept us in it. We were struggling. Chris was getting the ball in the mid-post and driving it and drawing some fouls and at least getting us to stay in contact with the game. If not for him carrying us offensively, we would have been down 10 or 12 and it would've been over. He was big for us today throughout the whole game."
Kent State Redshirt Junior Guard Rodriquez Sherman
On game-winning play:
"If I go to the basket, I've got to dunk it because he might block it. When I got past the guard, I saw a little bit of lane. When I see a little bit of lane, my eyes get real big. They got big, and I knew I had to dunk it. I still can't believe it right now."
On team's key to four-game winning streak:
"We're feeding off of our defense. That's one thing we've really been forcing the issue on, is playing defense and getting stops. We started out a little rough today. Kool is a great player and hit tough shots, but Chris kept on reminding us that we weren't going to let one player beat us."
Kent State Senior Guard Chris Singletary
On trying to defend Western Michigan senior guard David Kool:
"All game Kool was getting the good shots. Some of the shots he was making were tough shots. He's a great player. In crunch time when we needed the stop, Frank got the stop."
On his strong second-half performance:
"My teammates were saying they were going to ride me. When you've got support like that from your teammates, that builds your confidence up as a player. I knew they were looking for me, and they were giving me the ball in great position to score. I was just making the easy layups and just feeding off of that."
Kent State Senior Forward Frank Henry-Ala
On making key stop on Western Michigan senior guard David Kool:
"My specialty is defense. Everyone just kept telling me that I had to lock him up. Kool, the whole game, was doing a little push-off thing. I told the refs to watch out for it. Instead of me falling off of it when he pushed me, I stepped back into him so he couldn't quite get past me. Chris had great help defense. I was on his hip, then Chris came and contested the shot."
Western Michigan Head Coach Steve Hawkins
Opening Statement:
"I told the kids afterward that I just felt awful for them. We corrected a lot of the mistakes that we had been making on the road. We played a lot better defensively in the second half than we did in the first half. It helped us settle down, offensively. David was the one guy not in foul trouble we could keep out there that was really having an impact in the game. Obviously, he was feeling it so we just kept calling his number."
Western Michigan Senior Guard David Kool
On tough loss overshadowing strong personal performance:
"This one stings a little bit more than any of the other ones. We came in here and competed really hard and played as hard and as well as we could have. Those are the ones that make it hurt the most. We put everything out there, and that's just a sign of the team growing up. It's a good sign for us, but it really does hurt."
Western Michigan Senior Center Donald Lawson
On Kent State redshirt junior guard Rodriquez Sherman's game-winning play:
"It was a heck of a play. He got past our guards and just went above the rim and got the foul in and made the shot. Big play. I tip my hat to him."
