The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Quotes From Friday's Pregame Press Conference
3/18/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 18, 2005
BOISE, Idaho - UAB Senior Guard Donell Taylor
On recent return of brother, Ronell, after injury
"It's a good feeling for me. Seeing him back on the court, giving 100 percent, is a real boost for me and the team. He's a guy that can come off the bench and score and can also play defense."
On suggestion that UAB's style of play lends itself to tournament success
"We play every game like it's our last one. We give extra effort all throughout the game. Most teams look at us and say `Oh, they're pretty small', but we're scrappy and we like to get the game up and down the floor and try to create turnovers by the other team."
On whether the Blazers have been pressed like they press this season
"We may have been pressed like this two or three times this year, but we handled it pretty well. If a team presses us, we feel like we can break it because we do it every day in practice. We don't focus on what other teams do, we just focus on what we do. We feel like if we're doing what we're supposed to be doing, we can break the press just as easy as we do in practice."
On Arizona's Channing Frye and the problems he presents
"He's a big guy. On the defensive end, he's real tall, so he doesn't have to jump. You pretty much have to give him a head fake to get him up in the air. We feel like if we can get him in the air, our big men can go up strong or dish the ball off. On the offensive end, he's a big target. He's got the wing span of a 7-3 guy, so we want to try to keep him off the block. He poses a big challenge for us, but as we've done all year, our guards come down and help. Nothing is really going to change the way we do things."
On how much past success against "big name programs" helps when facing Arizona
"We knew that we were supposed to be here, just like Arizona knew they were supposed to be here. We don't look at them like they're a much better team than us because we're in the same position. We're just going to come out and give it our all."
UAB Junior Guard Carldell "Squeaky" Johnson
On suggestion that UAB's style of play lends itself to tournament success
"A lot of times we come out with nothing to lose and no pressure on us. Therefore, we come out and play hard and leave it all on the line."
On having the Taylor twins as teammates
"It's fun to have the Taylor twins on the team. They always give you all out hustle. Most of the time, they're trying to get highlights, that's why they hustle. I think they like to go home and talk about the amazing plays they did and the things that other people didn't do (LAUGHTER)."
On attacking a press like UAB's
"I think it's a plus for us if they do attack the press. That style of game would favor us, by them having so many big players."
On things head coach Mike Anderson wants the team to do when pressing
"We use the press to get players to certain spots on the court so we can have help defense. If something breaks down, we have another man that can step up and our man that's out of position can find another spot. There's no particular way that we press, we just go out and go after them. "
On getting in and staying in condition to run the press
"Our bench is a key part to our team because all year long, all we do is run and press and trap, so five guys can't stay on the court for more than about ten minutes, so we have to come out and get our rest and the bench either comes in and maintains what we're doing or they elevate it. "
On how much past success against "big name programs" helps when facing Arizona
"It helps a lot. Coach always tells us to act like we've been here before. This year, we can say that we've been here. He always says `It's like shirts and skins' because they put on their jersey just like we do. Although they are a great program, we just have to come out and play hard and do what we do."
UAB Head Coach Mike Anderson
On the win against LSU
"I thought we came out kind of reckless and giving it our all on defense. I thought they came out kind of on their heels, which is to be expected when you have younger players. There's something about being in this event that lends itself to that, especially in the first game. I thought we came out and really got after it. I think our guys fed off of the defense and before you knew it, good things were happening for the Blazers."
On suggestion that UAB's style of play lends itself to tournament success
"I believe the way we play is very conducive for tournament play. It's very hard to prepare for. As you're watching them play, I'm watching them play and I don't know what they're going to do sometimes. I do know one thing - defensively, they're going to read off of one another, they're going to play hard, they're going to leave it on the floor and they're going to play to win. It's very unpredictable at times, but it's something we work on. There's a method to the madness. We work on it all the time. I think these guys trust one another and our biggest contributor, and I continue to say it, is our bench. When our bench is playing well, we tend to play well as a team."
On tweaking the defense when playing a team that likes playing against the press
"I don't think you do. I don't think you get to this stage and change what brought you to the dance. At the same time, we're a multiple defensive team. You don't become predictable. I think that's one thing we don't do. Arizona is a tremendous basketball team. They're averaging more points than we are, so there's no question they can play up-tempo basketball. They have all the ingredients and all the parts. We'll toss it up and see what takes place, but hopefully we can get the game going the way we want it to. I'm sure they would love to get up and down the floor and maybe, just maybe, the benches become a factor and I like our bench. I'm sure he (Lute Olson) likes his bench as well."
On how much past tournament success helped against LSU
"As I pointed out earlier, I thought our guys drew off of that experience. If you watched our team play, they came in with the mindset that they were having fun and they went right to work. You always wonder what is going to take place in the first game with your basketball team because the nerves are going, but if our guys had some nerves going, it only lasted for maybe a minute, but before you knew it, our defense kicked in and we were doing what we do in practice every day."
On whether the Blazers have been pressed like they press this season
"There's an adage that teams that press don't like to be pressed, but I take exception to that because that's something we do every day at practice. There are some teams that have done it, but they've done it to slow us down. I think Charlotte did it, but I thought it was more of a safety press, to slow us down."
On recent return of Ronell Taylor, after injury, and the effect of having the Taylor twins on the team
"When those guys first became a part of our team you couldn't see one without the other and it's been like that in year two as well. They're great kids, they work hard, they don't say much, but they have personality, though. It took me awhile to know which one was who. Even through that, they confuse me quite a bit. One of them will do something and I'll say `Who did that' and he'll say `It was number two' because I call them `Number one' and `Number two'. They are fun guys. I tell you what, I thought last night, every one saw the importance of Ronell to our basketball team. He got hurt earlier in the year, against Louisville, and that's when we went on the four-game skid going the other way, so now we have to have other guys step up and they did. We turned that around and went on a five-game winning streak. Throughout that, our scoring was almost 80 points a game with him and without him it went down to almost 69. Now, we've got him back and, you saw it last night, we scored 82 points. He gives us nine points in the first half. He gives us another dimension. He's a guy that can slash, create off the dribble, he can rebound. I tell you what, with those guys, we're just a fast basketball team. They really pick up the tempo."
On his philosophy on junior college players
"I like basketball players, number one. I like basketball players that are winners. So, if you look at all the guys that are coming in our program, they're off winning teams. The twins, Marvett McDonald won two national junior college championships, Marques Lewis ... winning teams. Recruiting to me is a lot different than from a lot of other people. I try to find the pieces to the puzzle to fit what we're doing. The twins - they were a package deal, probably the best package deal I ever had. I was a junior college player and, back in the day, junior college players were labeled. Nolan Richardson took five junior college players, this was in the 80s now, to Tulsa where we won a NIT championship the very first year. I think you see more teams going to the junior colleges because those guys are more ready to play."
On Arizona's Channing Frye and the problems he presents
"When you talk about Channing Frye, you're talking about a guy who is probably one of the premiere players in the country. I know he's one of the top players in their league and he's been playing awfully well. He poses a big problem ... as evident from last night, a lot of things go through him. When you have to pay so much attention to him, I think that's when the other players such as (Salim) Stoudamire have success. But I don't think Channing is their only weapon. I think they have a lot of other weapons, guys that can attack, a very athletic team and we're going to have to play some pretty good basketball in order to have a chance."
