Dec. 29, 2007

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Georgetown Head Coach John Thompson III

On stopping American's outside shooters...
"(American) is a very good shooting team and early on if you let shooters get open shots they are going to go in. The first six or seven minutes of the game they made six threes, they're a good team, they run good sets and if you don't protect the three-point line they're going to make them, so we made a conscious effort of doing a better job of protecting the three-point line."

On the offensive performance...
"I think there were more possessions where we made better decisions. I think that obviously we focused on a lot this week and we're going to continue to focus on (offense). (Our offense) was better and we got different kind of looks compared to the Memphis game, so I think we have moved in the right direction. "

On Chris Wright...
"Chris brings an energy that we need. He scored today, but he can do so many things that he can score a lot of points and will score a lot of points, but he's so valuable in so many areas of the game that I think he's starting to get an appreciation for how good of a defender he is and how he can help his teammates."

On Rebounding...
"Our rebounding is an issue and for us to win this year we have to do a better job of limiting our opponents to one shot and just as important with this group is getting second shots for us."

Senior Center Roy Hibbert
On not wearing a t-shirt underneath his jersey for the first time...
"I decided to my whole attitude and I think it started with that. I think the t-shirt was making me sweat a bit more and holding me back a little bit. I'll try something different for right now."

On becoming more aggressive...
"I just wanted to make sure I scored within the offense, make sure I posted up strong, make sure I distributed the ball and make sure everybody else got shots and made it easier for me to score."

On rebounding...
"We just have to limit them to one shot and put a body on someone as soon as the shot goes up. We have to have a hand up when they're shooting and go rebound.'

On rebounding from the Memphis game...
"It's a learning experience because last year we dropped a couple of games early, but this year we were playing stronger. Coach wants us to rebound from a loss like that and I think we did pretty well. We have a lot more we want to accomplish. We want to make sure we get better every game, every possession and communication is the key to our success."

On how American played him...
"They were being physical down low in the post, but let them focus on that. DaJuan (Summers) is going to get dunks, Jon (Wallace) is going to get jump shots, (Jessie) Sapp is going to be able to penetrate and kick if out for shots. If they focus on me, then we will try to eat them away with everything else we've got."

"There's pressure because we don't want to lose to a team that's 10-15 minutes away from our campus. We treat every game the same, Memphis is the same as William & Mary and any other game. We try to go into a game with the same attitude. Just because it's a local team doesn't mean it's any different. We have to bring the same energy and concentration to the game."

Senior Guard Jonathan Wallace

On key run in first half...
"We stepped it up defensively and that carried it over to the transition. It allowed us to push the ball more and get easier shots. We were allowing them to get too many three-point opportunities. We began keying on that and pushing the ball more."

On whether this was the team's best defensive effort...
"I wouldn't say the best because I look at that early period, where we allowed uncontested shots, but I think we paid more attention to details as the game went on."

On how the team rebounded from the Memphis game...
"It's more about us. You can be aware of what other teams are going to do, but it boils down to how well we play and stick together as a team. The last couple of days, we got down to square one and focused on what we need to do as individuals and as a unit to be better off."

On the game...
"Coming into the game, we knew they were a good three-point shooting team and they had different shooters we had to key on. He (Coach) was upset and got on us and the guys kind of woke up. DaJuan (Summers) was showing a lot of energy early on, he was all over the place, and that carried over."

American Coach Jeff Jones
On Georgetown...
"They're really good. We knew coming in they were good. They pose so many different problems for you with their size, and their ability to score from so many different spots. They really stretch you out with their perimeter shooting."

On Georgetown's defense...
"The real story for us is the fact their defense was stifling. We got off to a good start, we made some shots then they really upped the energy level and we didn't have an answer for that. They are bigger, stronger, faster, and they were making plays on every pass. To be honest, there were a couple of times when we had some nice baskets, in the mid point of the first half, where we ended up with the basket but there was a potential steal they just missed. I think the constant pressure... the constant pushing out, trying to take away the shots, daring us to drive the basketball, wore us down."

On American's emotional intensity...
"If there was (lack of intensity) there is something wrong. Playing the 8th ranked team in the country... we live in the community so we know how good they are. It's kind of hard to think their might be (lack of intensity)."