La Salle - Lafayette Quotes
Coach Giannini:
Opening Statement:
“We are very pleased. Like ourselves, Lafayette is a team that is only going to keep getting better. They are very well coached, have multiple shooters, they have guys with size and it’s only a matter of time before they start winning games and play terrific basketball. They have played a really tough schedule. Because we respect Lafayette so much we are thrilled with the win. We had some guys not play great; we had other guys play great. There were certain plays that I thought fundamentally we weren’t very good on. I think there is a lot of room for improvement, collectively and individually for us. When you beat a good team, and are up double digits most of the way and you still think you can improve you have to feel pretty good about the state of things.”
On recruiting Jordan Price:
“When we were deciding whether or not to recruit him, I was talking to someone who I really know and respect who knows basketball I asked him to compare him to another one of our players. He said there is no comparison in talent, the player you are talking about is a very good player but Jordan Price offensively is on another level. Coming from someone I respect and comparing him to a player who was terrific for us that got my attention. He was always highly recruited, highly thought of and highly talented. He has matured, grown, and become a better overall player. He has kept himself in great shape. He deserves credit for being in the shape he is in and becoming the all-around player he is. The scoring, someone asked if he looked to score coming out of the second half, I think he came out of the womb looking to score. He has always been like that offensively.”
On the impact of controlling the boards:
“A big impact. No one is great at everything. We did a great job, looking at the stat sheet, in limiting them to five threes. If that is ten threes, we might not have won that game. On the other hand, they’re not a great rebounding team. Our big guys really came through. Rohan and Tony did mathematically, but you also look at some of the great effort plays that Yevgen made late. Some of those offensive rebounds he got were big time plays. Our big guys really responded.”
On the improvement of the young players:
“They’re first year players; they are a lot better this year than last year. Just like Yevgen is going to be a lot better a year from now. There is a big jump from first to second year. After that it depends on a guy’s motivation. When you start working out you see the biggest improvement after you start. We think our guys improve a lot from first to second year, we know it. They’re more comfortable and more experienced.”
On Tony Washington’s offense:
“He has only practiced two times, fully with contact, in the last two weeks. That’s what he did in our scrimmage and in practice consistently. Can he do it on game nights? That’s really impressive. Once Yevgen gets experience, he is nervous out there, he is equally as talented. He is just in his first year and still unsure. Tony being here last year and getting his feet wet in some games is a big difference. He was terrific. A big impact in terms of his role and a big impact on our depth. When a guy gets in foul trouble, we can put in another A-10 level player.”
On Tony’s offensive efficiency:
“Usually our guys are unselfish, but I think he can score on the block. Where I really think he is going to stun people is his field goal percentage at the end of the year. What he did today is what he did in practice. He is a really good finisher and part of that is he doesn’t force things and we don’t force the ball to him. He can score on the block but he really excels as a finisher.”
Sophomore Tony Washington
On being back on the court:
“It felt pretty well finally being able to be out there and contribute with my team.”
On if he expected to contribute this much:
“I was expecting to get back into the groove of things. After sitting out with my concussion when I got back to practice I was able to get back into it a little bit. The main focus of this game was to get the flow and feeling of the game back.”
Junior Jordan Price
On starting the game 9-for-10 shooting:
“In practice we work on finding each other. I have to give credit to my teammates, when I was open they found me. I just had to make the shot so I could get them the assist.”
On coming out of the second half on a strong run:
“That wasn’t our focus. Our main focus was to get stops and get kills, three stops in a row. I think that’s what we did when we came out. Steals lead to easy layups and that’s what we got.”
On getting other players involved:
“My main focus, as a captain, is to lead my team. That’s what gets me most excited is when the young guys, like Tony, step up and have a lot of rebounds and points. I am always happy about that.”
On getting Tony back:
“He controls the paint. He gets blocks, rebounds, and easy layups. When the defense comes up we can get it to him for easy dunks and scores. On defense he gets blocks and that’s always helpful.”
