Jan. 29, 2002
LOGAN, Utah - The following are quotes from Utah State head basketball coach Stew Morrill at his weekly press conference on Jan. 29, 2002.
Reflecting on last weekends win over Idaho...
"The encouraging thing was we had a real good week of practice last week and then we find a way to win a game. We knew what we were in for going to Moscow, Idaho. Coming off a (Cal State) Fullerton loss, that would have been a real tough loss to go back-to-back and lose to Fullerton and Idaho. I thought our guys responded real well after the Fullerton loss and practiced consistently throughout the week. And I think that helped us even though it wasn't a pretty game up there and we had to come from behind and all that. I'm a big believer that consistent practice habits help you get better and helps you have a chance to win. Thank goodness Tony (Brown) made some shots and we defended better in the second half and we got a 'W'."
About this weeks games with UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly...
"Now on to this week, we've got two teams coming in that are right smack in the middle of the race just like we are. That provides a lot of motivation for them and certainly should for us as well. UC Santa Barbara has a lot of weapons and Cal Poly has just played so much better this year. They (Cal Poly) really guard you, and I think that is indicative of our score when we played down there and the Irvine score, that they're playing such good defense and it's giving them a chance to compete night in and night out. They've got quit a few weapons too, especially getting (Steve) Geary all of a sudden available at the two guard, that helps them a lot. Now you got Varnie (Dennis) inside, you've got (Brandon) Beeson who is a big weapon for them, you got a pure shooter in (David) Henry who can shoot the ball from way deep, and you got Geary, a two guard, who is shooting 50 percent from three the last couple games out. One thing is for certain, we better defend and rebound if we want a chance to win because we are playing against some good personnel."
On UC Santa Barbara offensively...
"They are all looking to penetrate, more than I've seen them do in a long time. They are really looking to take you off the dribble. That's an interesting thing this time of year because its an ability, if you have it, that really helps your team because everybody gets so well scouted and everybody kind of gets a little better defensively, and it boils down a lot of times to having to make plays and penetration. If you can get by people and make plays, it helps you."
On Mark Hull...
"He is a real good player. I would like to think we had something to do with him not having a great game in Santa Barbara, but he also missed some open looks as well. You try to limit how many open looks he gets. He's a tough guard for us, especially when he goes to the four because he is so active."
On UC Santa Barbara going 4-1 on the road in league play...
"It couldn't concern me more than I 'm already concerned. You can only be so concerned and at some point you have reached the limit of concern. They're good. I knew what a quality win that was for us down there and I knew at the time that that was a huge win, that they were going to be one of the top teams in our league. We're going to have to really play well to have a chance to win, there is no doubt about it. We had our backs against the wall and we responded down there. We were very determined and we will need the same determination to have a chance to beat them here."
On Desmond Penigar and Tony Brown offensively...
"Everybody in our league is focusing on our two scorers (Desmond Penigar and Tony Brown) because they are both scoring a lot of points for us. I think it's a matter of us executing the things we do to try and get those two guys open. And I also think we're much more effective when we have other people step up along with those guys offensively. It doesn't always have to be a certain guy, but if we can have a third scorer step up its very helpful. We've got enough good players that that's something they should expect and I should expect, for more guys to surface offensively. I think that is very possible."
On preparing for teams in league play....
"What happens when you get to league, just like you see our percentages changing from the preseason, is everybody becomes more familiar with people and what they do. I think your weaknesses become more apparent then they did in the preseason. I think that's kind of what happens when you get to conference, for everyone around the country."
