2017-18 Chattanooga Mocs Basketball
Post-Game Quotes vs Tennessee Wesleyan
Chattanooga, Tenn. – Nov. 25 – McKenzie Arena
Lamont Paris, Head Coach
On starting a little slow in first half.
"We had a hard time getting ourselves going early on. I don't know what that was attributed to, but I felt like the second half we came out with that first group more of the way we wanted to play. I feel like we were representing ourselves as how we want to be as a team."
On play from newcomer Joshua Phillips.
"The size difference was enormous. We got the ball to him and he could just turn around and score over guys. That probably won't be as realistic in a lot of the other games from a personnel standpoint. It was good for him to get in there and get his feet wet and just to be back on the court again."
On the tough play from David Jean-Baptiste.
"He plays hard. We want all of our guys to play hard. We always talk about trying to establish an identity. If someone was watching us for the first time, how would they classify our team? Playing hard and getting after it is one thing we want to do. There's some other things, but David comes in and just plays hard. It's nice to have a guy come out and do that for your team."
David Jean-Baptiste, R-Fr.-G
On constant development.
"The help of my teammates have been huge. The first couple games I was playing timid. They kept telling me that we're going to need you this year. There's no reason to be nervous. I went deeper and kept thinking about why I'm nervous. I have so many people that have my back and support me, there's no reason to be nervous. I'm just trying to do what I know how to do and build that confidence."
On sluggish start to open up the game.
'It's tough. We always talk about coming out strong and we think that we're going to do it every time. Once you actually go out there it's a different story. No matter who is in front of us we need to play hard and coach has been stressing that."
On moving forward and improving.
"It starts with practice tomorrow. The mindset is to get back in game speed. We're going to make mistakes, but we'll fight through it and keep playing hard."
Joshua Phillips, Sr.-C
On joining the team after football season concluded.
"If I could end my career here in any type of way, it would have been playing basketball again. I appreciate Coach Paris for giving me this opportunity and also Coach Arth for allowing me to come to the basketball team when the season was over. I really appreciate both coaches and the teammates who were so open and gave me a chance to be a part of the team. They really welcomed me with open arms."
On switching from football to basketball mode.
"The air is different. I was used to being outside with a helmet and pads on all day in the heat. I come to basketball running around with no pads and feel so much lighter. It's a different feel. I know I can bounce back like I did when I transferred to play football."
On quick start & what's next.
"It felt good. My whole life, if I start off well I will finish well. The first shot went in and I told myself that it's going to be a good game. It's a mental build up. When we go to Akron on Tuesday it's just the next step in what we're trying to build here."
