Men's Basketball Postgame Quotes
Wofford 97, Chattanooga 58
Chattanooga, Tenn. - McKenzie Arena
Feb. 23, 2011

Head Coach John Shulman
Thoughts on the game:
"No energy. I was worried about that coming off of Monday. Wofford hadn't played since Saturday. I was worried about having no energy. We had no energy. We can talk about this, we can talk about that, but we just out tails kicked. It is pretty simple."

"We got our tails whipped in every facet. Offensively, we couldn't move to get open. Defensively, couldn't get a stop. We had one assist at half, got dominated on the boards and that is why they are defending champs and that is why they are picked to win the league. For whatever reason, we have a tough time playing against them."

On the two bad losses to Wofford:
"I would think it would motivate you, but that is the fun thing about coaching 20-21 year-old kids. One night we look like the Globetrotters and the next night we look like the Generals. I have had my tail kicked many times, so it motivates me. Then you get prepared and you get organized and try to figure out a way to go kick their tail."

On the frustrations of the first half:
"We couldn't get into a flow. We doubled (Noah) Dahlman every time he touched the ball in the first half and he still scores 17 points. He is an amazing athlete. He is a great, great basketball player. He plays the game the right way. I have a tremendous respect for him."

On how much of what went wrong tonight is fixable:
"I can say this and that, but I am going to have to watch the tape. I am a big believer that if you have amazing effort, it really doesn't matter what you do out there, you have a chance to win the game. If you have no effort, but you execute, you can win the game. If you have effort, plus execution, then you got something pretty special. Tonight we had neither."

On losing to the same team twice:
"I will try to be as positive as I can be. It is frustrating knowing how good they are and you try to prepare and be mentally and physically ready for a team like Wofford and this ends up being the result. It is disappointing, especially after a big win vs Furman Monday. It is not the job of the coaches or the crowd to fire us up - it is us as players to bring the energy. It is frustrating tonight with the lack of energy we had. We might have blown some of our energy in the black out game, but no excuses."

On feeling like you were at Wofford again:
"We were struggling offensively tonight, especially in the first half. We had 18 points tonight in the first half at one point and it was the toughest 18 points of the year I was thinking to myself. Also, about eight minutes to go you never want to give up and we did not, but we realized we were just mentally not there."

Would you like to face Wofford again in the Socon Tourney:
"If we want to get to the NCAA Tournament, we probably will have to go through Wofford again. Coach Young has done a great job with them. They are a tough physical team. However, I look at a couple years ago College of Charleston gave us a beating - not quite like this, but we re-grouped and beat them in the SoCon Tournament and got a birth to the NCAA's. We have to use that is motivation. Wofford is not going to change as a team if we play them the next time around - so we have to iron this out."

Junior Guard Ricky Taylor
On characterize the disappointment:
"This was an embarrassment. No effort or energy. This was a major disappointment for Chattanooga Basketball. We took a break from defense as opposed to Monday night. We did not bring the same intensity tonight; as we did Monday night. Our defense was not as consistent either. We have to figure this out as we enter the SoCon Tournament. We have to find the will power."

On losing to the same team twice:
"It is surprising that we got blown out twice. Tonight we did not have it. I do not know what happened. We are in the process of working it out and iron this out. It is all on our players. Coaches are doing a phenomenal job getting us prepared. We have to keep fighting until the end and stick together as players."

On feeling like you were at Wofford again:
When they got up 30, our heads got down. We tried the best we could. It just was a major disappointment as I said."

On what makes Wofford so tough?
"They have a great offense, patient and are very disciplined. I have to give credit to their discipline - it really impresses me. They do not take defensive possessions off. They are clapping and patting each other on the backs. They are a great family and they believe in the Wofford program. Once, we get to that level we will be alright. We have to believe like they do and start playing as a team going into the SoCon tourney."

Wofford Head Coach Mike Young
Opening Statement:
"I think much like our game with them at our place. I think it was the perfect storm for us. They had to win on Monday. They went through the flu thing and came in here with Furman and had to win. They were terrific and played with such great energy. Everything that Furman got offensively was contested. That was an emotional taxing night for the Mocs. It is hard to get back on top of that cloud again less than 48 hours later. The Terriers are playing pretty good basketball right now. It is hard to find fault with anything our team did. What they do offensively is pretty good. So much is predicated on their ball screens. I think[Tim] Johnson, [Noah] Dahlman and our post guys defend that action as well as anyone that I have seen. They just have great feet and an unbelievable understanding of how things are supposed to be played."

On being suprised about defeating Chattanooga by 20 twice:
"Yes. They have not lost at home in league play. I saw the game a couple of times and they were down 13 with Charleston. That thing flips right away and they go on to win. Furman is really good. They absolutely dismantled a really good Furman team in here. We knew it would be a hard fought game. I am certainly surprised the way we won."

On your team looking ahead to Saturday:
"No, not at all. Emotionally can we gear this thing up. It is a unique group. They are old and love to compete. I was not the least bit concerned about it. They do it the same way night in and night out. We don't always play that well, but they are going to come to fight and tonight was no different. Had we lost thinking it still comes down to Saturday with Furman."

On defending the ball screen action:
"We are going to aggressively trap the ball for two bounces before we let go. Chattanooga gave us a really hard time at our place last year. We were so concerned about the post guy. Once he screens it, he slips out of there. That really gave Furman fits the other night. Our hedge is such that we want the ball to retreat and we want to keep it out of the middle third of the floor. If it gets to the middle third of the floor, they have a roll out guy and they have a replace guy. That hard trap of the ball makes that pass from Keegan [Bell] at 27-28 feet and it is hard to get it back there. We are leery of [Chris] Early replacing because he can shoot it, but our guys do a good job of playing with our tips up, deflecting and disrupting route and timing. That is a big deal to any team defensively, not let people be comfortable with what they want to do."

On shooting 70% in the second half:
"We have really good players let's be honest. We have really good players that have played a lot of basketball in some awfully big games. We are going to be back in here nine days from now. It is the holiday season for basketball coaches and players that are passionate about it. Certainly with a group that feels that we can come up here and do something really cool again."

On Johnson and Dahlman controlling the inside against Chattanooga.:
"They just blasted Furman on the glass. They have Jefferson, who is a hoss along with [Chris] Early, Jeremy [Saffore] and [Jahmal] Burroughs, who is a tough athlete. Johnson is just a man. I thought he had more than nine [rebounds], five offensive. Dahlman is second in the league in rebounding. Johnson is first in the league in offensive rebounding. The more you chase. The more you get and those guys are not afraid to chase it. They will chase it like a dog. They are physical people. [Cameron] Rundles and [Jamar] Diggs are physical guys. I don't think that we are a lot of fun to play against.