MOCS MEN'S BASKETBALL QUOTES
Game No. 19 | Chattanooga at Samford | Hanna Center | Jan. 15, 2015
HEAD COACH WILL WADE
On the close game:
“You got to hold on. These are the type of games you need to win on the road. We didn't play well here last year and gave one away. You have to dig them out and find a way to win, and we did that tonight. That's credit to our guys. It wasn't perfect. We had a lot of adversity, but we battled through and found a way to get it done.”
On Chuck Ester and Tre' McLean:
“I thought we got great contribution from Chuck [Ester] and Tre' [McLean] specifically. Chuck's been like that every day at practice and we had yet to see it in all the games. Even the last two or three days in practice, he had is best practice all year on Tuesday. I told the staff, 'I got a feeling Chuck's going to bring it in the game,' and he did. This sort of game plays into him in terms of being able to get in the middle and make things happen in the middle of the press…play and have the ball in space, which is really good for him. It was good to see that with him. Tre' is one of our better players in practice. It hadn't transferred necessarily in the game, but he was awesome today. He was attacking, his three's looked awesome. He's a tremendous shooter, it just hasn't fallen yet. He's going to have a game where he hits two or three, the roof is going to come off and he's going to have a great end of the year for us. I thought those guys really did a nice job contributing.”
On the push for victory over Samford:
“We needed everyone to step up and make plays tonight. It took everything that everybody had. It wasn't pretty but there are no pictures with record at the end of the year.”
“We got contributions from everybody. That's what it takes on the road. You never know who's going to hit them, but that's what it takes and having a good team is about.”
JUNIOR FORWARD CASEY JONES
On surviving in tonight's win:
“Survival would mean that you're playing a lesser team, but I think this year the SoCon has really good talent. Even though they are 0-6 in the league coming into this game, Samford is a pretty good team. It was hard today, and they played well. It's tough on the road. We got a tough road win tonight.”
On the importance of a road win:
“Coach told us that conference championships are won in games like this.”
On Samford's pressure:
“They definitely were the aggressors tonight and it was tough with so many guys in foul trouble. There were six of us that had four fouls so it was tough. They were aggressive. They came to play and we barely got out of there.”
On his three-pointer at the end of the half:
"Anytime my teammates see me knock down a three it becomes a different type of atmosphere. They want the best for me. They know I practice those shots, so when I knock one down it brings a little more energy to the table. I am happy I could provide that at the end of the half. It brought positively to locker room and we brought it back out.”
SOPHOMORE FORWARD JUSTIN TUOYO
On staying focused in tonight's game:
“There were a lot of fouls going on, but we tried our hardest to just play our game and stick to the plan. It was frustrating, but we played the best we could.”
On his offensive rebounds:
“I told Coach Wade, one thing I want to do is contribute more on the offensive glass. He just told me to go to the rim. I try my hardest after every shot to get possession of that offensive rebound.”
On Michael Bradley and Samford:
“He's definitely a good post player. That team is better than their record. They are better than 0-7 and they came out, had a good game, so we had to do everything we could do get the win.”
On his free-throws:
“I've been working with Coach Wes (Long) on just trying to calm down and focus on my free throws, so I feel comfortable at the line when it comes down to it.”
On his teammates' contribution:
“Tre' [McLean] and Chuck [Ester] had their best games of the year so far. Chuck, he's been working in practice, and he just practiced so hard this week, so it felt good to watch that pay off for him. Tre', too. Tre' works harder than anyone I've seen, and he had a good game. Also, Alex Bran, he doesn't get in that much but for him to be ready, called upon, and helped us out on defense. Everybody cheered him on.”
