Chattanooga Basketball Postgame Quotes
VMI at Chattanooga
McKenzie Arena – Chattanooga, Tenn.
Wednesday – Feb. 12, 2020

Lamont Paris, Head Coach
On Ramon Vila's performance tonight.
"Part of it was, we had schemed specifically to get the ball in there because that we thought that was an area we would have an advantage in. We did it once last year against them and had a really good game going inside because that's where we thought the advantage was, especially in tonight's game with Ramon [Vila]. Guys did a good job of finding him and looking for him. We ran a number of plays that were specifically designed for him. There were two options and we made a concerted effort getting it to him. He did a good job tonight."
 
On the inside game allowing success on the perimeter. 
"It's huge. I think if someone had enough free time to go back and look at all our threes, I think the percentage of them when the ball goes inside and comes out, I would guess we shoot a significantly better percentage than the others. You have ten toes pointed to the rim and you're ready to go. I tell these guys multiple times that it's a luxury to have a guy like Ramon around the basket. One, he commands a lot of attention around the basket so you'll have better situations for yourself. Two, he is a willing passer. Three, he is a capable passer. Not a lot of times you have all three of those things from one guy."
 
On moving forward towards SoCon Tournament play.
"I mentioned it to the guys, even before the game, and I don't look too much down the road and we take it on a game-by-game basis, but there's no denying that it is February 12 right now. We have five games down the stretch and have a conference tournament that everyone gets invited to. You definitely don't want to shy away from the concept of doing certain things that will allow you to be playing really well heading into the conference tournament. You want to have a right collection of what you've been doing things in recent games and say you won three of the last four, four of the last five, however that far you can dig back, that's the last memory you want to have going into that conference tournament so you have true confidence heading there."
 
On tonight's stellar free-throw shooting performance.
"We did talk about that before the game today. We talked about being efficient from the free throw line. We wanted to get there and then when we did get there, we wanted to do a good job there and be efficient. I think you have to be able to get the ball to the rim somehow, and we do that with our big guys instead of the drive. I think that's a big indicator."

Ramon Vila, R-Jr.-F
On 9-for-10 shooting performance.
"I didn't know my shooting percentage was perfect until I missed. That's something I don't really care about. Today they went in and hopefully next game they do as well."
 
On continuing to bounce back and what has been the difference.
"After the Western game, we felt terrible after that. We bounced back with a good week of practice, helped each other out, and played really well at Wofford. We had two really good days of practice and won a game today. We want to keep that going for sure. We just talked over some stuff face-to-face, nothing major, just the truth. We talked about hustling, getting on the floor to loose balls, those kind of things. The 50/50 balls have mostly been ours lately and that's a big part of the game."
 
On what has been the key to success, personally.
"Coach always talks about me running into positions so the other team can't get there and can't get help. Even if they get there, they can't get settled and leaves some things open. That's really important and vital for us."
 
Matt Ryan, Gr.-G/F
On tonight's game plan.
"First half, the game plan was keep throwing it inside. He wasn't missing so we wanted to keep getting it inside and see what happens. He's done a great job of knowing when a defender is in the vicinity and kicking it out. It's been great for us so we'll try to continue that. It takes a lot of pressure off of us, especially early in the game. It sends a message to the other team too, we can pound it inside and then hit some threes. It's a good rescue for us."
 
On the crucial part of the season coming up.
"We talked about getting on a win streak now. We knew Wofford was a must-win, and it's just time. It's time to get on a win streak and start stringing some wings together. We have a tough game next and it's a great opportunity for us. We played them hard here and I think our offense wasn't where it's at now when we played them last. I think that's going to help us a lot and we're going to keep guarding. Hopefully come out with a win and see how the standings look."

On continuing momentum.
"I think the most important thing is practice. Games are only two days a week, all the other days you have to be as focused as you are for a game. We probably had two of our best practices leading into Wofford, and then our past two practices have been good coming into today. The good thing about this conference is that no one knows what their fate is right now. We just have to keep playing hard and at a level to get some wins."