UConn 61, New Hampshire 53: Kevin Ollie’s Take …

Some highlights of Kevin Ollie’s post-game remarks, following the win over New Hampshire Thursday night at XL:

“It was a tough game. New Hampshire played very, very well.  They stayed with their stuff.  I give a lot of credit to [Billy Herrion].  Billy had those guys ready to play.

“We know that we’re going to get everybody’s best game, and they came out and played and performed.  Our guys didn’t perform the way we wanted to perform, but we found a way to win.  Going 1-for-14 from the three-point line, and the different things we did in the course of the game – 13 turnovers to a team that wasn’t really pressuring us – is something that we’ve got to cut down on.  We definitely have to shoot better going down to Madison Square Garden.

 ”… At the end of the day, we did out rebound them, which is a good, positive thing.  But we’ve just got to shoot better.” 

“I’m not going to have a pity party, because that’s not who I am.  We had a good win and I’m not going to apologize for it. ”

“We didn’t make shots today.  We were 1-for 14 (from three), but I think they were contested shots.  They weren’t the clean shots that we got in the Stony Brook game off of good penetration.  It was contested shots and it was forced shots.  We’re just not that good to play this way and expect that we’re just going to keep winning.  At the end of the day, we made enough plays.”

“Our free throw shooting has been great.  In the first half we missed six, and those were momentum killers.  When we get to the free throw line we’re supposed to convert them. 

“It’s a game that’s over with, but we’re going to learn from it and we’re going to grow.  That’s what you do in life.  You don’t go through life, you grow through life.  This is going to be a growing point for us, and we’re going to get better.” 

On Shabazz Napier getting only five points:

“If I had the answer, I’d have a lot of people on my couch and I’d be a psychiatrist or something. We’re going to continue to coach the kid. He’s a talent. He can do so many things on the court. I don’t know what’s going through his head when he scores only five. Only God knows that. But you’re not going to score 20 points every  game. I’d like him to, but you’re not going to do that every night.”

On Tyler Olander

“We need Tyler to stay out of foul trouble because I need more minutes from him. We’re going to coach him up, continue to believe in him and hope that he believes in himself. He’s a little depressed right now, but eight points and four rebounds in 16 minutes is pretty good.”

On Enosch Wolf:

“I know what I’m going to get from Enosch. I’m not going to get somebody jumping over the rim and dunking on people, but I’m going to get some rebounds, I can put him in the post – he’s a good passer. He’s a smart basketball player.”

On the upcoming Jimmy V Classic:

“I’m looking forward to Madison Square Garden, to being in that atmosphere and honoring a great man.”