Head Coach Lon Kruger
Opening statement:
“It was a good ball game to learn a lot of things from. I thought in the first half our guys were really sharp. It was clearly the best half of the year defensively. Great awareness, great communication. We limited a good Santa Clara team to a low shooting percentage and for the most part, just one shot (per possession).”
On his impressions of St. Louis:
“Good ball club. Rick (Majerus) does a great job. They'll be big and physical and strong with good guard play. A lot of guys shoot the ball extremely well. They're very sound. A tough group. They're bigger than we are for sure but most teams we play probably will be, so that's not anything new for our guys. Our guys have handled that okay. If we continue to rebound the ball aggressively and get our guards back in there (to help rebound)...guys know that's a focus for us and have done a good job.”
On being 5-0 at the 76 Classic over the last two years:
“Guys played well last year and they're playing well this year. The satisfying thing from a coach’s perspective is to see the progress, to see them take ownership of it. The leadership on the court is really good. Sam and Pledge (Steven Pledger) lead the way with maintaining composure, and talking and giving good direction. They're doing that more and more.”
Junior Guard Steven Pledger
On run to end the first half that built 42-19 lead:
“It was definitely fun. The way we did our game plan, how we picked up on (Santa Clara's) plays really fast. It was definitely fun to come out and do what we had to do at the beginning of the game.”
Junior Guard Sam Grooms
On playing with the lead against Santa Clara:
“In the first half we were enthused and energetic and we wanted to do everything right. That (attitude) helped us out a lot. In the second half, it kind of wore off. It's something we have to work on but we'll get better at it. It was a learning test for us.”
On near-perfect first half:
“I think to everybody (on the team) it seemed perfect. We held a team that usually shoots a high percentage to a low percentage. 19 points in 20 minutes, I would say that's definitely perfect in my eyes.”
