Feb. 6, 2013
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New Mexico Head Coach Steve Alford
Post-game quotes
Air Force vs. UNM
2/6/13
Opening Statement:
“I love Pit games. Great win for our teams, to be at 20 wins 23 games into the season is phenomenal. We’re playing well and we’re picking a good time to go on the road I think. We’re shooting the ball better and we’re executing and this was going to be a difficult game because Air Force was going to make you execute differently, but we handled it well. We held them to 29 points both halves and we were able to make more free throws than they were, I thought we dominated the glass and I thought it was a great performance for our team. We played great and to get to the midpoint and be 7-1 and in first place all by ourselves and separating ourselves from a vast number of teams says a lot about our guys. Great game and I’m very pleased.”
What happened with the incident at midcourt?
“It was obviously something with players. It was a double technical and after watching the tape they determined that it was Jamal who pushed one of their guys and that’s why Jamal got the technical and Air Force was given the two free throws. I think the exchange of coaches’ came because we aren’t going to let that happen. That made things get a little more heated and the officials did a really good job of calming everyone down. It was really to our benefit, because- I’m not sure what the score was at that point- but I think after that it was very good play on our part.”
Is the relationship between Alex and Cam just getting better and better?
“It’s not an easy game for them because they’re guarding guards who are driving the basketball and they get beat sometimes. But I think we defended the three-point well and that’s what we wanted to do. We wanted to see them finish against our bigs and I think that was really hard for them. That’s not easy, guarding, especially for Alex. Cam is more of a power forward/center with really great feet and he can guard just about anybody on the floor laterally. Alex is your traditional center so that’s more difficult assignment wise for him. We know those things and we really appreciate the effort that he gave us. Both of them had 14 points, we got solid production out of them tonight.”
You’ve played now four solid halves of basketball, do you think the team has turned the corner?
“I don’t know about that, but I’ve said it all along that when we start making shots our game will go to another level. What I’m confident about in games where we’re not making shots is that our guys are tough enough to stay in games and give it a shot. Do I hope that we continue to make shots? Yes, but that’s not easy. Teams are finding that out the hard way and it’s really hard to win on the road. Especially in a league like ours, and for us to have eight wins away from home is terrific. We know that if we’re going to win a championship we have to win games away from home. We took advantage in the first half of the season and did a great job. We have to turn around and start the road trip and it’s not going to be easy. Playing at Vegas and Fresno is not an easy way to get things going.”
Kendall’s scoring has gone down a little bit but he had seven assists tonight, are you happy about that?
“It has gone down but not much. I think he’s averaging 13 and today he had 11, but at the same time he had seven assists, four steals and he defended really well. He’s our guy, he recognizes the change in defenses and I thought he was vocal tonight. I thought he lead our team tonight and did a lot of good things. He rebounded and that’s something that we haven’t been doing very well lately. That’s been an emphasis and tonight Kendall had six rebounds and Hugh added another five, we had the guards help us with rebounding production and that always helps us.”
The scoring tonight was pretty balanced with all five of your starters in double figures, it seemed like you were going inside a little bit more it opened things about in the second half going to the three point line
“That’s something that we’ve talked about. We’ve had sometimes when we’ve gotten a little impatient and we haven’t gone inside-out. When we go inside-out we’re pretty good. We get to the line and to get to the line 31 times against a team like Air Force was good.”
Hugh has been shooting the three really well but what impressed me the most is that he missed a three then he went back up the floor and took a charge, can you talk about him and what he’s bringing to the table
“He does that every day. He’s our tough guy and our guys feed off of his toughness. If he turns the ball over in practice you better look out if he’s going the other way because he doesn’t like making mistakes and likes to play the perfect game. It’s a lot of fun to coach him and we have to get him to where he’s not so down on himself and he’s maturing. I think that a lot of times we forget that he’s only a sophomore. He’s 23 games into his sophomore year and he’s won a lot of games for us. He’s been a catalyst for a lot of things. He guards like crazy and tonight he did that. He has the ability to know what it takes to win and he’s an important part of what we do.”
UNLV lost at Fresno and they’re now 4-4 in the conference. You go there and get another team coming off of a bad lose, any thought on the Rebels?
“It’s going to be tough, but that’s a tough matchup regardless. I think Mike Moser is going to be back for them against us and it is what it is. It’s like with San Diego State where it’s a tough place to play. SDSU was picked to win the conference in some polls and UNLV was picked to win the conference in some polls and I said it when we went to SDSU; if you want to go to the conference favorite, I’d much rather have a two game lead knowing that whatever happens we’re getting on that bus and we’re still in first place. Regardless of what happens in Vegas we’re still in first place.”
UNM vs Air Force
February 6, 2013
Player Quotes
On whether tonight was his night…
“I wouldn’t say that, but we had three of us who scored 14 points and that is pretty spread out. There are multiple ways that we can beat teams and that makes us a fun and successful team.”
On your and Cameron Bairstow’s relationship…
“I think it came a little bit at the end of last year when we were going up against Drew Gordon and AJ Hardeman in practice. We have had it for a couple of years being able to play together. It has come together from playing together.”
On getting inside…
“It was emphasized but it came from their defense and that match up. If they go out to that corner it is an easy post up and I think we were really successful with that.”
On being referred to as a tough team by Coach Alford…
“I think we are a tough team. We have been through a lot and every team has but it’s been a tough season. I think we have been very success and that means that we have proven our toughness. We need to keep doing that.”
On proving a point with Air Force coming to take first place in the MWC…
“I think you go out there trying to send a message to the rest of the league. We talked about that as a team and it is nothing against them but we need to prove ourselves every night we come on the court. We don’t really do the incident thing but it is basketball and when two teams are competitive and playing hard it happens. We fought through it and got a win.”
On you as a player reacting to your coaching staff getting fired up…
“It fires you up because you know that your coaches have your back. We stopped and talked after that and kept calm so we could finish the game.”
On looking at numbers…
“I have fun with our record sometimes but I don’t know if the coaches do. We need to focus on the next game and we are going to UNLV.”
On the expectation at UNLV…
“It is going to be tough because they have had Moser and they haven’t has Moser the whole season. They are getting him back for our game so that is going to be a big change in the game. He is a talented player.”
On doing things differently offensively….
“We have been hitting shots but I think that we are getting more comfortable with execution. We had a lot of emphasis on defense earlier in the year and we have kept that intensity up. We have a balanced attack and I think we are looking good all the way around.”
On him and Kyle Green getting T’ed up…
“They were a little chippy with us and this was an important game. At the end of the day you are in The Pit and you don’t want to get technicals or do anything stupid but you need to prove a point. When you are at home you don’t want anyone being tippy or trying to punk you. I don’t think that we allowed that tonight.”
On Jamal being involved…
“I think Jamal and Green got into something and I was stuck in the middle so I won’t take credit for that.”
On the coaches getting involved and your reaction to that…
“After that happens it all gets nasty and it fires us up. That has been our staple all year and it starts with the head coach all the way down to the last player on the bench. We are very tough at home. We aren’t going to let anyone come in here and intimidate us. We are first place in the league because of our mental and physical toughness.”
On sending a message to other teams…
“Hopefully, we sent a message. We may not be the bully on the block but we are in first place right now and confident. We will take on anyone at this point.”
On UNLV…
“We have been a good road team and that’s why you get a record like this. We are good at home and good on the road. We need to bring that mentality in there and not necessarily be scappy or dirty or anything like that but we need to do what we do.”
On playing a top team after a loss…
“We need to go in there and learn from our first experience with San Diego State. Both teams have a very high and intense tempo on their home court. We need to be the road team that we are capable of being. We need to go in there and get a big win.”
On playing at Thomas and Mack…
“I think that Thomas and Mack resembles The Pit a little more than San Diego State. They have a young crowd and have The Show. Vegas is very solid as much as they like to run. They have a level of comfort playing at home because their fans are experienced like ours and they help them with pace and tempo. It is a good basketball place.”
On playing teams the second time…
“We have to see everyone and luckily we are 7-1. It looks like it favors us except at San Diego State. It looks like we are able to execute against them and know that we can beat them. I think the advantage definitely goes to us.”
On scoring decreasing…
“I am OK with that, we are winning and whatever happens happens. I hit a couple threes tonight, got in the lane and made some plays. I said it at the beginning of the year and I will say it again now that whatever the team needs I will do.”