After the victory on Sunday over Quincy, Mike Tisdale and D.J. Richardson were available for comment. Here is a look at some of the things that they had to say about the win over Quincy.DJ on his 8 point scoring run when the Illini pulled away. "I just took open shots. They were there, so I took them. I think that that's what we need. Players ready to take open shots and knock them down."
Tisdale on the game starting off close and Quincy surprising some fans. "We knew they were a good team. They have a lot of Division I transfers. They've got players, they can shoot the ball, that's pretty obvious. We had to pick it up a little bit. We were a little sluggish in the beginning. We need to work on our defense a little bit. Once we adjusted, though, it helped us a lot."
Mike Tisdale on the benefits of being challenged in these games as opposed to blowing teams out. "It's always good to have a team come in here and challenge you. Especially for these young guys like D.J. and them. Playing in a close game like that and seeing what they can do. Also for us older guys too."
DJ Richardson on whether or not 31 three point shots is too many. "Yeah, we have to get more shots inside the paint. We have to get more guards to the foul line and even the posts to the foul line. We just need to get to the basket more."
Mike Tisdale on the faster pace this year changing the offense. "We have some guards that can get to the basket. Demetri, Brandon, DJ, they really push it, and that's good for us because that puts pressure on the defense. And it also lets me and Mike Davis step out a little bit, that we we're not sitting there clogging up the lane. There's no more letting the defense get back and set, then we run our motion. I think if we continue to do that we can be successful."
DJ on what he has learned from these games. "One thing is game fatigue. There's a difference in pace from a three hour practice to a game where you play four minute stretches. So fatigue is first and then just knowing I can go out there and perform in front of fans."
Bruce Weber joined us after the players were finished, and he spoke about today's game.
Opening comments. "I think it was a typical second exhibition game. The thing I talked about yesterday was playing with a passion... As a coach obviously talent is important, but if you have a player with no passion, it doesn't do you any good. That was our thought process that we talked about, and I did that because I knew that it's tough, especially for our older guys, to get motivated. You have to play everyday and whether it's practice... you have to have the right mental preparation, and obviously we didn't have great mental preparation. They (Quincy) have older guys. They are all Division I players, a lot of them are transfers. They've been through it, they have quick, undersized guys... tough for us to guard. They spread us, we had to back down a little bit with our pressure, contain the dribble... It was a good thing, a learning experience. I wish it would have been a little smoother with substitutions, maybe get some guys some more minutes, but it didn't go that way so now you can use it as a learning tool. As a coach, watch it on film... Shot too many threes, not enough post shots. When Tisdale got it, he scored. We didn't get to the glass. All the things we've talked about since the beginning of the year, and even since last season ended, we didn't really do those things. Hopefully we can make some strides and learn from this. I thought a positive was at least we made some threes even if we took too many... had a decent percentage. There was a nice run... Billy, D.J., Brandon... but we haven't gone against this kind of defense. They pack it basically... This will be a good learning point for our team, and hopefully some guys will take their focus and have a little better concentration, better intensity as we approach the regular season games."
When asked what is wrong with Mike Davis. "I think he's just gotta be more ready to play. Go to the glass, and run the court, get a tip dunk, you know... be active. He's so mobile and so athletic... I don't think he always uses his tools. He had a practice a couple of days ago where he was the best player on the court, there was no doubt. He's still a young kid when you look at it age wise, him and Tisdale. They've gotta find out how to get open. We've gotta look for them more too. They can do it though if they're not getting passes and post feeds by attacking the glass, get run outs, do different things. We need him to play well. He was one of our better players, a guy that was supposed to be one of our main stays, and he's gotta give us better production if we're gonna be really successful."
On Jeff Jordan playing today. "He gave us a little boost of energy. He was excited to get to play for the first time (sat out first game due to rejoining team mid-year). He went 'til exhaustion, and that's part of his conditioning, he needs to still catch up. He got to a point in the first half where he just stopped, and it's our fault for leaving him in too long. He gave us a nice little boost, pushed the basketball... that's what he's been doing, and he can give us some defense. He's never going to be a great scorer, but he can do some things that maybe our other guys can't do."
On being unhappy with Legion's shot selection. "Well he come's in there and takes a couple quick, makes them. Now he's got the heat check going, and in 13 minutes he's got ten shots. A couple of them are forced. I mean one, if you're guarded don't take the shot, and two, the tempo of the game... you can't just go and play, it means something. That's where he's got to get a little better. He scored some points for us, but he's gotta figure out when to shoot it and when not to."
What is the word on Stan Simpson who hasn't played yet this year due to academics? "He's gotta show us that it's really important to him. School's important, being here's important, having a passion. I probably would have played him to be honest, but the game (was close). I only got Semrau 7 minutes, Tyler 10. I'm not sure I wanted to have a Syracuse on our hands."
There were only 6 turnovers tonight, much better than last time. "Yeah, but they're not a pressure team, it was a different thing. They were letting us move the ball, and then we'd throw up a 3. Last week, they were pressing us, and today we played a totally different style. And that's good that we've played two different styles, and it's something to learn from."
What are the offensive expectations for D.J. Richardson? "He's had his moments where he's been pretty productive. In one of the scrimmages, he had 32 points in a 22 minute scrimmage so he can score some points. The thing I think is most impressive is his perimeter shooting over the last year, even two years... he's gotten better. He's always been someone who can get to the basket. He's someone who can slash, and he has that pull up and he shoots the ball with a lot of confidence. Ironically, he's actually struggled the last four or five days of practice. I think he had hit a freshmen wall, and then tonight he almost saved us . . . For D.J., going to the prep school probably helped him get used to the travel and home sickness and all the things that freshmen go through. And the coaches there were tough on him, they had hard practices, so I think his transition has been easier than for some of the other guys."
What is the status of Joseph Bertrand and his knee? "We've actually rested him 5 or 6 days now, since Tuesday. We're hoping to get him back in this Tuesday. To his credit, he's showed a lot of toughness, more than I thought. He's wanted it and showed that he wanted it. He almost went too hard and might have hurt himself a little bit. Now we've just got to get the swelling down and work him back in and see what happens with him."
The rebounding could have been a little bit better. "It was not very good, and, in fact, early it was really bad. It was 12-4 or something like that, and we talked about it at the timeouts, and it's something that we've emphasized. We even put it on the board. We don't need 7 foot, 6-foot-8, 6-foot-9 safeties, we need them going to crash the boards. That dunk Tisdale had was one of the most impressive plays he's had since he's been here. Maybe that's good for him, to be assertive and not back down."
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