Feb. 14, 2009
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
Miami Head Coach Charlie Coles
On tonight's win: "Tonight, we weren't very good on offense, but we were great on defense. The first half was a struggle and we were lucky to get back. It was just one of those games that you're happy you win when one of your leaders struggles. We played without Bramos for 10 minutes and other players really helped out."
On Eric Pollitz: "Eric did a great job. He's been our leader on defense all year. Guys like Eric and Fletcher just work their butts off -- Fletcher with his energy and Eric with his overall defensive knowledge. He even played with a bad foot and you have to really give him credit for playing the way he did. He's like his brother in that aspect. He was hurt but somehow managed to get it done; that's the Pollitz's. He even had to play a new position and he's just been a real warrior for us this year."
On the team in general: "We haven't been perfect and I enjoy when we win with good bench play. Guys like Winbush, Haddix, and Richburg have really been good for us lately and that really helps. I think we have a real team and I like that complete team aspect of what we've got. After the Central game I just felt so bad for them. We just weren't tough enough to win, which is seldom the case. The 2nd half tonight showed that we are a tough team. We still weren't great on offense but our defense was so solid that we were able to hold them until we could get our offense together. One team had to be better after awhile, and tonight thankfully it was us."
On his performance: "It's obvious that Mike gets good defense on him, it just leaves the rest of us open. We have to step up and make shots, and luckily tonight I was able to get to the basket. I think our defense won our game tonight, and
Eric Pollitz spearheaded that effort. I know that if he was guarding me it would have been a long night. Basically when Mike gets guarded like that we all get more opportunities and we need to take advantage of them."
On the presence of Wally and the 1999 team: "It wasn't just Wally being there, but the whole sweet 16 team being there put added pressure on us. Every game has a high amount of pressure, and if you can't handle it then you shouldn't be playing college basketball. We just wanted to go out there and show them that we're carrying on the tradition of this school."
On how the team stands for the rest of the year: "I think we're in a good position but we've got our work cut out for us. Going into the 2nd part of MAC East competition, we know it's going to be a battle. They're more familiar with us, and we just need to be preparing in practice every day and step up on offense and defense."
On guarding David Kool tonight: "I approached guarding him like I would any good player. I like to load up on the defensive end, that's what I bring to this team -- a focus on team defense. I lock in on the best, find his tendencies, and hopefully force him to make bad shots, which helped us win the game tonight. He's a smart, deceiving player. I just tried to see when he was going to shoot, drive, penetrate, and hopefully see them quicker as the game progressed in order to stop it. It was a challenge, but I enjoy a challenge. The way the rest of the team played really helped as well."
On the importance of foul shots: "Drawing fouls is something that Coach Coles has emphasized all year long. We didn't do that against Central and that's part of the reason we lost. We could have won that game but we didn't make our foul shots. We did that tonight and it kept us in the game."
Western Michigan Head Coach Steve Hawkins
On tonight's game: "I think it was just a tale of two halves. The 1st half was a bloodbath. We played good defense but struggled on offense. If you would have made a bet on Bramos and Kool both being held scoreless at halftime, you probably would have made a lot of money. We made dumb fouls that allowed them to stay in the game. We could have been up if it weren't for fouls, and that was just a prelude of things to come. Miami did a great job of feeding off our frustrations. We couldn't make a stand on defense when we needed to and you can't do that against a team like Miami."
On Eric Pollitz/David Kool: "Eric was tremendous on defense, they all were. He was attached to David all night. We didn't get him good screens and he didn't get great looks. Every time he got the ball, Miami would slant their defense strongly in his direction and it caused us to turn the ball over or miss shots. Miami turned that into easy points. The last thing you want to do is give up easy points when nobody's scoring. We got down by 8 or so and that might as well have been 20 against a team like Miami."
