Miami University
Northern Illinois
Miami vs. Eastern Michigan Postgame Quotes
2/9/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 9, 2011
Junior Forward Julian Mavunga
On the efforts of Allen Roberts to fill in as a starter with Antonio Ballard out: "Ever since Antonio went down everyone saw and realized that `hey, we lost someone really big for this team,' I feel like Allen, maybe more than anybody, has really increased his energy ever since Antonio went down, because I think he realizes that was a guy who was a soldier for us and he's trying as best he can to fulfill that role. He's more of an offensive-oriented player and what he's bringing to us is very valuable. He can't do everything Tone [Antonio]did, but there's some things that he can do maybe better than Tone can do. Allen has started playing with more energy and realized that if we're going to be a successful team, he's going to be a big key for us."
On his confidence in the play of the team's guards: "I'm confident whenever I kick [the ball] out to somebody that they're going to make the shot. "There're a lot of guys that get the ball low and say `Alright, I've got the ball and the double team's coming,' and try to force things, but I've got confidence in guys like Allen, Orlando [Williams], Chris McHenry and some guys off the bench. I feel like Coach Coles was getting on the guards about being good guards and good players. At first, it was cutting down on turnovers, and lately it's been about guys coming out and producing. When we play our best basketball, we've got production from everyone on the court. It's never a good game where somebody has 20 points and everybody else doesn't really do much."
Sophomore Guard Allen Roberts:
On his effort in practice paying off with a career-best night: "I think that's just working hard in practice. Like the coaches tell us every day, get better. I think that just comes with playing hard. I've learned that from listening to everyone around me who is more experienced than me. If you work hard and try to get better, things will come. Just let the game flow."
On his expanded role with Ballard injured: "Antonio was a key component of our team, so losing him was devastating. Me, coming off the bench and into a starting role, I need to step up my play. Bringing a lot of energy is most beneficial to the team."
On the defensive effort against Xaver Silas, the nation's second-leading scorer: "That was a team effort, but Orlando did a great job keeping him in front of him. He defended him really well and had a lot of energy on him. The strategy for the game was to help Orlando as much as we could without losing our man, and I think we did a great job as a team guarding Xavier Silas and I think Orlando did a terrific job of staying in front of him."
Head Coach Charlie Coles:
On all five starters scoring in double figures: "I thought that was our best overall game as far as five guys contributing. With five guys in double figures, that's always good for a coach, because I think you can really sell ball movement a little more. I thought we had a good inside out ball movement most of the night. And I thought our defense was much better the second half than it was the first half."
On the play of Orlando Williams and Allen Roberts: "When I recruited Orlando and Allen, I recruited them based on their physical ability. I thought they would be dynamite guards in our league, because both of them have good height and the ceiling for them to get better was high. Now what we're seeing is, not the total game, but we are seeing big improvements from both of them. Orlando did a great job, with the help of his teammates, of guarding Xavier Silas, who I think is a great ball player. And Allen is just playing good basketball."
On shot selection and shooting 52.6 percent on the night: "We talk about empty possessions. An empty possession is when you don't get a good shot or you turn the ball over. We try to stay away from those. We had a lot of those [tonight] because we turned the ball over a lot, but we did get good opportunities tonight and that's what we want to do. We want our guys to be very conscious of that kind of stat, that we're scoring points and we're efficient. We don't want a guy taking 22 shots and making eight."
