Nov. 14, 2008

Recap |  Box Score |  Notes

Villanova head coach Jay Wright...

Opening statement: This was a good start for us. I want to give Albany credit. I have been on the other side of this matchup before, being the coach of a mid-major team. Albany battled us tough. They were physical and we only beat them by three on the glass. They got to us on the offensive glass and that's an area we have to improve. We have work to do but we got Frank Tchuisi some time and got Casiem Drummond some more time. It's going to be that kind of a season. We have to find a way to play with these eight guys. I think we can do it but it's not very pretty right now.

On Dwayne Anderson's injury (stress fracture): He has been complaining about it getting worse and worse and then in the Northwood game he just didn't look like himself. He came back and practiced until yesterday when we got the MRI and found out for sure. We aren't sure how long it's going to be but we know it's not good right now. It's just going to be a matter of time.

On how the team will respond to the injury: I choose to look at the bright side. We can get some of the younger guys some playing time. It was good for Corey Fisher to get 30 minutes tonight and for Antonio Pena to really be counted on like he was. We also think and we hope that we will get Shane Clark back in three to four weeks. The injuries are a part of it. We know that and we've been through it a number of times. I just look at it as a great opportunity for some of these other guys.

On Villanova and having six players score in double figures: We had 18 assists as a team and that was good. We have guys that can score but we have to get better defensively and get better on the glass. Right now we are a team of guys that can score. We had a lineup in there at one point with Casiem Drummond and Frank Tchuisi and Dante Cunningham with Reggie Redding and Scottie Reynolds where Albany had got it to a 12-point game and those guys got it back to 18 to 20 points. They did a good job defensively and on the glass. We are going to have to play some big lineups sometimes and play small when we can.

On Dante Cunningham and Antonio Pena scoring 16 of team's first 18 points: We wanted to do that with those guys and that's something we have to improve on. We have to keep going back to those guys. We got a lead and then kind of got away from those guys. We looked away from them and we can't do that. We have to learn that as a team.

On Villanova's schedule: Setting the non-conference schedule is brutal for us. We have to fit in the Big Five games at certain times and we get the Big East schedule so late and have to fit all those games in. It just worked out this way with our schedule. We struggle with scheduling and for the non-conference games we can't just bring in whoever we want given the arena we play in. Our schedule gives us a chance to learn a lot about our team.

On the potential for foul trouble with a smaller rotation: We like to play aggressive so that's definitely something I was thinking about. That's why games like this are good. We can get a lot out of these early games. The fouls are one thing we learned tonight. We have to be smarter with how we play. We had some guys in there with two fouls in the first half and it was practice for having to play with two fouls because we are going to have to do things like that.

Junior guard Scottie Reynolds...

On the team responding to adversity with Dwayne Anderson's injury: The definition of our program is attitude and we know that things are going to happen. Coach Wright knows every season that something will happen but he doesn't know when. We know adversity is going to strike. Coach uses the example of the Phillies a lot and reminds us that a world champion team doesn't go through the year undefeated or without struggles. They had guys step up for them and that's what we have to do as a team. I have to step up and Dante has to and so do the other players. We have to step up the leadership and demand more from ourselves and the younger guys.

On Corey Fisher getting the ball to Dante Cunningham and Antonio Pena: Those guys worked all summer together and we could see the development all summer. He has improved a lot and when he got stopped early on Dante and Antonio were running the floor and they knew if they ran the floor they would get the ball. They picked us up with 16 points early and we have to be able to sustain that throughout the whole game. We have to keep defending and executing on offense.

Senior forward Dante Cunningham...

On the team responding to adversity: It helps that we have been there before. Every day we work out in practice and we all know what each other can do. If someone goes down we know the next guy on the bench is ready to go, will have a great attitude and be ready to play.

On playing more minutes due to the team's injuries: Our strength and conditioning coach did a great job getting us prepared for the season. It's not like he knew this would happen but we have worked hard every day, getting up and down the court as hard as we can and getting our conditioning set.

Albany head coach Will Brown...

Opening statement: We were kind of a deer caught in the headlights for the first 10 minutes. Our energy was good but their pressure and size and their length bothered us quite a bit. They were very aggressive, more so than I anticipated them being defensively. I was very impressed and it was tough for us to recover. We had 12 first half turnovers and I told the guys that one of the biggest keys for us was to get a shot every time down the floor and put the ball in the basket. Half of our turnovers seemed to come when we would get a stop and get running so quickly that it led to bobbling the ball and a careless turnover. We didn't help ourselves and you have to help yourself to compete with a team of this caliber. I think Villanova is a team that can compete to win a Big East championship and is a sure top 10, top 20 team.

On the game: I thought that towards the back end of the first half we settled down a little bit. We got it within 11 points and were in our 1-3-1. We had a great possession but didn't block out and they threw it back out and hit a three-pointer. Just like that it goes from 11 points to 14 points, where if we get a rebound we have the ball and have a chance to cut it to single digits. You can't go 9-for-18 at the line and turn the ball over 20 times against a team like Villanova.

On the Villanova lead in the game: It was never worse than 20 and even when it was we helped it get to 20. That's the tough thing. You just have so little room for error against Big East schools, especially the good ones. You have to take advantage of every opportunity and I really didn't think it should have been an 18-point game. We missed some opportunities. We did some good things but we got beat by a very good team that was better than us.

On Villanova's size: I looked up late in the game and they had four guys out there that were bigger than me. We just have a hard time matching up because we can't score on the other end. When we went to four big guys on the floor they brought back Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes and those guys finished us off.

On Villanova's team: They spread the floor so well and Scottie Reynolds and Fisher are so good off the bounce that the big guys just have to stay out of their way. They make the big guys look good and if you don't help off the big guys the guards will finish at the rim. They are good. I like Jay's team. They will go deep in the NCAA Tournament if they stay healthy.

On Albany: I like my team. We have a lot of new faces and I played a lot of guys so it's a feeling out process for us. We have some talent and I think we're going to be pretty good. We made some aggressive mistakes and some of the guys were overanxious. We have some pieces to the puzzle. Will Harris played well once he settled down after the first 10 minutes and our freshman point guard was fearless but has to learn to change gears and not be 120 miles per hour out there. We did some good things but we got beat by a very good team.

On playing teams like Villanova: I think it was good for the new guys to play at this level and for a guy like Brian Connelly to come down here in this environment. We threw our guys to the wolves right away in the opening week. I could care less about our non-conference schedule. We are prepared to go out and try to win every game and prepare for conference play. Only one team is going to the tournament from our league and games like this make us better in America East play.

On who stood out for Albany: I thought every guy that played did some good things and some bad things. I thought Anthony Raffa did some nice things. I thought Will Harris did some nice things after the first 10 minutes. Jerel Hastings guarded Scottie Reynolds pretty well and I probably should have played him more than 15 minutes. Collectively we did some good things and did some bad things. You live and learn. We have to get better and get ready for DePaul now. If we can correct some of these things in that game then I think we have a shot.