Dec. 2, 2002

Recap?|? Box Score

Temple Head Coach John Chaney
“This is a great team (South Carolina) we played tonight. They are well-exercised and well-coached in the game of basketball. I was very happy to see our team come back and play hard in the first half of the game after playing hard in the second half of last night’s game (at Wake Forest). There is only so much defense in the world you can play. You have to be able to put the ball in the basket. South Carolina also did a great job of skipping their passes and being patient. They constantly were taking their time and we forced them to be a better team. Passing is so important. They had 17 assists tonight and that’s the mark of a great team.

South Carolina Head Coach Dave Odom
“I want to thank Coach Chaney for bringing his team in here tonight. It takes a confident and special person to bring his team into a new building for an early premier game, so to speak. I know he respects our program enough to do that, because John Chaney does not go play poor teams. I think the Temple team you saw here tonight will not be the same team you see in March and by the same token, I don’t think the South Carolina team you saw here tonight will be the same team, either. I think we will both be better teams then. The second half was easily our best half of the season. I want to compliment my coaching staff for encouraging me to play some different people in the second half. Jarod Gerald was a key sub in the game. He gave us speed and imagination at the point guard position. He and Michael Boynton both played well. Kerbrell Brown also gave us some good minutes. The man of the hour had to be Carlos Powell. He does just enough out of context to be effective. All in all, it was a good game for us. I was pleased with our zone defense. Now we turn our attention to Georgetown. I’m interested and eager to see how we will play on the road. Temple showed us some different defenses and made us a better team tonight. Seventeen assists might be the key stat of the game.”