Nov. 28, 2010

Recap | Final Stats | Notes

South Carolina Head Coach Darrin Horn
Opening Statement…
We knew coming into this game that it was going to be an incredibly difficult game. I felt like as a coach Western Kentucky was the most athletic team we have faced this year in sheer athleticism. They were a tough matchup for us because our strength is their strength. We knew they were going to try to take advantage of Steffphon (Pettigrew) and (Juan) Pattillo and their ability to drive the ball and play out on the floor, and really we just wanted to come in, I told our guys all week and throughout the game and at half time, `You just have to play 40 minutes. It’s a tough place to play, they have a terrific team, you have to play for 40 minutes’ and I think this guy next to me (Bruce Ellington) showed tonight why he is here. You gotta get a special one, every time, whether it’s a Courtney Lee or whoever and this guy right here, especially. And it’s not because of his athletic ability; it’s because of his heart. He made big play after big play after big play but total team effort. I am really proud of our guys and how they fought and stuck with it. We have a young team, we have zero experience expect for Sam Muldrow, and to come into this environment, you know Vanderbilt couldn’t do it, I don’t think Mississippi State did, it’s a big win for us because of how we won it without question and you can’t say enough about Western Kentucky and how they played, they are a terrific team and are going to have a great season.

On the play of guards Bruce Ellington and Ramon Galloway…
I think the way we won is huge because we have a young team and both of those guys are at South Carolina because of what you saw tonight. Not only can they play, but they have tremendous heart, great toughness and pride and that is what we want to build our program around. Nobody at our level recruited Ramon Galloway and he has been terrific and most people think this guy is better is another sport and I don’t agree with that. They are guys that if you give them a challenge, they are going to rise to it. I wasn’t surprised by it, but glad to see it.

How much confidence do you have knowing you have a guy like Bruce that can make big shots?
It’s huge. Anytime you have a special one at the point, you know you are going to get a shot, for sure. And you know defensively that you can keep somebody in front late when it counts, so to have him on the floor is huge.

What was the message at half time?
Really what I just said earlier, we just have to keep playing. I felt like Western Kentucky played really well in the first half, made some shots and looked better than they had recently. I told our guys that is the best they’ve played, we don’t feel like we’ve played well. We just have to settle down and you know it’s a 40 minute game. We told them that from the beginning, we really just reiterated it at half time.