Jan. 4, 2011

Recap | Final Stats | Notes

South Carolina vs. SC State Post-Game Quotes

South Carolina Head Coach Darrin Horn
Opening Comments
This was a night where we had a lot of different guys contribute. I think for the things we needed to focus on to be good that we’ve been talking about, as good as we’ve done that, I think that regardless of opponent, we did a better job of focusing on the things we need to do to be successful.

On heading into league play after this game
I saw a lot of positive things from a lot of individuals on our teams. We probably needed a game like this going into league play. Obviously when you head into league, everything gets ramped up without question … It’s good to see our team make some progress tonight and see individuals play well and our team focus on the things we need to do to get better and be successful when we get into SEC play.

On Brian Richardson
Shooters are shooters. I wasn’t real worried about Brian…Brian was good. I think that was a result of focusing on the right things like we’ve been talking about and continuing to do the little things first.

On extending lead
It’s something we’ve talked about, that we’ve tried to help them understand. Something we mentioned a lot tonight during the game during huddles in the second half. … We told our guys we wanted to continue to win in terms of the remainder part of the game. I think that is stuff we’re going to continue to learn and get better at. It’s pretty simple, really.

On setting a rotation
I think we’re getting much closer to that … We had eight main guys tonight. I think we’re going to end up getting comfortable with eight or nine guys and go from there. I think it’s easier on us as coaches and on the players as well when they understand that.

On team length
We had 15 blocks. We did a terrific job around the basket. Again, some of that was that we were more focused on the little things. We were definitely in a better position to do that … Our length is going to need to be a key for us, and it was good tonight.

On his point guards
Tonight was really good. I think it’s going to continue to get better. We have two freshmen out there. Obviously, Bruce (Ellington) is a special talent. He continues to get better at playing the game… Eric Smith continues to show that he’s going to be solid coming in.

SC State Head Coach Tim Carter
Opening Comments
My biggest concern before the game started was their speed, athleticism, and their length. It came true. We couldn’t get anything decent on the block. I didn’t expect them to shoot the basketball as well as they shot the basketball from the perimeter. Anytime as a basketball team you get on a roll like they were, I think its very difficult for the opponent to do a whole lot.

On South Carolina
We got beat by a much better basketball team. They made us do some things we don’t do. They made us spread the floor; they made us do some ball screening.

On South Carolina’s defense
They did a great job of jumping us, and we knew they were going to jump us. They caught us. Any time you get trapped, you have to attack a trap. I thought they had us on our heels and our other guys weren’t coming to the basketball. We knew they were going to do that. They did a good job.

On why SC State used the zone
We watched the Furman game. I thought Furman did a really good job of stifling their perimeter shot. It blows my mind to see how well they shot the ball against us tonight. I think a lot of that was we were scrambling and they were pitching it.

On trailing only 20-19 with 8:45 remaining in the first half
At 20-19, we were in the ball game because of our zone. We made some substitutions and we went south.

On positives he would take from the game
I thought Presano (Bell) did a good job physically. He’s only about 6’6. I thought he rebounded well, bodied up and made an effort to front the post. This is the time of year, as a coach, you’ve got to have your rotation tight. My rotation just got tighter. The question is, can we get through the rest of the year playing about eight people because that’s what it looks like we’re going to have to play to be effective.