by Wayne23 » Sun Apr 11, 2021 11:56 am
2/25: 82-67 over VMI here. We took an early lead but they hung in for awhile. Up 9 at the half. We were on control all the way but they never quite were out of it until the last 5-6 minutes.
29, 8, 3 for Celk, 24, 9 for Owen, 12, 5 for 6th man Rick Sage. +14 RBs.
Excerpts from Post Game Presser:
5 game lead with 2 to play. 23-4, 14-2, #22, NET #23.
Q: Coach, could things be going any better?
Coach: We're playing really well just about every game. But we're starting to think about the second season. Don;t get me wrong, we're focusing on each game, not looking ahead, but I am reminding them that in that second season it's one and done. We really want the conference tourney title this year.
Q: #1 in the nation in team rebounding. #5 in scoring. #10 in NET. Pretty impressive.
Coach: And we're #33 in team D. I'm a defensive oriented coach and when we got here the team D was pretty weak. I love how much it has improved. We're outscoring our opponents by 10.5; That's mostly because of our O, but D is a factor as well.
Q: You've got two huge weapons in Celk and Owen.
Coach: Yes we have. It makes it really tough to defend us. They can't really double either guy. And having Ren Mert in the mix, and Rick Sage coming off the bench makes us even stronger. And don't forget the guards, Reg Hayd and Shawn Sand move the ball well and take care of it well, and Sand gives us a strong outside threat with about 12 1/2 points per game.
Q: You're losing Hayd and #3 guard Joel Dens. Are you concerned about that?
Coach: We recruited two guards who should be able to help us right away but in retrospect we probably should have found a way to recruit a 3rd guard. I think we'll be okay though. We red shirted freshman Rod Higs and he's coming along, and Greg Morr will be a senior. He hasn't played much during his time here but maybe next year will be his year.
Q: Will Sand be your PG?
Coach: He certainly showed us he can play that spot, but I think we're stronger if we can keep him at the 2 spot. We'll have to see what happens.