Tide Hoops Hits Road for Game Two
11/12/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game two of the 2007-08 basketball season finds the University of Alabama, 1-0, playing at Mercer, 1-0, in Macon, Ga., on Tuesday, November 13 at 6:30 p.m. CT/7:30 p.m. ET. Following are quotes from Crimson Tide Head Coach Mark Gottfried and Alabama players Richard Hendrix and Senario Hillman for use in stories previewing Tuesday night’s game.
Head Coach Mark Gottfried:
On Mercer being yet another example of the challenging schedule Alabama faces:
“We’re going to play a veteran team that has a veteran backcourt; four starters returning; you’re good enough to go on the road and beat an 18th-ranked team in the country by 15 and be up by 17 at the half??I think that makes believers out of everybody. When we scheduled this game, I knew it would be a very difficult game but that’s the kind of games we’re going to play. We obviously know we’re going to have a tough game and that’s good.”
On scheduling Mercer at Mercer:
“We wanted to go on the road and get challenged on the road, and that’s been done by design. Now we’ve got to go play well.”
On Alabama’s performance which included 61 rebounds, in its 84-72 win against Troy on Friday:
“The thing from the other night that’s important to recognize is we held them to 32 percent shooting, had 61 rebounds and, if we didn’t do those two things and had the 25 turnovers and the poor foul shooting and the poor three-point shooting, we probably would have lost the game. So our defense is what enabled us to still win despite all deficiencies on offense, so that was encouraging.’
Richard Hendrix, 6-9, 255, Junior, Forward, Athens, Ala.:
On going on the road for the first time and playing a team, Mercer, who just knocked off the nation’s No. 18 ranked team, Southern California at USC on Saturday:
“They are coming off a big-time win on the road, so they’ll be excited and they are going to be ready to play. Anytime you have your home opener, which is what this game will be for Mercer, you want to start off your season right in front of the home fans, so that adds even more incentive. We have to go in and do what they did this past weekend and get it done on the road. We’ll be prepared, hopefully.”
On Hendrix’s game against Troy where he scored 22 points and had a career high 23 rebounds:
“I don’t think I really did anything special, just went out and did what I always do. A few more rebounds came my way. Really, all the credit goes to my teammates giving me open shots.”
On Alabama’s performance in general in its first game:
“I think whether it’s the first game or the last game, there are always ways you can improve. There are some mistakes we made, and we just have to correct those mistakes and move on. We have to work on turnovers. We turned the ball over too much. And we have to concentrate on getting into playing our style of ball and running our offense and focusing on technique and little things like that to make it better.”
Senario Hillman, 6-1, 188, Freshman, Guard, Irwinton, Ga.:
On the Wilkinson County High graduate returning so close to home to play when Alabama plays at Mercer:
“Irwinton from Macon is about 30 miles. I’m excited to go so close to home and play in front of my family and friends and our fans. I’m looking forward to having my teammates go down there and play and be in that area. They say the game is already sold out, so there’s going to be a lot of people there. It’s going to be my first road game as a freshman, so I think it helps a little bit that my first road game will be at a place where I will have a lot of family and friends there.”
