Alabama vs. Augusta State Postgame Quotes
11/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 10, 2009
Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery 
Alabama Head Coach Anthony Grant
On the game:
"I think this was a great game for us to play. Augusta State is a team that I have a lot of respect for, when you look at the success that program has had. They are a senior-led team that understands what it is to play for championships, what it is to play as a team and other things it takes to win, they understand it. So I knew coming into this game that this would be a test for our team. We were going to have to come out, execute and do the things as a team that plays with a purpose and plays with passion.
"I tip my hat off to Augusta State. I thought they did a great job. With our basketball team, I think we basically have to understand who we are. I told the guys this past weekend that our basketball team is a team that is undersized and under skilled and the way that we are going to win games is to play hard, play together, play with focus and play with passion and right now we really don't understand that as a team. I take the blame for that, obviously it is my job as a coach to get everybody to understand what their goal is as a basketball team and to go out and do that and play as a team. Those are the things we have to do as a basketball team. We don't quite understand that yet. My hope is that at some point we will.
"Maybe this is a wakeup call to guys that don't understand that we have a very slim margin of error in order for us to be successful. I think it is a great lesson for us and from this point forward it is going to get a lot more intense, a lot more competitive in terms of the teams that we have to go against. As a coach I have to figure out ways for our guys to understand what we're suppose to do and how we're supposed to do it."
On the performance of the team:
"I'm obviously not very happy with the way the team played today. The last game we played I thought it was a great opportunity to learn some lessons in what we needed to do with our press, what we needed to do on the offensive end from an execution standpoint. To be honest, I don't think we came out with the focus that we needed to start the game. I thought we played with no energy. I thought we played lackadaisical and we were not the aggressor. I want our team to have an identity, to play and reflect what I consider myself to be as a coach and I don't feel that we did that, so it is disappointing to me from that standpoint.
"Again, you're looking at a team in Augusta State that is a veteran team, they have had a lot of success and are well coached. They have five seniors that made the plays they needed to make. They did a great job against our full-court pressure and did a great job of exposing us on the defensive end by being patient and taking their time working the clock and getting good shots."
Alabama senior guard Mikhail Torrance
On if Augusta State did anything in particular to cause Alabama's turnovers:
"Not at all. I don't think it was anything they were doing. All the turnovers, to me, were unforced. Especially for myself. We just got to get back in practice and watch film and just get better."
On turnovers allowing Augusta State into the game:
"It's extremely frustrating - especially for me. I'm a senior so they look to me to take care of the ball and I have got to get better at that. Especially down in the stretch of the game like that. It's good to have these games so everybody can get better."
On the excitement of starting the regular season on Saturday:
"I'm excited, but at the same time I know we've got a lot of work to do. Coach expects a lot out of us and we've got to come together as a team and just know what we have to do. We can't have accidents where we are up by 12 and then give up 10 points. We can't turn the ball over at the end of the stretch like that. We're excited but at the same time we know we have to get a lot better."
On his impressions of the team at this point:
"I think our intensity was up on the defensive end at certain points but at certain rotations we're still kind of slow, especially me. Like I said, these were two good games to get us ready for Cornell on Saturday, but we just have to get better."
Alabama sophomore guard Andrew Steele
On how Alabama allowed Augusta to stay within a few possessions:
"I think we might have let up a little bit. We finally pushed the lead. It's at that point where we've got to get a killer instinct."
Augusta State Head Coach Dip Metress
On his playing an extremely competitive game:
"We are beyond moral victories. We had four wide-open shots down the stretch and didn't knock them down. Our overall effort was very good, but it's supposed to be good."
