Dec. 23, 2014
UCF Athletics Social Media Directory
By Dan Forcella
UCFKnights.com
UCF head coach Donnie Jones
"I am happy with the win. I was proud to have our guys finish the game. As a young basketball team, I think we have seen a lot here in the last 11 games that we have played. It has been good experience for us. We have seen some undersized teams and we have seen some big teams. We still have a lot of areas we need to improve upon."
"As a coach, I am always very concerned with the game before Christmas. Our guys get a chance to go home and see their families. We are always hoping that their minds are here focused on the game and not somewhere else. I was really proud that our guys stayed focused and in the moment. Our veterans knew when to set up, slow down, and execute. I was really proud of how they made the run and finished the game."
"Our go-to-scorers so far have been our two freshman. Those guys have really evolved into their roles. They have played a lot of minutes and they are learning how to play through fatigue. We are still trying to find the right line-up for this team that we can consistently play night in and night out. We have played a lot of different line-ups and a lot of different guys. We have to get more out of our post players."
UCF sophomore Brandon Goodwin
"We started out a bit sluggish in the beginning so Coach called a time out and told us to pick it up. We were not rebounding very well. They had some smaller guys who were out rebounding us. So we focused on rebounding and boxing out, just some small key things made a difference."
"I’ve gained more composure, especially in the open court. I am finding open outlets and taking time to make better plays. I’m learning that I am not out there alone, and I am getting my teammates more involved."
UCF junior Daiquan Walker
"So far I think we have learned that we need to play as a team and as one whole unit. We can win and compete against anyone if we work together."
"We’re a young team, so I don’t think the guys really know what to expect. Brandon and I have been through this before so we know what lies ahead in conference play. We are going to try to get the rest of the guys ready after we come back from Christmas in a few days."
Southeastern La. head coach Jay Ladner
"We are just going to state facts. We are in no way going to make excuses. Zay’s absence hurt us tonight because he is our point guard. If you take Bryant Bennett off the Southeastern football team, you will not execute as well. The chemistry out there would be disrupted. I think that Zay’s absence allowed them to focus solely on Josh Filmore. Filmore has really developed into an outstanding player. I think he is one of the better sophomores, certainly in the league and maybe in the United States. He played 40 minutes, so he had to play a lot more tonight."
"We were very deep in our bench tonight. We played a number of walk-ons. Of the 10 players dressed tonight, there were six scholarship players and four walk-ons in the game. We are trying to develop that alley-cat type of mentality and I definitely think we showed that tonight. I was disappointed that we did not win but it is what it is. We cannot focus on the what-ifs. Injuries are a part of the nature of basketball and it is a long season. We certainly hope to get Zay back but if we handle this right, it will help us develop even more depth."