University of Tennessee Athletics
Postgame Quotes
December 17, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 17, 2002
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Charleston Southern at Tennessee
December 17, 2002
TENNESSEE HEAD COACH BUZZ PETERSON: "I hoped to see some momentum out there from our last game, but we must have been feeling our oats or something like that. We didn't get much out of transition.
"Ron Slay had a tough game. When I looked at Jon Higgins totals, he only had one point. Our two senior starters were 1-12; we can't win games like that. C.J. Watson had a nice game, Elgrace Wilborn made some big plays, and Derek Stribling gave us a big lift. Overall, though, I was disappointed in our ball-handling. We need to be more aware of the ball, and take better care of it.
"Charleston Southern was much more physical than we were. I guess I should be excited about being 4-1 rather than 1-4. Charleston Southern was pretty good at executing their zone defense. In fact, they were effective with it all night. For the first 14 minutes, I was impressed with our defense, but we got way too careless.
"I was glad to see somebody else step up other than Ron Slay. Brandon Crump has struggled the last couple of games, and needs to get his intensity back."
CHARLESTON SOUTHERN HEAD COACH JIM PLATT: "It's never easy in an environment like this. It's a growing experience. We didn't play well. Tennessee is good enough, well-coached enough to make the difference.
"Tennessee took us out of everything we tried to do. We showed no toughness in meeting their resistance. It is really tough at this level. They have strong, physical, well-coached athletic players. We have to learn how to meet resistance.
"Brandon Crump is 250 lbs., Ron Slay is 240 lbs., and they can play. We have to meet resistance by playing together. When things get tough, we come out of what we are trying to do. We did a nice job of hanging in there, but there's a difference in hanging in and making it a game. Crump and Slay have good size and athletic ability, and can take it to the basket in a hurry.
"We did a nice job of scrambling. I'm more concerned about the offensive end. We had 21 baskets to their 18, but we did not force them to foul us. That's a toughness issue. We have to learn to sustain that effort.
"The Tennessee kids were tough; the SEC is one of the best leagues in college basketball. We can do better."
