by plash.ricrem on Sat Dec 20, 2008 3:40 pm
Transcript of Vermont coach Plash Ricrem's press conference following his team's stunningly quick 4 round victory on the road against Charlotte... (3877940)
Beat Writer 1: Wow coach, that victory was among the quickest I've seen this season, certainly by your team. What did you say to fire your team up?
PR: Well, finals week ended, and everyone passed their classes (including myself, whose GPA this semester was a rocking 3.94) so I figured the team would have a little bit more of a bounce in their step. Like all games I push coming out quickly, and we were able to get out in transition in a hurry (pick up a +2 bonus the first round). Charlotte then switched to a zone (1 across deployment), but it wasn't all that effective. We kept pushing and hitting a lot of jumpers. They tried a full court press down the stretch, that I thought would have been effective given my team's perpencity to turn the ball over, but Charlotte weren't able to hit anything today.
BW2- So how do you feel about finishing this week's road trip (to Umass and Charlotte) 1-1?
PR- well obviously we would have liked to finish 2-0, but Umass is dominant at home and we gave it our all. The more games we can win on the road, the better off we'll be. If we can play .500 ball on the road and like .750 at home, I'll be pleased. I mean we've lost 1 home game in conference this year (to Rhode Island who needed a miraculous comeback) so I think we're in pretty good shape at this point.
BW1- So you're pleased with your team's play the last quarter of the season?
PR- Yeah, I think it's been a tale of two halves. I mean the first half of my season (at Temple) we struggled with chemistry and couldn't hit a shot (finishing his tenure at Temple with a 2-6 record). But since I took the job at UVM we've played really solid ball (6-2 record with upsets on the road against #16 St. Bonnies, #3 Eastern Michigan and a heartbreaking loss at home against #14 Rhode Island). I think the key to our success has been our transition offense, zone defense, and team chemistry. The one thing I'd like to work on is 3 point defense (card sets played against us). I mean there's not much we can do about it, but it does get frustrating when teams rain 3's (near constant mixed sets) against us.
BW2- So how do you see the rest of the season playing out?
PR- Well there's obviously a lot of basketball to be played, and our goal for the season remains the same: to make the NCAA tourney. I think we're certainly equipped to do so. We're sitting at .500, have played one of the toughest schedules in the nation (5 games against top 20 teams with a 2-3 record) and are looking alright in conference play (5-2 record). I'm certainly concerned about Rhode Island (undefeated in conference play and ranked 6th in the nation) but I really hope we can give them a game when we meet them on the road in the coming weeks. Then of course there's the conference tourney, where we'll hopefully bring our A game. And you know, if things go downhill, we can always bribe the selection committee....
BW1- Did you just say you weren't opposed to bribing the selection committee...?
PR- Well you know, if push comes to shove, and we're among a large group of deserving teams that might not make the tourney, I'm sure tourney chairman Flex would enjoy a nice fruit basket or something. Or we can send him some maple syrup, a teddy bear from the vermont teddy bear factory, and a couple of 6 packs of magic hat. I think something like that would make him reconsider any potential shortcomings on our resume.
BW2- With only one game next week, how are you planning on spending the break?
PR- While I understand the need for a holiday break, I'm not looking forward to it that much. Our team is playing some of its most inspired ball of the season right now, and I hope we don't come out ice cold aftewards. Personally, I'm going to spend it relaxing with my family and friends, and not even looking at any of our potential opponents. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some relaxing to do.
