Postgame notes and comments after VCU’s 79-62 win over Western Michigan:

  * Eric Maynor’s eight assists gave him 506 for his career. He’s fourth on the all-time list. Assuming he doesn’t get hurt, Maynor should easily pass Edmund Sherod (582) as the all-time leader.

    * Maynor has scored 35, 18, 31 and 29 points during the past four games. He’s 37 for 64 (57.7 percent) from the field during that stretch.

    * Western Michigan made just 6 of 22 3-pointers (27.3 percent). VCU made 9 of 19. The Broncos went into this season 3-0 against CAA teams, but they have lost to Hofstra (71-68 in OT) and VCU.

    * VCU won the boards (33-30) for only the third time this season.

    * Kirill Pishchalnikov, a junior from Russia in his second season, made his first appearance in the media room. Pishchalnikov had career highs of 15 points and 14 rebounds.
    On to the comments:

    Maynor, on what happened after the Rams were up 19 and Western Michigan cut the lead to 6:

    “We just went through a spurt where we were missing shots and not defending, and they were scoring. Coach had called a timeout and told us, ‘We’ve got to forget the other plays that just happened.’ He’s always telling us to go on to the next play. We can’t live in the past. We were just trying to get a stop on the other end.”

    On what he does when teams double-team him out front:

    “They were doubling, and we were spreading the court out. I was just looking for my teammates then. I was telling them when you get it, just be a basketball player. Just play. That’s basically what it is. You’ve got two on me, just go out and play.”
    Pishchalnikov, on what was working for him:

    “I’m just doing what the coach wants from me and try to do my job, help my team.” He paused and added, “To win.”

    On how much the Rams stress helping Maynor offensively:

    “Eric can’t play alone. Basketball is a team sport.”
   
    VCU coach Anthony Grant:

    “The thing I asked our team to do before the game was to play 40 minutes to our identity. I thought we did it for extended periods of time. There were pockets where we didn’t.”

      “I think with our basketball team, you get a 20-point lead, and all of a sudden the intensity goes down. You think, ‘OK, we got it.’ A team as good as Western Michigan is going to fight back. They had two great runs. The thing I’m proud about with our guys is they were able to answer those runs. We didn’t panic. We stayed poised. … Eric made some plays. Some other guys stepped up and made some plays, and then we made a recommitment to understand that we had to get stops on the defensive end.”

      “I think there were a lot of things in the game that we can build on, that we can get better from. I’m really proud of the effort Kirill gave us. He was huge on the boards.”

      “Western Michigan is a good basketball team. You look at their record [2-6], and you can get fooled. They were picked to win their [division of the Mid-American Conference]. They’ve had some tough losses by a possession or two. For us to be able to get up 20 on them, in our building, for them to make a run, as every team does, and for us to answer I think is growth.”

      “We’re going to try to take the lessons from this game – the good lessons, which I think there were quite a few, and the bad ones – and try to learn from that and get prepared for Saturday’s game [against William and Mary].”

    On how much the games in Cancun helped:
 
      “We were wounded, losing two games in the manner that we did at Rhode Island and at East Carolina. We had to make a recommitment to the defensive end of the floor. I thought the guys, starting with the New Mexico game, did that. I thought we won that game because of the way we defended and the way we rebounded. Against Vanderbilt, we played pretty well outside of some spurts in the first half. … In the second half, our defense gave us a chance to be in a position to win the game. The message I’m trying to get across to our guys consistently is to understand that’s what it’s about.
 
    “I thought in the first half tonight we came out and did a very good job defensively. We hit a lull offensively … where we struggled to score. They weren’t scoring, either. Then our defense got us out in transition and we got some easy baskets. At the end of the half, we went on a flurry, I think it was [eight] straight points, and all of a sudden it’s a 10-point game. That’s a confidence-shaker for them going in at the half.

    “I think there’s a variety of things over the course of the year that will be lessons for our team. There’s [nothing] to say this is the defining moment when everything changed. With our basketball team there’s going to be defining moments every game, every practice. There’s going to be things we learn, things we have to figure out, things we have to relearn because we forgot and took it for granted. That’s what we’re dealing with.”

    On how big it is to get some scoring help for Maynor:

    “Our team needs that. Tonight in the first half, guys were being aggressive and trying to make plays. Our offense didn’t flow because we kind of got out of rhythm. We had some shots that were good shots that didn’t go in. But fortunately for us, we had a couple of guys who stepped up.

    “When you look at the first half, they shoot 30 percent from the field. 3-point shooting, they shot 25 percent. That set the tone. In the second half, we didn’t defend as well. But at the end of the day, I’ve got to be pleased by the effort … based on the level of competition we’re playing.”

    On how the team reacted to Maynor being double-teamed:

    “We hadn’t seen it the way they did it. Usually, teams will try to chase him off ball screens to get the ball out of his hands. They just ran at him as soon as he crossed halfcourt. I thought he did a good job of trying to get his teammates involved. Once the guys understood what was happening, I thought they adapted pretty well.”

    On whether VCU was expecting to see a 3-2 zone:

    “We’re limited because of the number of games we’re playing in terms of how much we can practice. We anticipated they might play some zone today. Obviously, over the course of practice, we’re working on that. We’re watching film. We’re doing a lot of things to give our guys a better understanding. We didn’t see it today. I’m sure over the course of the year we’re going to see a variety of defenses. We’ll just get as prepared as we can.”

  On Pishchalnikov’s free-throw shooting (he’s 16 of 20):

    “He’s worked extremely hard on his free throws. Consistently, you see him working on that. That was one of the things I challenged him with during the offseason. He’s a very, very capable perimeter shooter, and he should be a good free-throw shooter. He’s really taken that to heart and worked at it and really improved.”

    On the Rams making 18 of 19 free throws (VCU was making just 65.5 percent going into the game):
 
    “It’s not like we went to the line this week and said, ‘Hey, listen guys, we’re going to get 19 free throws. Let’s see if we can make 18.’ We work on it. I was proud of the guys. They went up and took advantage of the opportunities we got tonight.”

    The Final Thought: “Personally, I’m always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.” – Winston Churchill

Posted by Tim Pearrell in • College Sports • Virginia Commonwealth University
(0) Comments | Permalink