The University of Akron Athletics
Keith Dambrot Weekly Press Conference Quotes
February 25 | Men's Basketball
Below is the
transcript of head coach
Keith Dambrot's discussion
with the media on today's Mid-American Conference teleconference.
Dambrot will be on the call each Monday throughout the league
season.
Opening Statement:
"I thought last week we battled back in Miami. We didn't play well
in the first half but we bounced back and came up just short. When
we played Bowling Green, they played very well. We didn't play very
good defense which was a disappointment being Senior Night but we
were able to come through. Tonight at Duquesne, it's going to be a
difficult game because they apply a lot of pressure and we are
coming in with some injuries."
On guard
Cedrick
Middleton:
"Cedrick is one of my favorite players of all time. He's playing
with a lot of pain right now, with his knees and back, but he still
is the first and last one in the gym. In my opinion, he should be
the league's sixth man of the year because he defines the term,
being able to come off the bench and score on a consistent
basis."
On the impact of forward
Nate Linhart's broken left
thumb:
"We have a couple of different options to play this game tonight.
Once Cedrick (Middleton) gets a little bit healthier, we'll give
him a lot more minutes. Right now we have
Tim
Carroll and
Zach Sowers that can step
in in the absence of Nate. Unfortunately, this isn't the time to be
making a lot of adjustments at this point in the year. The injury
is really going to affect the team but we just have to move forward
about it."
On the league race:
"I think Miami is playing really well. They always defend so you
have to find a way to get them out of their element. Kent State has
the maturity and winning attitude that elevates them to the list of
favorites in the MAC Tournament. Toledo has had an amazing year and
they could end up winning it. I don't think there are any pushovers
in our league. Every team is capable of getting hot and winning the
three or four games necessary to take the tournament."
