The University of Akron Athletics
Dambrot Weekly Press Conference Quotes
January 07 | Men's Basketball
Opening Statement:
"The biggest thing this season was that we were working hard to
make sure we found a replacement for Dru
Joyce. We have come a long way in that direction. With the
injury to Ronnie Steward (hip), we were a little worried
about that, but Nick Dials and Steve
McNees have done a really good job and we were able to recover
from his loss. We are still trying to figure out our No. 4 spot,
but overall our team continues to get a little bit better every
day."
On Akron's depth at the No. 4 position:
"We feel like we have a lot of options there, and that we can go a
variety of directions. We like (Jimmy) Conyers defensively, he
helped in the last game. We like Brett
McKnight and Chris McKnight offensively, and (Quade) Milum has
been pretty solid and we will continue to bring him off the bench.
Even playing Mike Bardo there or (Jeremiah) Wood a little bit,
so at times we could play a variety of different ways. We are just
going to play it by ear and play the hot hand there."
On junior forward Nate Linhart:
"He has totally adjusted to what we want from him. Every year his
role kind of changes, but we have used him as our defensive stopper
this season. He has done very well defensively for us, and has
always been a good rebounder and when he puts the ball in the
basket that is an added plus for us. I think he will continue to
improve offensively, and he has become a good solid core player for
us and one we can't afford not to have."
On Linhart's capability to play multiple
positions:
"Defensively we can play him against anyone on the floor.
Offensively, we are going play him at the No. 3 or No. 4 spot,
depending on the time of the game. He is a very diverse player and
understands his role. He's a player who cares about winning, and is
probably one of the more under-rated players in the league, I
think."
On preparing for Saturday's game at Buffalo:
"We feel like the league championship comes through Buffalo every
year. My first year we were there, and came in 11-6, and if we had
won the game we share the MAC championship. The next year we go in
there and lose, and that cost us a share of the league championship
again. We have the utmost respect for Buffalo, we think they play
as hard as anyone in this league. They are defense oriented. They
care about winning. Reggie (Witherspoon) has done a marvelous job
there making it a great program. We know it's going to be a battle,
and it's one of the hardest places in the league to play."
On the game plan at Buffalo:
"It's normally the same thing with Buffalo, you have got to take
care of the ball because they are going to pressure your tail off
in the half court. You have got to rebound the ball because they
are one of the most physical teams in the league. You have got to
make sure you get a good shot on every possession. We have to make
sure we guard their system, which is very good, and keep them off
the backboard and take care of the ball."
On Akron's free throw shooting:
"We spent time on it, no more than anyone else probably. The key is
making sure (our opponents) foul the right guys. As long as they
are fouling (Nick) Dials and (Cedrick) Middleton or (Nate) Linhart
then we are okay, but if they start fouling (Jeremiah
Wood) a lot, we've got some problems. But, Wood has improved at
the line and he did that last year. We are right where we have
always been, rotten at 68 percent, but that's about as good as we
can go right now."
On redshirt-freshman Steve
McNees's 20-point performance against Miami (Ohio) last
Saturday:
"I'm concerned with him running our ball club, and making sure we
do what we're supposed to do out there. He has done a nice job with
that, if you look at his assists-to-turnovers ratio. He has
improved every single day, and he continues to improve defensively.
We knew he was explosive offensively, so we feel that he is going
to be a good player for us. We don't put expectation levels on how
many points players score, but when he explodes like that we will
be hard to beat."
