The University of Akron Athletics
Dambrot MAC Media Teleconference Quotes and Audio
February 17 | Men's Basketball
Below is the transcript of Akron men's basketball head coach Keith Dambrot's discussion with the media on Tuesday's Mid-American Conference teleconference. The Zips (19-7, 9-3 MAC) play at Miami (Ohio) (11-14, 8-4 MAC) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET, and step out of league play with a visit to VCU (17-7, 9-6 Colonial Athletic Association) on Saturday as part of ESPNU BracketBusters (4 p.m. ET on ESPNU).
Opening Statement:
"Obviously, we've been fortunate having played some close games,
which we've won, and I think that's what you have to do in this
league. A lot of the games are coming down to the final two
minutes. Our guys have responded when it matters and I give them
credit for that."
On Wednesday's game at Miami (Ohio):
"In my six years, I'm not sure how many games we've won at Miami,
but I do know we play competitively there every year. So I don't
think about it being tough because all the arenas we play in are
tough, like at Buffalo, Central Michigan or Kent State, any of
those places are hard to win at on the road. What makes Miami a
little bit different is it's kind of like a theater environment,
the seats are real far back and it's just a little bit different.
We don't really focus on those things, we just need to play a good
ball game and we're capable of winning there. I don't expect
anything differently, we usually play them close and whoever makes
the plays in the last three minutes will probably win. It's usually
a good defensive battle, we have tremendous respect for them and
Charlie Coles is a terrific coach, having the most wins in the MAC,
so we know we have to go and compete."
On the remainder of the regular season:
"I think our main point of emphasis with our guys is that we need
to sell out and put extra time in, play great defense and really
focus on not resting on any possessions. We've done a good job, but
we can play better and most importantly have fun. I think that's
the key thing because there's always a serious responsibility on a
team that's in first place or right around there, but the biggest
thing is you don't want to forget the ride. You want to have fun
with those games and do the very best you can and if the process is
right you're going to win most of them, and let the chips fall
where they may. We're a pretty loose bunch, I think it's been
easier playing on the road with these guys and harder at home, for
whatever reason, but when you have high expectations like we do,
our fans do and everyone does around the program, the worst thing
you can do is worry about it. The best thing you can do is compete
every day and have fun."
On the regular-season finale versus Kent State on March 5
at Rhodes Arena:
"First and foremos,t it's a terrific rivalry. I haven't been
involved in anything better than that and Kent has been such a
tremendous program over the last 10 to 12 years, we're just
fortunate to have our program rise to a level to be competitive
with them. They're a terrific conference team and always tough to
compete against. It's going to be a tremendous game and it's been a
game that has mattered every year. (Head coach) Geno Ford has done
an unbelievable job of keeping that program and its tradition going
and getting his team to play better than anybody in the league, so
far. We're just looking forward to playing, it'll be a fun game and
hopefully both of our teams can continue to play well until that
point, so that it really matters."
