Post-game quotes from Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner, Louisville assistant coach David Padgett and Tech players Josh Okogie and Ben Lammers. Game story can be read here , 5 things to know about the game here .
GEORGIA TECH COACH JOSH PASTNER
“Just that first four, five minutes, it was like the movie ‘Jaws’ or something where you’re just one the ocean and all of the sudden, Jaws comes up and just comes and eats you. Other than that, we played great. We played great. We gave everyone ounce of effort and energy. We tried the best we could. We’re fighting like crazy. We’re just limited offensively.”
On center Ben Lammers:
“Rick Pitino told me before the game he’s the most improved player in the league by a mile and maybe the most improved player he’s seen in the last 10 years in college basketball, to go from where he was, where he didn’t think he was really good, to where he is now.”
On Louisville’s 3-point shooting:
“They got open against our zone, but you know, they came in 9 for 40 (actually 41) in the first two league games. We said, ‘We’re not going to get stretched out,’ and they were 9 for 16 tonight.”
On Louisville:
“They’re just so long and big. I don’t know how many teams are longer than them or bigger than them. But they’re a big team and they’re long, so they give you problems because they’re in the passing lanes.”
On Tech’s offense:
“It’s who we are. We have severe limitations offensively and we need guys to step up and put the ball in the basket. The opponents we’re playing are tremendous and they deserve a lot of credit. I’m just telling you that our margin for error is zero when it comes to offense. I mean, literally zero. So we’ve got to have other guys who can score the ball for us.”
LOUISVILLE ASSISTANT COACH DAVID PADGETT
“We knew they were probably going to come out and play us zone. We expected that. Not just because we haven’t been shooting the ball great from 3 but because they pretty much play everybody zone to start the game. We anticipated that and I thought our guys, Q (Quentin Snider) and Donovan (Mitchell) and Deng (Adel), did a good job of getting in the lane and then when they got the ball in the lane, the defense had to collapse and we did a great job of kicking it out.”
TECH GUARD JOSH OKOGIE
“I felt like they were definitely tall and lengthy. I don’t really think that stopped us from attacking, but they definitely got some blocks and made us kind of alter our shots a little bit. But that definitely was a problem this afternoon.”
On Louisville’s offensive rebounding:
“I feel like those little things is what helped them stop our run. We were doing so good in rebounding and then some key moments, they got some second-chance points to help kind of weather the storm a little bit.”
TECH CENTER BEN LAMMERS
‘I think that one of the biggest challenges was their length, just because we’re a big driving team, so I think some guys, it wasn’t as much of an issue. But it’s definitely kind of daunting just driving in there – you’re seeing a 7-footer, 6-10, 6-10, all being able to jump up and block your shot. It was a good experience for us, though, because we need to learn how to just take it to teams and don’t be worried about blocking your shot, just keep on attacking.”
On opening against North Carolina, Duke and Louisville:
“I think it was good for our whole entire team to go through. Obviously, we had two rough losses the past two times, but we saw we could play with Louisville, and Duke was just kind of going insane. But it shows that the ranking doesn’t really matter. We can play with anyone. We can beat any team. We just need to go in with no fear and just play with high energy and go at it.”
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