Everything From Head Coach Damon Stoudamire After A Loss To Stanford On The Road

Georgia Tech dropped its fifth consecutive game and went 0-2 on its California road trip. Head Coach Damon Stoudamire talked to the media afterwards. Here is all he had to say.

On the struggles in the second half…

“I just didn't think we executed well on either end of the floor in the second half. Defensively, we didn't do a good job of containing (Ebuka) Okorie. We know he's the best player on the floor. So, you've got to account for him. We didn't do a great job on that end, and it makes it hard when he hits three as well. He made free throws as well. He is great at drawing fouls, and he did that all game long. He just put so much pressure on us. Again, it was just the most disappointing thing about us on the defensive end was that we did not do a good job of containing him and giving the ball handler cushion to know where his help was. These are things that, you know, you go over, and you know, we didn't have any game carryover in the second half. In terms of, you know, our shooting, you know, it speaks for itself. We shot 51 in the first half. and we shot 35 in the second, you know, so that's a recipe for disaster when you can't get stops, you know, then you're not shooting the ball well.”

On the West coast trip, and what went well and what didn’t…

“I would say pockets, you know, vs Cal for the first half of this game, I thought that we made strides. We come out in the second half. I didn't recognize us. That leaves a sour taste, and I think all of our mouths as we play, right now, we've got some things we got to figure out. We're in a space right now where we have about four to five more games coming up where, you know, it's going to be pretty much our season. We've got to figure some things out. You know, that's where we're at. We've got two big games coming up, and you know, we've got to figure some things out. I would be lying if you know, second half of this game, you know, leading into us getting on the plane, it leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Again, where we're at right now, you know, we've got to figure some things out.”

On what Okorie is doing as a true freshman…

“It's really amazing to be honest with you. Again, seeing him in person and seeing him on film are two different things. You know, he had 40 points on 21 shots. We always talk about, you know, making guys work. We didn't do a great job of that this evening. He’s slithery, you know, has a nice hesitation. He draws fouls when again he's making threes, it makes him that much harder to guard and then when he's in transition, you know he can use either hand as well. You know what that tells me is that I've been playing against Kyle since we were in the WCC. He's always done a good job of evaluating, you know, coming up with really good guards. You know, he doesn't get the same type of publicity as other players, you know, other freshmen around the country, but in terms of guards, you know, I'm hard pressed to believe, you know, there's a lot better than him.”

On how hard it was to score without Kowacie Reeves…

“I mean, you know, obviously that's there, but you know, we were down, we were right there in the game. It's one of those things where I can sit up here and talk about what I don't have. You know that's not the reason we lost. We missed the 60. Of course, but you know, he didn't play on Wednesday as well. You know, we were right there. The reality of it is that we have to do a better job because right now, what we're doing is we're good enough to stay in games, but just good enough to lose the game as well. And at the end of the day, we got to get over the hump, whether Wacie is available or not. I’m not going to use that as a crutch, and I know that’s not what you were saying. I understand that as well. I take the good with the bad.”

On Eric Chatfield and the spark he brought…

“He's had a good couple of weeks; he's earned that right. He's been doing everything we asked of him. I thought in the first half he came in, and I thought he did some really good things. You know, the second half he didn't have the same impact, but it's hard to ask someone to come in, you know, under those circumstances and do the things that, you know, we would have needed for us to be successful at that time. I thought he played well. I thought his conditioning was there. Obviously, some freshman things I can nitpick, but it's not about nitpicking. He did a good job today. He was one of the bright spots.”

On the Super Bowl and if he will watch the game tomorrow…

“I will watch the game like everybody else. It's funny. My former owner, Paul Allen, you know, obviously, he owns Seattle, you know, there was one thing that Paul was really good at when I was there. He really connected both teams. He would allow us to go up to their practice (Seahawks). They came down to a lot of our games as well. You know, Cortez Kennedy and a lot of those guys, you know, I actually knew. So, you know, there's kind of history there. Then, the crazy thing about it was that Pete Carroll was there. He was a Pacific alum. So, when I went to Pacific, I went up there, spent time with guys, you know. So you know, for me, that being there and then going to Boston, you know, New England and Robert Craft sitting right next to our bench, so you know I definitely watch the game, I don't have no horse in the race.”

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