Xavier University Athletics
Xavier vs. Temple Game Quotes
02.05.09 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 5, 2009
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Xavier Players
"Defense was a big challenge for me tonight. Last year I didn't play well [against Temple], 0-for-6 from the field. This was probably one of my best defensive games [holding the A-10's leading scorer Dionte Christmas to 12 points]. He's [Christmas] a future pro. He doesn't take a possession off even though he plays the entire game."
"Our six through nine players off the bench are playing a lot better. Brad [Redford] is really playing pretty well now. Dante, he's really a starter in all of our eyes. Kenny [Frease] and Jamel [McLean], they're both a force on the inside. [Redford] is a heater. He's a matchup problem. He's a game-changer, and I'm glad he's on my team."
"In the second half I just got confident with my hook shot."
On Jamel McLean "He's been practicing hard these past couple days. As you can see he grabbed some big rebounds and made some putbacks."
Temple Head Coach Fran Dunphy
"I think that [Xavier] is a good solid basketball team that does a good job on defense. I thought they did a pretty good job on Dionte [Christmas]. He was 0-for-3 [from beyond the three-point line]. I don't think he got a lot of good looks. [B.J.] Raymond did a really good job on Dionte. He gets lots of attention."
Xavier Head Coach Sean Miller
"I really think Temple is a very, very good team. Certainly better than their record. They've only played six home games. Dionte Christmas, they have more than just him. Sergio Olmos and Lavoy Allen gave us problems tonight."
On B.J. Raymond "He's a leader. He does so many things on defense. Plus he scored 24 points tonight. B.J. Raymond and Brad Redford, if they get their feet set and get good looks, I'd put them up against any two shooters in the country."
"We rebounded better in the second half than in the first. It was a miss, a rebound, and they [Temple] were done. I thought our big guys stepped up. Our offensive rebounding and our defensive rebounding really catapulted us to the win."
On the bench play "Those numbers six through nine [Dante Jackson, Kenny Frease, Jamel McLean, and Brad Redford] came through for us. We are a deep team."
On Jamel McLean "On Monday and Tuesday, if you asked anyone on our team, those were two of his best practices. And that has a way of turning into a great game."
