Additional Quotes >> USA 106, Puerto Rico 64

July 16, 2008 � Formosa, Argentina

USA head coach Bob McKillop, Davidson College
On today�s game:
They�re a very good team, they have a right to be confident. They had two very good victories here, decisive victories. We have great respect for them, our players do, our coaching staff does. We�ve scouted them and understand they�re extremely well coached, they�re very talented.

Some statistics that jump off the page to me are that we shot 48 percent, held them to 28 percent. Our defense was superb. And that 48 percent is a result of the assist-turnover ratio of 23 to 12. That�s an outstanding number. I think we�ve shot foul shots remarkably well for international competition. Kids at this age don�t really focus on foul shooting but we�ve shot very well. I think we�re over 70 percent from the line in our three games. Our 3-point shooting is coming on.

What really pleases me is that so many guys contributed to this. Every guy on this roster played a role, had a part and was very instrumental to our success. It was a 40-minute effort. Our guys went from the opening tap to the end once again. For a coaching staff, we could want nothing more.

What did you talk to the players in the locker room at halftime?
The fact that we were on a run. The fact that the run started because we defended. In fact, that last three was a finished play. Kemba was really challenged on that shot, but he finished all the parts of that shot and sunk it at the buzzer. When you make a buzzer shot going into the locker room,it gives you great momentum.

On the USA�s defense:
I thought our defense was superb. We forced them into a lot of one-on-one dribble penetrations. We defended rather well as a team. That�s what�s going to win international competition: team defense.

Dominic Cheek (St. Anthony H.S. / Jersey City, N.J.)
On today�s game:
It was a pretty tough start. They were just knocking down jump shots that we didn�t expect them to knock down. We just stuck in it, put our hands up in their face, kept on playing hard, pressuring the ball and everything.

What did you talk about in the locker room?
After the first half we came into the locker room and talked about everything. We talked about pressuring the ball more.

You had that 28-2 run, kept them without a field goal for over 10 minutes of play, was that a result of your ramped-up pressure?
That was our goal. Coach was telling us to do something like that. We just kept on making our run and didn�t let them get back into the game.

You hit a couple of threes today:
Oh yeah, that�s what I needed to do. My jump shot hasn�t been falling but I have to keep on playing through it.

Matt Humphrey (Hales Franciscian H.S / Chicago, Ill.)
Puerto Rico came out strong. How were you able to pull away?
First off, we needed to stop their offensive rebounding. They kept getting on the glass. We started to stop that, then played better defense and pushed the ball more. That�s what opened up the game for us. We wore them out. They were hitting threes, but the only reason they were shooting threes was a fatigue type of thing. They weren�t being very aggressive so we just took advantage of that.

Did you think they were going to come out of the locker room at halftime and attempt to rally back?
You could just tell on their faces that they thought the game was over at halftime. They came out in the beginning of the game during warm-ups, at the hotel, very amped, very pumped. But we mentally defeated them early in the game and took it from there.

Who impressed you on the USA team tonight?
Malcolm. Malcolm played, in my opinion, the best. He shot, he drove, he made plays, he played defense, he ran the floor. He played very well.

What did you do to prepare for this game today?
My approach is always real serious before a game. I got real focused before today�s game. I knew it was going to be a big one and big games require big minutes from people. That�s what I gave today.

How has your experience been off the court?
It�s different. It�s cool to get to a different country. Most people don�t get this kind of an opportunity anyway. It�s cool to be here, playing in a different country. You get to see how other people live outside of your own country.

Ryan Kelly (Ravenscroft H.S. / Raleigh, N.C.)
During the first 18 minutes of the game Puerto Rico was able to slow the tempo. Was that a little tough for you guys to break out of?
Yeah, they were putting a lot of pressure on it, this was a huge game for them. They wanted to beat the United States. We kind of played our game. We knew it would take some time but we knew we would wear them down. We�re better athletes, we�re better players and we knew eventually we�d wear them down and pull away.

About mid-way in the second quarter the team's defense seemed to step up a little bit, was that the case?
That was a little of wearing them down but at the same time we wanted to put a little punch in at the end. We knew they wanted to beat us and we couldn�t let it happen.

On closing out the half on an 8-0 run:
We couldn�t let them have any confidence going into halftime. We had to make a point.

Was this the most physical game you�ve played so far?
It was pretty physical, that�s just part of the game. That�s part of the game that they�re playing. We played through it obviously and it worked out to our advantage in the end. I can�t complain about any of the calls or anything like that.

How has your off-court experience been here in Argentina?
It�s been great. I�ve never been anywhere out of the country before. And then being with these guys and hanging out with them, they�re all great guys. I�ve really enjoyed hanging out with them. And then getting the chance to hang out in Formosa, meet different people. I don�t even speak their language, but they�re welcoming and they want to say hello to all of us from the United States. It�s just been a great opportunity.

Malcom Lee (John W. North H.S. / Riverside, Calif.)
On the USA�s 28-2 run:
They tried to throw us off of our game by slowing it up. Running the shot clock down when they were on offense to like 10 seconds and also playing on defense, letting us shoot because they were in a zone. We just had to get adjusted to it because in the last two games we were just running up and down, up and down. They tried to slow us up and it worked in the beginning but then we adjusted to it. We took off from there.

Do you think it was a matter of wearing them down?
We definitely wore them down. They threw in the flag in the third quarter. It was over after that.

The team has improved on its 3-point shooting each game. Is that just a matter of adjusting to the international style of play?
Yes, it�s starting to feel more comfortable. It�s not just me, everybody is getting use to the arena, the flow, everything.

What�s the best thing about playing on this team?
The talent that�s surrounding us, the coaching staff is a great coaching staff. It�s basically experiencing new things.

What did the coaches talk to you about at halftime?
Don�t rush things, play smart because they�re going to start trying to gamble. We did a scouting report on them earlier and when they get down they start running and jumping. They told us to pump-fake, passing, stick to the things that we were going over in shoot-around.

Kemba Walker (Rice H.S. / New York, N.Y.)
On today�s game:
In the beginning I think we fell more into their game. I don�t think we were playing the style that we like to play. They kind of slowed the game down and something we like to do is run. I don�t think we did a good job of that in the first half. But in the second half we came out and stepped up our game and pulled away with the win.

The USA and Puerto Rico men�s teams have always had a good rivalry. Did you know that heading into the game?
No, but I could tell that from being in the hotel with them that it was going to be a rivalry with them anyway because the way they carried themselves in the hotel.

Puerto Rico started the second quarter with four 3-pointers in a row, what was happening on the perimeter defense?
I think we gave up the middle too much. That�s something we usually go over in practice and shoot-around. I think we gave them too much and that�s why they got those open shots.

The team�s 3-point shots are starting to fall more. Are you all getting a little more comfortable out there?
Oh yeah, most definitely. In practice we do a lot of shooting drills so I think that we definitely getting more comfortable.