Additional Quotes >> USA 82, Canada 66

July 17, 2008  -  Formosa, Argentina

USA head coach Bob McKillop, Davidson College
On today's game:
Clearly getting in foul trouble with Malcolm Lee and JaMychal Green in the first half hurt us. However, I was delighted with the way we were in control of the game the whole way through. There?s a tendency at this point not to play to win, but play not to lose. We talked about that and we had a double-digit lead for three quarters of the game. Yet you?d think it was a two-point game based on the emotions and the passion that were exhibited throughout the entire game.

What does it say about the will to win that this team has to go on that 12-0 run in the fourth quarter after Canada cut the lead to single digits?
I believe they only cut it to an eight point deficit and we answered right away. The offensive glass of Ryan Kelly, JaMychal (Green) and Travis (Wear) down the stretch was very important to us. Canada had a great performance by Mangisto Arop. He was tremendous today. It was very difficult to defend him, but I think we had enough guys that defended him and made it difficult for him down the stretch.

How important is it to have the depth that this team has when you're playing five games in five days?
We?re hopeful that the use of our depth throughout the four games that we've had so far will give these guys confidence to go out there tomorrow night and play as if they're all starters. We have 200 minutes, we have 12 players all worthy of playing, all talented enough to play. It's certainly a challenge for our coaching staff to find the minutes for everyone. But I think enough of them have had enough minutes where they?ve exhibited very, very good performances that their confidence should be good going into tomorrow night?s game.

On Argentina, the USA's gold medal game opponent:
They are very well coached, they play great together as a team and they are very tough. They have the two ingredients that I respect most: teamwork and toughness.

When you play them you have to cover the whole court because Argentina defends, Argentina crashes the glass, they pass the ball very well, and they can also fast break very well. They are a complete basketball team.

JaMychal Green (St. Jude H.S. / Montgomery, Ala.)
On today's game:
I think we could have played better but I'm just glad that we made it to the gold medal game. We need to be more focused tomorrow. I knew my team needed me to step up my game, so I tried my best to step up and get rebounds and put-backs.

Was the lack of focus due to the USA's dominating scrimmage on Sunday against Canada?
Yeah, I believe so. I felt that we weren't really as focused as we were against Puerto Rico. But we're going to go out there tomorrow in the championship game and we?re going to be focused.

How fun is it to play on a team like this with so much talent?
It's very fun. Everyone's going to step up and do their best. I'm just glad I made this team.

How much will this experience help you heading into college this fall?
It's going to help a lot. I'm going to be ahead of a lot of people. I learned a lot from these coaches.

Travis Releford (Bishop Miege H.S. / Shawnee Mission, Kan.)
On today's game:
They started off getting after it on the defensive end, pressuring the ball, getting it up the court and kind of playing the way we were playing. We kind of played in their style of game and that's what slowed us up.

What was the team's mindset to put the game away after Canada cut it to eight in the fourth quarter?
Every team has their runs, it's just about how teams handle it. We handled it well and we got back after it, built up the lead one shot at a time, two points at a time.

Will you be ready for the gold medal game tomorrow night?
For sure. Every game we've come out focused and that?s what we try to do. I can't wait, we're ready.

Are you having fun off the court?
Off the court we're always having fun, laughing and joking and whatnot all day long.

Maalik Wayns (Roman Catholic H.S. / Philadelphia, Pa.)
Was this a little bit of a wake-up call for tomorrow night's gold medal game?
Yeah. I think we got a little lax because we were beating teams by 30, 40 points. I think tonight we got a little lax, but tomorrow we have to come out and play like we played in the first games: team defense, team offense and things like that.

On Canada's play:
They came out and had a lot of confidence today. We didn't play like ourselves today, but we got the win.

Canada cut the game to eight points in the fourth quarter. What was the team's mindset at that point?
We knew we needed to get some stops. We needed to get some easy transition buckets off of our defense, get as many stops as we could and run it right into our offense.

How important is it to have the depth that this team has when you're playing five games in five days?
That's big because a lot of these teams are only playing eight, nine guys and by the fourth quarter since we?re running the whole game we wear them down. We're playing 12 guys so it's helping us a lot.

David Wear  (Mater Dei H.S. / Santa Ana, Calif.)
On today's game:
I think we lost focus there for a little while. I don't think we necessarily came out and played our hardest. There were times when we took plays off. But overall I felt that we did a pretty good job of sticking to the game plan. (Mangisto) Arop got hot there for awhile, he was killing us for awhile. But then we picked up the 'D' and started getting more stops.

Do you think you might have overlooked Canada after dominating them in a scrimmage earlier this week?
Yes, I think so. We all kind of knew that we were probably going to get this victory and we came out here and coasted and thought more about tomorrow night's game. Obviously that was wrong, but we pulled out the win.

What has your off court experience been like here?
It's been a lot of fun, the rooming situation, hanging out with the teammates in between the games, practices and everything. We all get along great, we all have good chemistry. It's been a lot of fun and a great experience.