ADDITIONAL QUOTES >> USA 114, Mexico 38

June 27, 2010 - San Antonio, Texas

Jeff Capel, 2010 USA U18 National Team head coach
(University of Oklahoma)
On keeping the team focused with such a big lead:
Well, it's tough. I thought our guys showed some pretty good maturity in doing it. I thought they came out with the right mindset. We just had to come take care of business. We know we'll have a tougher challenge tomorrow against Argentina, but I thought we did some good things today. Good things to get prepared for Argentina.

On playing Argentina tomorrow:
Obviously, they're so well coached. They do a great job of screening of executing offense. They're very fundamentally sound defensively. They can shoot the ball; then shot the heck out of the basketball today. They just do such a great job of executing offensively, a good job of screening, cutting. Everything is with a purpose. When you play against teams like that, that's what makes those teams so difficult to defend.

On qualifying for the FIBA U19 World Championship:
It's very special, very special (to have qualified). It's one of the goals we wanted to accomplish, but it's not the end goal for this group.

I wanted guys to come in and work hard and be very, very proud and honored to represent their country. These guys have done a good job of that and one of the things we did was to select 12 guys. The next step in the process we want to get those 12 guys to become a team. We have some really intense practices and really long days. Because of that, I think that's why you see the camaraderie out there.

Abdul Gaddy
(Washington / Tacoma, Wash.)
Were you trying to work on anything in particular?
We were just trying to go out there and play hard, try to maintain our level of intensity. That's really it. It wasn't really a game at all and we knew we had to get ready for tomorrow. That's going to be a really big game.

On playing Argentina tomorrow:
They're a good team, a solid team. They're not overly athletic like us. They do all the little things. They screen hard, they play physical. They do a lot of little things. It's something that a lot of these guys, my teammates, haven't experienced yet (the hard screens). They'll see that first quarter, they'll see how it is.

It looks like you guys were having a lot of fun out there:
It's fun out there. We're just out there having fun, trying to make the crowd get into it.

Kyrie Irving
(St. Patrick's H.S. / Elizabeth, N.J.)
On playing Argentina tomorrow:
Tomorrow's going to be a great game. I'm expecting us to put on a great show for all the fans. We're going to come out there and give the best effort we can.

How do you stay focused in a game like that?
Personally, basketball is instincts. That's my focus right there. I let my instincts take over on the court and all my teammates help me do that, too. They make my job a lot easier. Playing on this team I don't have to do the majority of the scoring. I just try to be a complete point guard out there. Just be unselfish. That's the type of player I am.

Tony Mitchell
(L.G. Pinkston H.S. / Dallas, Texas)
On his the USA's teamwork against Mexico:
We played good. Especially when we dominated in every aspect of the game, rebounding, scoring, assists everything. We just tried to play as a unit and keep them under 50 because we let the Virgin Islands score a lot of points yesterday. That's what we were trying to do, play good defense.

On playing Argentina tomorrow:
It's going to be the same thing. We're not too worried about it. It's a better team than the first two we've had, but we're ready to play.

Being from Texas, do you have a lot of fans here?
Oh yeah. My mom, my high school coach and all my family is here to watch me play.

LeBryan Nash
(Lincoln H.S. / Dallas, Texas)
How do you stay focused in a game like that?
You can't never let up on nobody. Anyone can make a run anytime, so we got to stay focused and play our game. Play USA ball game.

On the teamwork displayed tonight:
We've been playing together for three weeks and we now know each other's game. The chemistry is going really good. Everybody just loves playing together and we're just excited when somebody get dunked on.

On playing Argentina tomorrow:
Argentina beat our 2008 squad and we're just trying to get revenge on them. We're going to play good against them. We know they're going to bring it, we're going to bring it too. We gotta destroy them like we destroy everybody else.

Jereme Richmond
(Waukegan H.S. / Waukegan, Ill.)
On the USA's teamwork in the first two games:
We're definitely coming together as a team. This is just showing that our hard work pays off. We're a little inefficient on defense right now. We have some spots that we have to clean up. We watch it on tape everyday and we're just trying to get better.

It looks like you're having fun out there:
It is a lot of fun. Especially playing with all these guys, we've become really close over the past couple of weeks and this experience has been really enjoyable.

Austin Rivers
(Winter Park H.S. / Winter Park, Fla.)
How do you stay focused in a game like that?
I really don't know. I just try to have fun with my teammates. We came out strong in the beginning and we got up by a lot and we kept pouring it on them. So really you get a little bit looser and have fun, but you gotta stay focused and have sportsmanship.

On qualifying for the 2011 FIBA U19 World Champioship:
I'm glad we qualified, but we have to take this step by step. Our goal is to win this then onto Worlds next year.

On playing Argentina tomorrow:
We know it's going to be a lot more competitive than these last two games. We know they're a very good team and we have to get ready for their physicality. They set a lot of screens and they can shoot the ball so we'll be ready. We'll be ready, but it's going to be a good game.

I heard that they beat us two years ago, so it's definitely going to be a revenge game. It's going to be a good game, and I'm ready to go.