Additional Quotes >> USA 88, New Century 61

Aug. 11, 2011 • Huizhou, China

Matt Painter, USA head coach
On tonight's game:
I thought this was a great game for our team to get ready for the World University Games. (New Century) presented a lot of challenges for us, especially in the first half. With their size, they did a good job of carralling us, not letting us get going. But this was a great tune-up game for us. I thought our guys did a good job of adjusting. We went through a period of time in the first half where I thought we missed some open shots, and our guys didn't get frustrated. We did our best to sub players in and out to keep everybody fresh and wear down our opponent. After John (Jenkins) got hot and made some 3-pointers and we got out in transition a little bit more, I thought our depth was really the key to our victory.

What adjustments did you make at halftime?
I think more or less, it was about not getting discouraged. We went through a couple of stretches in the first half when we shot poorly. John (Jenkins) got going in the first half to push the lead to nine at the half. We just tried to be positive with our guys, and it wasn't as much about adjustments. We stayed positive and stayed with it. I thought our depth was the difference. We simply wore them down. We have a lot of guys, and we tried to stay fresh.

Are you ready for the World University Games?
Our first game is going to be similar to this in that you don't know your opponent, and I think we will have a lot of that. Especially initially for each of the teams in the World University Games, because you don't have a scouting report and you don't know anything about your opponent. So, I think it's very important that you concentrate on yourself and concentrate on your effort and the things that you can control. I think with our guys, we are tired of playing against each other, so we are happy to see an opponent and be able to go up against somebody instead of each other. We are looking forward to our first game and we are looking to have a lot of fun, but we know that while we are having fun we need to work harder than the teams we are playing.

Ashton Gibbs (Pittsburgh)
On tonight's game:
We started off slow, but once we got into a grove and found our chemistry offensively, it got better. We started playing well. We played better on the defensive end and let that lead to offense. John (Jenkins) hit some shots to get us going, and we kept it going from there.

On the USA depth:
Everyone on this team is good and everyone is capable of having a big game. We are not really worried about who it is. As long as we continue to be unselfish, we will be fine.

What was it like to play in your first game as a team?
It felt real good to play a game. It was nice to have a crowd, and I hope we continue to have a crowd. We just have to come out stronger on offense and defense and carry that through the whole game.

Scoop Jardine (Syracuse)
On tonight's game:
I think we had a slow start, but I think we shot the ball well. We are making progress as a team, and we are doing some good things on both ends of the floor, so that's going to help us throughout the tournament.

What was the difference between the first half and the second half, when you began to pull away in the third quarter?
We made shots, John (Jenkins) made a couple of 3-pointers to lift us, and we got seven stops in a row. That led to offense. Draymond (Green) hit some threes, and everybody was making shots. When you see the ball going in for your team, that motivates you to play harder on defense and get more stops so you can get more buckets.

On dishing out seven assists:
That is one of my goals, to lead the tournament in assists. If I can get seven or eight assist in a night, that means we are playing well. Our guys are going to make shots, and I am going to find my teammates.

John Jenkins (Vanderbilt)
On tonight's game:
This was a great experience for our team to come out here and play in this exhibition game in front of a crowd. We hadn't played in front of a crowd yet. We've had a lot of practices getting ready for games like this. They came out strong and hit us pretty hard, and we had to battle back throughout the game. I want to thank my teammates for passing me the ball when I was open.

We had a couple of stops headed into halftime that gave us some motivation to play better defense in the second half. We got the lead in the second half and stuck with it.

Are you ready for the World University Games?
We are looking forward to the World University Games. It's going to be a great experience that we will remember for the rest of our lives. We just want to come out and make sure we win the gold medal.

Many American NBA players have played in the World University Games, such as Ray Allen. How does it feel to join their company as a World University Games athlete yourself?
Especially for me, I'm a huge Ray Allen fan, so just to hear his name associated with the same competition I'm playing in is definitely a huge honor. I'm blessed to be a part of USA Basketball and everything that is going on around here and especially to be in China.

Trevor Mbakwe (Minnesota)
What was it like to play in your first game as a team?
It felt real good to play our first game today, even though it was exhibition. We have been battling each other for more than a week now, and it was fun to finally play a different team and to go against something that you aren't familiar with. It was a great atmosphere, and I think we all enjoyed playing with each other.

On tonight's game:
We were slow to start. I thnk we were kind of getting a feel for the game, and it was a new atmosphere for us. In the second half we opened up more and we were able to play our game -- play good defense and get up and down in transition. That's going to be our game, and we didn't do that successfully in the first half.

On his role with the team:
I know my role, and I know Coach Painter expects me to be physical, to defend and block shots and to score when I have to -- to do all the dirty work, the blue collar work. That's why I'm here, and that's going to be my mission for this team to help us win a gold medal.