Additional Quotes >> USA 124, Finland 64

Aug. 17, 2011 • Shenzhen, China

Matt Painter, USA head coach
On tonight's game:
We came out with a lot of energy. We mixed up the line up a little bit tonight and swaped our point guards, Scoop (Jardine) and Ashton (Gibbs), just to get a different look and see how our guys would respond to it, and both groups played well. I thought our guys had a great effort on the glass, especially on free throws. Even though you don't want to miss your free throws, we did a great job of attacking the glass and getting second-chance opportunities.

I thought Marcus (Denmon) got us off to a good start, and I thought Ray (McCallum) really helped us get that lead to 12 going into the second quarter, and that was a big boost.

With a big lead in the second half, what was the team's focus?
We just tried to share the basketball, make the extra pass and execute in the halfcourt. Defensively, we wanted to keep the ball out of the post and make it hard for their shooters to get open looks. I thought we did a pretty good job of that.

The USA has secured the No. 1 seed in Group D. Is this team where you'd like it to be with quarterfinals a few days away?
I think we are in a good position. Obviously, you would like to be in some close games to see how guys would react, and we haven't had that opportunity. But we are in a great position, and I think a lot of people would love to trade positions with us. It will be interesting to see once we do get into the close games how guys respond.

Marcus Denmon (Missouri)
On tonight's game:
I thought we played well. Coming into the game, we expected Finland to be the best team that we had played so far, and they played us tough, especially to start. We did a lot of things well and improved on things that we didn't do well in our last game. We paid attention to detail and took what we learned in film this morning and applied it to the game, and that paid off with a big win. We had a good showing.

Did you feel like the team stayed focused for 40 minutes?
In the third quarter we had 100 points, and sometimes when you are up by a lot, it can be hard to keep playing with the same intensity. I thought we did a good job of not letting up.

JaMychal Green (Alabama)
On tonight's game:
I think we played well today. We did a good job on the defensive end and a great job on the offensive end. We played better help defense and took pride in guarding our own players. Coach (Painter) always preaches that we need to crash the boards, and we did that today.

What was the team's focus in the second half when you had a big lead?
We were working on staying consistent, on the offensive end and the defensive end. I think we did a great job of staying focused and not letting up.

On shooting 8-of-10 from the free throw line:
Everytime we go to practice, I spend time working on my free throws. It's an important part of the game, and I was able to knock them down today.

On the USA's chemistry:
As a team, we are really playing well together, and the game has a good flow. I think we did a great job of making the extra pass and playing together.

Greg Mangano (Yale)
On tonight's game:
We came in and played well from the start. Coach had us prepared well, and we knew Finland was a good team. They came out pretty hard. I think this was probably the best we have come out to start the game. We were prepared, and we played four good quarters. I think our intensity showed in the final score.

On the USA's rebounding:
We match up pretty well with teams that have size and teams that have quickness because we have height and athleticism, so I think that helped us a lot. Crashing the boards is always a focus for us, becasue that is kind of how you put teams away -- getting offensive rebounds. That also keeps them from getting out in transition. I thought we did a good job on the glass tonight.

With a big lead in the second half, what was the team's focus?
We wanted to finish out the game, especially the fourth quarter, with a big lead and to put four solid quarters together. I think we did that. Being able to play 12 guys and using different line-ups helps us work on our chemistry. When we get into a close game, everyone will have had the chance to play some solid minutes with each other.

Ray McCallum (Detroit Mercy)
On tonight's game:
Before the game in film today, coach Stevens really stressed coming out strong from the get-go, being focused and playing hard. I thought that was what we did, and our walk-through this morning carried over to the game today. Everyone came out focused, played well together as a team and played good defense, and we go the job done.

On the USA's depth:
Our depth is a big factor in games. We have 12 great players, and everyone knows their role. Everyone can play, and everyone can score. Most teams have seven or eight good players and we have 12. We just constantly bring guys in who are fresh, and it shows in our defense and the way we push the ball on offense. It makes it difficult for teams to keep up with us.

With a big lead in the second half, what was the team's focus?
At halftime coach Painter told us to work on getting the ball inside, getting guys open shots, playing together, moving the ball and to just play as a team and play hard. That's what we did, and it showed in our 124 points. That shows offense and defense.