June 9, 2009 • Belgrade, Serbia

USA head coach Bo Ryan, University of Wisconsin
On tonight's game:
You always play every possession as if you are going to be successful on offense and on defense that you are going to get a stop. The fact that we put that many good possessions on both ends together in such a short period of time made all the difference in the world. It gave us a cushion and took some of their confidence away. They were fired up for this game. Our guys were excited too, obviously. But Bulgaria, I think maybe they tried a little too hard because they seemed anxious. They probably took some shots they would like to have back. We were smart enough to take advantage of that, and that got us the cushion. They made one run in the second half, got it under 20, which might not seem like a big deal, but it was. We lost our focus for a little while, but we got it back and improved the lead again.

On the USA's 3-point shooting:
Sometimes that dries up and sometimes it's like striking oil. It's one of those things where they gave us those looks because of the way they were playing. If the team is going to pack it in like that and give us those looks, then we have to take advantage of that.

On Russia in the semifinals:
We have to play a lot better than we did the last time because after seeing them tonight, they are better. It will be two teams toe-to-toe. A lot is at stake, and I'm sure it will be a very intense game.

James Anderson (Oklahoma State / Junction City, Ark.)
On tonight's game:
We tried to come out with a lot of energy. Once we got the lead, we just kept pushing and going at them. We didn't want to play careless and play with bad habits.

On Russia:
We are going to go back and watch the tape from when we played them in an exhibition game. See some stuff we messed up on and look at some stuff they do and go over it in practice.

On the USA's 3-point shooting:
Tonight was a good shooting night for everybody. Seems like everybody knocked down a three, and I guess everybody's shot felt good. We just try to get one another shots. We got some pretty good shooters on the team, and we have to take advantage of it.

Da'Sean Butler (West Virginia / Newark, N.J.)
On Bulgaria:
We knew they could shoot the ball very well. During the game you could see that if we helped too much, they would knock down open jump shots. But our whole thing was to make them attack and shoot in-between shots - no shots in the paint and no three pointers. They did a really good job of getting to the basket though. They didn't settle for long twos, so that gave us a little trouble.

Are you expecting to see zone defense from Russia?
Whatever other teams play, they are going to play. It just depends on how hard we do what we are doing. If Russia saw this game and thinks they don't want to play zone, then we will pass it into the post. If they don't want to go man and they go zone, we have big guys and guards that can step out and make threes. So, we are not just a one-sided team.

Have you been on a team with this many 3-point shooters before?
I have played with a lot of great 3-point shooters in my time, but everybody on this team is really skilled in a lot of ways - ball handling, passing, rebounding, everybody is very versatile.

On reaching the semifinals:
I'm very excited. This is my first USA experience, and it might be my last, you never know. I'm just trying to enjoy the moment. We are in the semifinals in Serbia - a place I will probably never get the chance to come back to. I'm just going to cherish the moment and enjoy it.

Lazar Hayward (Marquette / Buffalo, N.Y.)
On the USA's early lead:
I think it was just because we were all excited. It's getting down to the clutch, and we are all excited to play. I think we are all just playing so well together, and then leads like that start to happen.

On the USA's 3-point shooting:
I think that teams are playing a zone because they think we can't shoot. I think we have a number of good shooters, and if we are taking good shots they are going to fall.

On the USA's chemistry:
I think it's great, and I think it's really starting to show on the court. We are together all day, so everybody is learning about each other. We are starting to find out who likes what spots on the court. I just think it shows on the basketball court, and we are all having fun together. When you have a bunch of guys like this on this team, who aren't selfish, it's a lot of fun.

On reaching the semifinals:
It's great, but Russia is a good team, and they are going to play very hard. We have to get ready and get focused.

Quincy Pondexter (Washington / Fresno, Calif.)
On advancing to the semifinals:
It's a great feeling. In our minds we are in the Final Four. It's just a great experience. We haven't had much let down since we first got here and the exhibition games. I think our team is really focused on winning that gold.

On the team's chemistry:
Being together so much with out any TV or a lot of American luxuries is really bringing us together, and it's really crossing over onto the court. We just really have a common goal to win the gold medal, and we are doing whatever it takes to win.

On Russia:
They are a very good team. The first time we played them, we were a little caught off guard by how good they were. It's not going to be any different tomorrow. It's going to be a hard-fought game because we know what is at stake, and they know what is at stake. Both teams want to represent their countries to the max, and it's going to be a great game.

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