Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State vs. Mississippi Valley State -- Ray Lopes Postgame Quotes
12/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2004
"[It was a] good, good win tonight for the Bulldogs. I thought everyone got a good look at what this team is probably going to be like for some time in terms of this roller coaster play. We're up and down, play in spurts; we have a tendency to play in spurts right now in this time of the season. We obviously want to correct that and show consistent play at a high level."
"When we got that one big run going, I thought that's when we displayed how we are at our best. When we're really moving the basketball and playing together like a team, executing on offense, we're capable of scoring points. When we're playing with great intensity on defense, we're flying around and playing with emotion, we're capable of getting out on the open floor and making some plays. And that is when we're at our best."
"This is the way we need to play for 40 minutes and not for three or five minute spurts or whatever the case may be at times. A good win, [an] ugly game for a long, long time. Not a lot of emotion or energy on the floor, but when they (Mississippi Valley State) cut it down to five or three, we responded and had that big run (22-0). I was really proud of that stretch of the game. We showed some more toughness down the stretch. They (Mississippi Valley State) stepped it up, were loose and made some big shots but we didn't buckle and didn't break. We went to the line and made some free throws. It was a good win for four games into the year. I'm happy to be 4-0 at this point."
"I want to thank the McCaffrey's for their sponsorship and first class tournament. I want to thank the fans who showed up for the weekend. This is a fun team, we need to keep coming out and support these guys. This will be a fun group to watch and watch them grow."
On being cautious with a 4-0 mark (overly optimistic)
"It's early. We're nowhere near the team we want to be. We're still a long ways away from being the team we can be. I don't think we can get carried away with 4-0 this early in the year. Every game is a good experience for these guys. Every game is an opportunity to get better as a basketball team and to take something from it, to learn. I think what we can take from tonight is that if we don't play as a team, when you try to hit home runs, try to make the big play, we're not as good. When we're playing more unselfish and playing together, like we're always talking about and moving the basketball, that's when we're at our best."
