Everything From Damon Stoudamire Ahead of Tomorrow's Matchup With Louisville

Will Georgia Tech get a road win vs the Cardinals tomorrow?

Georgia Tech is hoping to move forward after their embarrassing performance against Wake Forest and the next opponent is Louisville. 

The Cardinals come into the game as one of the worst teams in the ACC and Georgia Tech has to win this game. If they fall to Louisville, Georgia Tech is at risk of finishing in last place in the ACC. While there have been good things to come out of this first year under Damon Stoudamire, last place is not where Georgia Tech wants to be. 

Stoudamire met with the media ahead of tomorrow's matchup and here is everything that he had to say: 

1. On what he has seen from Louisville and the way they have been playing lately...

"You know this is probably not what you want to hear, but I am not really concerned with Louisville, not from the standpoint of basketball but I am concerned about myself and my own team so that is what we have to do. We have to lose ourselves in what Georgia Tech basketball is and what I want it to be and the standard that has to be set and right now, I just don't think we are in the space to be worrying about a scouting report of another team. 

You know, we have to spring back in transition harder, we have to dive for loose balls, we have to rebound with two hands, we have to get in our defensive stance, we have to fill gaps, we gotta run three-point shooters off the line, we gotta slide with them and we gotta have somebody sink and fill. 

So to be honest with you, (Louisville head coach) Kenny Payne is a good friend of mine and I respect him and I have watched Louisville but I am really more concerned with our effort and how we come out the gate. The game can't get strategic until we play hard. There is no need to emphasize the different things that Louisville might pose in terms of challenges because if we rebound the ball, which we have to do, again if we get back in transition, which we need to better and if we understand the scouting report and the personnel that we are guarding, we will put ourselves in a position to have a chance to win."

2. On if that has been the message to his team...

"That has been the message for the past couple of days, it's just you know... as a coach, I am all right, you'll get critiqued, you'll get criticized, I know who I am, so I am all right with that, I am all right with people talking about my coaching. What I am not all right with is when I get questioned about my effort of my team and my guys so I don't care about reading scouting reports right now, I am more worried about if we are going to play hard, and when we don't play hard, there are consequences to not playing hard. 

For me, there is a standard. Everyone talks about coaching, I am not worried about coaching, but there is going to be a standard and so when guys don't have standards for themselves, then you have to create it for them, I did not think that it was ever going to get to this point, but we are here, but this is what it is."

3. On if playing hard is something he feels like he should not be talking about right now...

"Yeah but we are so I am not really concerned about talking about it or not talking about it, but that is where we are at and so there are consequences to not playing hard and that is all I care about because again, I have a standard that you have to uphold if you want to play for me and I am not going to compromise that and I will compromise winning and losing to create the standard that needs to be created moving forward, I am not worried about that. 

We can't put effort, forget makes and misses, it is not about makes and misses because basketball is a make or miss game. You're going to miss shots, you're going to have games, but you have to give effort and you can't quit. You have to have a competitive spirit when you play this game and that is the things that we have to get back to."

4. On if it is frustrating as a former player to know that some of them don't have the competitive spirit...

"Nah, there has been a lot of former players so that is not something that I am going to say that every former player gets mad at. I am mad at it because the way that I made it, I had to be the hardest working guy, I was always one of the littlest guys, for me it is a non-negotiable. You get to a point sometimes where, and we have all been there, if you have been an athlete on my level, you would understand what I am talking about and you don't really have to be on my level, sometimes you have the name on the front of your jersey and you have to play for the name on the back of your jersey, that has to mean something too and so for me, it is just a matter of playing hard and having that competitive spirit, not quitting on yourself, not quitting on your teammates, you know I want to see a little more fight and that is the discouraging thing for me."

5. On if that would bring any lineup changes...

"I just need five guys so there are some nonnegotiables that go with this. Again, get lost in the little things, it is not always about making or missing shots, rebound with two hands, you know diving on the floor, taking a charge, giving extra effort, sprinting back in transition, communicating, talking, being vocal on the floor, showing some leadership skills. These are things for me that are second nature so that is what we have to get to if we want to be a good team. 

It should not be me repeating these things, it should be someone in the locker room that has to uphold themselves to the same standard period."

6. On his relationship with Louisville head coach Kenny Payne...

"I have known KP for a long time. 20-25 years plus. You know when he was at Oregon and he recruited some players from Portland and he got to Kentucky and recruited some players so this relationship goes back a long ways so."

7. On defending Louisville...

"Let me tell you this, I only need five guys, I am not looking for ten, I just need five and right now that is where we are at. You know again, if you get back to the basics of basketball 1-on-1, rebounding and sprinting back in transition, not turning it over on offense, you're probably going to put yourself in a position to win, that is all I care about and that is no disrespect to Louisville, but it is not about Louisville right now,  but it is about Georgia Tech right now and they are the next team on the schedule and we have to be prepared, but for me, it is more important to see guys doing the things that I want them to do, it is not about what they want to do because again, I am not afraid to say it, but I am not going to compromise my standard to try and win games, I am not going to do that. I don't care, I am not going to do that. 

Understand what I mean, it doesn't have anything to do with having an ego. What that means is if there is a loose ball and you have a chance to dive for it and you don't dive for it, then you have to come out the game. You just have to come out of the game because if you don't, that means the other team is just playing harder than you and so I just want to find five guys that can do that is all I care about right now."

8. On if he is getting that in practice...

"There is only so much you can do in practice and I am not naive to that fact. I am not naive that you are going to change mindsets overnight but I also know that minutes, whether you are getting them or you are not getting them, that can have an effect on you so I do know that not giving out free minutes means that you will get on that loose ball a little bit faster, I know that will get you rebounding with two hands a little bit more and those are the things I am talking about."

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