March 6, 2009

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Dayton Head Coach Brian Gregory

“The last three minutes we took quick shots, bad shots, and they came down and made shots on the other end. They played well. It would be great if we got to play again.”

“Both teams are too good defensively to think that you’re going to get a good shot on the first pass. We didn’t play with poise.”

Xavier Players

Derrick Brown

On his 12 rebounds
“I think that’s who I am, making athletic plays and not worrying about scoring. Doing all the little things, that is what I do.”

On Brad Redford
“You can’t explain how good a shooter he is, even though you see it.”

B.J. Raymond

On the pregame talking between the teams
“We never like to lose. We got into it a little bit with them. It gave us a lot more energy and we just wanted to show them we were ready.”

“This game shows the growth of the younger guys. Right now I look at Dante as a junior. He’s been to the Elite Eight. He’s been to the NCAA Tournament twice. And he came out ready to play in the first two minutes and 20 seconds.”

Xavier Head Coach Sean Miller

“I really think Dayton is a good team, and that’s why this win is so special. I think they’ll represent the conference in a big way from here on in.”

“We had six or seven days off, and we worked very hard after the Saint Joseph’s game. I’m really proud of C.J. [Anderson] and B.J. [Raymond] to be able to go out like this.”

“There was an electric atmosphere tonight on senior night. I don’t know if it was our team that fed off the crowd or if the crowd fed off our team’s energy. We struggled on offense some tonight, but not just because of us. Dayton’s a terrific team.”

“There are not two tougher guys or two guys with bigger hearts [than C.J. Anderson and B.J. Raymond]. Think of our great tradition here the last 25 years. There has never been a player who won more games than B.J.”

On B.J. Raymond’s 1,000 point milestone
“Once he crossed that threshold, the floodgates opened. While he struggled, Jamel McLean played the best he’s played.”

On Derrick Brown
“The only thing I ever ask of Derrick is to be the very best player he can be every night out. That’s what he’s capable of every night. When he plays that way our team is better. When you look at his performance against Saint Joe’s and Dayton [double-doubles each game], he makes our team very difficult to beat.”

On Jason Love
“He’s a very experienced front-court player, and a very good rebounder. He’s more agile than you think. Our center position combined for 13 rebounds and you can’t do much better than that.”