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University of Houston Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: Houston 92, PVAMU 72
12/17/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
PRAIRIE VIEW A&M PANTHERS (2-9) at HOUSTON COUGARS (9-2)
Sunday, Dec. 17, 2017 • Health & PE Arena • Houston
HOUSTON HEAD COACH Kelvin Sampson
Opening Statement
"Another 20 point home win. The way the game was setting up towards the stretch where we missed four free throws and they made four contested three pointers off of offensive rebounds was a little concerning. That is how you lose a basketball game. We were missing shots that were basically given to us and they were making tough three pointers. However, I am proud of the guys for hanging in there and fighting through it. I was impressed by Breaon's leadership and how he had this team ready to play. He deserves a lot of credit. These coaches are using our win against Arkansas as motivation to beat us. They are coming ready to play and that is an advantage for them. We did some good things even though Rob received four fouls during the game. I wasn't too concerned with it, because our plus minus when he is out is outstanding. We are able to play with more shooters on the floor with Galen is the distributer and Corey, Wes, and Armoni being the reason why we are able to consistently keep two shooters on the floor at all times. On nights when two or three of them are hot, we are tough to beat.
We were also able to move the ball well with 20 total assists. I am proud of our ball movement, our composure, and our effort. The reason they were able to stay in the game was because of our turnovers. If we are able to cut down on our 19 turnovers and have 10 more shot attempts, we would probably score over 100 points. Although turnovers are an issue, turnovers are also something that is emphasized every day. It's just like free throw shooting. I don't think I've ever seen someone purposely miss a free throw. It's something we have to work out. Some guys are susceptible to turning the ball over as they may not be the best passer or ball handler under pressure."
On having a shooter like Armoni Brooks who can quickly change the tempo
"I was playing more offensive coordinator and everything I was calling came out grea,t because Armoni was making it. We were running a lot of misdirection's where the play was going one way and he was coming off the pin down on the weak side. Galen was on time and target with his passes, and then Armoni was able to get into one of those rhythms. He is the best contested shooter on our team because of his arm length and athleticism. In comparison, Wes has this great offensive trait where he is able to draw anyone on his shot fake. Armoni doesn't need the shot fake though because he will jump right over someone. Everyone has their own formula of getting their shot off, but that comes from hours and hours of repetition."
On improved defense in the second half
"Yes, I don't believe we could have played any better defense starting off the second half. One thing to remember is it's not always the defenses' fault when the ball goes in the basket. Great defense can be played and the offense can still make the shot. A lot of the shots Armoni was making were against great defense, but the offense was just better. Give Prairie View credit for making the difficult shots they took, but our defense wasn't as bad as it looked. We did have some breakdowns with certain lineups and that would be because Prairie View doesn't really have bigs, so there weren't really any bigs for our bigs to guard. In our main stretch I took all of our bigs out, because if I didn't their bigs would take ours out to the wing and get the play passed around until the wide open three was available. "
On new edition to family and Christmas memories
"My Christmas memories are mostly with my parents and three sisters. My parents always tried to make Christmas a special day for us even though we couldn't always get what we wanted. My mother was a great cook and we used to go to my grandmother's house to spend time together. You try to give your children lifetime long memories that they will remember long after you're gone too. Macy is about 5 months old now and she doesn't know what any of this is just yet, but we will probably have more fun at Christmas with her than she will with us. "
HOUSTON SOPHOMORE GUARD Armoni Brooks
On his Rhythm
"Coach and my teammates always say that I'm a microwave scorer, so if I hit one three, the next two or three will go in. I might go through a little drought, but as soon as I hit another one it's back on. They say once I hit one, there's more to come. They really take pride in my ability to contribute to what my teammates give me."
On the zone he was in
"I haven't been locked in during too many games in college. Last year against ECU I was in a zone, also earlier this year against McNeese and tonight. In high cchool I was always in a zone."
On games where he's locked in
"Honestly, coach always if there's any space shoot it. Obviously you don't want to take any dumb shots, so if the person's too close I try to make the extra pass. I try not to be selfish, I'm not a selfish individual. I try to take open shots and not take ones that coach wouldn't want me to take."
On the threes that turned the tide
"Galen pulled me over on a baseline out of bounds play and said, 'bro we need a spark, we need something to get us going.' He called that play for me and once I got that three he said, 'oh yeah it's on'. He said, 'If you're open shoot it'. I was just following my point guards' directions."
On the defense keying in on him
"They started putting a guy on me to deny me shots and that's when coach became an offensive coordinator. He put in a lot of misdirection plays to catch the defense sleeping and rub them off of strong and weak side pin downs. Coach is amazing at that, he does it in practice every day."
On his best Christmas memories
"I'm from Waco, so every Christmas we went to Waco. That's where my grandmother lives, so we always go up there to spend time with family. Being surrounded by people that cherish and love me makes some great memories. Nothing better than spending the holidays with family. I never played with toys much, I was always a basketball person.
On his favorite toy he got as a child during Christmas
"I would have to say the first Fisher Price goal I got as a kid."
