Brian Thornton
Brian Thornton
Brian Charles Thorntonis an American volleyball player. He played for the 2007 NCAA national champions, the University of California, Irvine. He plays for the United States national team and appeared in the 2012 Summer Olympics...
beat best last nation playing realize team teams time twice
We realize we beat them twice last year. But at the same time it's a different team for us and for them. GW is one of the best teams in the nation right now, and they're playing like it.
ability close conference course deal final finish four games gave minutes season successful throughout types understand
Those gave us opportunities to understand what it's like to play in those types of environments. . . . A lot of games throughout the course of the conference season . . . are going to come down to the final four minutes of the game. Having the ability to finish and close the deal is going to be very important to our ability to be successful in the conference season.
basketball bed couple gotten playing practices work worth
We had kind of gotten away from the basketball we had been playing in the past, and a couple 6 a.m. practices refocused us and got us ready. When you have these (school) assignments, you can't get to bed early. But it was worth it. If that's what we need to do to work and get better, that's what we have to do.
ball came crunch far focus game heel kept rebound trap
We wanted to go out and focus on rebounding. It's been our Achilles' heel so far this season. This was a trap game for us, where if we didn't go out and rebound the ball well, we could be in a world of trouble. They still rebounded the ball well, but collectively, we kept them off when it came crunch time.
eight game games hopeful wednesday
We can be hopeful that we have a game on Wednesday so that we can go out and play again. We have eight more games to go. We don't want to go out like this.
against charlotte coming games knew physical pride rebound team
I don't know if it was a pride thing; it was a sense of desperation. We knew we'd play games against Charlotte and we knew we have another game coming up against a physical team in UC. If you don't rebound the ball, you're not going to get a win.
cincinnati days faced game prepare present ready sure team trap
I don't know if it's a trap game, but having only two days to prepare for a team we've never faced before, it does present some dangers. I'm sure they'll be ready for us, but at the same time, we've put the Cincinnati game to bed.
emotions great last obviously spent three
I'll take the emotions that I've spent three years with great guys. Obviously it didn't end the way I wanted it to basketball-wise, but I've made friendships that will last a lifetime.
closes ended felt mad senior sorry team year
I haven't really felt sorry for myself; I haven't really been mad or anything. I've just felt disappointed. I'm disappointed my senior year ended the way it did, and I'm disappointed I'm not here as the team closes out the season.
heck impressive means win
That's a heck of a statement. That's pretty impressive that it means that much to them to want to win at Xavier.
bad coach few flow game good halftime happen job second
In the first half, we had a few bad shots. I wasn't in the flow of the game offensively. Coach (Sean Miller) told us at halftime to look for me. If I could get the ball, good things could happen for us. In the second half, they did a good job of getting me the ball.
coach coaching expressed extra fact feels general good gotten last miller seniors staff team time trying
I'm just trying to play hard. This time last year, I was injured. It feels good to be healthy, and I'm just trying to give it my all. Coach Miller has expressed the fact that the team in general and the coaching staff has gotten us to January, and it's kind of on the seniors to get us to March. I'm trying to take a little extra on my back.
definitely missed needed night perform team
I missed out, but I think I let the team down, not being able to play. It was definitely disappointing for me not to be there night in and night out. There were times when the team needed me, especially in the conference, and I wasn't able to perform up to my capabilities.
beauty scratch situation ways
The beauty of the situation is we were able to find other ways to win, and we were able to scratch it out.