Oliver Purnell
Oliver Purnell
Oliver Gordon Purnell, Jr.is an American college basketball coach. He was most recently the head coach at DePaul University. Purnell previously served as the head coach for Clemson University, the University of Dayton, Old Dominion University, and Radford University...
certainly great people prayer special tough virginia
Certainly our condolences go out to him and the people of Virginia Tech. (Coleman) is a great kid, and that's a very tough deal. We'll say a special prayer for him and his family.
conference early ready resilient team trouble year
I wouldn't say there's no trouble because I think there is frustration and disappointment at going out early in your conference tournament. But this has been a resilient team all year long. We'll be ready to go (tonight).
easy favorable mean passed played road schedule terms tough toughest
If we can get something going at this point, we don't have that two- or three-game road swing. The schedule is favorable in terms of we've played that tough part. That doesn't mean anything's easy from here on out by any stretch, but we probably have passed the toughest part.
boost close finish game great home love win
I'd love to see us be in a close game with them on their home court. And getting a win would be a much-needed boost for us, a great jump-start to finish out the year.
assured bit classic granted lost middle played rest season state sunday took
NC State lost the other night, but it was kind of a classic setup: out of the league, they just played Duke, in the middle of the ACC season at home, and they probably just took things for granted a little bit probably. You can be rest assured that on Sunday we'll see NC State at their best.
argument coming momentum playing powerful sports team
Momentum in sports is a powerful force. One could make the argument that we're playing better than any team coming in ó so I'll make that argument.
felt four gonna gotta league lost nobody sorry tech understand virginia
Nobody felt sorry for Virginia Tech when they were 0-6, and nobody's gonna feel sorry for us that we lost four in a row. It's important to understand that it's a man's league and we've gotta keep working.
advance forward game home major obviously pleased step
Obviously we are very pleased to advance in the NIT. A home game was a major step forward for our program, as was a win.
adjust change game map might road
We've got to change and adjust - every game might have a little different road map to it.
conference early felt good opportunity time tournament
There is disappointment and frustration any time you go out early in your conference tournament, a tournament we felt good about doing very well in. But we still have an opportunity to play for an outstanding championship.
playing talented
Thornton has really been playing well, but they've got so many talented players.
chance couple days helps hone opponent practice talk team
We had a chance to talk as a team a couple of days ago and our team was disappointed and frustrated. We've had two days to practice and re-focus. To be able to hone in on an opponent helps us even more.
behind crew front mentally physically sharp
We were not mentally sharp or physically sharp, but you have to give Ernie and his crew a lot of credit. We've got to put this behind us because we've got the ACC in front of us.
defensive eight focus learned led lesson lose painful shots steals teams
We learned a painful lesson here today. If you lose focus on the defensive end of the floor, teams can get you. They only had eight steals but all eight of them led to shots we couldn't defend.