Steve Merfeld
Steve Merfeld
Steve Dumpling Merfeldis an assistant basketball coach at Creighton University and the former head men's basketball coach at Hampton University and the University of Evansville...
cut next northern run second three
We cut it back to three (after Northern Iowa's first run of the second half). The next run, they just floored us.
ball good illinois knew prettiest state
Obviously, that was not the prettiest ball game, especially in the first half. We knew it was going to be that going in because Illinois State is so good defensively.
basketball best last league team top year
I think we're a better basketball team than we were last year but the league is better top to bottom. This may be the best year that we've ever had.
cherish happened next quickly ready
It happened so quickly that you wanted to cherish it for a while, but you had to get ready for the next game.
adjust physical southern
That's their M.O.. That's why they're good. They don't adjust for anybody. You know when you're going to play Southern Illinois, it's going to be a physical war.
caught fatigue hates jason joy keeps minutes played second talented
Jason is such a talented player. He keeps getting better, and he hates to lose. He is such a joy to coach. In the second half, fatigue caught up to him a little bit. He played a lot of minutes (37) today.
coach credit guys lawrence les played
Our guys played so hard. But give credit to Coach (Jim) Les and Lawrence Wright and Bradley. They made one more play than we did.
eight last minutes played
We played a triangle-and-two the last eight minutes of the game, and they didn't score.
recruiting
We really like the versatility of the 2006 recruiting class.
answered defensive effort good next offensive point poise
We answered the first run, but the next one floored us. We didn't have a good enough defensive effort at that point and we didn't have any poise at the offensive end.
behind kids playing proud
We made a run, and I'm proud of our kids for that, especially playing shorthanded. They could have packed it up after we got behind by 18 points, but they didn't. They're disappointed with the outcome, but they shouldn't be disappointed with their effort.
ability athletes defense five good pressure six teams
Their defense is different in that they have the athletes and the ability to get on you one-on-one. Other teams pressure through different schemes. They are very good at what they do and have been good at it for five or six years.
caught guard half matched missed offensive rebounds second shots turned zone
In the first half we probably caught them off guard with our zone defense, and out shooters matched theirs. But in the second half, UNI got more second half opportunities. They turned missed shots into offensive rebounds and then three-pointers.
caught matched missed offensive rebounds second shots turned zone
In the first half, we probably caught them off-guard with our zone defense, and out shooters matched theirs. But in the second half, UNI got more second-half opportunities. They turned missed shots into offensive rebounds and then three-pointers.