Mark Schmidt Hard Quotations

We started off too slow and didn't seem to have our legs. I think they were itching to play because of the time off, and it was hard to get back into it. But give St. Francis credit. They made a run, and we didn't do a good job stopping it.

Central Connecticut is so much like us. It should be a very competitive game. They play hard just like us and, although they are undersized like us, they are tough to beat.

We expected A.J. to have an immediate impact and he certainly has not disappointed anyone. It's hard sometimes sitting out a year, but he did a good job of playing hard and staying sharp last season during practice. He's gotten stronger over the last year, and A.J. certainly gives us a physical presence on the inside. What really also adds to his effectiveness and opens up opposing defenses is his ability to hit the outside shot.

There were a lot of people who didn't expect many things from us this year because we lost three top scorers. But this team plays hard and wants to be successful. We just need to get back to where we started conference play.

The big guy gives us problems. He gives A.J. Jackson problems, just his height. When A.J. struggles, we have a hard time. We can't just rely on jump shooting. That goes hot and cold.

I knew it was going to be a close game because you have two good undersized teams who try to out-scrap each other. We didn't always play well but we played hard and we made plays when we had to.