Joe Aiello Quotations

Letting teams back into games that we should be closing out has nothing to do with who we are playing and the level of competition. Every game we should be trying to improve and do what we do better whether we are playing Clovis West or Fresno High.

We talked all week about having the instinct needed to put teams away but sure didn't show it tonight. We get up big and then seem to give our momentum and it just kind of snowballs.

Jackson really hurt us offensively and Shelton seemed to tip the ball or alter just about every one of our shots. But it was their other players who hurt us the most as we didn't do a good job stopping them when they were on the floor.

Kenny got hot early in the game and then started forcing things a little. But he really has become much more of a complete player who brings the ball up, scores from the outside, drives to the basket and really has started to hit the boards.

I think the guys were a little anxious out there early on and the shots just weren't falling. But we got the shots we wanted and were in the right spots to score, so that's all you can ask. As long as we do that, the shots are going to fall eventually.

I thought Aaron had a very good game against a very good player in Shelton. It was encouraging to see how he stepped up and proved he is one of the better players in our league.

I thought we played very hard on the defensive end and really looked like we wanted to deny Bullard anything. But that's the kind of effort it takes to play good defense - you almost have to take the other team scoring personally.

I thought we came out and played fairly well in the first quarter and kind of neutralized their strengths. But Clovis West proved why they are the odds-on favorite to win the state title as they are very quick, extremely strong and physical as well as being deep.

Our players didn't come out and compete at all. It came down to leadership and we didn't show any. It looked like our players were hiding and just gave up. Trust me, we will address this in practice.

Mark did a good job managing the game and getting the ball where it needed to be. This type of performance is what he can give us and what we need each and every night.

Mark came up huge for us tonight, hitting big shots and pushing the ball up the court. He ran the show tonight and did a great job in all facets of his game.

Mark had to deal with some adversity and after missing the free throws could have hidden. But he showed a lot of character by stepping up and knocking down the three in such a critical situation.

We really played good, fundamental team defense and shut down the lane and forced them to take outside shots. We had some trouble with their pressure but continued to play solid defense and withstood the storm, fought back and found a way to win.

We play in a very tough league and although we have come a long way, can't afford this type of performance against teams in our league. So now we'll really see just how much we have progressed and who we can count on against much better competition.

We knew that Cox was a very good shooter from 3-point range and were determined to not let him get comfortable out there. I told our players to deny him the ball and make him put the ball on the floor and we definitely kept him from hurting us.

Tony (Queen) and Ray (String) did a phenomenal job defensively on Hurtado. We executed our game plan and forced him to his left all night and got him frustrated. Not many teams have been able to shut him down. He is really a special player.

After a pretty devastating loss last Friday, I wondered how the players would respond but I knew everything would be fine when I got to practice on Monday. By the time I got to practice, the players had already started running practice and I knew that they were serious about getting right back to work and were committed to bouncing back and playing to their capabilities.

Daniel (Zamora) is just now rounding into form, but he adds a lot to what we do offensively. He goes to the basket strong and gives us some toughness.

Even Vance Walberg (Fresno City College basketball coach) said Jackson was like a man playing against boys. And there is no doubt how good Clovis West is, but I thought our players were kind of intimidated and I was disappointed that we didn't compete better. I felt like some of the kids gave up and just went through the motions.

They were obviously keying on Aaron and working hard to limit his touches. But most teams are going to employ that strategy, so we have to be more creative in finding ways to get him the ball.

In the second half our players looked like they didn't want to play hard and pick up another foul. I also think the pressure from Clovis got to our players and the frustration leaked into our defense.

I think Aaron got a little frustrated with Bullard keying on him and then picked up some early fouls. But there are going to be times when teams take away what you want to do and you still have to find a way to win.