'That's My Record'

Head coach Ed Cooley's post-game comments on the Stags' overtime loss against Yale (70-66) at Alumni Hall. For a recap of the game from Tom Cleary, as well as commentary on Coach Cooley's post-game words, check out this weeks edition of The Mirror.


on the 70-66 OT loss to Yale - “A very disappointing loss. I will go on record to say that this was the most disappointing loss I’ve had as a head coach. At home, our crowd was terrific; the atmosphere was great. We are just not a smart basketball team. We’ve had the same script for four straight games. Coming down the stretch, our lack of execution, our lack of understanding what we need to do is just not there. Right now, we are not a good basketball club based on our inexperience on the floor and right now it’s showing because of our turnovers.”

on how to fix the mistakes of a very youthful Stags team - “Keep working with them. Keep stressing the importance of how valuable the ball is. Time and score means everything. Not only that, I think we scout teams as well as anyone in the country when it comes down to what they’re doing. Coaches coach and players play, and put people in a position to win basketball games. Apparently right now I’m not doing a very good job of that. We’ll look at these mistakes and see if we can’t get better.”

on Fairfield's 13-of-26 foul shooting on Tuesday night - “No, that’s just a lack of concentration. We’ve had a couple of games now where we’ve shot a very subpar free throw percentage. That’s just a lack of concentration. That’s not youth – these kids have been playing basketball for a long time. And you’ve been shooting free throws since they were babies if you’re playing this sport. That’s just bad."

on the state of Fairfield Basketball - “Right now, we are not a good basketball team. We are trying to grow. We have a league game (against Siena) on Friday which is very important. I’d like to be 1-0 after Friday. That’s the most important thing on my mind right now. We’ll learn from this and we’ll move on. "

on the Stags' up-tempo start to the Yale game - “I thought we came out of the gate really well. You have to sustain it. Right now, we are having trouble sustaining that level of concentration. "

on the responsibility for the four-game losing sterak - "2-6 isn’t the end of the world. You get to the NCAA (Tournament) in the MAAC by winning the MAAC (Championship). That’s our goal. Right now, our (2-6) record is more about the coach. That’s my record. Our team record right now is 0-0 in this league. That’s the most important thing we have to stress to our kids."

Looking ahead - "We will get better. Those mistakes these kids were making (vs. Yale) will not be made in the near future, I promise you that. It’s a matter of us getting better on a daily basis."

on if there is any consolation knowing the MAAC games are still ahead - "I always think the game you play is the biggest game. There is zero consolation in losing a game. If you’ve ever coached a sport, you don’t sleep when you lose, you don’t sleep when you win because you’re preparing for your next opponent. We won’t sleep tonight because we will be watching hours upon hours of film on Siena. That’s just what our job is. And it’s my job as a head coach to let them know that our head coach is not disappointed, just a little down."

- Keith Connors