Tommy Amaker: "This Is An Amazing Environment"

Harvard head coach Tommy Amaker met with the media after his team lost at NC State in the 2019 NIT.  He talked about the loss, Reynolds Coliseum, the future of his program, and much more.

NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview. Select quotes from Amaker are below.

“This is an amazing environment... I thought the energy from the crowd was such a boost for their kids.”

“Kevin has done such a wonderful job. With how they play, they are very hard to defend. We couldn’t really guard them off the bounce and then in the second half how much they got on the backboard made a huge difference.”

“I was proud of our kids for the effort we put forth and making it an interesting game going down to the wire, but it wasn’t enough to beat a really good basketball team in this building and this environment.”

“I thought that was a big factor [Kirkwood fouling out]. He’s such an integral part of what we do... not having him really hurt us.”

“I did notice how much they had more offensive rebounds in the second half. I didn’t realize that difference in the free throw shooting.”

“I’m proud of what we accomplished this year. We didn’t do all that we wanted but we were able to accomplish a lot with all of what we went through.”

“Receiving a bid in the NIT was an honor for us.”

“We accomplished a lot but not as much as you’d want.”

“It could allow us to get better and do the best that we can.”

“If we put in the effort and commitment to get better we’ll have a good chance of feeling good about us at the end of next year.”

“We have a tremendous conference.”