Kevin Ollie talks Central Florida, the AAC, Amida Brimah ...

 Kevin Ollie from practice Friday, in advance of Saturday's AAC bout with Central Florida in Storrs:

(on UCF’s Isaiah Sykes)

“He’s been putting up big numbers … he’s a walking triple-double. We’ve got to limit his touches. He loves to drive left and finish left. We’re going to have to squeeze paint.”

(on what team did better against Harvard)

“We stayed connected, believed in each other. When one man was out of position, another guy had his back, playing high-level defense. Offensively, it was a challenge. They slowed the ball down, and sometimes when you come down after a 35-second possession, you want to rush a shot.”

(on The American)

“Every team is good. These teams are good. They can come and beat you at any time. If you’re not ready to play at Level-5, they’re going to beat you. That’s where I want my teams to play at … Anybody can get beat.”

(on what Amida Brimah can do to avoid foul trouble)

“Most big men get fouls on not keeping vertical … He’s learned how to be vertical … We don’t want him to hand-check, where he’s getting a lot of silly fouls. I like a foul where he’s banging on the boards and he’s called for an offensive rebound (vs. Harvard), which wasn’t an offensive foul or over-the-back. I like those type of fouls … We want him to be on the floor a lot more.”

(on Shabazz Napier playing a lot of minutes)

“He’s a competitor,he wants to play. Kemba’s played a lot of minutes, too. You’ve got to know when to pick and choose your spots. He worked out before the season started with the soccer team, so I think he’s in phenomenal shape, the best shape he’s ever been in … He’s not 41, like I am. He’s a young man, and he’s got a lot of basketball ahead of him.”

(on Omar Calhoun, Phil Nolan)

“(They’ve) just got to keep working hard, play Level-5 on the defensive end. The guys in front of them are playing well. Lasan’s playing well, Niels is playing well, Amida … they’ve got to put the hard decision on me, keep playing your game, try to improve on a lot of things people don’t see. With Phil, I think the sickness took a lot of weight off him, he didn’t have the stamina he once did. Omar’s got to play defense, stay solid.”