Rodney Purvis didn't participate much in practice today. Omar Calhoun did, but seems unlikely to play on Sunday against Coppin State. Also, Ryan Boatright suffered a lower leg contusion a couple of days ago in practice when he was accidentally kicked by Terrence Samuel. He should be fine, however.
A few notes and quotes from after today's practice:
KEVIN OLLIE:
"They've responded great. They've got the faith, I've got the faith in them. They responded great."
(on injury status of Purvis, Calhoun, Boatright)
"It's the same. Rodney's kind of come back from that high ankle sprain. He didn't participate in practice today, but Omar went through some drills. We're trying to get him back, hopefully soon. Same ol', same ol'. Ryan was able to practice today. He had a contusion on his lower leg, so it's good to see him back on the practice court. We're just trying to get everybody healthy."
"They're not practicing, so of course it's a game-time decision."
(on Calhoun's confidence level)
"I believe he's confident, but with the sprained MCL, it's hard mentally to make sure he's able to make the cuts, (he doesn't) want to feel that sharp pain he felt six weeks ago. I think he's getting back comfortable ... Hopefully, he can string some practices together and get more comfortable."
"I think he's been sitting on the bench, seeing us struggle with shots. If we can have somebody come in, make a couple of 3's, it can really open up some things for us. Hopefully, he sees an opportunity here and takes advantage of it when he comes back healthy."
"You've got to probably ask him that question, but I know he wants to come back healthy ... The knee is 100-percent, now it's just getting the functionality, the 20-percent being on the court. Hopefully, he can work through that ... Today he was good. Hopefully, we can keep building on that ... We'll see 10 a.m., if he's able to bounce back (on Saturday). I don't think he'll be playing against Coppin State, but hopefully we can get him back for next week."
(on Coppin State)
"We've got to stop the bleeding. If it was a YMCA team coming here, we've got our antennae up. We're not looking at their record or anything, it's a game we've got to look within, work on the things we've been working on. They've got some athletic guys, they're turning teams over at a high rate, so we've got to take care of the ball at a high rate ... Coach Grant is going to go to a 2-3 zone that we haven't had particular success against, in the last couple of minutes of our last couple of games ... we worked on a lot of that today."
RYAN BOATRIGHT:
"Terrence kicked me on the side of my leg, so I've got a bad bruise. I'm just trying to protect where he kicked me.
"We're just trying to keep the team positive, keep them motivated. I've been around for a long time. I've had a lot of years where we've lost two, three straight. It's tough, keeping your head and staying confident. Especially for these young guys, they've never experienced anything like that. Everybody who was praising you, you lose three straight, they walk right past you when you're going to class. I'm just trying to keep them motivated and that we've got to get back to the basics and work hard in practice."
"We're banged up a little bit, but it's part of basketball. It comes with the game. As long as we keep doing the things we've got to do, once we get back to full-strength, we'll get on a role."
"I wouldn't say 100-percent. It's better than it was when I played against Yale. Being kicked in the same leg, the muscle that's right on top of it doesn't help. I'm going to rehab everyday, trying to get through it."
(not overlooking Coppin State)
"Not at all. We just lost to Yale. You've got to go into every game like it is Duke. We've got to get a win, we've got to get back on the winning side of things. Dropping four would be devastating. It's a must-win for us."
RODNEY PURVIS:
"It's OK. I did shooting drills with the guards today, I didn't do much contact. The main thing is just letting it heal now, because I feel like I keep trying to come back and play and I may delay (the healing) a little bit."
(on whether he could have played in the second half of the Yale game)
"Mentally, yeah, I felt like I could. I just tried to keep myself upbeat. That's the main thing, because once it stiffens up, it's kinda hard. I kept myself loose just in case my number was called. I felt like I could have gone in the second half."
(on whether he understands why Ollie didn't put him back in)
"Definitely. He said I was limping. If I'm limping, I'm not really helping the team. I'm really hurting the team. That's the main thing. I focus all on the team at this point. If I've got to sit out because I can't help the team, that's what it is. But if I can play, I'm definitely going to try to play and help some team."
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