They Said It: Samford 87-78 Over UNCG
Samford Scoop got the chance to sit down with Samford head coach Lennie Acuff along with players Jadin Booth and Jaxon Pollard. Jadin Booth broke a school record for most threes made in a game with 11 finishing with 40 points. Jaxon Pollard finished with three points and one rebound in the Senior Day win for both guys.
An excerpt from Lennie Acuff’s opening statement about the play of Jadin Booth.
Lennie Acuff: “I said it when Jadin came here, when I got to see him work out for the first time I’m like that’s a little different. And you know, he started at Tulane with 30 whatever he had with 9 threes, and then to bookend it with that tonight. There's really good players in this league, a lot of really good players. But if he's not the player of the year, I mean, I don't know what else he's got to do. I mean, he's been just incredible. And I told the team, you know, as I've said to you guys a lot, if you could see what kind of teammate he is every day, like, he's encouraging, he sets an example. So, yeah, I'm in a good place. That was a good win. That was really good, I’m happy for our team.”
Q: Your team has improved on the defensive end which led to this recent stretch of play, how has that been to see?
Acuff: “Yeah we've worked at it, and our guys have listened, and we've become a little bit more disciplined. They were really scoring the ball in the first half, but they're a very, very good offensive team. You know, they lost Neely at the half, which obviously hurt them he got his ankle. But I have a lot of respect for Coach Jones and he's been winning for a long time. But I think we've grown, I think we've listened, and I think we bought in. Also the coaches, our assistant coaches have done a great job. Just I'm really proud of our staff.”
Q: So Jadin were you just mad only scoring 10 points on Thursday night vs VMI, so that’s why you decided to have 40 points tonight?
Jadin Booth: “I guess so. I mean, I know it's senior night, so I got a lot of family in town and my brother was here for that first game, and I feel like I didn't give him a good enough show. So I definitely wanted to show out for the fam and I think I kind of did that tonight, so that was really fun.”
Q: When you hear your coaches and teammates talk about you like that (being a great teammate amidst struggles), what does that mean to you when you hear that? (asked by CBS 42’s Jacob Morris)
Jaxon Pollard: “Well, it means a lot. I mean it's a team game you know, and if it's not going your way, it hasn't really gone my way all year. And you know, you have kind of a choice to choose to be negative and that's no fun. I mean but when you're surrounded by guys that you want to be around. I mean, I've never been on a team. That's so connected, and I enjoy, like, they're my friends you know and that's not every team. And so, I just want to show up every day and make sure that they get the best out of me, even though I might not be playing the best so that they can do their best and it's so fun to see them be successful. I was joking with Jadin the other day that he had to get 40, so he did. I was so pumped when he hit that 40-foot three to get 40, so awesome.
Samford will be back in action in the Southern Conference Tournament on Saturday, March 7. The Bulldogs are the three seed and will play against the sixth seeded Furman Paladins. Tip off will be at 5:00pm CT on ESPN+.
