Colorado University Athletics
Colorado 84, Iowa State 69
February 07, 2003 | Men's Basketball
COLORADO HEAD COACH RICARDO PATTON
GENERAL-"(This was a) great response after the Texas game. I felt our guys really came out with a focus and jumped out to a fast lead, so I had to scratch my head for a little bit. But, it was great to see the guys respond the way they did."
ON THE EARLY LEAD-"I just think we were really aggressive defensively. We were giving them one shot at it, and I think they had some good looks, but they just didn't fall in. Certainly we don't ever expect to jump out to a big lead, whether it was 16-0, or 16-2, I don't remember, but I know it was a big lead. We did not expect that."
ON CU's DEFENSE-"I think our guys realize that one, they can play defense, and two, that there are some benefits from playing defense. I just think they finally started to realize that."
ON C DAVID HARRISON-"We've asked him to be active on offense all year long. One of the things we saw coming in was that he needed to make sure he contained his composure. Watching Iowa State on film, we saw that their post players were very aggressive, and did a really good job of posting hard. So, I think our post guys realized that had to be aggressive in order to have a chance to play and win against Iowa State."
ON IOWA STATE G JAKE SULLIVAN-"He's a handful; he's a good player. He has got a good feel to create space between him and the defender. He hit some shots with hands in his face, and that's what good players do."
ON THE FUTURE-"We realize as a team, that we have had opportunities as a team. The thing we talked about in the last press conference was that we don't want to squander those opportunities anymore. We don't have many more opportunities left, so we must make sure we take advantage of the ones we do."
ON BIG PLAYERS-"I just think that if you look across the country, the teams that are winning have their best players show up every night and they are consistent. I think that is what separates good players form great players. A good player will play well occasionally, but a great one will play well every night."
COLORADO PLAYERS
JUNIOR FORWARD BLAIR WILSON
GENERAL-"We knew that they thought that they could come in and win. We thought it was important to come out strong in the beginning and to keep playing the way that we have been. It worked out."
ON GUARD JAKE SULLIVAN-"He's consistently moving. He is their go-to guy on the perimeter. He can get the ball off with people in his face. After playing with him this summer, I know he is a good shooter. He's not bashful when it comes to shooting."
SENIOR FORWARD STEPHANE PELLE
GENERAL-"This was a big game. After KU we let down by losing two in a row. People thought maybe that the Kansas game was a fluke and after the Texas game, it was the same situation. We didn't want the same thing to happen again."
ON THE BUFFS EARLY 16-0 RUN-"I put in on our defense. It's easy to score but it's another thing to stop the other team from scoring. We played food defense and we were unselfish with the ball. Any team that does that is going to be successful."
JUNIOR GUARD MICHEL MORANDAIS
GENERAL-"We wanted to make sure that we played good in the beginning. That 16-0 run got us off to a good start. We took pride in playing as a team, playing team offense and team defense."
ON GETTING TO THE .500 MARK IN THE CONFERENCE-"It's good to be .500, but we need to try and have the success that we have at home on the road. We lost two in a row at Missouri and Texas Tech. We need to do the same thing on the road as we do at home."
IOWA STATE HEAD COACH LARRY EUSTACHY
GENERAL-"We came out soft...not very tough. A team is the reflection of the coach. I take full responsibility. Embarrassing would be the word (to describe this game) but that falls back on me. I am pointing no fingers. The tougher team won. There is no excuse. The flu is no excuse. Toughness is the problem."
ON COLORADO-"They are an NCAA tournament team. That's what we are striving to be again. We just didn't try hard enough."
