Colorado University Athletics
Colorado, Kansas State Quotes
January 24, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Colorado Head Coach Jeff Bzdelik
ON POST GAME SPEECH ? “I told them to understand why we lost, that this is what we've been working on, you don't just play you play to win and there is a difference between the two. Every possession has to matter. To start the game we were down 20-10 and already had seven turnovers. Why did we lose? If we have two or three less turnovers and two or three defensive rebounds, a little better execution on the timeout plays would have been better too. We have progressively gotten better, but we're not into that, we're into winning. The winning and losing will take care of itself if we get better in those areas. We need to be down to 12 or less turnovers and we can't allow teams to get 13 offensive rebounds.”
ON WINNING NOW?“Youth is not an excuse, on one side it's the reality but on the other side there has to be a sense of urgency otherwise you are not going to grow. If you're just going to sit back and say we're young, we're not going to win then we're not going to grow. This is about winning, in the process you'll speed up the development of the young players, by the pressure of expecting to win and understanding how to win.”
ON THE LAST SHOT?“We had scored on that play the last time we ran it, they have to understand that over the course of the game everything adds up.”
ON K-STATE'S FOUL AT THE END OF OVERTIME?“We told him (Dwight Thorne II) that they were going to foul you so as soon as you feel you're going to get fouled just throw it up there. He tried but you still have to go 94 feet.”
ON THE PLAY OF FRESHMAN PG NATE TOMLINSON?“The point guard position is very difficult, so Nate has had to play against some tough people and he is trying to figure it out. Freshmen are just all over the map.”
Kansas State Head Coach Frank Martin
GENERAL- “Anytime you win on the road, you should be excited. Road wins are never easy, I don't care what assumption you might make, it's never easy. Let alone we're as young as we are, we are somewhat fragile. We played like a team that wasn't sure how to win the game. For us to overcome all the mistakes that wouldn't allow us to solidify the win gives credit to these kids.”
ON ALLOWING COLORADO BACK IN THE GAME- “They just stopped running our offense. They just put their heads down and drove the basketball. After the Oklahoma game we were the best defensive team in the Big 12. And since the Oklahoma game we've become the worst defensive team in the Big 12. That's what happens when you kind of lose your swagger. And that's been kind of what's been happening to us. Hopefully this win allows us to get that excitement back; to get back to what we do what we do when we're good.”
ON PLAY OF DENIS CLEMENTE- “The responsibility of winning is square on Denis' shoulders. That's the first experience for him in college basketball. He's never dealt with that before. Before it was if he gets in he gets in, and if he doesn't, so be it. Before it wasn't so much on his shoulders. He's been willing to accept that responsibility. And now the game is starting to slow down for him. He's starting to be able to relax and play to his abilities. Outside of his shot he shot with something like 20 seconds left to go in the shot clock; outside of that I thought he played a great floor game in the second half. Denis is a big boy. This is his fourth year in college. He's a kid that started for two years in the ACC. That's what you need from your experienced players. He doesn't need me telling him he didn't play well.”
ON PLAY OF JACOB PULLEN- “Jake is like the rest of them. They're young kids; they're fragile. Obviously this is the best he's played in a month. All of a sudden we take the lead and he just kind of gets relaxed, like he doesn't know what to do now. And in the second half he did the same thing. When it was 60-48 or something like that, he just relaxed, and started making turnovers. That's part of his growth process. That roller coaster of emotions that he experiences as a player; then make that driving runner that he made at the end of the shot clock: I think that's going to help him kind of settle down and be excited about playing.”
ON ANY EXTRA IMPORTANCE OF GAME- “Road wins are road wins. I don't care who it's against. I don't care how, if, and, or but. Kansas came in here and they're up six at the half. Sherron Collins jumped up and made three consecutive threes, and popped the game open. Then all those young kids relaxed and made plays. We kind of did the same thing today. The difference is that we were so fragile mentally that we didn't know how to finish the game. Once that game got into overtime, and to be able to figure out a way to win the game; and for Jacob [Pullen] to make that play; and Darren Kent to be able to make those two free throws; those are the things you need to get your team feeling good about itself.”
ON YOUNG TEAM- “I don't care what a team is, but when you got as many young kids as we got, and all of a sudden you get hit in the mouth five consecutive times, you have to step back and gather your senses, you have to punch back or else they're going to keep hitting you. I saw that happen during the course of the game. We continued to play well, then we weren't sure what to do then we would make mistakes.”
Colorado Players
Cory Higgins, Sophomore, Guard
ON SECOND HALF SHOOTING - “We were more aggressive, that's probably the biggest part. We were pretty tentative in the first ten minutes of the game.”
ON WHAT TO TAKE FROM THE GAME - “Every possession matters.”
ON THE PROGRAM TURNING AROUND - “We knew there was going to be a period where we were going to have to go through a lot before we turn it around. Coach said we are learning it the hard way.”
Jermyl Jackson-Wilson, Senior, Forward
ON THE FINAL SHOT - “Any time I shoot it up there it has a shot. In a game like that anything can happen. We practice shots every day in practice. It just didn't go in.”
ON THE FINAL INBOUND - “It was just a screen to screen play. They did a good job tonight, and our shooters did a hell of a job. We needed to inbound the ball and the ball landed in my hands. It didn't go in this time, but it will go in next time.”
ON NEEDING A WIN - “We needed a win badly. I think cracking that win column in the Big 12 just does wonders for you. In past years we haven't had much success, but I think a lot of young players on the team have not had a lot of experience in the Big 12. Getting a win will help our confidence; it will let us know that what we're doing works. Obviously you are not going to play a perfect basketball game, but if you win you can live with those mistakes. I can't really live with mistakes if we keep losing. If you lose it hurts.”
ON THE PROGRAM TURNING AROUND - “I don't have time for a turn around. I need to turn it around now. We are going to learn from this loss and put it behind us, go to practice tomorrow, and win on Tuesday. I love my teammates and I know that they are going to have great success in the future, but we have to win now.”
ON DWIGHT THORNE II SHOOTING - “Dwight shoots like that every day. So whatever you see out here on the floor, its no surprise to us, because we see it every day.”
Dwight Thorne II, Junior, Guard
ON THE FOUL AT THE END OF THE GAME - “In the beginning I said, ?He's going to foul me.' I tried to get a shot off, but it was a poor excuse for a shot.”
ON THE FINAL INBOUND - “They switched the screen. We had a pick for me coming to the corner, but they switched it; and when they switch it, it's pretty much dead. On the inbound Jermyl caught it and he had a good look, and it almost went in.”
ON TODAY'S SHOOTING - “I was feeling pretty good about myself today. I told myself that I need to take it up another level, and I did. Unfortunately we took the L.”
ON BEING A JUNIOR AND LOSING - “I told myself I got one more year, but it's always tough to lose. I'm going to rally my guys, and we are going to get back to the lab and work hard.”
ON DESPARTION OF SOME OF THE GUYS ON THE TEAM - “Words can't describe how desperate some of our guys are to get a win. This is the type of game that wants to make you cry. It was an emotionally and physically draining game. I told myself, ?It's not the will of the man; it's the skill of the man.' It's all about will at this point.”
ON CORRECTING DEFICIENCIES - “Rebounding is going to be tough for us all year, I said at the beginning of the year. We are not the biggest team. We are probably the smallest team. We just have to keep battling. Turning the ball over we can control. They have gone down every game I think. So if we can just chip away at the total number I think we are going to be okay.
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