Colorado University Athletics
Colorado, Iowa State Quotes
January 27, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Colorado Head Coach Jeff Bzdelik
GENERAL?“We made some timely stops and we made some timely shots. We only turned the ball over three times in the second half. We started the second half only 3-of-15 shooting the basketball. We had some really good looks, we got the ball in the post and we drove the ball well. The fact we didn't turn the ball over allowed us to continue to get good shots and not give them easy points. The fact we held them even on the boards, and they only had three offensive rebounds. The fact we made more free throws than they attempted, those three categories are significant. We also had significant plays; Levi [Knutson]'s steal and conversion was big play. Austin [Dufault]'s three-pointer was a big play because it gave us a two-possession separation. We were solid and we defended well. [Craig] Brackins did get 24 but nobody else scored in double-digits, in fact their next leading was scorer was six points from [Lucca] Staiger and [Bryan] Petersen. It was a great team win from standpoint that Toby Veal and Javon Coney gave us significant minutes in terms of defense. For Casey [Crawford] and Levi [Knutson] to go 5-for-9, after coming into game 0-for-16 in conference, it gave us a big lift.”
ON IOWA STATE F CRAIG BRACKINS?“Our intent was to two-time him, but he caught the ball so deep and he's so quick that the two-time could not get there. We just wanted Jermyl [Jackson-Wilson] to wear on him and make him earn his points. Give Brackins credit, he's an excellent player, but what's significant is no one else became an all-star and that's a key to the game.”
ON THE TEAM LEARNING THE OFFENSE?“The offense is hard to learn and when you have so many young players, I think they're doing a great job. It's hard to adapt to class and being on your own and now you have to play Big 12 basketball, it's a difficult adjustment. The game is faster, quicker, and the players are stronger. Everything is new to them and it's hard. Most of the time if you have an established program, freshman can ease into it and only play five or six minutes a game, and perhaps be redshirted, but I'm asking guys to play 30-plus minutes. They're doing great, they have great spirit and they love the school. I knew this year would be hard with wins and losses but I want to keep them getting better and I think they have. The quote I often say is, ?wisdom and experience come back at a high cost' but there's no shortcut for getting wisdom and experience. You just have to get scarred and go through it and you'll be better for it.”
ON IMPORTANCE OF GETTING A WIN?“It's important for everybody just to get a win. I'm proud of the fact that they battled through it. Nate [Tomlinson] played the whole game and didn't turn the ball over. Casey [Crawford] hit some shots, Levi [Knutson] hit some shots. Toby [Veal] defended well. Austin [Dufault] hit a big shot. Cory [Higgins] did his thing and Dwight [Thorne II] was battling out there. It was a great team effort because everyone contributed.”
Iowa State Head Coach Greg McDermott
GENERAL?“There is only one guy scoring baskets and we had to get it to him every possession. We had too many touches; I guess we can't figure that out. We had three turnovers in the first 11 possessions and both times they scored we had a breakdown in communication, a breakdown when it came to making threes and a breakdown when it came to the free-throw line. Those things can't happen. They were mentally tougher than we were tonight. We didn't get to our spots for the double team which is disappointing. We just played against a team, Kansas, where we saw a double team every time. We were prepped on what to do when the post double team came but we didn't react to it and as a result we didn't execute as we wanted to. Defensively we did enough to win. We got ourselves in trouble late in the game with them back on our heels. Offensively we had nine turnovers in the second half and if you're looking for a reason we lost the game that's the reason. At least three of those turnovers led directly to points on the other end.”
Colorado Players
Cory Higgins, Sophomore, Guard
GENERAL ? “We lost a few games in the last few days, and we wanted to make sure we won this one. We made a conscious effort to take care of the ball.”
ON F CRAIG BRACKINS - “He's a good player, and we did a decent job on him. We just couldn't let any of the other guys have all-star nights.”
ON THE PACE OF THE GAME ? “We try to play every game at our pace. Our pace is not up and down and it played into our hands tonight.”
Dwight Thorne II, Junior, Guard
GENERAL- “It took a lot for it to kick in. We became desperate to make plays. With about three minutes left we had a big start and started making plays. We stepped up the defense in the third quarter and made our free throws. This is a big boost, but it is just one game. We just need to continue to work hard and get better every single day.”
ON WHAT THEY DID DIFFERENTLY ? “We got a lot of big rebounds down the stretch and played solid defense.”
ON CONTRIBUTION FROM THE BENCH ? “Their contributions were really big. If they can do it every night we will be okay.”
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