Colorado University Athletics
Colorado, Nebraska Quotes
February 04, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Colorado Head Coach Jeff Bzdelik
ON TEAM'S PERFORMANCE? “We are not tough enough or strong enough to finish around the rim. We had open shots that we have to make. We shot 46% and had 13 turnovers and about four of those were unforced, where we are trying to make a pass where we shouldn't or travelling in the open floor. We have guys who are strong, but we are not strong enough or tough enough. You can blame it on youth if you want, but I am not going to do that. I am not into moral victories, and I know some people around here are, but I am not. We allowed seven offensive rebounds to a team that we never should have, and those thing all add up over the course of the game. Every possession is critical for a team that has little margin for error.”
ON TOUGHNESS? “We have to be better finishing around the rim and stop avoiding contact. We have to take it to their chin. We need to rebound better. When everyone is supposed to deny on the inbound, everyone needs to deny. We cannot have just one guy take a charge, we need three or four guys taking a charge, and that is toughness. Toughness is getting through a screen, toughness is taking a charge, toughness is playing under duress, toughness is finishing at the rim, toughness is blocking everybody off, and you can go on and on. All these things add up. We are not tough enough. We can win in this league.”
ON LAST POSSESION ? “I told him to take it to the hole. They are not going to call a foul there. Either you take it in there and you get fouled or you finish. You cannot avoid contact, but it's not on Cory (Higgins), it is on everybody on this team. Everyone on our team has to finish at the rim.”
Nebraska Head Coach Doc Sadler
GENERAL? “Anytime you win a game on the road, it is a great feeling. I knew coming into the game Jeff's [Bzdelik] team is a team you are going have to come in here and beat. I thought they played extremely hard. Their defense gave us problems, but we found a way to win it. We found a way to win it with only shooting 54% from the free throw line. We made some plays down the stretch and I am just happy for our guys to get a second consecutive road win.”
ON BALANCED TEAM EFFORT? “We don't have an inside game, so we move guys around a lot. We share the ball. That has been our case all year. Our team is a team that has to play hard every night. And we knew coming in here play Jeff's [Bzdelik] team; it was going to be that difficult. Thank goodness we had a 5 or 6 point lead, because if we didn't, we would have lost this game.”
ON TEAM'S TURNOVERS? “We have not probably had 18 turnovers all year. We are usually around 10 or 11. I knew coming into the game that they had really done a nice job with the turnovers and getting theirs to 10 or 11. I thought we would be there, but they did a nice job turning us over. It's unusual, and for us to still win the game, tells us that we still played pretty good.”
ON TEAM'S ROAD VICTORY? “It's hard to win up here. And again, Jeff's [Bzdelik] team each game is getting so much better. Good teams. It's gone down to the end, under a minute, last year, the same thing. This year, it was hard. They had a shot to win the game. You win on the road in this league, especially after losing to Oklahoma State and Kansas at home, it gives you a chance to stay in the game. I am exhausted, but I feel great. I am happy for our players.”
Colorado Players
Dwight Thorne II, Junior, Guard
ON NEARLY WINNING- “I thought we had a chance to [win]. Towards the end when we were down by two and Cory [Higgins] had that layup I thought it was going in. I thought there was contact, but the referees gave it to us to make a play.”
ON NEBRASKA's DEFENSE?“We prepared for it pretty well, so I think we were pretty prepared for it. They're a tough, scrappy team and I think we handled it pretty well tonight. Things just didn't go our way in the end. They're small, and every one out there is quick, so they can get up and into guys that aren't used to them being all over them like that. When they do that at their positions they can cause a lot of havoc.”
ON MOMENTUM FROM KANSAS GAME--“I'd say we stayed the same, and that's not good. If you're staying the same, you're getting worse. Tomorrow's another day, we'll get into practice and we have Oklahoma on Saturday.”
ON LAST MEETING WITH OKLAHOMA?“We matched up well against them, and we just wanted to win, and we thought we could beat them in the tournament after we beat them here. We just have to come out hard and play together, and just do the things we can do. We should be alright.”
ON SHOOTING WITH CONFIDENCE?“I'm feeling confident in everything I do; not just my shooting. It's somebody to stay confident for my teammates, so I'm going to stay confident and they're going to stay confident, and we're going to be alright.”
ON TURNOVERS?“We hope to be at ten or less, no matter who we play. It's above where we want to be, so I consider it a disappointment. We held the ball decently, but ten is where we want to be at.”
Austin Dufault, Freshman, Forward
ON NEBRASKA'S DEFENSE?“They play extremely hard. They're well coached defensively. They're outside defense is probably the best that we have played against this year, and they are extremely disciplined and they play very hard. Because of that they're winning games.”
ON KEYS TO THE GAME?“We had a lot of open looks, but it seemed that tonight they weren't falling down. It was just one of those nights where everything felt a little bit off. Shots weren't falling at times when we could have used them. There were a lot of loose balls out there that they got, and that was the turning point in the game.”
ON SIMILARITIES TO THE KANSAS GAME?“They were both close games. I guess we made a bigger run against Kansas. Tonight we just couldn't get over the hump it seemed like we kind of keep saying the same thing over and over again, but we just have to put 40 minutes together instead of 35 or a good second half against Kansas and a poor first half. We just have to play two good halves. Once we start doing that, then we will start winning some games.”
ON FRESHMAN SLUMPS-- “I don't feel too bad. We have been lifting twice a week and that has really helped with my strength, and my legs feel good. It's a lot different from high school. It gets hard at times, but I feel that I'm holding up pretty well.”
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