Colorado, Idaho State Quotes

Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle

General

"We've got a lot of room for improvement. I guess that's to be expected on November 12^th. I'm proud of our guys for gutting it out. We hit free throws when we had to and finished. We've talked to them about finishing in practices all year. I thought we took a step forward in the finishing department tonight. That's a good sign. There's a lot of good things we can take from tonight and there are a lot of things we can get better from. I'm proud of the way we finished though."

On Colorado's Free Throw Shooing

"They made it when they had to. I've done a bad job as a coach in terms of getting enough reps in. We've done very little free throw shooting in practice and that's because our time is so precious right now as far as getting our system in. Do you shoot free throws or a defensive drill? Well I want to do a defensive drill. I told our guys they have to get in the gym on their own some. Free throw shooting is a personal thing, and this is a good free throw shooting team. All of our returning players were good free throw shooters last year, so I don't expect that to be an issue with this team. They made them when they had to."

On Idaho State Guard Broderick Gilchrest

"We knew coming in that in the exhibition games he averaged 16 shot attempts in both of those, so we knew he was their go-to-guy. They told me he's fast; big time fast and I just thought we gave him too many open looks. He made some tough shots, and I don't mind the shots he made over our hands. We just have to make him work for everything, and we have to be better team defenders instead of just one-on-one defenders. Sometimes a great offense is going to beat a great defense on the road, but it's hard for great offense to beat a great team defense over a 40 minute stretch. I think that's where we have to get better."

On Adjusting to Gilchrest in the Second Half

"I'm not sure we made an adjustment, I just kept challenging our guys. We tried different guys on him. I thought Shannon [Sharpe] did a good job on him down the stretch in the second half and really helped shut him down. Cory [Higgins] was on him. Alec [Burks] was on him, so we tried different guys, it's not like we just went with one guy. When he drives to the basket and splits our whole defense and lays it in, that's not just on the guy guarding the ball, it's on everybody. I'm not sure we made any adjustments other than just challenging our guys every media timeout. I told them to take it personal and to take some pride."

On Freshman Guard Andre Roberson

"11 rebounds in 21 minutes is pretty good. We knew coming in that that's one thing he brought to the table. He averaged 12 a game in high school, and he's got a nose for the ball. I was really pleased with his production. I thought he left his feet a little too much too quickly on defense, but he's a quick jumper and he's got a nose for the ball. Andre [Roberson] is going to keep getting better. As a freshman, you have to be better at understanding that they make mistakes because you expect it. Some of our veterans, we've got to tighten things up. They should know better by now. Again, it's the first game of the year, so we're not in midseason form and I don't expect us to be. I expect us to learn and get better from tonight."

On His Nerves Before the Game

"Before the game, I was nervous. As a coach, I told someone that as a player you go out and feel like you have an effect on the game in terms of running up and down and guarding and rebounding and shooting and passing. As a coach you can't do any of those things. You have to hope your guys are prepared and ready to play, and I think we were. It's all so new to them. My emotions were all over the board from nervousness to excitement to frustration and all of the above."

On Junior Guard Levi Knutson

"He was terrific. Levi Knutson was the difference in the second half. I told our team that after the game in the locker room. I thought Levi [Knutson] gave us great minutes, both offensively and defensively. He guarded in the post. He got inside the zone and we had some really good zone offensive possessions in the second half when he was in. We had some great defensive possessions in the second half, we just didn't have enough of them. We broke down too much. That's where the discipline comes in, but I thought Levi [Knutson] was the difference in the game in the second half."

On Having Balanced Scoring

"It makes it a lot harder to prepare for us when you've got multiple options in a game. Everybody knows what Cory [Higgins] can do. Everybody knows what Alec [Burks] can do, but I think when we get balanced in our scoring, it bodes well for our team. Rather than having two guys with 30 and a bunch of guys in single digits, I'd rather have balance, but from game to game that might differ. I liked the tempo of the game and I'm glad they came in and wanted to run with us a little bit, but 80 points at home is too much. We have to get better there."

On the Competition at Point Guard

"We've got six starters. With Levi [Knutson] we've got seven, with Andre [Roberson], with the way he rebounded tonight, we've got eight. We have an eight-person rotation. I thought Trey Eckloff played great minutes in the first half off the bench. We threw Ben [Mills] in there because I thought Ben has been practicing really well. He's going to be a work in progress. We've got Javon Coney who's a guy that I've got a lot of confidence in who we can throw in there. I think in terms of our main rotation, we've got eight guys, so it's not about Shannon [Sharpe] or Nate [Tomlinson]. I pulled them both in the office today and said 'Hey, don't get caught up into who starts and who doesn't. You're both going to get a lot of minutes, and you're both very important to this program.' I wouldn't read a lot into who starts. It's about who finished really."

On the Loose Rotation in the First Half

"If you're going to play a guy in a game, you want to get him in the game in the first half. I tried to get everyone in the game, at least get their sweats off and get them up and down a little bit, you never know if you're going to need them in the second half or not. In second half, we did shorten the bench, and we shorten the rotation. You'll see that a lot. It might be a different rotation based on the night, but I'd like to get as many guys in early in that first half as best we can. Number one is to stay fresh. Number two is to get those guys so that if you do need them in the second half you're not going to throw them in there cold."

On the Student Section

"They're huge. I thought the crowd was terrific tonight, not just the student section but the community. I was really pleased, and I just felt like this place could be a great place to watch college basketball. What makes college basketball such a special sport is the students. They can have an effect on the game. I was really proud of the turnout, and I wanted to thank them personally. We're going to need them this year and they can have an effect on the game. I thought they did that tonight, when we got our run going and it got loud in there. They give a lot of energy to our players."

Colorado Players

Cory Higgins, Sr., G

GENERAL- "Yeah it is always nice to get a win. We were disappointed in our play but at the end of the day a win is a win. Coach said he would rather learn from a win than learn from a loss, so we'll take it but we have a long ways to go."

ON BRODERICK GILCHREST- "We knew he was a good player, but when you let someone that is pretty good get going it is hard to slow them down. He got off to a good start and you can't let that happen."

ON LEVI KNUTSON'S PLAY OFF BENCH- "Levi [Knutson] was huge. He's always ready to play. He's a senior so he's ready for it. He's a huge asset to the team."

ON GETTING TAD BOYLE HIS FIRST WIN- "We want to do our best for him because he has our backs and everything and we give all that we have to him. It's not the type of win that we would have wanted but we're glad to get the first win for him."

ON MILD DISAPPOINTMENT OF GAME- "We gave up 80 points. We're going to see a lot better teams than that. We gave up too many layups and we have a long way to go on defense."

ON EXPECTATIONS- "We have expectations on this team and we know where we want to be. We can tell that we're not there yet, but we're not down on ourselves. We're eager to get back in the gym and get better."

ON DEFENDING HOME COURT- "You have to win the games you are supposed to win in November. Early games a lot of teams haven't figured it out yet. It's good to get a win so you have to be happy with that."

ON BALANCED OFFENSE- "We have a lot of different weapons and people that can step up, unlike in the past. I think that is going to be another weapon for us, is our balance."

ON SHANNON SHARPE'S PLAY- "It was great to see him out there. He adds to our depth and you saw how he could get after it on the defensive end. He's a tough guy and he's going to add a lot to our team but you have just had a little glimpse of it. He's going to be a big asset to us."

Alec Burks, So., G

GENERAL- "It's still a learning process with the new coaching staff. We're trying to adjust to everything new but we'll get there. We're going to keep going at it until it gets there, one game at a time."

ON ANDRE ROBERSON- "He does that every day in practice and he showed it in the game. He hustles, he rebounds, we need someone like that on the team."

ON FAST BREAK DUNK- "I felt like if I got a break I'm going to show out so that's what I did. Cory [Higgins] gave me the assist and I had to show everybody what I am working with. I am going to try to do what I do on the fast break. Everybody is going to show out."

ON DEPTH OF BENCH- "Last year me and Cory [Higgins] played like the whole games so it feels good to get a little break and show the depth that we have."

Levi Knutson, Sr., G

ON TEAM'S PERFORMANCE- "I think we competed. We did enough to win. I think we had good energy, good teamwork, we're getting better at that. Obviously we have some work to do defensively. [Broderick] Gilchrest gave it to us there for awhile. But I think we did enough to win, it's a good start. We have a lot of things to improve on but it's a good start."

ON INDIVIDUAL PROGRESS- "I think experience pays off. I've been around and I've been in some tough games and I think also I had a good off season, so I feel more comfortable out there."

Idaho State Head Coach Joe O'Brien

On Tonight's Loss Against Colorado -"Every loss is tough, it's not easy to accept losing but we don't have a lot of experience out there. We only have two guys who started for us last year and Mike Lacey played a little bit off the bench for us last year but that is where out experience stops. Everyone else was in their first Division I basketball game. In an ideal world we would have opened at home against someone a little easier -and not a Big 12 team but that's okay. We are going to continue to improve and go play at Arizona Sunday afternoon, and then we are going to go home and things will start to get back to normal."

On Sr., G, Broderick Gilchrest-"He is a very talented offensive player and being a senior now I think there is a sense of urgency. His best friend from Memphis was also our leading scorer last year and now is playing over in Europe. I have told him for the time being, while the new players adjust and get used to Division I basketball and the scoring role, he and (Deividas) Busma are going to have to carry us."

On Team's Inexperience-"There was a stretch before the half from about 7 ½ down to 4 where we had some subs on the floor and we went deeper than we were ready for. Kamil (Gawrzydek) is not ready to play he has been out for six weeks with surgery and he wasn't ready for this. Nick Mason is a freshman who is going to be a really good player for our level but he wasn't ready for this. Kenny McGowen is a transfer and his eyes got really opened up to how different Division I basketball is compared to the practice gym."

On Tad Boyle's Colorado team as Compared to Former UNC team -"Well he has better players than he did at Northern Colorado, they are a little harder to guard. They were up -tempo at Northern, but not like this. Every possession Colorado was coming down your throat quick and that is an adjustment to make even if you have an experienced team or even if it is mid season. For the first game of the season going from player an exhibition games against a Division II school, to coming here, stepping on the floor and playing this team, no matter how much video I show them they have to learn by experience. (Tad) Boyle has a couple of players who are unique to what we are accustomed to playing against and we have played all of the country, all the big tough teams -UCLA-and I don't think anyone has pushed against us like this team did tonight."

On Overall Play -"We would give up a couple and then we'd adjust. I'm pretty proud of our kids, we were down seven at the half and then we came back to take the lead. We had to go to the bench in the second half and I had Kamil out there and we go down nine and then Colorado shot back-to-back three's so we were down fifteen and we then had a big hole to dig out of. To the team's credit, we shot the ball extremely well, 55% on the road-I'll take that any night. It was the twelve turnovers in the first half that really got us."