Colorado University Athletics
Colorado, Iowa State Quotes
February 27, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Colorado Head Coach Jeff Bzdelik
OPENING STATEMENT - "I am extremely proud of our team's effort. It was a collective effort coupled with playing some good basketball. We just scrapped our way to a great win for us. I am very proud of our fans coming out this early in the morning. They too contributed in a big way to this win."
ON IOWA STATE - "Marquis Gilstrap is a good player, and so is (Craig) Brackins. We beat a good basketball team today."
ON THE ADJUSTMENTS MADE - "As the game went on we figured out their defense and started getting some drives to the basket. Casey (Crawford) really contributed to this win from the standpoint that he spread out their defense and they gave him some air to shoot, and he was able to knock down some shots. Then they had to expand their defense on him, and that enabled us to drive to the basket. We made good decisions driving the ball."
ON ALEC BURKS - "I think that he is a little worn. He has played a lot of minutes. But if you look at his stats it shows you what a great talent he is. It is also not just about basketball, but being a freshman in college with the studying involved. Everything is different than high school. It is an adjustment and he has done very well with it. He is doing everything right and that is a credit to him. We expect so much out of him so we just need to keep it in perspective."
ON IMPROVEMENTS - "We have been working on driving and making good decisions, and we did that today. Part of that is that you can't just say it, you have to work on it. I think that this team needs to learn how to win, and I think that this is a big step towards that. We have put ourselves in position, and now we have to take the next step. Our margin for error is very slim, and that puts a lot of pressure on us to be in the proper position defensively all the time."
Iowa State Head Coach Greg McDermott
GENERAL- "We have had a lot of these games this season. We just have to find a way to win enough of them. Today we rebounded well enough although they had a huge rebound put back at the end and then Casey Crawford made a big basket. We didn't turn the ball over, we shot a decent percentage, but they made free throws and we didn't make ours. You make your free throws, you win the game."
ON CORY HIGGINS-"We didn't necessarily plan for Cory (Higgins) to play as well as he did. He was very efficient with his game. He scored 33 points on 15 shots. He takes good care of the ball and makes good decisions. Some of his shots were challenged and some we were a little late on."
ON FINAL MINUTES-"We needed a big stop there at the end and we didn't get it. Offensively we executed well enough and even the last play Craig (Brackins) set a good screen. We got Diante (Garrett) a little bit of a look, they just locked onto our shooters in the corner."
ON CASEY CRAWFORD-"He was the difference in the game. We were trying to provide help on some of their back cuts and trying to make it difficult for (Alec) Burks and Higgins as much as we could. We had to give up something and Casey Crawford was just that. "
ON LOSING THEIR LEAD-"We had a stretch there where we missed a couple of free throws and defensively they went on a run where they scored on six straight possessions, three of those six were three point shots, so all of a sudden we go from a four-point lead to trailing in the game. We were still playing okay offensively, but defensively we still had some breakdowns and those breakdowns led us to be a little bit short in the end."
Colorado Players
Cory Higgins, Junior, Guard
ON PLAYING IN 'THE ZONE'- "After a while I felt like I got into the zone. I started out just trying to attack the basket. My shot felt good, so I was able to get into a rhythm."
ON THE WIN- "It's huge for us. We are still a growing team, and that was big for us. Everyone made big plays. It was a great team effort."
ON BEING AGGRESSIVE WHEN THE TEAM WAS DOWN- "We were stagnant on offense, so I wasn't just trying to score, I was trying to open things up for the team. I think as a team we needed to be more aggressive."
ON MAKING A RUN BEFORE THE BIG 12 TOURNAMENT- "We want to win out. Today was the first step of that. Now we have to focus on Nebraska."
ON IMPROVEMENTS MADE AS A TEAM- "Us being able to grind out this close win shows a lot of growth and maturity."
Alec Burks, Freshman, Guard
ON THE WIN- "It felt great to get over that hump. We had some close games so it's nice to finally get that W.
ON PLAYING AGAINST MARQUIS GILSTRAP- "It wasn't my day today, I'm just happy we got that win. He is a great player. Athletic, inside, outside, he can do it all. He's just trying to get his team a W."
Casey Crawford, Junior, Forward
ON ROLE ON TEAM- "My role is to be ready to come off whenever coach needs me, and it's difficult some times, but today I came out and played well tonight and helped the team win, which is the most important thing. I was able to give the team a boost. Help us get a big W. Some consistency is nice sometimes, but I just go out there and follow the orders, and play as hard as I can out there and do the best I can."
ON WHAT COACH BZDELIK TOLD THE TEAM ABOUT REBOUNDING- "You just have to do it. That's the short version. Rebounding has been a big thing for us all season. Our problem is we don't make the first contact, they make the first contact, and we get moved out of the way. So he was focused on initiating the contact and then getting the ball after that. He doesn't care how we get it, he just wants us to grab the rebound."
ON BIG PUT BACK SHOT TOWARDS THE END- "I think it was Marcus Relphorde's shot from the corner, and my man was boxing out in the middle. I was surprised I was able to get it because they are a pretty good defensive rebounding team."
