Colorado University Athletics
Colorado, Missouri Quotes
February 06, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Colorado Associate Head Coach Steve McClain
General - "Give Missouri credit, as (Kansas Head Coach) Bill Self gave us credit the other night. It's easy to sit up here and find 20 different things that we didn't do, but give Missouri credit. They came on the road and got off to a great start, and we didn't. They took advantage of that. Missouri is a team that, when they get into that groove, that's the game they like. They shoot the ball a little bit more, they shoot it with better rhythm, and they just get into a flow. We couldn't ever get them out of that flow. We got the game back to 20-23, had a chance to get it and we missed a bunny in there. Within two minutes it was back to ten (points). Those are the runs they live off, and that's a credit to them. You discredit them by saying they didn't come in here and do what they had to do."
On emotional hangover from Kansas loss - "I don't know if it is an emotional hangover. I think we got comfortable; we thought we were at home and it's been pretty good for us at home, so it would be okay. Even when we got down early, I think our guys were like, 'I think it will be okay.' That's why I give Missouri credit; they put the throttle down. I don't know if you'd say it was a hangover from that game. I think it was more that we got comfortable at home."
On G Alec Burks' return to the court - "I think he was really good. I thought he got tired, but that's one of the reasons we had to leave him out there and play through getting tired. We had to get him back in game condition. I saw no ill effects from his knee, he had a good night."
On the play of the big men - "Defensively, they didn't give us enough. There were too many times where they were setting ball screens and we weren't getting out. Missouri spreads you out so much that they do a good job of that. Defensively in the post, we have to do the little things; we have to slide our feet better, make guys make shots over us. We gave them some angles in there, but that's just part of where we need to improve."
On Missouri's opening run in second half - "I think our guys thought we'd come out and make a run and get right back in the game. We scored a basket right off the bat. The problem is that Missouri is one of those teams; when they were feeling comfortable, they just went back to the other end and punched it right back at us. We came back and scored again but then they came right back and scored again. Whenever you're down ten, you are one or two threes from the game being out of hand. That's when they came down and drilled a three to make it 13. We had no answer. We couldn't make a shot and they were making everything they took. We haven't shot the ball this bad all year. Some of that was them and some of that was us just not making shots, and that's just part of the game."
On the focus of the staff in the upcoming week - "As we continue to tell these kids, there is a lot of basketball to play. If you spend too much time on any win or any loss, you're going to have a lot more of them. Today is a day that we have to reevaluate ourselves. We have to look in the mirror, and in order to do that we have to ask, 'What do I have to do to help us get better?' We are going to give them a couple days off so that a couple guys who are a little banged up can get some rest. We have to get to the gym and get some shots up and work hard. Our plan is to practice, go a little shorter and harder this week and be able to be productive going into Kansas State."
On Missouri's length in the interior - "Missouri is a team that you getting to the rim doesn't really bother them because they're going to come and try to challenge every one of them. The difference between tonight and other nights is that we kicked the ball to wide open shooters and we drilled the shots. Tonight, we kicked it and the shot wasn't going down for them. If it would have, it would have eliminated some of that. When you drive it, they blocked a couple and you kick it and you can't knock down shots, now their defense just turns it up another level. They do a great job defensively; they get into you and keep coming. That's what they're about."
On adding a shot blocker to the roster - "It would be nice to have one back there, to erase a defensive mistake. As you watch teams in this league, people talk about how good they are defensively, yet we break people down, we get to the rim on them and they've got someone standing back there that can erase that guard mistake. That makes you a lot better defensively. We also had some opportunities to step up and take some charges that can negate the fact that we do not have a shot blocker, and we didn't do that."
Missouri Head Coach Mike Anderson
General-"Hats off to our guys. I thought it was one of our most important games. Coming in I thought we looked like a blue collar basketball team, and like the team of last year. I thought we came out and did our job on defense which was very evident early on and we established attacking inside which opened up the outside for our guys to knock shots down. To me, that is the key to winning, sharing the basketball, doing our job on defense. We got a lot of blocked shots and changed a lot of shots. I just thought we really took the fight to Colorado here. I thought fatigue was a big factor in the game, but our bench is our strength-I always say that. Who bigger of a guy did we have step up for us today other than Steve Moore. You could see his confidence really grow, you could him picking up our basketball team; I thought this was a really big game for him. "
On G Marcus Denmon -"Marcus last year played really well; he knows I expect him to play well. When you get guards rebounding it takes a whole lot of pressure off the big guys. We aren't the biggest team in the Big 12 so that was a point of attention and I think we brought the right mindset today."
On seniors as team leaders-"I think our seniors are leaders. You think about the things that those guys do, for a team that is a blue-collar team that predicates everything they do on defense; you have to have some people who are going to step in and knock some shots down. With that being said yeah I might need to sacrifice some things I am doing as a player in order to help the team. To me the team is like a puzzle or a car, you have the ignition, the spark plugs, and I thought Zaire (Taylor) and J.T. (Tiller) were the spark plugs for this team today-they are the leaders."
On the win-"We are trying to win a championship. We already lost one at home so we had to steal a game on the road, so we came and stole a game on the road."
On Colorado-"Their team always gets our attention. Any team in this league gets your attention. They really got our attention taking Kansas into overtime without Burks and today Alec has the chance to play against his home state so you know he is going to play well, which he did."
Colorado Players
Alec Burks, Freshman, Guard
ON WHAT COACH BZDELIK SAID AFTER GAME- "He said we didn't play with effort. Some of us were too comfortable. Some felt that we didn't have to work hard, because we took Kansas to overtime. So we were complacent. We thought we were at home, we thought we could just play comfortable. I don't think we came out with the same effort as we did against Kansas."
ON HOW HE FELT DURING THE GAME- "I felt good. My knee was feeling really good. No pain and no stiffness. I just went out there and competed."
ON PLAYING AGAINST MISSOURI- "It wasn't really anything special. They are just another team with another name on the jersey. I just happen to be from there. It was just another game."
ON IF MISSOURI WAS A TOUGH MATCH UP- "I think it was just one of those games, to be truthfully honest. I feel like we can match up with anyone. I think we just didn't play like we usually play."
ON REBOUNDING- "I just play, I think everyone else just plays too. Whoever gets the rebound gets it, that's how I feel."
Dwight Thorne II, Senior, Guard
ON IF KANSAS GAME WAS TOUGH TO BOUNCE BACK FROM- "It was a tough one to bounce back from. I didn't foresee it being the way it was today. But you can tell there was a little bit missing that was there during the Kansas game."
ON HOW TEAM WILL BOUNCE BACK FROM THIS LOSS- "We're going to practice hard, so we don't have a drop off like we did today. I think if we get in the gym and we compete with each other and practice hard for Kansas State on Saturday, I think we'll be alright."
ON SENSE OF URGENCY HE HAS- "The clock is ticking. Every time I go out there I give it all I got. That's good enough for me."
