Colorado University Athletics
Colorado, CSU Bakersfield Quotes
December 20, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle
General- "That was a good win for us tonight. I thought there were some really positive things that came out of this game. There was also, obviously, a lot of room for improvement, which excites me as a coach."
On Starting Slow- "I think there was a little rust after 10 days of only practice, that certainly played a factor. It seemed our guys were a little out of sync to start the game. You add to the fact that we also missed our first few shots, which led to us getting out of the gate slow. However, that is one thing about our team this year, up until this point, we have always gotten out to a pretty good start. But tonight we definitely did not, so I attribute that to rust and maybe some mental fatigue.
On Difference In Second Half- "At halftime we had four or five bad shots, and eight turnovers, so we talked about that. In the second half we only turned it over four times, and some of those were silly turnovers that we can correct. I thought limiting turnovers and increased defense were the keys to the second half."
On Making Free Throws- "This team is capable of (making free throws), and every time we step to the line, I expect us to make it. I thought Andre Roberson and Spencer Dinwiddie did a great job down the stretch making clutch free throws."
On Junior G Sabatino Chen- "He came off the bench and gave us great energy, played hard and made plays. He energized our team in the first half, and he deserved to start in the second half."
On Senior G Carlon Brown- "I thought Carlon was terrific for us tonight, he played within himself. He ended up with eight assists and only two turnovers, which is something we have talked to him about. We have talked to all of our guys about assist-to-turnover ratios and Carlon has really taken that to heart."
CSU Bakersfield Head Coach Rod Barnes
On What Went Well In The First Half - "I thought we executed well, I thought we controlled the tempo of the game. We gave ourselves the opportunity to get some baskets and stay in the game. We were able to keep it close."
On The Difference In The Second Half - "I thought we took some ill-advised shots that made us work on the defensive end and as a result, they got a chance to get in transition. I thought that after they made the run we weren't the same team. We're a new team; we've got a lot of new guys. We turned the ball over and rushed what we were doing and as a result, it gave (Colorado) a little more cushion to make mistakes."
On Colorado F Andre Roberson - "He's a good player. He's a Pac-12 player. He's going to make plays. I thought we contained him really well in the first half. I thought we did a good job on him overall, but when they needed to make their run, he made some baskets and got up and down the floor and enabled (Colorado) to get that cushion. That's what good players do."
On What The Turning Point Was - "We had three straight possessions where we took threes and (Colorado) was able to convert two of them. I think the major thing there was that we got out of what we were doing. That's just us learning. If we were at home, we could overcome, but when you're on the road, you have to be particular about what kind of shots you take. Those three shots were back-to-back-to-back and the game just got away from us."
On Coming Back At The End - "We are a tough team. We've played seven of our last eight games on the road and we've played three in the last six days. To come here and play in the altitude and to have our kids hang in there the way they did says a lot. I am proud of them."
Andre Roberson, Sophomore, Forward
On the team playing better during the second half-"I thought we played well during the second half, even though we slacked there at the end. We shared the ball more in the second half and it paid off well."
On if their slow start is attributed to their 10 day break-"We just needed to get back into the rhythm. We just got done with finals and practices are different than game atmosphere. We adjusted throughout the game and played well."
On giving up 17 offensive rebounds-"They are a good team. They had some big guys in there. That's one thing we have to work on. That, and free throw box outs. That is where we struggled most tonight. But we'll work on it and be ready for the next game."
On if he felt they hit a stride in the second half-"I think it all started with Sabatino's play at the end of the first half. It was a great hustle play and helped us get more energized for the second half. I feel like we came out in the second half ready to play."
On if this game put them back into a memento-"Today helped us out a lot, with getting back into the rhythm and getting us ready to play Thursday, and really just put us back into the groove we had."
On if they're ready for their first Pac-12 game-"I feel like we are ready. We have a few kinks to work out; but, as long as we compete, defend, and rebound, we'll do pretty well in the Pac-12."
On if him being out of the game hurts the team's ability to rebound-"Kind of. I think there's a little bit of a drop in rebounding when I'm on the bench, but not a significant one. When I'm out there I think the team relies on me a bit more to go get the rebounds. But, we have to collectively crash the boards. That's our motto; five guys crash the boards on the defensive end."
Sabatino Chen, Junior, Guard
On if he felt he charged at the end of the first half-"I didn't think that was a charge, I thought I got around him. The ref actually came up to me after and said he might have missed it."
On starting the second half-"I was just doing my part on this team. Just lighting a spark, playing hard defense, and doing what my team needed me to do to win."
On what he feels his role is offensively-"Coach Boyle just wants everyone to take good shots and take care of the ball. The way I look at it is I just focus on defense and let the offense come naturally."
