Colorado University Athletics
Players Mentioned
CU-UW Post Game Quotes
February 09, 2014 | Men's Basketball
Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle
General
“That was as complete of a performance by our team that we've had in a long time. When you defend and you rebound and you shoot the way we did, it's a recipe for a runaway win. I'm really proud of our guys, they played together—we had 18 assists, it's been a long time since we've had that number, we really shared the ball and played inside out. Great individual performances, and a great team performance.”
“I felt like if not his best game as a Buff, then it's right up there. He was terrific on both ends of the floor. The thing I'm most proud of with Xavier Johnson is his ability to take on a defensive challenge. He did it against [WSU's] Que Johnson and he did it tonight against CJ Wilcox.”
On Xavier Johnson's Improved Play
“We've seen consistency. With Spencer [Dinwiddie] going down it's allowed X to get a little bit more involved on the offense, he's relished that opportunity and done a great job with it. His consistency and his ability to take on a challenge defensively I think are the two things with Xavier Johnson that I've been most pleased with.”
On Wesley Gordon Not Being Able To Play
“He slipped on the ice; I got a text from the trainer this morning. He slipped on the ice and twisted his ankle, he's going to be ok but it was severe enough where he wasn't able to play tonight. Our guys really handled it well emotionally and showed maturity. It was the next man up philosophy. Dustin Thomas, I got confidence in that kid, he's a tough hombre.”
On Settling In Without Spencer Dinwiddie
“Absolutely we've settled in. We've moved on, we certainly miss Spencer [Dinwiddie] still but I think Askia Booker has really taken on that mentality of a facilitator, Xavier Talton has stepped in and given us good minutes, we do need Wesley back because he's going to be important to us. We've made the transition, but now the test for us is to go on the road. We've done what we needed to do at home, we've won our home stand and now we need to go on the road and get some road wins.”
On Closing The Game
“We talked, we talked about it and we had good offensive possessions that ended in baskets rather than empty possessions. For the most part we had good offensive possessions, and when you do that down the stretch it has a tendency to break their back and I think we did that tonight.”
“I'm so proud of him, and he took on a defensive challenge tonight with [UW's C.J.] Wilcox. He played aggressive offensively; he's going to be a good player for us. We don't tell him, 'just because you're not starting doesn't mean you're not playing; you're a big part of the rotation.'”
On The Game
“I wish I could say why, we take the same approach whether we're playing Washington or Washington State at home or UCLA or USC on the road, nothing changes for us but sometimes, those young guys, they can step up and they stepped up tonight.”
On Askia Booker
“He's playing with the mentality that we've wanted him to play with since he's gotten here. With Spencer [Dinwiddie] going down he feels like its incumbent upon him to have that role, and the point is I want him to have that role regardless of who he's playing with. He can get his own shot; he's got great quickness, athleticism and change of direction, so he can get the ball where he wants to get the ball. That was true before Spencer went out, and it's true now. Now, it's just more apparent so I'm really proud of him for playing the way he's playing.”
University of Colorado Student-Athletes
Xavier Johnson So., F
On Offensive Rhythm Without F Wesley Gordon
“The team needed leadership and a new scorer, so me, Josh [Scott], and Askia [Booker] pretty much just stepped up. We try to do that for the most part. I'm trying to create on the offense and defensive end and trying to play our hearts out.”
On Key To Keeping The Flow For 40 Minutes
“Honestly, I'm going to give it to the coaches. I think the scouting report was really on point. It let me get the first steal in the beginning of the game on [C.J. Wilcox]. That set off a spark, the crowd gets into it, and that really gets us going. From there, everyone raises their head and is ready to play. We learned from our mistakes. Last game we let them creep back into the game. This time we shut down their main scorers and we tried to level them off and take contested jump shots. We hoped for the best and we were able to get all the rebounds and win the game.”
On Guarding C.J. Wilcox
“[C.J.] Wilcox is a great player. I didn't guard him last game, so coach [Tad Boyle] was trying something new and put me on him. I was able to contain him for the most part, but most of the credit goes to Jaron [Hopkins]. He guarded him most of the game and did very well on him.”
Josh Scott So., F
On Motivation From Washington Loss Earlier In Season
“We should have beat them up there. We took it to them this game. We thought that we were better than we showed up there (in Seattle), and we proved it tonight.”
On Bouncing Back From Washington State Game
“First off I don't think it was that disappointing; we won. The only thing I'd say about that game is that I didn't rebound well. There's not very much you can do offensively with three people in the paint. Tonight I just played my game like I did the other night and it all worked out.”
On Having Three 20-Point Scorers
“We said after Spencer [Dinwiddie] went out that we were still a good team. I think you saw that we're starting to settle into life without having key players, and we didn't have Wesley [Gordon] tonight either and we still had people step up. It wasn't just Askia [Booker], Xavier [Johnson], and myself. It was Jaron [Hopkins] with ten rebounds, and we had solid minutes from Ben [Mills] and Eli [Saltzer]. We got some solid minutes from a lot of people. It helps when everybody is at a high level.”
On Going 3-0 Last Three Games At Home
“It's huge. You always want to win at home and for us losing any of these games wasn't an option. It's big. We have a heavier next couple of week so any games we win at home is huge at this point in the season.”
Washington Head Coach Lorenzo Romar
General
“Colorado, wow. They came out on fire, shots contested, not contested. They were just knocking shots down and knocked us back on our heels right away. I thought coming into the game we were pretty focused and ready to play but their ability to hit shots early pushed us back a little bit. They did a nice job coming in to play.”
On Colorado Being Motivated Because Of Spencer Dinwiddie Injury
“It had been brought up, but it wasn't like we intentionally hurt Spencer. It was an open court, it happens, but I do know in this game, you use anything you can you can for motivation.”
On Washington's Mistakes
“We were not organized in our defensive transition early in the game. We were not picking people up, we allowed them to get a couple baskets but we also turned it over early and allowed them to get going. [That early lead] can be tough, but we brought it back down to seven. We came back and we used a lot of energy to come back but we couldn't make shots and eventually they ran away from us.”
On The Second Half
“I thought in spurts we played okay but we got too anxious on the offensive end at times. It was about a three minute stretch there in the second half where we took turns trying to bring it back individually and that's not the way to do it on the road, that's for sure, and that further increased their lead. They fed off of that.”
On Colorado's Short Bench
“Askia Booker, Josh Scott, and Xavier Johnson, those three guys combined for almost 70 points I think. Those guys just picked it up. All three of them picked up the slack for what they didn't have. I don't think [their length inside] bothered us much. Not as much as it did the first time. It bothered us the first time we played them, although Josh Scott is a very good player and shot blocker and defender.”
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