Colorado University Athletics
CU-WSU Post Game Quotes
January 24, 2015 | Men's Basketball
University of Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle
General
"I have a lot better feeling talking to you today than I did on Thursday night. As hard as I am on our guys when we don't play to our potential, when they do I think you have to pat them on the back and tell them that they did a good job. We had a great night defensively as well as rebounding, and offensively with 25 assists. When you play the game like that on offense it makes everybody feel good. With six guys in double figures, I was really pleased. I was happy with our bounce-back, kids are always more resilient than adults are, but just like we can't get too down, low and dejected when we lose, we can't get too giddy when we win. We played well today and I think you saw what this team is capable of doing when we do the things that we talk about, and we did it without two of our best players. So I think that we're starting to see some guys step up, gain confidence and evolve before our eyes. In the long run, this is going to be a good thing in Colorado basketball and in the short run it hasn't been fun, but we've really competed the past few times out."
On The Buffs' Ability To Get Assists
"We got out in transition. We did a good job of pitching it ahead and I thought our guards did a good job of penetrating gaps against their zone. We always talk about attacking the basket. We want at least one attack every possession. That means getting the ball into the paint or into the lane either on a drive or post feed, and I thought we attacked very well tonight. In the first half, we attacked at least once on 21 of our possessions, and we scored or got fouled on 15 of those possessions. When we attack, get the ball moving and hit our shots, which helps with our assists, it really helps."
On The Aggressive Offensive Mentality
"One of the things that we talked about before this game is to play with a free and uncluttered mind. We have good players and basketball is such an instinctual game, when we play with a free and uncluttered mind, good things happened. I think right from the get-go Xavier Talton did and hopefully we have him back in a groove. Dom Collier did also, and it's really good to see both of them play well. I think that you can't play afraid to make mistakes. Hopefully a light bulb went on and that it's something we'll continue to see."
On Askia Booker Not Starting
"He was late to shoot around. We have policy that if you're late to shoot around, late to a team meal or late for the bus that changes are made for the next game. For instance, Xavier Johnson and Wesley [Gordon] were late last year during the NCAA tournament and they didn't start the first game this year. It's not a big deal, we just have standards we set. If you're a starter, you don't start and miss a rotation. If you're a bench player that normally comes in at the 16-minute mark, you might not come in until the 12-minute mark. A lot of times that happens to a bench player and it goes without notice. Askia hasn't had an issue with it since he's been here, but as a coach I have to stick to my guns. I thought he responded well and Xavier Talton responded well to starting tonight."
On The Play Of Xavier Talton
"Six assists and zero turnovers. People in this building over the last two to three days have seen Xavier in the gym. I know that he and Dom [Collier] were in here last night, so he's been putting in some extra time. It's really nice to see when kids do that, there's a payoff and tonight there was a payoff. We know what Xavier is capable of, we saw it all last year."
University of Colorado Student-Athletes
Tory Miller, Fr., F
On Being More Aggressive
"[Coach Tad Boyle] said to play pissed off. I guess that what it was. In practice, we worked on those shots all time. So I guess it was more or less me actually taking the shots versus not being more aggressive."
On Playing More Minutes Recently Due To Starting F Josh Scott's Injury
"I wouldn't necessarily call it a blessing, because you never want to see a man go down. I would call it more or less an opportunity. I wish Josh will come back quickly. It's just an opportunity more than anything."
Xavier Talton, Jr., G
On Playing With A Different Attitude
"I definitely think we had a bit of an edge tonight. We dropped four straight (games) and tonight we bounced back."
On Having More Assists Than Turnovers As A Team
"We talk about it every game. Take care of the ball; take care of the ball; take care of the ball, and share the ball. I think we found a lot of open people, not only in transition, but in the half-court offense as well. It's a lot more fun. It's greater feeling when we're sharing the ball with your teammates and making sure they are open, because they'll give it back too."
On Getting Into A Rhythm Early In The Game
"I feel comfortable before every time I come into the game. I think Coach [Tad Boyle] does a great job of instilling confidence in us. It's just a matter of making shots."
On Preparing For Next Weekend's Games
"We're going against some pretty good teams out in L.A. next week. It's another confidence boost for us to step our games up; seeing people step up; people coming off of the bench and people starting. I don't know how many people had double-digits [points] tonight. Everybody contributed. I think that says it all."
Washington State Head Coach Ernie Kent
General
"It does (hurt) but let's give credit to Colorado. That's as well as I've seen them play in a while. When you talk about the injuries, that they don't have two guys that are potential NBA players sitting on that bench. I thought they played a wonderful game. There's nothing we could do to slow them down. I thought they shot the ball extremely well, they defended, they passed the ball well, they played together, they rebounded it. There wasn't a lot we could do in the game to keep them from hitting what I call their rhythm. They got into a great rhythm tonight and played extremely well."
On Coaching Through A Tough Game
"You continue to go. You got to teach. Whether you are up 20, down 20, you continue to teach. There's so many lessons that take place in the game of basketball. It isn't just about x's and o's and making baskets. It's about competing, how you handle yourself, facing adversity and everything else. We're going to move this game out of the way and come right back to the drawing board. We're going to get back after it next week."
On WSU G Davonte Lacy
"He has tremendous leadership and he exemplifies what this basketball team is. In this day and age where young people have a bad habit of blaming others, here's a young man that did not transfer. We're in a generation where there were 600 transfers in the country. He stayed with his school and if anyone deserves to have success, it's Davonte Lacy. It took a tremendous amount of character on his part to stay here and help this school get over the hump. There are still a lot of basketball games left for him and he exemplifies what I want this program to stand for: character. Guys who fight through adversity and guys that are committed."