Colorado-Fort Lewis Quotes

Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle

General
"It was a game of two halves tonight. You have to give credit to Fort Lewis for that first half. We talked about it yesterday, this is their super bowl and these guys came in here loose and free with nothing to lose, and they played like it. We knew they had players that could make shots, and they made those shots. We talked at halftime about how we can't give up layups; we gave up six in the first half. And we can't give up open threes, if they make a three over a hand we can live with that. I thought defensively we did a much better job getting around screens and being aware of the ball in the second half. It was a hard fought win, but credit Fort Lewis they played well. They gave us a good feel of what we're going to see on Sunday up in Fort Collins, in terms of a team that shots the ball well from three and from different positions. The only thing Colorado State has is an inside presence, better athletes and they're a little bit better off the dribble athletically. But Fort Lewis has some kids that can play."

On perimeter defense

"I think it was a little bit of Fort Lewis making shots, and us fouling on the perimeter that affected our play. Thomas (Akyazili) made a great contest, but fouled the guy on a jump shot and they got a four point play at the end of the first half. I like the contest we just can't foul jump shooters. Some of it was Fort Lewis making shots, and some of it was us giving them open looks, so it was a combination of both. I think our perimeter guys are trying. I thought the awareness away from the ball and our pressure on the ball was much better in the second half. In the first half our alertness away from the ball wasn't very good, and our pressure on the ball was non-existent. They were very comfortable and we talk about making the ball handler uncomfortable. Again with the new rule taking the 5 second closely guarded away, that hurts us because we like to pressure. Now guys won't pressure the ball because there's no incentive to pressure the ball, other than trying to stop the other team from running their offense which I though Fort Lewis did a good job of tonight. We're not going to get the five second closely guarded calls since that rule is out the window, but what we can do is dictate and put more pressure on other team's offenses. There's room for improvement there, but we did improve in the second half."

On coach Bob Hofman

"First of all he should be giving me advice, since he's had an unbelievable career. He played here and he loves CU. The reason we played this game was for Bob Hofman. I saw him last during the practice gym renaming after him. He had a lot of his former players here that played for him at Fairview high school and that played for him at Fort Lewis. Bob Hofman has had a great career and he's a great coach who loves CU. We're very fortunate to have a guy like that. There's no one more important to me than former players, and if you can honor a coach who's won 400 plus games in their career and loves the University of Colorado like coach Hofman does, to me you want to honor those people since there's not enough of them around. I think the world of him as a coach, so I'm glad we were able to play this game kind of in his honor."

On George King

"He had foul trouble early, and we tried to play him with two and he picked up his third. It's a learning experience for George. But again that's what's nice about having multiple guys that are capable of playing well on any given night. So tonight wasn't George's night but I thought Tre'Shaun (Fletcher) and Josh Fortune played really well. That's the beauty of this team, that you can have a player as good as George King have an off night. He's going to us this game as a learning experience. You look at Tre'Shaun and Josh Fortune between the two of them they had 13 assists and one turnover that's pretty good. I'm on them with defense but tonight I thought they played well offensively. When we have 23 assists and share the ball the way we did tonight we're a fun to watch and a hard team to prepare for because we have a lot of different weapons. If we can continue to play that way offensively and find an identity on defense, this team is scary good but we're not there yet. We have an unbelievable challenge on Sunday; Colorado State is a very good team. They are physical and tough and the environment is going to be great."

On the offense

"Number one is the unselfishness, the ball doesn't stick it moves. Number two we're playing inside out. We're posting the ball to our bigs and because Josh Fortune, Tory (Miller) and Wesley (Gordon) are good post players who can operate down there, that's drawing attention and we kick it back out. We're a better three point shooting team then we were last year. So it's a combination of unselfishness, ball movement, playing inside out and making the extra pass. There were a couple of times tonight we passed up good shots to get great shots and when you have a team that's doing that it's fun to watch and coach. We've got to continue that offensively."

On going to Colorado State's Moby Arena

"It's going to be a racus environment which we haven't had here at Coors Events Center. The fans that are here, thank you and I love you. We appreciate you coming here. To say I'm disappointed would probably be an understatement. You can blame the schedule if you want, but the one thing I'll say is that our students weren't here in class the last four games. Our students were in session today and are in class tomorrow. But you control what you can control and do what you can as a coach. We've got a great team that's fun to watch, and the people who aren't showing up their missing out. But the people who are coming we appreciate them and we love them."

Colorado Players

Josh Scott, Sr., F

On the defensive adjustments made at halftime

"There were no adjustments. We knew this team could shoot coming in. There were no adjustments really made. We knew this team could shoot. The only adjustment we made was people took it upon themselves coming in; we were going to go out there and guard them—I think the percentages show that. Other than that, we knew coming in that they beat Wyoming—who is a well-coached, defensive team—at Wyoming. We knew they could shoot and make tough shots. It was just a matter of contesting them, and we knew eventually they would stop falling."

On the perimeter defense at the start of the game

"I won't say it was totally on our perimeter players. They made some tough shots. But I also think that we aided in allowing them to feel comfortable, and allowing them to get off to a good start. Because they were hitting some open (shots) too. When you let a team like that think they can play with you, they are going to keep shooting (outside shots), and feel good. Honestly, it's one of those things where we have to get better; it's just the honest truth. We have to get better out there because we are going to play better guards than what we played tonight."

On the offensive flow of the team

"It's our chemistry. We're a pretty close group, and we want each other to succeed. And I think you are seeing that in how we're playing. We are having fun on offense."

Tre'Shaun Fletcher Jr., G

On the perimeter defense at the start of the game

"They just made tough shots. I think most of them, from what I saw, were shots that were overhand that's what Coach Boyle wants. They were just making (their shots)."

On the offensive flow of the team

"I think we are in a good rhythm. All of the guys are making shots and pushing the ball. We are making sure we are playing inside out."

On reducing turnovers

"We do two things mainly, this thing called "second loss of ball." If you turn over (the ball) twice, you have to run sprints as a team. Then we do (what's called) "take a hike." If you turn the ball over, you stop what you are doing and you run up the stairs. I think our guards are trying to accommodate that, and try and limit our turnovers in the game because of the practice things we've been doing."

On a career high of seven assists

"I was just making the easy play. If two guards were guarding me I knew one person would be open. I was trying to find them and be under control. My teammates were just knocking down shows."

Fort Lewis Head Coach Bob Pietrack

On Rasmus Bach

"In our game on Saturday he was tender afterwards. This was an exhibition for us and a real game for CU, with league starting Saturday for us it was probably too much to risk."

"We had other guys step up. CU is a wonderful program they have a very good team, it wouldn't of mattered if we had Raz tonight."

On Coach Hofman

"I was honored to be with Coach Hofman, I've been with him for 15 years. It was very comfortable just to be able to coach a game with him as co-head coaches, we were both basically doing it. It was a thrill for me. You're talking about the RMAC all time winningest coach in victories. For me to get to coach a game with him after coaching a game next to him for all those years and being in the war together tonight, was really fun. And a big honor for me."

On Low Scoring

"I think CU's strength and size. We don't have the size or strength to match up with a Pac 12 school inside. Not to mention what a wonderful player Josh Scott is. The difference was they had bigger men than us."

Bob Hofman – Emeritus head coach

On Coaching Tonight

"I started here in 1969 so I've coached basically --- for 47 years (3:40ish). Ending my career here, it's exhibition for us and it was a regular game for CU, was really special. The guys I've had in there, a few of them for five years, and so it's just nice symmetry. Coach Pietrack has been with me 15 years so it was a really simple transition and like I said, this is the only game I'll coach all year."

On His CU Experience

"I'm the only person I would guess that played in the other field house, also coached on both sides of the bench in the other field house, coached on both sides of the bench here as a CU assistant for two years, 81, 82, 83. So it's pretty special for me. It's a lot different, all this stuff here. We just had a steam room and one locker room. We didn't have any of these other rooms so it's pretty neat. The progress they've made up here with the facilities and it's pretty incredible."

On Tad Boyle

"I've been yapping at him. We've been fighting about who was better, his team who won state in 4A or our team that won state in 5A."

On Rasmus Bach

"He's our most athletic player by far and all he does is score so obviously it wasn't as easy. You could tell it really hurt our depth and in the second half it got away from us."

On First Half

"In the first half we shot the ball so well. A couple of the shots we were a little bit quick with the offense in the second half. We shot out a little too quickly, can't get as much rhythm on the offense. Defensively they just overpowered us on the boards. They're big and physical."