Colorado University Athletics
CU-UCLA Post Game Quotes
February 01, 2015 | Men's Basketball
General
"Well, the second half we were atrocious, we just didn't have it for whatever reason. We didn't have it on offense, we turned the ball over nine times; We didn't have it on defense, in the first half we took three charges, but in the second half I know at one point they (UCLA) had seven layups in the second half alone. Point being: we're just not protecting the basket. It's frustrating for me, watching this team in the first half competing, doing the things we ask them to do defensively, but in the second half it just wasn't good enough, on every level, whether it's rebounding, defense, taking care of the ball. We had some guys that didn't play very well tonight. For us to be good, we have to do it together, we didn't do it tonight. It just felt like that energy wasn't there in the second half for whatever reason."
On The Team Being Fatigued After 3 OT Game At USC
"There's a possibility, but we tried to do everything that we could to prevent that. Friday, we came in here and got treatment and then got shots up (in shoot-around). The guys that played heavy minutes against USC on Thursday night did nothing physically, exertion wise, on Friday. Today, we shoot for 12 minutes on game day for shoot-around. So, we're not going to use that as an excuse, absolutely not. These guys are young 20-something year old kids; they can bounce back in two days. Now mentally, there might have been a hangover, but physically, I'm not buying it. The second half, it just wasn't there, the spark wasn't there, the fight wasn't there, the determination wasn't there. It's disappointing because this was a winnable game on the road, and UCLA played good and you have to give them credit. They're a good home team, there's no doubt about that, but the Buffs weren't very good in the second half."
On The Team Having Opportunities In The 2nd Half For A Comeback
"We did, but we didn't have the gumption to get back in this thing. We did cut it to 14, but you have to get it under 10. We talked in timeouts, 'Let's try to get this thing under 10, we have to get this thing under 10.' Defensively, we were no where near where we needed to be in the second half. I thought our ball screen defense in the first half was really good, really good in the first half, but in the second half, not so much, and we talked about that being a key to the game (before the game began)."
On Having Three-Straight Home Games Coming Up
"We're halfway through the conference season. The challenge I gave our team in the locker room was: 'How do they want the legacy of this year's team, the 2014-15 Colorado Buffaloes team, what legacy do they want to leave? How do they want to be remembered?' They have to play with a sense of purpose and a sense of pride every time we step on the floor, because these opportunities are going by the way-side. We're halfway through it and we're 4-5 (in conference play). We have nine games left and five of them are at home, four on the road, and the next three are at home, so we better make some hay while the sun shines. Utah is a hell of a team coming into our place. We have a week to get ourselves ready physically, mentally, and emotionally. The time is now. These tomorrows are going to slip by pretty quickly."Â