Colorado-Washington State Quotes

Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle

General

"That was a big time win for us, and we needed it. We showed great toughness through the overtimes. We didn't play our best game. But I think it's a testament about how good this league is. You've got a guy like Que Johnson who hasn't done a whole lot, comes in and scores 25. It was a good win, and we'll take it. We're not real happy with the way we played, and I thought our defensive rebounding let us down. But we made just enough shots and we toughed it out."

On Playing Without Josh Scott

"What everyone needed to do was get one or two extra rebounds for us. We got out rebounded tonight, and that's not acceptable. We didn't guard well tonight, they came into our building and shot 50 percent, and that's also not acceptable. What this team needs to do is get better at what they're capable of doing. We've got to be more consistent and I think that gets back to concentration and execution."

On George King's Tying Three Point Shot

"I didn't know it was going in right away, and I'll tell you what that was great defense. It was a big time shot, and he had the awareness to know that we needed a three. We took advantage of the chance Washington State gave us, and thank goodness, because this would have been a heartbreaking loss for this program. That's the thing about college basketball; it's just hard to win games especially at this point in the season."

On Points Off Turnovers

"Turnover margin for us hasn't been our best stat. Tonight we were plus ten and it made up for our lack of defense and rebounding. I thought defensively that Thomas Akyazili and Xavier Talton did a good job for most of the game, and Ike Iroegbu. We were trying to double team him and get the ball out of his hands, and I thought our bigs did a great job of corralling him."

On Tory Miller and Dominique Collier's Foul Trouble

"It was hard to get through that, since we were shorthanded to begin with. So we played some zone at the end of the first half to try and get through the half, and I thought that was good for us. But in the second half we played mostly man-to-man. They started to shoot the ball better from the perimeter so we wanted them to take tough twos. Dom never got into the flow of the game tonight, and defensively he was a nonfactor so he needs to get better with that. But he made a big time play getting the and one along with the layup and making his free throws, but a couple of plays later he fouled out. Dom's going to be fine and he's a good player but tonight defensively it wasn't his night."

On Winning a Tough Game

"This says something about the grit and toughness of our team. I said it after the Oregon State game, to turn the ball over 24 times on the road and have a chance to win the game says something about this team. Tonight we're missing two players, but we battle and win a game that we're shorthanded in. When you lose your best player in a game like this it throws a wrinkle into things and I thought our guys handled it really well."

On Quick Turnaround

"We're not going to do much tomorrow in practice. We're going to prepare for Washington, we might not even break a sweat. We're going to rehab and rest, and we're going to make sure come Saturday at noon that these guys are fresh both physically and mentally. Our guys know what they need to do to get better at so it's more of a mental day. We'll be ready, but we better play better than we did tonight."

Colorado Players

Wesley Gordon, Jr., F

On Winning A Difficult Game

"There wasn't much defense played. Offensively we did what we needed to do."

On Playing a Lot of Minutes without Josh Scott

"We missed him out there, obviously. I mean I'm pretty tired. We did well. We got the (win) and held them off."

On the Win Bringing Confidence into the Washington Game

"We got a lot of confidence. The loss we got at Washington was more on us rather than them. We got a lot of confidence that if we fix our mistakes then we will be fine."

On Hitting His Second Double-double

"I'm just staying aggressive and just trying to go after every board."

On Coach Boyle's Message in the Locker room

"We played terrible defense, but we still got the (win). That should say something right there. We have to play better (defense)."

On Washington State Taking Advantage of Josh Scott's Absence in the Middle

"That's just what they do. (Conor) Clifford is a big dude. Josh in there or not, he was posting us up. Washington State just did what they did, and they got some big (players) down there."

On Limiting Turnovers this Game

"In practice, if you turned the ball over or lost the ball you ran. Practice was over in 30 minutes, but we were still in the gym running after that. We had a big emphasis on turnovers."

Xavier Talton, Sr., G

On Regrouping After George King's Last Second Shot

"Through all of the work that we put it, we knew that he was going to be able to make a big shot like that. And after he made it everybody was obviously excited. And we let that momentum swing our way. We just had to be able to build off of that and be able to get defensive stops and the just finish out the game in the next over time."

On How the Team Won

"We just made plays when we had to. Then we took care of the ball, which was a big thing tonight. Going from 24 turnovers against Oregon State to eight against Washington is a big swing. If we had turned the ball over more then I don't think we would have had the same outcome."

On Resetting After this Game

"Coming off of two losses is big for us. We just have to keep plugging away, practice tomorrow and get back at it."

On Washington State Being Able to Stay in the Game

"They scored. In the beginning we didn't play much defense. They shot 50-percent for the game. If I'm a coach, I'm taking 50 percent from any team. That's what slowed our momentum and we couldn't get those stops, so we couldn't get the ball out quick and we couldn't run on them."

On Confidence in George King's Shot Going in

"I had confidence in it. I'm glad it went in obviously."

On Knowing the Team Could Win

"The momentum swing. We just had to hold them off defensively. We made plays when we needed too."

On Taking on a Leadership Position

"We have a veteran group, so I think that everybody can share a leadership role. Being the lone senior out there on the floor, it was definitely different not having him out there. But we came out with the (win)."

George King, So., G

On Knowing His Last Second Shot Was Going to Go In

"Not when it left my hands. But when it got halfway there, I thought, 'this thing might have a chance.'"

On Being Close to Being Blocked

"He was really close. That was the reason why I had to fade a little bit to give the shot a chance to get off. That was my biggest point, get it to the rim and give the team a change for that overtime. But it just went it."

On Takin a Leadership Role without Josh Scott

"I told the team before the game in the locker room, before we ran out that we're missing our best player. We are going to have to do double what we do. You got to do double; you got to cut your turnovers. We've been struggling on turnovers and you have to cut that in half. We just had to fill that void, fill his shoes. Those are big shoes to fill. It took us two overtimes to do it, but we got the win. "

On Having the Crowd behind the Team

"When the crowd is behind us, the Coors Events Center, is loud and rocking, as a player I love that. I know for a fact that it affects the other team. And as a team we try to bank on that. They're loud and we appreciate that."

On Rebounding

"Josh is out and he averages ten rebounds a game. We missed that tonight. I think I average four rebounds. I told the team in the locker room that everybody has to do double."

On the Last Time He Hit a Buzzer Beater

"The last time I hit a buzzer beater I was in middle school. It was from the left wing, fading. It was on my birthday and we ending up winning the game."

On Getting the Rebound and Not Giving up the Ball

"If you are not a point guard and you get the rebound, you have to outlet it to the point guard. I wasn't going to outlet the ball. Luckily it went it or I would be getting yelled at right now."

On Practicing Last Second Shots

"It feels great knowing that your practice paid off. You don't find out till it happens. So when it does happen it's a great feeling."

On Free Throw Box Outs

"I was the reason why we lost to Oregon State, on the free throw box out. It was do or die in that situation. I ended up getting it and it felt great."

On the Message Given in the First Overtime Versus the Second Over Time

"It was the same. When you go into overtime, you've got five minutes, and you have to limit your mistakes. You can't make as many mistakes obviously. And you can't turn the ball over. He said limit mistakes, if you are going to attack the attack in control. If you don't have a shot pass the ball. It didn't change too much."

Washington State Head Coach Ernie Kent

On Watching the Game

"Why would it be hard to watch? I thought it was an incredible college basketball game and it really was too. All the way up until someone threw something out of the stands. That wasn't right because it was a really good game, up until that point. Both of these teams battled extremely hard. How about a group of young people that have been through so many losses, where everybody around them thinks they are going to shut it down. All they do is continue to come back and in this day and age where young people have such an entitlement issue they continue to battle back. This is a very difficult place to play and I thought they battled extremely well. It was a tough game, but yet it was a growing game for us."

On Missing Josh Scott

"We didn't have Charles Callison in there, Josh Hawkinson has been out for a few days and he came back. Were out of rhythm right now, but to come in here and battle like this and be in this position again. We have lost to this team twice by missing free throws. Considering they beat us by about thirty last year here, we were never in the game. We beat them in overtime at our place and then lose to them twice this year by missing free throws. I say we got a lot done in less than a two year period in terms of catching teams in this conference. We just don't know how to close yet and that is something we are still learning how to do."

On Ny Redding Contribution

"I thought it was the best point guard play that I have had in my program, since I have been here. That's nothing away from Ike because he has had some great games. In terms of the point guard leadership, it was tremendous on the floor. He got the ball to the right people and he kept us at offensive. We may have found out how to play tonight with this group. Not so fast, maybe defend and walk it down the floor and just pound it inside and I thought Ny (Redding) was great. Especially his layup and his big three late in the game. For a guy that doesn't get a lot of points he was fabulous in the game."

On King's Three that Sent the Game into Double Overtime

"It's extremely tough. We get a foul on one play, they drive to put them on the line, they miss one and they're down two. We should have fouled them again and put them on the line again. That's on us as a coaching staff because we talked about that. Everybody thought that Que (Johnson) was going to make the free throw and put us up four and we talked about not fouling. George was all over the top of that shot, 6'10 guy hanging on you as you're fading out of bounds. Hats off to him, heck of a shots."

On Going into the Second Overtime

"I told them in life nobody gives you anything. That it's the more they can fight through this the more they are growing as a basketball team and more importantly they are growing as men. After adversity of a basketball season like this and continuing to fight, I told them this is what their lives are going to be like. So keeping all this in perspective, I am proud of those guys. They have battle their tails off for me and will continue to do that."

On Fouling in the First Overtime

"There was a determination because when they drove the bucket we did foul them. When they needed the three we talked about fouling them."

Players Mentioned

Thomas Akyazili

Dominique Collier

Wesley Gordon

George King