Colorado - UC Irvine Quotes
vs
Grace College (Ind.)
Oct 19 (Sun)
12 p.m.
Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle
General
“That was a good win against a quality basketball team and program. We have a lot of respect for UC Irvine, their coaching staff, and players. They have three senior guards who are really good. They have post guys who are really good. Our guys answered the bell and answered the challenge that I laid at their feet starting on Saturday night against San Diego. It makes you feel really good as a coach when your players take that challenge. I thought our defensive intensity and awareness for 40 minutes was really good tonight. We turned them over 22 times. We didn’t play our best offensive game by any means, but we did take care of the ball better which is another sign of progress. That is what you look for in these early games against quality teams. Every team we have played, Arizona State, San Diego and UC Irvine are all quality basketball teams. You just look for progress this time of year.”
On Ball Pressure
“Ball pressure was a key. We really wanted to get pressure on their ball handlers. Their guards are their leading scorers, but they play through their bigs. We knew our bigs were going to get challenged with post defense all night long because they get it down there every time it seems like. We wanted pressure on the ball to help our bigs in the post. I thought we did that for the most part. There are a lot of things we can take positively. Something we have to get better is rebounding. We got outrebounded tonight. We have to sure that up a little bit. For the most part there are not a lot of things where I can look at this game and get on our guys about. We will take it and move on. We can’t get complacent. We have to understand that every opportunity is a chance to get better and grow but I like where we are after the first three games.”
On The Rotation
“We always had two bigs in there. We had Tyler (Bey) or Lucas (Siewert) or Evan (Battey). We never played D’Shawn (Schwartz) at the four which we can do. We did that against Arizona State. Dallas (Walton) is still finding his way back. I thought his minutes were good. Late in the game we were trying to take away threes. In the last four minutes we were switching all ball screens to protect the three-point line because that was the only way they could get back in the game. We shot less than 40%. We didn’t shoot the ball extremely well but we shot the ball from three pretty darn well, better than from two. Some of our bigs have to slow down in the post and understand that when they get it down there, they don’t have to shoot it every time. They can kick it back out. Especially when we have good shooters.”
On Using Altitude To Their Advantage
“We picked up San Diego full court. Playing in Colorado against teams from California, which we have done these past two games, we have altitude on our side and we have to get the pace of the game going. UC Irvine is a deep team so they can kind of weather that a little bit with their depth. I think you saw San Diego really get fatigued in the second half. Being at home kind of gets the pace of the game going and we are deep team. We have guys that can expend some energy. I really like what we are seeing from our guards on defense. We still have to get through ball screens better. We had some breakdowns there. We were up 14 at the end of the first half and they got a three in transition and a layup at the rim on a ball screen breakdown coverage. I always say, ‘Don’t get drunk on your own wine.’ We like where we are at but this is a week for us to really practice and get better and dial ourselves in as we go to Vegas.”
On Tyler Bey
“Those bigs were trying to duck in and take his legs away. You play post defense with your feet and your brain. When Tyler moves his feet and plays with awareness and energy on defense, holy cow. He is disruptive because he is so athletic and so quick. I thought his energy level and awareness level (were there). He had a steal in the second half out of a ball screen X out that was a big time play. UC Irvine made the right read but Tyler made the play because of his length and athleticism. We need that from him every night. The challenge I have laid to Tyler is not only playing in his stance, but also playing that way consistently. When we play Wyoming in Las Vegas next Sunday, he will have an opportunity to show that progress.”
On Post Defense
“I thought it was good. The thing is you know they are going in there. I thought our post defense, for the most part, was pretty darn good. Evan got in some foul trouble but we made them take tough twos. The teams that UC Irvine picks apart are the teams that really try to double the post or are so concerned about the post. Those post guys are great passers. They aren’t just great scorers they are great passers. (Evan) Leonard and (Eyassu) Worku are their leading scorers. When that ball goes in the post, you have to do your best to make them score over you. They are going to make some but what we don’t want to do is dig too far down and let them kick it out and hit an open three. They are capable of doing that as well. You have to take something away and understand that Irvine is going to score some baskets in the paint. That is just the way they are wired. They are a team that shoots 49% as a team from the field. We held them to 38%. I like the post defense that we played but we knew their bigs were going to score some buckets. They are good players.”
On Shot Selection
“My whole thing is to take great shots. I mentioned the 14 point lead that went to 10 because we made a free throw, but they made a two pointer at the rim and a three in transition. It was a result of bad shots. We cannot take bad shots. We did that at the end of the first half. The crowd was into it. The crowd got us excited and we are supposed to rattle the other team not us. I think good shooting percentages come from reps in the gym and great shot selection. I know our guys are getting reps in the gym. We are trying to get as many reps in practice as we can. I see guys here before practice and staying after practice getting up shots. We just have to keep taking good ones.”
On Maddox Daniels
“Our depth is so good. What I love about Maddox is he is a true shooter, not only from his percentages, but also from the fact that missing a shot, making a turnover or a mistake doesn’t get him down where he is worried about the next shot. He is going to make the next shot and he feels like that and he shoots like that. I want him to. There are a couple other things he has to do. Defensively he broke down a little bit tonight. He turned the ball over after one ball screen. Those are the things we have to get out of his game but look, it was his third Division I basketball game. It was a high level game. Maddox is going to be a work in progress, but he is a great addition to this team and we are going to need him as this season unfolds. We are going to need all of our guards: Eli Parquet, Shane Gatling, and Daylen Kountz. We are going to need Dallas Walton and Alex Starting. That is what I love about this team. We have a lot of quality depth. It showed tonight.”
On Eli Parquet
“The things I love about Eli is Eli is not thinking, ‘Score’. He is thinking being aggressive. He played aggressively tonight off the bounce. He is one of our most athletic guys. He is probably our best cutter on offense. The other night against San Diego we were plus 11 with Eli Parquet on the floor. Those are things you look at as a coach. Our offense functions well with Eli out there because he is not always hunting his shots. They are going to come. They came some tonight but he is going to make some plays this year offensively that people are going to get out of their seats for. He is a dynamic cutter and driver. Our guys know how athletic he is. He is getting his feet wet so to speak.”
On McKinley Wright IV Not Turning The Ball Over
“He got bailed out by Evan Battey on that ill-advised lob late. The zero turnovers is something McKinley was probably the most proud of. I was too.”
On Playing For 40 Minutes
“It is a sign of progress when you challenge your team Saturday night and Sunday as we prepped for Irvine and at shoot around today and they come out and play with the awareness and intensity. They were dialed in defensively and they did it for 40 minutes. We held one of the most efficient teams in the country to 38% and held them to 53 points. To me, that makes your heart feel pretty warm as a coach. It is one game but you can learn from that. You can learn from things that happen positively. McKinley can learn from a 16 (point) and 5 (assist) and zero turnover game. Tyler can learn from being dialed in on defense and playing with energy and awareness. Why not every night? Not that you are going to play well every night, and we only shot less than 40%. When we start making shots and start making free throws, this team can be explosive on both sides of the ball. The defensive side to me is a great sign of where we are for this time of the year.”
Colorado Players
McKinley Wright, Jr, PG
ON THE TEAMS DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENT TONIGHT
“Coach has really been stressing it in practice, especially with how good this team was. They had 31 wins last year, won a game in the NCAA Tournament, and returned their starters. We just had to really dial into the scouting report, and I think every guy on our roster did that, and took the challenge personally.”
ON THE TEAM TURNING THE BALL OVER SEVEN TIMES TONIGHT
“That's really good. Seven times? I don’t know when the last time we were that low, so we have to keep sharing the ball, taking care of the ball, and making the right reads. And when we take care of the ball, we get rebounds and stops, and we're a hard team to beat.”
ON IF HE HAS BEEN WORKING ON HIS FLOATER
“Yeah I’m in the gym every morning. Working on floaters, finishes at the rim, threes, all that good stuff. So, you have to trust your work and let it go out there. They felt good though and it started with the other night, getting the ball to go through the hoop and just seeing it. It just brings you more confidence.”
ON THE TEAM’S IMPROVED 3-POINT SHOOTING
“It was really good for us; we work on that stuff every day. Last year, we were at the bottom of the league in three-point percentage, and they saw that, so a lot of us got in the gym this offseason and we just grinded it out. Seeing the ball go through the hoop, it gives us a little confidence out there.”
ON IF THE TEAM HAS NOTICED IMPROVEMENTS GAME-BY-GAME
“You guys saw it last game, that wasn’t us. It was a terrible slow start to the first half of the last game. Tonight, we came out more aggressive and started to get our feel back, and last game was our first home game back. Everybody got the jitters out now, it's time to go.”
ON THE TEAM’S QUICK TURNAROUND
“Yeah, I feel good. We love playing basketball. We would play again tomorrow if we could. But that's not the way it works, I know we have games the day after the next and it feels good, you know? We all love playing basketball.”
Tyler Bey, Jr, F
ON RECORDING SIX STEALS IN TONIGHT’S GAME
“Coach really gets on me about just standing in stance. But ever since I was standing in stance I've been able to get places faster, be quicker than others, be stronger in the post and stuff like that. Tonight, which is one of those nights where I was in the stance, almost every play, and I was able to get my hands up in the passing lane and stuff like that. I’ve been anticipating those passes a little better than the past years, it’s working better for me.”
ON CHANGING HIS SHOES MID-GAME
“I rolled my ankle in the last couple practices and it has been hurting so I decided to change my shoes.”
ON IF HE IS EXCITED TO PLAY IN HIS HOMETOWN
“Oh yeah. Las Vegas is my home city so it’s going to be fun.”
UC Irvine Head Coach Russell Turner
On Turnovers
"Yeah that's uncharacteristic for our team. A lot of that credit goes to Colorado. They have a commitment on the defensive end. That's a big part of their success. Our teams are similar in that way, they were able to impose our will on us and that showed up in the turnover column.”
On Game’s Turning Point
"There was an obvious turning point in the first half when we turned it over four straight times and they made two threes in that stretch. And that was probably because one or two of our shots during that run felt like turnover shots to me, forced off balance poor shots. And so, their pressure in that segment when we had some of our younger guys on the floor, changed the game and got them a really comfortable lead and I didn't feel like we were out of it at all at halftime. Our guys played well in the second half and gave us a chance to squeeze the game, we just weren't able to make the plays on either end. We needed to make the game closer. They made two big three point, offensive rebound plays and the turnovers that we kept making prevented us from putting any real pressure on them."
On Experience
"Colorado has a lot of experience, those guys have played a lot of minutes. I've got guys with experience too and I thought our team would come in here and make it a competitive game which we did, but the score doesn't reflect that. When you factor in our turnovers, without those, we would've had a tight game with these guys but credit to them, they dictated the pace and forced us out of the arena."
On Tommy Rutherford Saying It Was A Disappointing Loss
"It's disappointing that we weren't able to take the game down to the wire with a chance to win. These are really tough games to win, on the road against Top 25 teams. We've won a few of these in my time at Irvine so we know we're capable. We're not going to be able to pull off a win in a situation like this in tournament ball. Overall, we have to handle the ball better, pass the ball better, catch the ball better, all of those facets and it might've been a closer game."