Colorado University Athletics
Colorado-Utah Quotes
Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle
Opening Statement
“Well that was I think as complete a performance by our team all year. When you put in offense, you put in defense, you put in rebounding, you know all those things, and you out rebound the team by 20, and have 17 assists, and nine turnovers, and you execute the defensive game plan the way our guys did tonight it just shows you what the ceiling of this team is going to be. That's what we're going to need as we go through this league night in and night out. The defense and rebounding has to be a constant. The shooting is gonna go up, it's gonna go down. The free throws are gonna go up, they're gonna go down. Sometimes you’re going to make them and sometimes you’re not. This team took a step forward tonight and I'm really, really proud of them. Utah's a young team, a young talented team, a well-coached team. That's the same team that beat Kentucky in Las Vegas. They beat Minnesota this year. Two really quality wins for them and for our league. I don't want to discount Utah by any means, but they are young, and they're going to be good some nights and there's gonna be some nights where maybe they're not going to be as good as advertised. Tonight might have been one of those nights, but I don't expect that to last because they're a high-quality team, and they've got good players and they've got a good coach. We were kind of clicking on all cylinders tonight.”
On Using The Oregon State Loss As Motivation
“I told them in the locker room that this has been the longest week of my coaching life that I can remember. I think my wife told me on Friday, ‘boy this week has gone quick’. I said, ‘Well, maybe for you, but it hasn’t been for me’. It was getting that taste out of your mouth and I think our players felt the same way. A lot of teams that I've had in the past, I would have crushed him this week. I would have really got into them and challenged them. This group's a little different. We watched film on Tuesday and we certainly watched the end of the Oregon State game and tried to learn from it. I didn't do any different there. But you know, we took Monday off, we practiced Tuesday, Wednesday, had great practices. I took Thursday off, we practiced Friday, and Saturday. I trust this team. I trust their character, I trust their toughness, I trust their togetherness. I think there's a reason why maybe people think I would say something like that, but they responded, and I think they had that bad taste in their mouth just like I did and our coaching staff did and they played like it.”
On Evan Battey’s Performance
“Evan Battey was a beast tonight. I don't know what other adjective I can use for him on the backboards. He went after every offensive rebound. He gets those things. I said, I think earlier this week, when he gets the ball in his hands it's like a vise grip. Nobody's taking it away. He's so big and strong, guys are bouncing off of him. He set the tone with our offensive rebounding in the first half. I challenged Tyler Bey at halftime by saying you can join him and that rebounding party. Tyler did a better job in the second half and he ended up with 11 himself. You outrebound a team by 20, good things are going to happen. Offensive glass is something we've been really preaching and talking to our guys about. It was great to see Evan come out and get that done.”
On The Defensive Effort Against Timmy Allen
“Yeah, it was it was a team effort on Tim Allen, there's no doubt about that because he wants to put the ball on the floor and drive. We really talked all week about getting our arms out and hands off because he thrives on getting to the foul line and he'll jump into you and he'll get you in the air. We started Tyler Bey on Tim Allen when Tyler was in, that's who he had. He showed us as good of discipline on Tim Allen as I've ever seen Tyler. I thought he was terrific defensively. We all know how athletic Tyler is and how much he can block shots and likes to block shots. But Tim Allen thrives on you leaving your feet in the lane. Sometimes there's a time to leave your feet after he's left his feet. But if you leave your feet before he leaves his, he's going to pin a foul on you and get an and-one and he's very crafty. But I thought we did a really good job. McKinley did a great job on Gach, did a really good job on Jones. But again, that's the defensive game plan that I'm talking about. We did a really good job on their three guys that were averaging over 50 points a game in the first two league games this year as a group. I don't know what we held him tonight, but it was less than 52. I know that.”
On If The Team Goes As McKinley Wright Goes
“Yeah, to some degree. I mean, he's definitely our engine. He's the guy. But I think you saw Evan and the way Evan brings emotional energy to his team as well. It's not just McKinley, but he is our point guard. He's been in a great, great distribution mode. I think he's really starting to come into who we thought he could be as a junior. In the first 10 or so games he struggled a little bit offensively. He took what they gave him. Utah scouts probably better than anybody in our league. I think Utah and Arizona are the two best scouted in terms of when they scout you, they know what's coming. But sometimes you know what's coming, you still got to take what they what they give you and that play at the end of the first half was a great example of that. There are times I think McKinley predetermines what he's going to do. You can't do that as a point guard and he's really starting to figure that out and that's why he had eight assists and zero turnovers instead of eight assists and four turnovers.”
On Utah’s Great Scouting
“Utah's been doing that since Larry's been there. They're very well prepared and that's why they can win on the road and that's why they're so darn dangerous in my mind. I always say Utah’s not going to beat themselves. Larry may feel like they beat themselves tonight and maybe he's right. But I just feel like you have to beat Utah because I think they're really well disciplined and coached. We didn't get their best shot tonight, we know that. We will when we go back to Salt Lake, my guess is in March, but anytime you beat these guys, you should feel good because I got great respect for them.”
On The Upcoming Road Trip
“We talked after the Oregon State game. We have got to make up for that and we're not going to make up for that against Utah. We're at home, we're supposed to win at home. The way we're going to make up for the Oregon State game is by going on the road and getting some stuff done. That opportunity comes on Thursday in Tempe and then we get another shot on Saturday in Tucson. It’s a big road trip for us if we want to do what we want to do, which is compete for a conference championship. You have to be able to win on the road to do that and there's no time like the present. It's going to be a totally different game than the one in Shanghai. We got them in Shanghai without Taeshon Cherry. Mickey Mitchell I don't think played that game and Romello White didn't play that game. They're a completely different team with those guys in the lineup. I think we're a better team than we were in Shanghai but they’re totally different animal than what we saw over there in November. They're playing well they beat Oregon State on the road, they gave Oregon all they wanted on the road. They’re playing well and they're competitive and they're tough.”
On The Keys To Keep Winning
“Keep sharing the ball and moving the ball on offense. 17 assists, nine turnovers. Offensively, keep playing. I said this even after the Oregon State game, our offense is getting better. I think that tonight was a testament to that, another step. We got to keep that going. But defend and rebound at a high level, night in and night out. It'll give yourself a chance to win, especially on the road, which is what we're faced with here as we move into this week.”
Colorado Players
McKinley Wright, Jr., G
On gaining momentum after the Oregon State game“The Oregon State loss was frustrating and a disappointment for us. We had almost a week to prep for these guys so we took advantage of that and now we just responded well and coach challenged us and we answered the bell.”
On playing hard the entire game
“We just talked about not letting up and not letting them come up with threes. We just had to keep believing and keep playing hard throughout the game.”
On holding down Utah star player Timmy Allen
“Team effort. Our coaches the entire week kept saying his name. We took that as an individual challenge and as a collective challenge to shut their water off. We kept hearing his name all week, it was kind of annoying.”
On Arizona State
“We know it’s going to be a battle. We beat them our first game of the year. I think we are 0-2 there. We want to go in there and get a win.”
On improving individual stats
“I just slowed down. I’ve been slowing down. Outside of Oregon State I’ve been slowing down and making the easy play. I’ve been hitting the first free man and not trying to squeeze passes into small holes and often that doesn’t work.”
Evan Battey, So., G
On the Oregon State game leaving a bad taste in their mouth“That taste was in our mouth all week. But after tonight it was definitely gone. We have to just keep the energy and effort up for Thursday on the road.”
On rebounds
“That’s the thing I always try to exploit with any team, it doesn’t matter the team. I give my team extra shots. That’s just my game plan every game.”
On the jerseys
“We love them. We might as well make them the home jerseys.”
On the level of play and how it can make them a dangerous team
“This is Colorado basketball and it’s hard to beat us when we’re playing like this.”
Utah Head Coach Larry Krystkowiak
On the loss
“We showed up, but we got our teeth punched in. It is a veteran team that is very physical. I thought we got exposed in the level of physicality. Anytime you are minus-20 on the glass, that is a big part of it. They are a good defensive team, one of the best in the country. They have a lot of facets to make them successful. They came out and responded very well.”
On losing by 39
“I looked at North Carolina and Clemson. Michigan State was 5-0 in the Big-10 and got smacked. Life is hard. The Baltimore Ravens were the best team in the NFL, record wise, and they got it handed to them. You have to be ready to compete and I think there are some deficiencies in our game right now that we have to clean up. I am not going to say there are going to be nights like this. That is the nature of sports. There is going to be a winner and a loser in every game. If you have a chance to lose a game by three or by 40, which one is better? The result is a loss. The key for us is we need to stay together. Our group needs to stay together and keep growing. I sense that we will. We have a good group of guys but sometimes it is humbling to have it. I hope it doesn’t happen, but it is going to happen.”
On Timmy Allen
“He was 2-8 in the first half. They got some good individual defenders. They didn’t suck in and help to make it easy for him to find somebody to lean on. They played good, physical defense. We have to be better in individual one-on-ones. Maybe he needs to slow down a little bit and be more powerful instead of quick. A lot of his moves were on the move and he ended up under the rim so not always on balance. He knows. That is the head of our snake. He is going to be first on the other team’s scouting report. They did a nice job and had a good plan. It is not just him. We have to get a bunch of guys who are contributing well to the whole puzzle.”
On getting out played physically
“They wanted it more. They missed 15 shots in the first half and got nine of their misses. It wasn’t any surprise. It has been a focal point for us this week, but we don’t have Evan Battey to work on block out drills or some of the athleticism that Tyler Bey has. To me, he seemed like they were fine with missing shots. Those guys were going to go and get them. We didn’t do a great job of finding them or putting bodies on them. I thought one of the key plays was the missed dunk in the first half by Bey. We have three guys around him and somehow comes up with it. To me, that is a little bit more want to. Sometimes you have to find a little bit of an edge and know that is a key component for them. It always has been playing in this building. Some of it is technique and some of it is getting after it.”