Colorado-Oregon Quotes
Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle
Opening statement“Well, that was a high level college basketball game, I think it was as good as advertised. We knew that Oregon was going to come in here and give us their best shot and I feel like, certainly from an effort standpoint, they did. They didn't, maybe play as well as they're capable of playing or they've played in the past, but I think our defense had something to do with that and you know you beat a good program, a nationally ranked program deservedly, talented program talented players, but they're young, and they're there they're learning, but you know that team went into Michigan one at Michigan. They represented the conference well at the Bahamas, I've got great respect for coach (Dana) Altman, and he's a heck of a basketball coach, and we beat a good team tonight. I would just say anybody that wasn't at the game tonight you missed a heck of a game, and this team, this Colorado basketball team is worthy of eight more games like the Event Center was tonight in terms of packed, enthusiastic. Our crowd helped us win this game, and I thank them for that and I just would beg them to come back Sunday at four o'clock because we're going to need it. We're playing a very good Oregon State team then. And this counts as one win. If we would have lost it would be one loss but it's nice to nice to get off to a good start against a really good basketball team.”
On team’s unselfishness tonight
“Yeah, our guys are really sharing the ball, they're moving the ball they're looking for each other, and yeah, this team really has a connection on the floor and off the floor and I think that's key. They really love each other, they pull for each other and, yes, I thought you could see our offense getting better and better over the last three or four games. We've talked about the quality practices that we've been able to have that has helped us do that. So, yes, this is an unselfish team.”
On McKinley Wright’s play down after technical foul
“It's a four point game and he hit the pull up three from the top to put it to seven, got the crowd back into it. We needed that, big players make big plays. McKinley right is as big time of a clutch performer, as I've ever coached. We got to play smarter. Tyler Bey cannot have that technical foul, he deserved it. He made a hell of a block. And instead of woofing at somebody and trying to show them up, sprint your tail down and maybe get a trail three or maybe get a dunk in transition, but we there's no room for that. Unacceptable, we got to play smarter down the stretch. We took two really bad shots at the end, D’Shawn Schwartz took a bad three that went in, Shane Gatling took a bad two at the rim, that didn’t even get to the rim. I mean, we got to play smarter than we did down the stretch but overall, this is a heck of a basketball game and I'm really proud of our guys.”
On if beating Oregon had extra emphasis
I think it does to our team, but again we're 1-0 in league play we're not 2-0, we’re not 1 ½-0, we we’re 1-0. It's one game, and I had to say that to myself before the game and I want our fans to understand, Oregon State counts just as much as Oregon does. I know the national ranking and the ducks have a lot of respect nationally, so I knew our players would be ready for that. These are the games you don't have to get your guys up for and ready. Sunday, I got to do a good job getting our guys up and ready to play, because Oregon State came in here and this building last year beat us. So we can't let that happen again and they’re a quality team with quality players, and I believe this team has a chance to do something special this year. It's only going to happen if we take every opportunity as they come and cherish and relish it and get up for it. That's my challenge as a coach.”
On Shane Gatling’s increase in minutes
“He did a great job defensively on (Anthony) Mathis tonight, and that's something we've constantly been challenging Shane with is on the defensive end. He's a good shooter I want him taking good shots. The threes he missed I'm fine with it because I know he can make them. We challenge our guys all the time, whether it's Shane, whether it’s D’Shawn (Schwartz), whoever, Lucas (Siewert), what can you do help this team win a game that doesn't involve shooting the basketball, and Shane tonight helped us win a game because of his defensive job on Mathis, who it was seven for 10 against us from three when we played New Mexico last year. He killed the buffs and Shane did a really good job tonight. as did Daylen (Kountz) and Maddox (Daniels) when he came in. I thought our bench really helped us, but Shane's earned the minutes and got to play a little smarter down the stretch.”
On what it means that Oregon has never won at CU events center
“It doesn't mean anything to me. I think it means something more to them than it does to me, because every player, our staff we talked about before the game, other than Peyton Pritchard, Will Richardson and (Francis Okoro), not one of those players was part of any of that past, so it's new teams. It's a new year, it's a new deal I don't get into that stuff, I don't. I'm aware of it, but it doesn't concern me. What concerns me is being ready to play and taking advantage of every opportunity. The one thing I know is our players get up to play Oregon, I know that. Coach (Mike) Rohn and I were assistant coaches at Wichita State for six years together when Coach Altman was the head coach at Creighton, and now he's been at Oregon, I've been in Colorado, so very familiar with their style of play and what they try to do and so that familiarity helps us as coaches, but again, our players, they're not familiar with that they got to get ready for it every single game that they play.”
On McKinley Wright’s defensive effort
“McKinley Wright is the most underrated defensive player in the country. I'm telling you, that guy can guard. Peyton Pritchard is a hell of a player, big time player and, and he got McKinley a couple times off the dribble tonight. But McKinley made him work for everything he got, he really did. And he does not get enough credit for being a lockdown defender and it's every night. McKinley Wright gets the other team's best perimeter player, every game, not just against Oregon and Peyton Pritchard, you get it every game. He rises to that challenge, and that's what makes him so special to me, is he plays both sides of the court. He's a very underrated defender, without a doubt. I think, I think, I don’t know, My memory is not very good sometimes but I think Tyler Bey was on the all-defensive team last year. McKinley Wright is our best perimeter defender. I mean no disrespect to Tyler is unbelievable shot blocker and he's a great defender I'm not saying he didn't deserve it. but McKinley right is a big time defender”
On Team’s Defensive effort
“Yeah, that is good defense in place first half, without a doubt. They had zero threes. They made three for the game. If we do that against Northern Iowa win by 15. Our defense was fantastic. We guarded the three point line which was one of the biggest things. The two things on the board for us defensively was transition defense, which we did a bad job of late after free throws, in the last 40-50 seconds in the game which drives me nuts, but for the most part, we did a good job in transition. When they made their run in the second half, it was transition defense, but we did a great job of guarding the three point line all night long, and especially in the first half because they were averaging nine threes a game coming in, shooting 41% from the three point line as a team. They were third in the country, as a three point shooting team coming into this game. So, to help hold them three for 18 is pretty darn good for a team.”
On if wins against Oregon and Dayton showed him anything about the team
“I've said it from day one. This is a special team to coach, I love them. And I loved them after the Kansas loss. I loved them after the Northern Iowa loss, even though we were disappointed in both those. Whether we win, whether we lose, it has no bearing on how I feel about these young men. I love this team, I love coaching them. I said that last year, said it this year. We got Dallas (Walton) back, Maddox Daniels was added. We have great kids in that locker room who I love coaching, so it's a special group. We have a saying in our film room, it's right up on the wall, every day, ‘respect cannot be learned purchased or acquired, it can only be earned’, and the win against Dayton in Chicago, and the win tonight against the Oregon Ducks should earn some respect. If it doesn't, we got to beat Oregon State on Sunday, but we have to earn that respect and I think we're in the process of doing that. We were in the top 25 for a minute, had a couple tough losses, we dropped out now we’ve been sniffing it back. We don't get the respect but we have to earn that respect you can't beg for it. You can't go buy it. You just got to earn it, you earn it by these kind of wins and playing consistent basketball, which is what this team is, getting better as the year goes on. We've gotten better the last three four weeks without a doubt, and really proud of these guys.”
On Tyler Bey’s rebounding effort
“Yeah Tyler was great. He rebounded, he defended, he blocked shots, he scored the ball, the looks he had the 15 footers in the first half I loved them because he can make that shot on a consistent basis. The only thing I'm disappointed in Tyler was the technical foul but the rest of his game tonight, He was terrific passing. He keeps getting to be a better passer. You know we made a really big time play to Evan, then Evan got fouled. Tyler would have turned that thing over or shot a bad shot, maybe as short as three or four weeks ago, but tonight he made the play and passed to Evan. He's becoming a willing passer and starting to take pride in that.”
On being able to limit turnovers
“Part of its just making simple plays. I think that's the biggest thing is slowing down, making simple plays, that's all we have to do, I don't know how many turnovers were offensive fouls, but that part is got to be from slowing down.11 or lower is our number, when we hit that good things happen for us.”
On Daylen Kountz’s potential
“Daylen’s gonna be a good player. He needs to work a little bit harder on his game before practice and after practice, but he's got great open court speed he can really finish at the rim. He had trouble finishing tonight but I loved his minutes. I thought Daylen really played well when he came in. He's got the ability to be a good defender. I look at Daylen and D’Shawn (Schwartz). I look at the jump that D’Shawn made between his sophomore and junior year and how big of a jump he made confidence wise, and just the way he defends and rebounds and shoots the ball. That's what we need for Daylen, but we don't need to wait for his junior year. I want him to start that now, that transformation because he has, you mentioned, untapped potential. He's the epitome of that because Daylen’s got all the skills and tools to be a really good player in this league, and it’s a process. I got to be patient with him, he's got to be patient with himself but I think putting in the time and the work, nothing comes without that.”
Colorado Players
D’Shawn Schwartz, Junior, Guard
On How They Pushed Back Against Oregon’s Comeback“There was still a lot of time left in the game and we knew that that they weren't going to go away so we were just telling ourselves that we got to lock in and get stops. That was the main thing we had to do.”
On McKinley In Big Games
“He’s a big time player. No other way to describe it. He thrives in big time games like that. He feeds off the crowd’s energy and gets them going and gets us going. That's what a good point guard does and he’s a great point guard.”
On Two Top-15 Wins And Five-Straight Wins
“No doubt. I think Pac-12 play is the perfect time to start climbing, start improving as a team and starting to peak. I think we're really getting off to a good start to Pac-12 play. We've got a good Oregon State team coming up here, we've got to show them we mean business.”
On The Crowd
“Love the crowd. When we have games like that we need them. Not only do they intimidate the other team but they really get us going. We love giving back to the fans just as much they give to us.”
McKinley Wright IV, Junior, Guard
On Tonight’s Win“Big time man. We needed this one. We knew that they never win here, so we want to keep it that way. We did a really good job of focusing in on the game plan and personnel. When we are locked in and take care of the ball and rebound, we're a really good team.”
On Covering Pritchard
“He's a tough dude to guard. He's a guy who can shoot the ball from deep, pull up mid-range and finish at the rim. I'm going to take pride in my defense. He got some going early in the first half and I adjusted. I think I did a pretty good job. We got the win so that's all that matters.”
On Having Mel Tucker, Rick George and Phillip Lindsay Courtside
“That's big time. That's Buff Nation. We're a family, basketball, football, you know, Mel Tucker sees us front row every football game, so to see him front row tonight is big time and it's just love both ways.”
On Sending A Statement To The Nation
“This just shows it man. Our coaches believe in us. We believe in each other. When I say this I'm not just saying that to say, we are one of the best teams in the country for real. We let one slip earlier at home against UNI. A lot of people knock us down because of that. The Dayton game, tonight, Iona, we showcased that we know we belong. So, we're back.”
On Low Turnovers And Turning The Corner In The Season
“Just trusting each other, making a simple play. Hit the first free man. You know, it's really been simple. Early in the year I think everybody, including myself, was trying to be that guy that makes the play for somebody instead of moving it, you know, trusting each other, trust somebody else to make the play. We started doing that as of late and our turnover numbers went down.”
On Last Year’s Home Loss To Oregon State
“We ready. That's all I can say man we ready. We let that one slip last year as well at home. I had the chance late to win that game. We didn't execute. Sunday we will need the house packed and we're ready to go.”
On Starting Out Pac-12 Knocking Off The Favorites
“Media Day, they picked us second. We got back, got to work at practice. We honestly thought we were the best team in the conference and tonight we just wanted to handle business and showcase that, you know, we still think we are the best team in the conference, regardless if we are at home or on the road.”
Tyler Bey, Junior, Forward
On His Rebounding“I’ve been slacking on my rebounds the past few games. I just wanted to pick it up, especially this game. We were playing Oregon so I had to go to the hoop as much as I could.”
On The Kansas Loss Being A Learning Experience
“I think the UNI was the one honestly because we lost at home and we weren’t supposed to lose. We learned from that and moved on one game at a time.”
Oregon Head Coach Dana Altman
ON GAME OVERALL
"We started with a couple of bad offensive possessions, had a lot of turnovers, we put ourselves in a bad position. We couldn't get the three point shooting going. We had some good looks, couldn't knock them down early, started 0 for 11 until we finally hit one. We have to do a better job.”
ON PAYTON'S GAME
“We couldn't get the two ball going, we need to put him in a better spot, we have to run some things. You know, overall, the balls got to move a lot better. “
ON DEFENSIVE POSITIONING
"We didn't put ourselves in a good position. They drove the ball hard at us and we couldn't take advantage of that."
ON NEVER WINNING AT COLORADO
"It's not a huge deal. There's only been two or three guys who have played here so the others don't know [but for himself] Not really. We've won a lot of games but can't find a way to win here. We have a great team just a tough atmosphere. Colorado's won [in Oregon] but we can't find a way to do it here."
ON CU’S MCKINLEY WRIGHT AND TYLER BEY
"Yeah, they're good players. Two pre-season All-Conference guys and they both hit some big shots, especially down late in the game. McKinley with that three ball with oh, three or four minutes left when we were down four. They made some big plays.
ON TURNING POINT IN THE GAME
"Oh, I don't know. Our ball movement in the first half was poor. You know, not having the ability to shoot it. You know you have to make some shots to get on a run for the momentum to swing."
ON GETTING GOING TO LATE
"Oh yeah, you know, we just have to put them (shooters) in a better position and part of that is my fault. We have to manage the ball better, get guys moving to better positions and the balls gotta move better. You know we tried to work Shakur Juiston back in and he went 4 for 5 but had some bad turnovers late. You know, Duarte is new so we have a long way to go."
ON GOING TO UTAH NEXT
"Well, to be honest, I haven't watched a lot of their film aside from part of the Kentucky game and I'll start taking a look tonight."
ON PAYTON PLAYING WITH 4 FOULS
"He's a good player. He's done a great job for us. We just have to do a better job around him."