Colorado-Omaha Quotes
Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle
Opening statement“A good win, good team victory again. 18 assists, nine turnovers, you'll take that every night. We shared the ball, we moved the ball for the most part. Had some really good individual performances. I thought our post defense going into this game, we knew they had a couple low post guys that are quality players. I thought Evan and Dallas really took that on as a challenge, and both played extremely well I thought on the defensive end. I thought Jeriah Horn did a great job too. Making them score over him and not giving them easy buckets and. Overall, another step in the right direction. I told the team in the locker room now it's the rest of the season. The price of poker is going up from the standpoint of our opponents. They are going to be a little bit more formidable in terms of their size and strength and athleticism and. So, we got to be ready for that, it starts next Friday in Vegas.”
On practice leading to good play
“No, I do. I would agree with McKinley (Wright). We've got competitive practices and we don't always go first five against second five. We got a really talented, deep team. If you don't bring it in practice, you're going to get embarrassed. I think it starts in practice for sure. I credit our entire team for that. We got 18 guys on our roster, which is much more than normal, and we've got guys like Benan Ersek and Aidan McQuade and Will Loughlin who didn't get in the game tonight. Isaac Jessup and Owen Koonce did at the end. But those five guys are a terrific for what we call our scout team. They really helped prepare us for Northern Colorado and for Omaha. Our team goes deep and even that scout team helps prepare our guys because they run the opponent stuff. They start about two days in advance and they run their stuff and they run it hard and they run it well and take pride in it. When you get unselfish kids, it's just a pleasure to coach them. But it starts in practice.”
On the importance of these games
“I think so. It allowed us to get some minutes for some of those younger guys that maybe didn't get them against Tennessee or K-State. It allowed us, I think to gain some confidence and understand how good we can be when we play together and when we play with great energy and effort throughout the game both on both sides of the ball. I think this was a good week for us, we kind of needed it. But again, these games are behind us now and everything is in front of us. I mean Grand Canyon, who we play two days after Washington, had a shot at the end to beat Arizona State. We know how good and talented Arizona State is, so that is not a ‘gimme’ game. We don't have any of those left. We get 21 Pac-12 Schools and we got Grand Canyon, so hopefully we can get them all in and stay healthy. It is good to have everybody on deck, like we did last two games, minus Tristan tonight.”
On Jabari Walker leading team in rebounds
“Just tells you how active Jabari (Walker) is. All nine of those were on the defensive end. I'd like to Jabari with at least two or three offensive rebounds because he's a guy who just has a nose for the ball. You can't teach, that he's got it. He plays with unbelievable energy and effort. He has 15 and nine and 15 minutes. Jabari kind of imposes his will on the game and plays with a great motor. I tell our guys I want them to be selfish in one aspect of the game and that is rebounding. I want guys going after rebounds and Jabari does that, and he's fouled a little bit too much, but he's learning what this game is all about and how it's played. He’s going to be a great player at Colorado. His teammates love playing with him. It's really neat to see.”
On Tristan da Silva’s absence
“It was not a coach's decision. It was health related. He's fine. He was at shoot around this morning. We had a shoot around early when we tested this morning before the game, so he was fine there but he had a migraine. He’s had a few of those since he's been here. Our doctors are treating him and talking to him and trying to get a handle on that. He spent the game in his room, and I expect him to be back. He'll be fine, but it's unfortunate because I've never had a player be at shoot around and not be at the game. He'll be okay.”
On D’Shawn Schwartz
“D'Shawn is a guy who can score at all three levels. He can shoot the three, he has a good mid-range, can get to the rim, and he is a good foul shooter. He is a good defender for us. He is a big, strong body out there. D'Shawn is so important for us. When he hit the first shot it was so good to see and he got himself going a little bit. The thing I liked about D’Shawn tonight is he played aggressively. When he is aggressive, we are usually pretty good. For his career he has been a really good assist-to-turnover ratio guy. Tonight, it wasn't great for him, but it is good to see him being aggressive and attacking the rim. He is good when he does that. He will finish better than he finished tonight. He is a good passer. D'Shawn Schwartz brings a big element to our team, as does Maddox Daniels off the bench. Those two guys are important for us going forward.”
On If Maddox Daniels Has Improved As A Defender
“He really has. He is taking it upon himself to take some pride on that end of the floor. We know Maddox is a good shooter. As long as he is taking good shots I am fine with it. His teammates want him to take good shots. I want him to take good shots and open shots. When he is open, we want him to let it fly because he is a good shooter. Jeriah (Horne) is a good shooter. We have some good shooters on this team. We are going to need that when we play Washington on Sunday. I thought Maddox was terrific. He made a defensive play in the first half helping the helper that he wouldn't have made a year ago. He has gotten to be a more willing and active defender. That is one of the reasons why our defense right now is playing pretty well the past five games we have played. We are going to need it again on Sunday.”
On Entering Conference Play
“We have had, I think, 38 or 39 practices and tonight was our fifth game. We have had a lot more practices than we have had games. We have a veteran team. Our players are excited about it. They want to play good, quality teams. They want to challenge themselves. We have the opportunity to do that. The next 22 (games) are going to be dog fights.”
On Eli Parquet
“The one thing I wanted to mention is one guy that nobody talks about is Eli Parquet. Coach (Mike) Rohn brought this up in the locker room after the game talking to the team. He is a guy who took three shots tonight. When you look at the plus minus column in the stats, our team was plus-35 when he was in the game. Eli is a guy who brings defensive intensity and an unselfishness. He plays his role on offense. I have to give a shout out to Eli. I thought he played well. McKinley (Wright IV) has 15 assists and one turnover in the last two games. He has taken it upon himself to elevate his game as well. Those two guys played well for us as well.”
On Jabari Walker In Getting In Foul Trouble
“Evan, when he was a freshman, was in foul trouble a lot. A lot of freshman bigs go through that. One of the things we tell our players in practice is the definition of a foul is, ‘When an official blows his whistle and calls a foul.’ You have got to figure out, from night to night and half to half, how the game’s being called. Some games are going to be a little more physical and they are going to let you get away with more things than not. Some games are going to be a little tighter. As a player, you have to figure that out. He has to get rid of the silly fouls that he has. Some of them are going to be bad breaks that is just the way basketball goes. It starts with practice. Our coaches officiate practice and sometimes our players are barking and complaining and saying, ‘That is not a foul’ and ‘You have to let us play.’ That’s fine and they may be right. Well, all of a sudden he (Walker) has eight fouls in 28 minute in the last two games. He is going to have to figure out what is a foul and what is not a foul. That is a learning curve. All you can do is tell him, ‘Hey, you have to figure that out.’ Jabari is a smart kid. He is not a dumb player by any means. He will figure that out. It is just a learning curve right now that he is going through. A lot of freshman big guys do. Look, he is active. He imposes his will and goes after rebounds. I am okay with it quite frankly. I think there are going to be times in the future when we need him to play more minutes than 15 and we need him to play extended minutes if someone gets hurt, tests positive, or who knows what is going to happen this year. Jabari has to be smart enough to play without fouling, as our whole team does.”
Colorado Players
McKinley Wright IV, G, Sr.
On what was working for him and the team tonight
"We got out to a quick start, my teammates made some shots for me early and I got them going. In the second half, they were able to get me going. So, what led to all this was our defense. We came out and our focus was to get stops, keep them out of transition, and then once we get stops, run. That was it."
On having G Eli Parquet back
"Yes, it was great to have all our players back. We were missing Eli [Parquet] at Tennessee and Eli's a huge part of our team-- especially on the defensive, what he brings to our team. Like I said, it felt good to have everybody back and it felt good to be back at CU for the last two games. It was our last game here for 2020, so it felt good to go out with a win. We'll be back here in January."
On not taking anything for granted this season
"Yes, for sure, especially in the situation right now. We're living in a pandemic right now, so we never know when our last basketball game can be. You see every day, there's at least eight games getting canceled every day. We're just grinding and playing basketball, so we're doing it for each other and we're not taking this thing for granted."
On getting off to a hot start in back-to-back games and what that's attributed to
"Practice. The last three or four practices, Coach has been making us get the ball out in transition and run. Even when other team scores a basket, the goal for us is to get the ball down and look point to post as quick as possible. We just want to run, and it started in practice. Coach always tells us, we practice how we play, so I feel like our last three to four practice have been really intense and high level."
On if this is his best season in regard to ball security
"Yes, so far-- I have to keep it up obviously. We're only four or five games in. Right now, my turnover numbers are lower than they've ever been during my four years here. So, like I said, I watched a lot of film this offseason on where my turnovers were coming from, which was getting too deep, and just making the read too late. Film was the key to everything for me, nothing has changed but sitting down and watching film with, coaches, trainers, mentors, myself. Film is much more key than people may think."
On his three-point shot
"So much better. I'm feeling confident and I put the reps in this summer, and I put the work in this summer. My coaches believe in me, my teammates believe in me. Coach Boyle, he wants me to shoot three pointers, he wants me to shoot more than I have been. When you have your coach telling you that, to shoot more threes-- when you put the work in during the offseason and your teammates believe in you, it's easy. Just credit to the work I put in and to my teammates and coaches believing in me."
On the family members of the players doing their introductions
"We knew it was coming, we didn't know when it was coming up. We didn't know if it was today or the next home game. Some of us thought it was happening yesterday, so it was good. That felt good, not being able to have fans in there, we're playing in the arena with us, the other team, the janitors and a couple of media people. It's an arena with 10 fans in there so to have our family supporting us back home and taking the time out of their day to make those videos for us-- it was huge, and it meant a lot to us."
On G/F D'Shawn Schwartz and the first bucket of the game
"The first question, no it wasn't designed. The defense just broke down. I forget who made the past to him, but they made the perfect read, and he was wide open and we know it was good. The second question, D'Shawn is so valuable to this team. People around the country see when he's aggressive how much better we are, so we need him to continue to be aggressive, continue to get him looks, draw some iso plays for him on my block and on the wing. He's huge for us, so as long we have D'Shawn playing well, that's a big key for our team."
On C Dallas Walton
"He's huge for us. He's almost my roommate, he lives right downstairs for me, so we get to communicate a lot outside of practice. He's playing at a really high level right now. He's shooting almost 70% from the field, so we have to be able to get Dallas more touches. When he gets touches, like I just said, he's shooting almost 70% from the field-- and he showcased that tonight, with the three ball on the block. He was all over the court. He got some big rebounds for us, had a couple blocked shots, he was huge for us tonight. If we have Dallas and D'Shawn playing the way they did tonight, we're in really good shape."
Dallas Walton, G/F, Sr.
On what was working for him and the team tonight
"A lot of it had to do with-- I mean we were just playing our game I mean. We didn't try and play outside of ourselves, we stuck to our game plan and executed it very well-- playing inside-out and getting guys good looks and guys taking good shots. When you do that, it's a recipe for success."
On G/F D'Shawn Schwartz
"I love seeing D'Shawn get going and I knew that-- he's one of those guys on our team who works on his game so much that you know that the ball is eventually going to fall for him. It did tonight and I knew that his confidence would go up once he saw one go through, and he did. I think he's going to be able to keep it rolling because he's a big weapon for us when he can get going. I have nothing but positive things to say about him and what he contributes to this team."
On the chemistry between himself and F Evan Battey
"Just kind of figuring out how to play with each other, because we know that we're both handfuls down there. If they're fronting one us, than another one of us has to flash up and get them the ball. Playing inside-out is a big part of our strategy and I know that Evan works on this game enough that if he gets the ball down there it's a big problem. So, just kind of figuring out how to play with each other, we've been working on it in practice. Just looking for opportunities and ways we can get touches and ways we can get our shooters shots-- by playing inside-out and kicking it out."
On playing at full strength and getting ready for the rest of the season
"Oh yes, playing at full strength is something we've been waiting for all year. It's just something that as long as we have our whole squad together, then we can continue growing as a team. We have a lot of weapons and these past two games playing at home, we wanted to make sure that we finished playing at home strong, especially for this year 2020-- it's been a hard year for the fans and for us as well and for everybody in the world. Just making sure that we finished out strong in Boulder, especially for the year of 2020, was a big thing for us. I think we were able to execute that pretty well."
On their families doing their introductions
"I loved it. I didn't know when it was coming. They were telling us that one of the games that the families might be doing the introductions. It's something always special to see and seeing each family have their own creative, personal touch to their videos was really cool to see. I think it was really special and got the guys really juiced."