Colorado - SUU Quotes
Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle
"Yeah, look, I'll talk about the game if you guys want to, but I know I know the questions that are coming. It's really important that they had these four people up here with me tonight because they've been -- they deserve this and been a part of this just as much as I have. [Assistant AD/Academic Services, Strategy & Policy] Mindy [Sclaro] was here when I got here. Our graduation rate is a testament to her and what she's done with our players and she took a one-year sabbatical, so technically she's been with us -- a well-deserved sabbatical. We had worn her out a little bit with some of the guys we brought in so but we just got our grades in for this semester and [it was] another really good job by her. She does as good a job in terms of recruiting for us -- she makes a great impression on parents. She holds our guys' feet to the fire and [holds them] accountable in the classroom, which is not an easy job. She'll tell you, it's not an easy job but she does a great job. So Mindy, thank you. [Assistant to the Head Coach] Marge Marcy, who's been with me from the beginning, as well in our office does more for me and my family than she probably needs to. She's been a great friend and she's been somebody who through thick and thin has been there every day. [She] Does so many things behind the scenes for our players and for our program and for our staff. You're a big part of this Marge. I love you. [ Associate Head Coach] Mike Rohn has been with me all twelve and a half years. We were together [for] six years at Wichita State. So after this year, it'll be 19 years together so he is as loyal and hardworking of a coach as I've ever been around. He deserves a coaching opportunity. He's our associate head coach and I lean on him. I depend on him. Mike, thanks for your loyalty and hard work. [Director of Operations] Bill Cartun, who I didn't know when I got here. I wanted to hire an NBA film guy because I didn't know anything about film back then. It's changed a lot. Bill has worn a lot of hats for the basketball program, and he's a behind-the-scenes guy and I think he kind of likes it like that, but that's why I wanted him to be up here tonight so people can see his face and know who he is. When it's about contacting a former player or getting something done or remembering what we did 11 years ago, he's the guy to go to. He's been as loyal and hardworking [as anyone]. It's been great to see Mike's two daughters grow up. Bill has two daughters in the process of growing up. It's so great to see he and [Bill's wife] Ashley. These four people deserve just as much credit as I do, as do our former coaches who aren't here and [Assistant] Coach [Bill] Grier, [Assistant] Coach [Rick] Ray, [Assistant] Coach [Zach] Ruebesam. Our strength coach Steve Englehart [and] Rawley Klingsmith, our trainer. Every former player and every current player. So to me, that's what it's about. It's not about me, it's about them. It's about what we do together as a team. So I'll take any questions as they will too."
On the tribute video after the game
"I'd like to rewatch it and listen to it a little more carefully. But I did get a chance to step back and watch it. It meant a great deal to me because everybody that's on that video has been a part of my life as well. Whether I coached with them, played with them, or coached them. There’re so many more people that could have been on that video who've had an impact on my life. So it was a special moment. I had no idea what was in store after the game so it's probably better off that way because I was really nervous before this game. We were without Lawson Lovering, without Luke O'Brien. Jalen Gabbidon was up till five in the morning, puking his guts out last night. He sucked it up and got an IV and gave us good minutes. So we did this shorthanded tonight. Again, that's just a testament to our players and our program."
On the excitement towards the future of the program
"I'm excited because I get to work with amazing people every day. You get to come to the office with great people that work hard that are loyal and support you. I love the current players we have in our program, young guys, and I love the recruits we signed and I think as hard as we work on the recruiting trail I'm excited about what lies ahead for us. I think this year's team can be a really good team but when I look at next year's team I get really really excited and that's a good feeling. So it's a testament to again, the hard work that these people do on a daily basis that does not get noticed and recognized and I want to recognize it and our players work hard. They deserve a break right now. College basketball is hard, they get three and a half days with their families, they make a lot of sacrifices, and so do we. But it's time to hopefully enjoy a couple days. Enjoy the holidays and come back refreshed."
On keeping connected with former players
"The reason that we coach, the reason that we come to work every day is about the student athlete and building those relationships that are lifelong, and not just four years. So when I saw those five guys from Northern Colorado, and I know what we went through because our first year there were four and 24. Four years later, we won 25 games. I saw that flip so to have them here supporting me on a night like the Northern Colorado game. I mean that it did touch me and it still touches me so I hope I can have that relationship with every former player to some degree. The problem is every year you coach there becomes more and more former players, so it gets harder and harder for me to do a good job of reaching out. That's where I need support and help, and I can ask Zach Ruebesam or Bill Cartun when's the last time somebody's talked to Spencer (Dinwiddie) or what's going on with Wes Gordon right now. "Oh, coach, he's playing overseas. He had a great night the other night." So that's where I need help, and that's where I get help. So every former player is important to me."
On Tristan da Silva’s first double-double and his playing level
“Tristan is playing at a high level, there's no doubt about it. I can't believe it's the middle of his junior year and it's his first double-double but he didn't play a lot of minutes his freshman-sophomore year which that's a legitimate point. I think when he rebounds the ball well, for us, we're really good because J’Vonne Hadley, he's going to rebound, Nique Clifford's a good rebounder. Lawson (Lovering) and Luke (O’Brien), we’ve got to get those guys back to help us rebound but even shorthanded tonight we still out-rebounded Southern Utah which is a testament to our toughness. Tristan is coming. You can just feel it, you can see it, you can sense it and we need it because he's important as we head into PAC-12 play now.”
On Lawson Lovering
“He bumped his elbow in practice and he couldn't straighten it out. He's in a lot of pain. He had an x-ray and MRI so hopefully, a few days off can help him, and hope he's back. Injuries are so out of your control as a coach. You just hope for the best and prepare for the worst. The worst is he doesn't come back for a couple of weeks or who knows, I have no idea but he's a tough kid so I know if it's stiff and it's hurting and it was real.”
On his players being more aggressive
“We need those guys to be aggressive. We need Tristan to be aggressive. Nique Clifford is really an important part of this team. For us to be as good as we can be, Nique Clifford has to be a big part of what we're doing both offensively and defensively. I think consistency is the biggest thing that I've had discussions with Nique about. Tristan has been showing consistency here. J’Vonne Hadley has probably been our most consistent player from start to finish this year. KJ (Simpson) is getting better with his consistency. Everybody on this team is in a different role this year than they were last year. Sometimes you forget it takes some growing and some growing pains and I said that before the season. I don't always believe what I say because I say we're going to have growing pains but I don’t want to believe it and then when they happen, I get frustrated and angry but it's part of the process.”
On Julian Hammond’s growth
“It's funny, I want players to get to the point where they, this may sound a little counterintuitive as a coach, but where they can block me out. I might get on them but if they can block me out and just go play, they're better off because of it because I'm going to get them at some point. It may not be when they're on the floor, but it might be in a huddle, it might be in the film room the next day and they’ve got nowhere to run nowhere to hide, but when they're on the floor if they can learn to say okay, I hear what you're saying but I got a job to do and go make plays. That's when, and Luke O'Brien has gotten to that point. I sense that before he missed these last two games. Julian's getting to that point, KJ’s to that point, Tristan’s to that point, so you want players that are able because guess what, you know who else they have to block out, the crowd especially when we're on the road, right? They got to block out the officials. They’ve got to stay focused on the task at hand. Sometimes I'm on guys and if they give me a dirty look or tell me to do whatever, it's not always a bad thing if they go make plays and if they go make plays, I'm not going to be mad at them. If they do that, and then they don't make plays they’re coming out of the game.”
On Christmas
“It's hard, we're around each other every day so the last thing I want to ask these people to do is to say hey come spend more time with me. They need a break from me. Mindy’s (Sclaro) to get home and see family Bills (Carton) got like I said a young growing family so as much as I love them, I want them to spend time with their families and get away from Colorado basketball for a little bit and get refreshed. When we come back, hopefully we're ready to go. I'd like to say we have everybody over for Christmas dinner but we all have our own traditions as families and I want them to experience theirs and we’ve just got to make sure every kid's taken care of it, and they are right now so that's the biggest thing is to make sure our players are taken care of because Thanksgiving and Christmas they're away from their families a lot. That's, again, where I think our staff does a great job.”
Associate Head Coach Mike Rohn
On his favorite memory with Coach Boyle
"Yeah, that's that's a tough one. That might even go clear back to Wichita State. He might remember this one but it's one we talk about as a staff a lot with [Former Assitant] Coach [Jean] Prioleau and [Wichita State Head] Coach [Mark] Turgeon from back in those [days]. There's a lot of stories but I'll just tell you this one. We're in a heated game at Wichita State and Coach Boyle's an assistant [coach]. Coach Prioleau and I are assistants. Mark Turgeon is the head coach. It was Coach Boyle's scout. And Coach Turgeon was you know on him about getting the matchups because the assistant coaches are supposed to get the players all matched up during dead balls and whatnot. It's a tight game and so you know, head coaches get a little intense in those moments. He said 'Tad, get them f***** matched up. Tad's trying to yell at guys on the court and finally, he just yells 'just get whoever's got you' -- kind of like you do at the park. You just get him and pick up whoever's got you. That's just one that we laugh about all the time. There's a lot of things -- our relationship has gone a long time and appreciate the fact that he believes in me. I won't get into any of the other stories but there's certainly plenty of them, but that's one that can we talk about a lot."Colorado Players
Jr., F Tristan da Silva
On Tad Boyle’s 626th win“I didn't know to be honest that last game he tied the record but as I said last time, it's a testament to what he's done here at the University of Colorado and the work and effort he put in so it's well deserved and we're all proud of him.”
On his first double-double
“We’re on a 12-day run right now with practices and games so it was a grind out there, that's for sure. It was a little bit scrappy I guess you could see that at the end but we fought and we kept ourselves in the game and gave ourselves a chance to win at the end of the day so that's all that we were looking for.”
On Southern Utah’s zone defense
“I guess at first, we're kind of surprised that they were playing zone, it's just a different look for us throwing that out there at us because we were preparing for momentum and defense. Essentially it comes down to just adjusting mid-game and attacking through the high post in the dead area. That's what we tried to do and it worked out for us.”
On missing a few players
“Lawson (Lovering) and Luke (O’Brien) were both out at the big position so it was kind of tough. Jalen (Gabbidon) was kind of feeling under the weather today so we had to make sure that we box out the big guys and make sure that we make them score over on the defense and just fight a little bit more than usual just to make sure that we don't have a disadvantage.”
Jr., G Nique Clifford
On scoring 86 points when many threes were missed“We stress attacking the paint before we get jump shots so that's a big thing for us. Every game is just getting paint touches and I think that leads to better looking better shots on the perimeter as well. I feel like we did a pretty decent job getting to the free throw line and attacking the rim and then just getting stops down the stretch when we needed to. There were a couple of times where we should have taken away some threes and little things like that, that we got to take away but overall we did a good job getting stops at the end of the game.”
On building momentum before conference play
“It’s a good feeling winning three in a row so that should boost our confidence going into conference play. We get to go enjoy some time away with our families but the main thing is we got to stay locked in while we're at home. Guys have got to stay in the gym, get shots ups, and keep our conditioning level up because we made some strides while we've been here so we don't want to lose that when we go home. If we just stick to that and know our end goal, we're going to be just fine and get right back to where we want to be starting conference play.”
On his aggressiveness
“I haven't been playing my best this season and I've known that so I've had to step up and be there for my team. Being aggressive isn't always shooting but I’ve got to look for my shot but also be able to attack the paint and look for my teammates because that takes some pressure off of Tristan and KJ (Simpson) and other guys as well so I’ve got to be aggressive in that way and then just being a good defender. I think I could bring energy to the team and be that spark at times when we might need some going. I definitely feel like I gotta be aggressive for the team.”
On Julian Hammond
“I think the same with Ju. Ju hasn't been playing to his potential like he knows he can and we've been going through it so it's really good for his confidence and for him to see the ball go in the basket and be aggressive for us. I'm definitely proud of him. He's been practicing well, playing off two feet and taking care of the ball, that's been big for us. He has to be a leader for us and be a point guard. I think that's what he's been focusing on and it's shown in the games.”