CSU - Quotes
Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle
“We showed tonight how good this team can be. I respect Colorado State and they have really good players. Our defense intensity and energy level tonight was really good from our first unit to our second unit and everybody that played the game. I was really pleased, we shared the ball and the challenge that I gave our team after the Washington game and after having 38 turnovers in two games was that we got to take care of the ball, and we got to make free throws. The ball is going to start going into the basket at some point because we have good shooters, as long as we are getting good shots and I believe our guys responded we had 8 turnovers and 16 assists. When you take care of the ball, you get great shots. I thought our defensive intensity was great. We needed to take Colorado State out of their stuff because they run their stuff well. Isaiah Stevens is a really good player and I kept pumping him up and I think KJ took it to heart a little bit, but he responded tonight, Tristan da Silva responded tonight along with Nique Clifford and Luke O’Brien. Jalen Gabbidon when you look at the stat sheet it does not look like he did a whole lot, but he took two big charges tonight so good win.”
On the difference between tonight and the Washington Game
“With the Washington game, and I know a lot of stuff was going on Sunday, but Washington in the last four minutes of the
first half and first minute in the second half they outscored us 19 to 2 and tonight I think we flipped the script because I
think it was 28 all at the media timeout and we came out of halftime ready to go. My halftime speech must not have been
good enough at the ASU and Washington games, but tonight it was. The first thing on the board of our defensive game
plan tonight was to take away 3’s and they had 6 in the first half. They were supposed to get 6 in the whole game, but
they ended up with 9 so we did better in the second half. We knew that they had good 3-point shooters throughout their
whole line up, so guarding a 3-point line against CSU was critical, but I thought our rebounding was another major
difference, dominating the boards with +19.
On what this game proves
“I always blame myself first, I’m always a thumb guy first. If your team is not playing to the level of ability, you’ve got to look internally. I think each player has got to look internally. It’s a combination of things, it’s not one silver bullet that I can say but I have to take ownership as a coach, the players have to take ownership. The one thing I like about our team is they do, they’ve taken ownership. Tennessee is so good; Colorado State is going to win a lot of games in the Mount West as long as they stay healthy. You’re dealing with 18- to 22-year-old kids and that’s where now is an opportunity for us to build and we’ve had that opportunity before, but we haven’t taken it. We’ve missed those opportunities to build some momentum. We have it now, we’re going into the finals, we’ve got three more home games before we have Christmas break. This team I knew would be a work in progress team, I knew there were going to be growing pains, I said that after some losses, I’ll say it after wins. I just want our guys to play with energy and effort and play together on offense and share the ball. If we do that, we can beat anybody. We’re going to be in some close games this year, we’ve just got to figure it out. We’ve been finding a way to lose games. We’ve got to find a way to win games. Your players have to make plays and tonight they did.”
On the rivalry game
“We have three kids from Colorado, they’re on scholarship, Julian Hammond, Luke O’Brien, and Nique Clifford so I know it was big to them and we know UNC had gone in and beat CSU so we knew they were a little bit vulnerable but sometimes the most dangerous animals are the wounded dog and they were a little bit wounded tonight so we did not want to take anything for granted. I knew it was going to be a battle, it was for the first 16 minutes and then I told them, if we needed to get them down then we’ve got to step on the throat, and we did that tonight both offensively and defensively. We never lost our defense intensity which is a step in the right direction for a young team as we are a young team. I will never talk about that after a loss because it sounds like an excuse, but the fact of the matter is we’re a pretty darn young team and we’ve got a lot of young guys and they’re learning as they go.”
On the physicality of the game
“It was huge. We knew our advantage on Colorado State was inside, that’s why I mentioned our 54 points in the paint. They played with four guards, and we opened up the game trying to post up Tristan (da Silva) - it didn’t work out too well. But as the game went on, we got the ball in the paint, and we talked to our players about it and they went out and executed it. It was a big point of emphasis offensively to go inside. That doesn’t mean we have to shoot it inside; we can kick it out for threes. I thought our guys shared the ball tonight pretty darn well that’s why you see the 16 assists standing out.”
On the impact of a good football program on the basketball program
“Number one, I’ve never gotten an ovation like that in the second half like I got tonight. I can’t believe it. I knew our fans loved me but still. No look, at every school when football is successful, it helps everybody. Folsom Field holds 52,000, we hold 11,000. We can be a hell of a lot better if we have 11,000 fans every night like we had tonight. My question to our fans is, why not? That’s a challenge to our fans. Obviously, the energy that [Colorado Head Football] Coach [Deion] Sanders has brought has been off the charts - nothing like I’ve ever seen in my lifetime. That’s good. We’re going to all try to benefit from that. As you guys know I’m a huge CU football fan, I go to every game, win, or lose. I was at the last home game against Utah. I love CU football and for them to be successful does nothing but help us. Successful basketball and successful football are not mutually exclusive, they can both coexist. We’ve been holding up our end of the bargain I think for the last 12 or 13 years. We have to continue to do that, we may not have done that in November and December of this year, but we have to continue to do that. We had a great recruiting class ourselves in November so there are a lot of good players coming in. I’ve never felt better about the future of our basketball program, and I’m really excited for our football program.”
On having the CU CSU rivalry back after three years
“We were supposed to play during the COVID year, and they got COVID, the game was canceled, we picked up the Tennessee series and got a 2-for-1 deal. Last year we were in the same tournament, and I didn’t want to play them twice so we just pushed it off to this year. I think it’s good for our state. I’ve always said if we’re not selling our arena, why the heck are we playing Colorado State? And our fans really showed up tonight and provided a great atmosphere, and that’s the way it should be. If we go back to Moby Arena, it should be packed. But I think our place should be packed every night. If our team continues to play the way they’re capable of playing, we’re going to have some really fun nights in this building moving forward.”
On Nique Clifford’s performance
“I’ve kind of left Nique alone because I know he’s been struggling. All I’ve said is, ‘Nique, I want you to be aggressive. Just be who you are and be aggressive and take great shots.’ He did that tonight. 6-for-9 shooting shows efficiency. Nique Clifford was efficient tonight. Tristan da Silva was efficient. KJ Simpson was efficient. For us to be as good as we need to be, Nique Clifford needs to have nights like this where he’s rock solid on defense and making plays for us offensively. We need multiple weapons. If you have multiple weapons, you’re harder to guard. Colorado State has multiple weapons and they’re hard to guard. I’m really pleased with our defensive effort tonight and Nique’s a big part of this team.”
On KJ Simpson’s defense
“KJ’s a competitor. He doesn’t back down from a challenge. My pumping up of [CSU G] Isaiah Stevens had no sarcasm involved - which I’m very capable of using - it was legitimate because I really have a lot of respect for him from watching film. I said before the game he’s the most underrated point guard in the country and I believe that. He’s still not in shape. KJ took on a challenge. We were backing him [Stevens] in ball screens which means we were doubling him and trying to get the ball out of his hands because he’s a really good player in ball screens. We just want to get it out of his hands and make somebody else beat us and our guys did a good job of that, and KJ was a big part of that.”
On Lawson Lovering’s late layup
“He was exhausted, and he was tired. We were about to sub him and Tristan [da Silva] was at the scorer’s table waiting to get him out. We were going to a media timeout, so I knew he was going to get a rest. I was hoping he would make his free throw. The one thing we’ve been on Lawson about is that as a big you have to roll to the rim hard. When he rolls to the rim hard - he’s seven-foot-one - we can throw it up to him and he can finish at the rim. We’ve been on Lawson about finishing just like we’ve been on Nique about finishing. So, when Lawson finished that I was just telling him that that’s how he’s got to roll and that’s how you got to finish. People may look at the stat sheet and see he only had two points and didn’t have blocked shots, but he altered a lot of shots. He really protected the rim for us tonight, especially in the second half. Lawson’s a work in progress offensively, I know that he knows that, and we all know that. But defensively he brings so much to this team, so I was pleased with his finish on that play.”
On Fr. Quincy Allen
“Quincy’s talented offensively and I think he showed that. He can really score the ball. I think practice is Quincy's time to shine and time to show us that he has the ability both offensively and defensively to be a consistent player that he needs to be to help this team. Quincy’s got a lot of talent, and he showed that tonight from the minutes he had and I was pleased with those minutes.”
On Jr., G J’Vonne Hadley
“J’Vonne Hadley just brings energy. He brings toughness, he brings rebounding. He's not hunting his shots. He’s a playmaker from the post position. He can face the basket and put it on the floor, he can really finish around the rim. He’s probably our best finisher in the lane. His toughness, his energy, his effort, I love coaching that kid. He’s a warrior.”
Colorado Players
Jr., G Nique Clifford
On his confidence
“I've struggled early on personally. I’ve had to get my mental right and be there for my team. I haven't been playing my best and being accountable for my teammates, so it feels good to feel back, play my game, play free, have fun out there. It was a great win for us.”
On eight turnovers
“That's [turnovers] something we worked on this this week. Our coach made us run trips up the stadium for every turnover we had so I think that got into our minds that we should not be turning the ball over and I think it paid off in the game.”
On Deion Sanders being at the game
“He made an entrance for sure. It’s real special to have him here at our school. I think he's going to help put some more respect on CU as a program. We’re definitely lucky to have him as our new football head coach.”
On pressure and physicality
“We realized how big this matchup was. We knew we had to set the tone from the start, especially in the second half. We haven't had a great second half starts this year, so we came out and punched it right in the face in the second half. I think that kind of set the tone got our crowd and it brought energy to our team. We brought that toughness and intensity which we needed, and I think that's what helped us get the win.”
So., G KJ Simpson
On 18 points in the second half
“It was just my mentality, the way I wanted to come out. I knew we had a record of coming out slow in the second half so I took it upon myself to lead by example and I just knew it was a crucial time and a crucial step into the whole rest of the game, so I just wanted to kind of set the tone.”
On second half starts
“We've been talking about it [second half starts] every game honestly because that's really been the deciding factor for a lot of our games. We've been losing close games, and it's usually because of the run that the other team goes on in the start of the second half. At halftime we were really focusing on, let's play 40 complete minutes of basketball, we did for the first half now let's finish it off and start strong. That was a big focal point at halftime.”
On having 20 points off turnovers
“When we scouted CSU, we knew it wasn't going to be an easy game. We knew coming in how talented they were and how well they took care of the ball and stuff that we also needed to work on. Just coming into this game, our mentality I felt like was locked in in a lot of areas especially that area, for sure. I feel like when we go out there, we capitalize.”
On playing a rival
“We felt like we know we were playing for the state of Colorado. That was my first time playing a rival in college and the atmosphere, the fans, the experience was crazy. It was really big and really important, it was almost like a Super Bowl, I guess because it's Colorado. CSU versus Colorado. You want to come out on top for the state.”
On Deion Sanders being at the game
“He's in just building off that positivity. We're hearing all positive news. Everyone's uplifted and happy we can just build off that as well, give the fans something to also be proud of.”
On Isaiah Stevens
“Real personally. I watch film, came into this game with a focus mindset because I knew he's one hell of a player and he has the record to prove it. I have nothing but respect for him but for me I just wanted to come in and show I'm a top player as well, I'm a top guard as well. I just enjoy the challenge, but I have nothing but respect for him for sure.”
On his defensive performance
“27 points just come when you're in that mode. I know I'm capable of doing that, but I really, really want to take pride more on defense. He [Isaiah Stevens] had a lot of tough shots I had to tip my hat off just shake my head, he's a good player, but I just wanted to really wanted to focus on the defense and a lot of times.”
Colorado State Head Coach Niko Medved
Opening Statement
“There's not a ton to say on our part other than that was about as big of a good old fashioned you know, whatever whooping that you can take. We weren't able to get anything done tonight that we emphasized. I thought CU played with a ton of energy. It was what 22-18 I mean, from that point on, it was all CU in every way. I thought that they just kind of really overwhelmed us with their pressure. I thought a lot of our turnovers led to touchdowns. We were just never able to regroup and I just thought their physicality really got to us as the game went on. We just completely had it handed to us here tonight.”
On needing to counter better controlling the paint
“Yeah, I mean, that was the whole game plan. I mean, obviously, we didn't encounter anything but I thought it started with again, we had early on it started with three consecutive touchdowns. I mean, we just gave it to dunk, dunk, dunk. That really got them going. Then for whatever reason, I mean, it was just I mean they had 50 points in the paint tonight. In the first half a lot and we're off our turnovers but then, we just gave into their game and that's really what's disappointing here. Clearly, to give up 50 points in the paint however you do it is not going to get the job done against anybody especially in a game like this.”
On how concerning it is after a game like Saturday
“I don't know. You know, I I believe in these guys. I see them every day. I thought as the game went on, we obviously completely did not have the edge and the focus and I think you know mental toughness just comes down to doing the right thing over and over again, no matter what's going on. I think clearly we didn't do that. We didn't have it prepared the right way. But to say I'm not concerned. I mean, you can't go out there and lose the game like this and say you're not concerned, that would be pretty crazy to do that. So of course when you go out there and lose the game the way we did yeah we’re concerned, we should be concerned. I hope everybody is. The good news, 10 games in, a lot of basketball left to play still here. So let's not write the story yet.”
On if it's more disappointing to lose to a state rival
“Oh, yeah. I mean, it's hard. It's hard as anybody but yeah, this is a game that means a lot and for us, we didn't do our part tonight. Clearly got just taken to us in every way. CU they deserve it, they got all the credit. We got completely outplayed in all phases of the game.”
On Taviontae Jackson playing to the moment
“I think that he really showed he's got a toughness and a grit about him and he's not afraid of the moment. I thought he played that way. Was he perfect? No, too many mistakes, even for a guy like him. Miscues on both ends of the floor, particularly defense. But I did like the way that he competed in this game here.”
On if this environment got to the group as a whole
“I think clearly as I'm sitting there watching, I think when the game started to get away from us. I think the environment for us, we looked that way for whatever reason, that it was a little too big for us to compete. Maybe that was a factor. That's what it looked like there as the game started getting away from us, but that's college basketball. You know, all we can do is learn from it here and get better. Like I said, we're 10 games in. I am concerned. Really concerned about how we played the last couple of games, but there's still a lot of story left to be written.”
On the concerns on the defensive end
“Huge concern. Our communication was terrible. Obviously, I want to watch the film here. Yeah, just all of our communication was terrible. Our ball screen defense was terrible. We didn't guard the ball. We weren't in the gaps. I mean, I could just go on and on. I mean all of it. As the game went on it was just really poor. I thought we had a good couple of days of practice, but really, it wasn't good enough. Again, I just think we just need to reevaluate everything at this point.”
On if it's the type of game that you just try and put past you
“I don't think we can just put this past us. I mean, I think it's a combination, just you can't put it past us. We got our butt kicked here tonight. But again, it's a long season, so we can't put it past us. We've got to really own it and we got to learn from it. There's a difference between being concerned and panicked. You got a lot of basketball left to play here. I'm very, very confident that this group is going to get better and learn from it.”
Colorado State Guard Isaiah Stevens
On what's concerning to him
“We just got to be tough on the defensive end. Too many easy layups, dunks, run outs, got to take care of basketball, but a lot of that is only as a point guard. Those are probably some of the main areas.”
On not wanting it to become a trend
“I don't want it to become a trend. I definitely don't want to panic either. But kind of like Coach was saying, you definitely got to take it for what it is. Look at the film and take the coaching and we have to improve and I think we will and we've done it in years past.”
On if he was surprised on team’s effort
“I don't really know how to answer that one. I know that we prepare to the best of our ability. We tried to come up with the right mindset, but we just didn't execute that.”
On if it stings more on a loss to lose to an instate rival
“Absolutely, it's a rivalry game. We don't want to lose anybody, but there's so much history involved in it.”
On if it's important not to over dramatize it
“Absolutely. The coaches are gonna find the right way to go about this. Just as leaders, we have been around for quite a while now. We've been here before. We got to do some reality checks. Look at ourselves in the mirror, be honest with ourselves and try to move forward.”
On being a senior and what it means to be in this big game
“Oh, it was a big game. Especially coming off injury wanting to do all that I could make sure I was back for this one. Felt good to be out there but at the same time, losing doesn't feel good.”