Colorado -Oregon Quotes
Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle
Opening Statement"I don't want to show my ignorance, this team is Jekyll and Hyde, I've never seen the movie, I've never read the book, I know one's good, and one’s bad, total polar opposites and that's what this team is right now. This is how we have to play defensively. Night in and night out we're not going to hold everybody to what we held Oregon to. It wasn't their best night, there's no doubt about that, but I think we had something to do with it and I could tell from the get go we were locked in defensively. I told the team at shoot around, the team that rebounds the ball better tonight will be the team that wins. That was us and I think the score showed that. So, I am really proud of their effort on the boards because Oregon's a good rebounding team. They came in here averaging 12 offensive rebounds a game they had two at halftime. They had 17 against Oregon State they had 22 the game before. They're a team that you better get a body on. They're physical and they're tall they're long. So really proud of our guys. We have to build on this, that's the key. The time is now. November's done, December's done. We have Oregon State coming in here on Saturday, we got to build from the Oregon game as we go into Oregon State."
On the problems with consistency
"The nature of college basketball offensively is that these guys are not NBA players and so the offense is going to come some nights and some nights it's going to go. The jump shots are going to come and they're going to go, the free throws you're going to make some nights, and you're not going to make them other nights. I think every college basketball team for the most part are going to be inconsistent offensively. The key is we're getting great shots, we're not turning the ball over. We did a great job in the first half, not turning the ball over, not such a good job in the second half. But the inconsistencies with this team have been on the defensive end. When we have shown it and we have done it, we can beat anybody. I'm telling you Tennessee is a really good team and we caught them at the right time, there's no doubt about that. But that's how good we can be when we lock in and we did it without our leading scorer. Going into this game I knew we could score enough points to beat these guys, but our defense was so good. I didn't have to worry about it."
On the defense against Will Richardson
"I think using length and you know, he got us off the floor a few times with us. He's a great shot fake guy then he kind of jumps into you and is really good at getting to the foul line. But the big thing was Will Richardson playing at altitude we wanted to get the pace of the game going because he played 40 minutes the other night and did not come out of the game. Tonight, he didn't play 40 minutes but he normally plays 36 minutes plus. You could tell in the first half he was grabbing his hips, he was sucking air. So again, that's what altitude does. That's why we want to play fast. Nique Clifford did a great job on him for the most part. We had Tristan da Silva on him at times. So the whole defensive effort tonight."
On Luke O'Brien
"The great thing about Luke O'Brien much like Tristan is his versatility. He can play and guard the post, he's not a five man. He's not a post guy, but he can guard if you can guard post guys and then you have the ability to shoot the ball like Luke does and put the ball on the floor and attack closeouts. He becomes a matchup problem for the opposing team. So to have guys like him and Tristan da Silva who are so versatile offensively and defensively, really makes our team hard to guard and it gives us great versatility defensively as well."
On players stepping up
"It was huge. Julian stepped up. I thought Javon Ruffin played well. We've got a culture in this program, and part of the culture is about the team. It's not about the individual. Part of the culture is practice matters. And this was not an indictment on KJ whatsoever. But you know, Monday we had Sunday off Monday. He didn't practice his ankle was still a little sore from the cow game. Tuesday he woke up he was sick as a dog came in. So the trainer sent him home Wednesday [because] he was feeling still under the weather. [He] Wasn't able to practice so he didn't practice Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday and our guys practiced hard. I put them through it -- especially Monday and Tuesday. We got after it so [it was] not that I didn't want to -- I wanted to play KJ tonight but I just felt like the right thing to do for the guys that practice hard. They deserve to play. Not that KJ doesn't deserve to play but because KJ was not [practicing] and I explained that to him. I talked to him about that. The thing I really appreciate about KJ is he handled it so well. He was encouraging his teammates. He was energetic on the bench, and he will be back Saturday. He was feeling a lot better today. Probably could have played tonight but again I just felt like those other guys really deserved it because I'm telling you Monday and Tuesday's practice was a fun one for them."
On Julian Hammond III
“Anytime you make your first shot, it's always a good thing and it gets your juices flowing and your confidence going. Julian's a good shooter. We have some good shooting guards. It was nice to see that first one go in for him and us, quite frankly. So, because confidence is so important and Julian's already a good player, and right now, you know he's playing obviously behind KJ [Simpson]. KJ is a hell of a player, but Julian is important to this team because he can play. You can give KJ a break when he needs a break, but he also can come in and play with KJ and play off the ball a little bit.”
On practice
“There are consequences for losing in a drill. There are consequences for winning. The consequences for winning are you get some water and catch your breath while the other guys get on the line and run a little bit. So, they need to understand when you do what you're supposed to do, you get rewarded, and when you don't, there's a penalty that comes with it. We started from the very beginning playing the ball, jumping to the ball, seeing man and ball with vision, guarding the ball one on one with a lot of competition guarding the ball one on one, digging on the posts, stunting off the digger studying off the guy in the corner. Getting through screens down screens flare screens, ball screens into one-on-one, so it was a lot of defensive stuff, then we went four on. The shell drill, help the helper, and we went four on four live, so everything was gradually starting from the basics with an hour and 45 minutes into practice. Guess what? We're done with defense. Now we're going to work on a little offense because these guys like to work on offense. They don't like to work on defense. So, they responded. And I think they showed tonight great discipline on the dirt. We found a little bit too much on the drives, but I was pleased with our effort and intensity, and they want your team to respond when you get on this team. This was not Oregon's best game. Let's not take anything away from them, but we're going to get better from them. I'm sure when we're up in Eugene for a couple of weeks.”
On the team’s mentality
“We showed great maturity, and I think it was seven or eight fouls in one in the first half. L I didn't mention one thing to the officials about that. They're officiating the gameplay after play after play. So, it wasn't about that. It's about controlling what you can control. And our guys did a good job of that. And I think when I complain as a coach, the players start to complain, and I try not to do that. I'm going to stand up for our guys when I think they missed a call. But I can’t complain and complain because I have to coach my team.”
On Lawson Lovering
“He just needs to finish when he's at the rim, you know, on our pick and rolls. I told our guards we're giving it to him a little bit further out, you know, I can charge he got like if we can get downhill and engage his man and make his man guard the guard and now dump it off to him when he's close to the rim. He can finish and dunk. We're giving the ball to Lawson too far off. You got to charge one time. Other times he got stripped. Lawson is going to be fine. I'm telling you. He's going to be offensive right now. He's a work in progress. He knows that. I know that coaches know that. fans know that. But defensively, He gives us great minutes. I've talked a lot with many of our guys about body language. You don't get your head down when things don't go well. Your shoulders don't slump. Lawson did a great job with that tonight. He's going to be fine. Okay, he just needs to get the ball in the right areas. And he's a good passer. He's a willing passer, and I thought he played well tonight. He needs to finish a little better when he gets around the rim. And he will. I promise you will.”
Colorado Players
Jr., F Tristan da Silva
On how he was able to create shots for himself"I think it goes both ways. If you're able to make it from deep, then people have to respect that. [It] opens up opportunities but also the other way around, you know, people have to respect the drive then you get more open shots [from 3-point range]."
On when was the last time they felt confident on the defensive side of the ball
"Yeah, I felt good. I don't really know when the last time was [that we felt this good] but you know, it felt great -- teammates gave me the ball [and] a lot of times, put me in position to score. To be aggressive. [I] Finally made some free throws and threes, so that felt good. Great team effort."
On being inconsistent as a team this season
"I feel like you see it overall, maybe not from the record itself, but from the wins and losses that we've had. Really good games and really, really tough losses for us. So I mean, that's been an issue for us the whole season so far. That's where we have to get back into -- being consistent. Getting in a rhythm and making sure that we do the stuff that we can control. Play with maximum energy and effort and give it 100% [energy and effort] 100% of the time. That's what it comes down to for us."
On what was different between tonight's game vs Oregon and last week vs Cal
"Yeah, I would also say [it was the team] taking collective pride and individual pride on defense. Guarding the ball and helping each other out. In the gaps and on the boards. It showed today"
On how much time and effort they have put in over the last week to improve their defense
"Yeah, it was definitely a main focus. We were focused on defense all week because we know that if we defend, our offense will come and it'll be fine. But we did practice a lot on our defense this week and just intensity and physicality on defense to not get stopped on the ball and not be stopped on screens -- stuff like that."
On holding Oregon G Will Richardson and C N'Faly Dante to a combined 7 points
"Yeah it essentially comes down to locking into the scouting report [and] knowing how to defend -- knowing how to how to guard your opponent, and then putting in the work and practice and, relying on your teammates to do the right thing too."
On if there was any pressure on scoring the ball due to G KJ Simpson not playing today
"No, I don't think so. I mean, we all have confidence in each other. Offensively, we have a lot of talented guys on our squad. He is our leading scorer that's for sure -- in the average [stats]. When KJ is out, I feel like we have to rely on each other more. Share the ball more. Play together and make sure that we get the best shot for our team. [Our leading scorer] That can be anybody on the team.
So., G Julian Hammond III
On being inconsistent as a team this season"We've seen that we can play with whoever but we just have nights that are off and we know that's the focus for us now, though, because when we're playing good and we're playing hard and with energy, we're capable of beating anybody. We've had too many nights where we come in flat with no energy and let our play often dictate our game. So we're just trying to get past that and work on having on having [that type of] energy every night."
On what was different between tonight's game vs Oregon and last week vs Cal
"[It was our] energy for sure. We came out flat against Cal and we just weren't focused from the start. I would say tonight we came out with a lot of energy talking and we knew what we had to do to win this game.
On if this is just the start for them coming on
"Oh, yeah, definitely. I mean, I've had some games where I play good, but I just come out here every night and try to do what I can do to help us win really. So today, I scored 16 points and either way, it doesn't really matter to me how much I score -- it's just as long as we are winning games."
On when he found out he was going to be the starting point guard today
"I kind of knew all week just because KJ had been hurt and he didn't really practice. I'll just leave it there."
On what it is like being in that role
"I would say it takes a different mentality but it's a little bit bigger of a role because you could you can't come out early. You want to start to get more energy and effort and pick the pace up so I feel like that was the most important thing [for us tonight]."
On holding Oregon to 41 points total and 1-14 from 3-point range
"Oh, yeah, definitely. We just want to contest every three -- don't give them any other ones even if it's late, we're going to run out there. We just want to get a hand up because it affects the shot regardless. So it's my focus to not to give teams anything that's open and it worked."
Oregon Head Coach Dana Altman
On Overall Team Performance“I am embarrassed to be beat by 18 on the boards. You have to try to keep yourself in the game with some free throws and we didn't do that. We only had 3 assists, ball movement was awful, and when we did make a good play, we could not hit a shot, so it was a very poor performance. It shows the importance of Will Richardson and what happens when he is off a little bit. We just could not get anything done. It has been a long time since somebody beat us that bad. Only 50% from the line, 1-for-14 from three, and it was a really poor performance and not much else I can say.”
On having Jermaine Couisnard and Nate Bittle Back
“Jermaine Couisnard did some really good things. I mean it was not like we played that well or anything, so, there was nobody that we took time away from by putting him in that it really affected. For Jermaine they said 20 minutes this weekend. So, we tried to keep it three minutes at a time. They have both been doing a lot of things individually for the last two weeks and then a little bit with the team before Oregon State and then before this week.”
On Next Game Against Utah
“We got to worry about the next game and that is it. Utah is going to be a really difficult matchup for us since we are on the road again, and it is going be a tough balance. I do not know if there is a big picture for us right now, but we just need to worry about what we felt and getting ready for Utah.”