Colorado-MSU Denver Quotes
Colorado vs. MSU Denver
Oct. 28, 2023, CU Events Center.
Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle
Opening Statement
“Anytime you win a game by 20 plus you feel good. I thought our defense tonight was pretty good. We flew around. We're pretty active. We didn't guard the three-point line as well in the first half. They [MSU] had four threes and I challenged our guys at halftime to hold them under six and they only got one in the second half. So, that was good. Our switching was good. So, I was happy with our defense and our rebounding for the most part. And then as you guys know, that's something I always harp on. I think offensively we took a little bit of a step backwards. Tonight, our turnovers were an issue against Texas, and they were an issue again tonight. The difference is Texas, pressure the heck out of us and Metro State really didn't. They [MSU] tried to keep us off balance with that zone and it worked at times. But we got to flow better offensively. Obviously, we didn't shoot the ball from the free throw line very well. We're much better free throw shooters in that in my opinion. But turnovers and free throws to me is something that also needs to be improved. And then finishing, just you got an open shot, making it when you got an open layup. We could have finished better, so some room to grow offensively for sure.”
On the role Cody Williams will be playing this year-
"There's no doubt he's a big part of this team and is gonna be a big part of the rotation. He was aggressive tonight and the thing I like about Cody is he really makes the simple plays. We call it the hockey assist where he just makes the easy plays that need to be made and we need to have more guys do that. He's got a good feel. I thought he picked his spots tonight and he could be more efficient. I didn't think he took any bad shots, he didn't turn the ball over, two assists, and no turnovers. He's gonna be a big part and defensively that is the big thing for a freshman. I think the last freshman we had that I trusted this much on the defensive end was McKinley Wright. I always say that he's not just a capable defender, but he's a willing defender."
If there is any concern with Luke O’Brien’s Injury
"No, he banged his knee in the second half. He was fine at halftime. In fact, he had five offensive rebounds at halftime, and ended up with six. Luke I thought, became the Luke O'Brien of last year, in terms of his presence on the glass. It's funny, (J’Vonne) Hadley did that against Texas, and he didn't do that tonight. So when we get Javon and Luke offensive rebounding, we can be a good offensive rebounding team. We had 14 as a team, which is a good number, but it's just got to be more of a team effort. If Luke keeps rebounding like that, he's gonna have to be on the floor. But once he banged his knee and he went back in and was gimpy, I was like, no reason to risk it or I need him 100% You know, week from Monday."
On any changes looking towards game week
"We've had competitive practices. Our competitiveness and our effort, if I have to coach that we're going to have a long season anyway. Now we've got to dial in and we have to make advances offensively in terms of taking care of the ball and flowing on offense and getting a little bit more rhythm. I thought we were a little disjointed tonight."
On what is different about this squad
“I think it's a combination of things. I think it's the veterans that know what we went through last year and they're doing a good job of leading this team. Guys like Tristan, Luke, KJ, and Julian. I think it starts with them. I think the youthful exuberance that Cody, Assane, and BD have brought is big. Then Eddie and his voice and his energy. I think it's a combination of all three of those things. Hadley's a great talker, his energy is really good and competitiveness is really good. I told the team like part of this is on me for playing 12 guys. It's hard to get in a rhythm sometimes when you're coming in and we're subbing, but I wanted to get a look at some of those younger guys. Against Texas we played about seven guys, because we were trying to compete and win. Tonight was more about getting some of those younger guys minutes and getting them kind of getting their butterflies out so to speak."
On which freshmen impressed him:
“I thought all three of them did some really good things, I really do. I think again, Cody (Williams) picked his spots and was aggressive. I thought BD (Bangot Dak), when he figured out how to use his length and he did that tonight, he blocked a shot by just his length, but then he gave up a three because his hands were down. When he learns that a seven-foot wingspan needs to be put to use when his arms are up contesting shots or are wide, he'll be pretty good. Then Assane (Diop), his energy level. Like Tristan said, I mean those guys are going to make mistakes, but it's not because of a lack of effort. And again, they just have to learn and grow quickly. Based on foul trouble and things like that, we're going to need those guys at certain points of the game and they probably won't play as heavy a minutes as they did tonight because Tristan is going to play more than he played tonight, J’Vonne Hadley is going to play more then he played tonight, and as Eddie gets in better shape and his back feels 100% he'll play more minutes. So, we'll shorten the rotation by a week from Monday.
On scoring drought, they had late in the first half:
“Well turnovers and missing free throws. We were at the line; we couldn’t make a foul shot. When you turn over the ball, you don't get a shot and when you get to the foul line and don't convert, you go on droughts, but we kept guarding. We will be a good free throw shooting team. I really believe that. We got to figure out how to take care of the ball better. That's something that hurt us last year and that's the one thing that concerns me probably the most right now.”
Colorado Players
Tristan da Silva, Sr., F
On Assane Diop and Bangot Dak– “They're big for us. I'm really excited to see them out there on the court finally and actually competing in a real game. So I'm just happy for them because I see them every day in practice, competing against each other. I feel like Assane and Bangot compete hard every day in practice. So, they were out there competing like crazy. So it was good to see them out there and finally getting some good minutes out there.”
On the offseason – “I try to work on my game every offseason so I feel more and more comfortable out there. Yeah, that's really what it comes down to.”
On Helping younger teammates – “I talk to them. It depends on what it is. But I know they're going to make mistakes. I was like that my freshman year, too. So I'm not mad at them or anything. As long as they play hard, like there's, there's not, there's not much you can say negative about it.”
On shuffling positions – “I'm just out there playing. I mean, I've done this for, like, two, three years now. So you know, I remember my freshman year playing three, four, and five, sophomore year, same thing. And then now, I'm playing I'm playing a little bit of the guard spot, too. So, coming off taking roles and stuff like that. I'm just getting you know, as we said, comfortable playing every position.”
On offensive approaches – “There's definitely a lot of room for improvement for us in that in that area. I feel like we could have flowed much more the first time. So we just got to get back to work and make sure that we get our stuff right.”
Eddie Lampkin Jr., Sr., C
On playing for Colorado – “For me, it felt good. This is my first time putting the Colorado jersey on, and I love it already. And the fans showed love, and it wasn't a real game. But people showed up. And I felt like, as a team, we played well. And that's all that matters. As a team, we play well, and it's not about me. I just got to show up and do my job, and this is a team day.”
On being a team leader – “I had to come in and play a big role. I'm coming to play the five. I'm the only true five, so I feel like if I'm the man in the paint, I will lead them automatically. So yeah, I feel like I play a big role as a leader here.”
Oct. 28, 2023, CU Events Center.
Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle
Opening Statement
“Anytime you win a game by 20 plus you feel good. I thought our defense tonight was pretty good. We flew around. We're pretty active. We didn't guard the three-point line as well in the first half. They [MSU] had four threes and I challenged our guys at halftime to hold them under six and they only got one in the second half. So, that was good. Our switching was good. So, I was happy with our defense and our rebounding for the most part. And then as you guys know, that's something I always harp on. I think offensively we took a little bit of a step backwards. Tonight, our turnovers were an issue against Texas, and they were an issue again tonight. The difference is Texas, pressure the heck out of us and Metro State really didn't. They [MSU] tried to keep us off balance with that zone and it worked at times. But we got to flow better offensively. Obviously, we didn't shoot the ball from the free throw line very well. We're much better free throw shooters in that in my opinion. But turnovers and free throws to me is something that also needs to be improved. And then finishing, just you got an open shot, making it when you got an open layup. We could have finished better, so some room to grow offensively for sure.”
On the role Cody Williams will be playing this year-
"There's no doubt he's a big part of this team and is gonna be a big part of the rotation. He was aggressive tonight and the thing I like about Cody is he really makes the simple plays. We call it the hockey assist where he just makes the easy plays that need to be made and we need to have more guys do that. He's got a good feel. I thought he picked his spots tonight and he could be more efficient. I didn't think he took any bad shots, he didn't turn the ball over, two assists, and no turnovers. He's gonna be a big part and defensively that is the big thing for a freshman. I think the last freshman we had that I trusted this much on the defensive end was McKinley Wright. I always say that he's not just a capable defender, but he's a willing defender."
If there is any concern with Luke O’Brien’s Injury
"No, he banged his knee in the second half. He was fine at halftime. In fact, he had five offensive rebounds at halftime, and ended up with six. Luke I thought, became the Luke O'Brien of last year, in terms of his presence on the glass. It's funny, (J’Vonne) Hadley did that against Texas, and he didn't do that tonight. So when we get Javon and Luke offensive rebounding, we can be a good offensive rebounding team. We had 14 as a team, which is a good number, but it's just got to be more of a team effort. If Luke keeps rebounding like that, he's gonna have to be on the floor. But once he banged his knee and he went back in and was gimpy, I was like, no reason to risk it or I need him 100% You know, week from Monday."
On any changes looking towards game week
"We've had competitive practices. Our competitiveness and our effort, if I have to coach that we're going to have a long season anyway. Now we've got to dial in and we have to make advances offensively in terms of taking care of the ball and flowing on offense and getting a little bit more rhythm. I thought we were a little disjointed tonight."
On what is different about this squad
“I think it's a combination of things. I think it's the veterans that know what we went through last year and they're doing a good job of leading this team. Guys like Tristan, Luke, KJ, and Julian. I think it starts with them. I think the youthful exuberance that Cody, Assane, and BD have brought is big. Then Eddie and his voice and his energy. I think it's a combination of all three of those things. Hadley's a great talker, his energy is really good and competitiveness is really good. I told the team like part of this is on me for playing 12 guys. It's hard to get in a rhythm sometimes when you're coming in and we're subbing, but I wanted to get a look at some of those younger guys. Against Texas we played about seven guys, because we were trying to compete and win. Tonight was more about getting some of those younger guys minutes and getting them kind of getting their butterflies out so to speak."
On which freshmen impressed him:
“I thought all three of them did some really good things, I really do. I think again, Cody (Williams) picked his spots and was aggressive. I thought BD (Bangot Dak), when he figured out how to use his length and he did that tonight, he blocked a shot by just his length, but then he gave up a three because his hands were down. When he learns that a seven-foot wingspan needs to be put to use when his arms are up contesting shots or are wide, he'll be pretty good. Then Assane (Diop), his energy level. Like Tristan said, I mean those guys are going to make mistakes, but it's not because of a lack of effort. And again, they just have to learn and grow quickly. Based on foul trouble and things like that, we're going to need those guys at certain points of the game and they probably won't play as heavy a minutes as they did tonight because Tristan is going to play more than he played tonight, J’Vonne Hadley is going to play more then he played tonight, and as Eddie gets in better shape and his back feels 100% he'll play more minutes. So, we'll shorten the rotation by a week from Monday.
On scoring drought, they had late in the first half:
“Well turnovers and missing free throws. We were at the line; we couldn’t make a foul shot. When you turn over the ball, you don't get a shot and when you get to the foul line and don't convert, you go on droughts, but we kept guarding. We will be a good free throw shooting team. I really believe that. We got to figure out how to take care of the ball better. That's something that hurt us last year and that's the one thing that concerns me probably the most right now.”
Colorado Players
Tristan da Silva, Sr., F
On Assane Diop and Bangot Dak– “They're big for us. I'm really excited to see them out there on the court finally and actually competing in a real game. So I'm just happy for them because I see them every day in practice, competing against each other. I feel like Assane and Bangot compete hard every day in practice. So, they were out there competing like crazy. So it was good to see them out there and finally getting some good minutes out there.”
On the offseason – “I try to work on my game every offseason so I feel more and more comfortable out there. Yeah, that's really what it comes down to.”
On Helping younger teammates – “I talk to them. It depends on what it is. But I know they're going to make mistakes. I was like that my freshman year, too. So I'm not mad at them or anything. As long as they play hard, like there's, there's not, there's not much you can say negative about it.”
On shuffling positions – “I'm just out there playing. I mean, I've done this for, like, two, three years now. So you know, I remember my freshman year playing three, four, and five, sophomore year, same thing. And then now, I'm playing I'm playing a little bit of the guard spot, too. So, coming off taking roles and stuff like that. I'm just getting you know, as we said, comfortable playing every position.”
On offensive approaches – “There's definitely a lot of room for improvement for us in that in that area. I feel like we could have flowed much more the first time. So we just got to get back to work and make sure that we get our stuff right.”
Eddie Lampkin Jr., Sr., C
On playing for Colorado – “For me, it felt good. This is my first time putting the Colorado jersey on, and I love it already. And the fans showed love, and it wasn't a real game. But people showed up. And I felt like, as a team, we played well. And that's all that matters. As a team, we play well, and it's not about me. I just got to show up and do my job, and this is a team day.”
On being a team leader – “I had to come in and play a big role. I'm coming to play the five. I'm the only true five, so I feel like if I'm the man in the paint, I will lead them automatically. So yeah, I feel like I play a big role as a leader here.”