Colorado-Pepperdine Quotes
Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle
Opening Statement
"Good win. Some areas we need to keep getting better at. I challenged a couple of our guys individually after the Colorado State game. We had a team a couple years ago that I think didn't lose back-to-back games until late January, maybe February. We only lost back-to-back games twice that year. I think this is the kind of team that can be that in terms of their resolve and learning from the things that we don't do well, taking that into the next game and applying it. We'll see if that holds true or not but I thought we bounced back emotionally, we bounced back with the way we played, and had some really efficient offensive performances tonight. That Ajayi kid is a really talented player. Averaging 18 points, he had 13 but he got it on 18 shots. I thought Hadley was terrific on him and Luke had him a couple of times as well. Those two guys played really good defensive games for us.
On what has been happening at home to contribute to the assists and shot making-
"Making shots is a big part of it. It really is. Unless you make the shot, you can't get an assist. So that's part of it. Our ball movement at home has been better than our ball movement on the road. Go back to the Florida State game, even the Richmond game. Richmond's a good defensive team, but the ball stuck a little bit more and we were doing more things off the bounce. The ball has to move for you to get assists and we have to cut hard and have great spacing. You have got to screen well. We got two lob dunks tonight because Lampkin set great back screens, and our guards found the guys at the rim. We want to build on that, and we have to take that with us when we travel now."
On if you tried anything new tonight
I wanted to play with 10 guys in the first half. RJ Smith with him being down now, Harrison Carrington was the next man up. We wanted to get those freshmen bigs in, as they need experience and seasoning. Getting those guys minutes was critical. One thing I don't like doing as a coach is I don't want to put a kid in the second half that didn't play in the first half because I think that's unfair to the kid. I remember how this was as a player. You want to get a sweat going and some of the kinks out. When they go back in the second half, they're hopefully ready to perform well."
On how much Cody has come along
"Very much so. His efficiency and ability to finish we knew that was going to be something that he had to get better at. I think he's learning the physicality of the game. He's just going to keep getting better and better. I think I mentioned this on the radio. The challenge I gave to Cody is the assist to turnover ratio. To me, he should be a two to one guy. He's a really good passer, and a willing passer. I thought he did a great job defensively tonight using his length, contesting shots, and rebounding the ball well. The thing I love about Cody's is he's so coachable. He wants to be great and is going to be great."
On what about this matchup made it so difficult for them to get in the paint?
"We talked in our scouting report about when Mallette and Ajayi had the ball, we wanted to shrink the floor with everybody else, really make it more of a team defensive effort instead of just an individual matchup. Again, Hadley had Ajayi and Cody had Mallette but it wasn't just those two guys. It was those two guys and their teammates shrinking the floor and making it hard for those guys to operate in space. Pepperdine really doesn't have a low post presence. The lefty kid Pitre made a couple of threes tonight and we're going to live with that. I thought it was a good team effort on their best players. When Ajayi has 13 points on 18 shots, that's good for us. "
On getting ready for Miami
“I haven't watched anything on Miami. I don't know anything or have followed their scores, but I'll be better able to answer that in a few days. They are a top-10 Team. Their program went to the Final Four last year. They have a great coach. He's been around for a long time. Great players so it's going to be a challenge. They are probably the best team we've played up to this point. Even though Colorado State was pretty darn good, Miami's probably a little better than they are right now. But we'll see.”
On RJ Smith's injury
“It's a lower leg injury. I don't know if it is a season-ending injury. I hope it's not a season-ending, but I don't know the answer.”
On being more consistent
“We need to guard the three-point line better. They got seven threes up and again they afford halftime. They had three after defensive rebounds. That is one of the things keeping them off the offensive glass they got 11 offensive rebounds. That's way too many. Six or fewer is our number. Six or fewer three, so guarding the three-point line better and defensive rebounding better. Outside of those two things we had 13 turnovers again and had some silly ones at the end. We had 11 at the media timeout with three turnovers. At the under for media timeout in the first half, we ended up with six, so it means we turned over three times in the last four minutes and then we had 11 turnovers at the under media and I said let's challenge you guys and let's not turn the ball over the rest of the game and we turned it over twice more so turnover, guarding the three-point line, and keeping them off the glass. That's what we got to get better at.”
On Julian Hammond III
“Julian's a really important guy for this basketball team. When he plays efficiently like he did tonight offensively, we expect that out of Julian. I think my biggest challenge for him is defensively taking on the challenge of guarding other teams' perfect guards because again, as we go through our season, he's going to face better players every night. I have a lot of confidence in Julian, and he's a big part of our team. Very efficient. He can shoot the ball well and make plays again, and eliminating the turnovers is to me the key with him. He had five against Colorado State. He only had one tonight which is great for us this one turnover for Julian is what we need from him. Julian's a big part of this team.”
On the longest break of the season
“We're going to take two days off, which we usually don't do during the season. That doesn't mean they're off, it just means they need to do what they need to do, and what Eddie Lamkin needs might be different than what Julian Hammond needs. What Julian Hammond needs might be different from what Tristan DaSilva needs. It’s an opportunity for them to get an extra lift, get extra shots, get treatment in the training room. They might be working on their academics, we reached finals on the horizon so it's an opportunity for them to use their time as they need. It's not a one-size-fits-all thing. Sometimes it is when you're practicing every day. Then we'll come back on Wednesday. It's a great week to put some new stuff in not that we're going to make wholesale changes, but maybe add a couple of things defensively, add a thing or two offensively, work on it for three or four days, and then get ready for Miami.”
Colorado Players
Tristan da Silva, Sr., F
On how the win feels
“It was great, you know, getting back out there and playing the way we're supposed to. It feels good.”
On they have been able to do at home that may be lacking on the road
“I feel like just playing confident out there, knowing what we're doing, trusting each other. I don't really know what the difference is between playing at home and playing away but it's just something about the events center. We just share the ball, and we trust each other and make plays for each other.”
On if he remembers having a 5 for 5 from the field and 10 for 10 at the line game
“Nope, but if I'm good, I was just getting open. Yeah, it came kind of easy to get to the free throw line too so that's easy buckets right there and then no, it was just kind of flowing, cheering the ball.”
On his performance in the second half
“Yeah, that's something we've been talking about, our consistency. That was an issue last year. We're trying to get back to playing consistent basketball for two halves, put two halves together. It's easier said than done but that's what we're working on.”
On the preparation for Miami?
“Obviously everybody individually, but also as a team, we’ve got to get ready because they're a really good team and, we've shown how effective and how well we can defend at home, but at a neutral site we still have to prove that so it’s on the bucket list.”
Cody Williams, Fr., F
On how this win feels
“Yeah, most definitely just kind of see the unselfishness. Maybe like 22 assists this game just coming out there, moving the ball, and playing team defense, getting back to the Colorado basketball side. It's just the best feeling.”
On what clicked in the first half
“I'd say just kind effort and intensity. We just had kind of some pride on defense, not them getting easy buckets, not them getting any offensive rebounds. I think for us, we came out with a chip on our shoulder especially from CSU and then we just have to use that and carry it for two halves like Tristan said, keep the field goal percentage under 50% for both halves. I think definitely just coming out with a chip on our shoulder being really locked into the scouting reports definitely helped us only get four points in the paint.”
On his comfort levels
“It just feels way better. The more games you play, the more time you spend out there, the more you learn about your teammates. You learn about their capabilities, their tendencies, you can get them open shots, then they're hitting it opens up stuff for me as well. Just that team basketball lets me get comfortable. I've learned what spots I can be effective in, cutting offensive rebounds, when to attack, when to kick out. I think just playing games and playing with my team and having that experience has kind of allowed me to see where I can be effective.”
Opening Statement
"Good win. Some areas we need to keep getting better at. I challenged a couple of our guys individually after the Colorado State game. We had a team a couple years ago that I think didn't lose back-to-back games until late January, maybe February. We only lost back-to-back games twice that year. I think this is the kind of team that can be that in terms of their resolve and learning from the things that we don't do well, taking that into the next game and applying it. We'll see if that holds true or not but I thought we bounced back emotionally, we bounced back with the way we played, and had some really efficient offensive performances tonight. That Ajayi kid is a really talented player. Averaging 18 points, he had 13 but he got it on 18 shots. I thought Hadley was terrific on him and Luke had him a couple of times as well. Those two guys played really good defensive games for us.
On what has been happening at home to contribute to the assists and shot making-
"Making shots is a big part of it. It really is. Unless you make the shot, you can't get an assist. So that's part of it. Our ball movement at home has been better than our ball movement on the road. Go back to the Florida State game, even the Richmond game. Richmond's a good defensive team, but the ball stuck a little bit more and we were doing more things off the bounce. The ball has to move for you to get assists and we have to cut hard and have great spacing. You have got to screen well. We got two lob dunks tonight because Lampkin set great back screens, and our guards found the guys at the rim. We want to build on that, and we have to take that with us when we travel now."
On if you tried anything new tonight
I wanted to play with 10 guys in the first half. RJ Smith with him being down now, Harrison Carrington was the next man up. We wanted to get those freshmen bigs in, as they need experience and seasoning. Getting those guys minutes was critical. One thing I don't like doing as a coach is I don't want to put a kid in the second half that didn't play in the first half because I think that's unfair to the kid. I remember how this was as a player. You want to get a sweat going and some of the kinks out. When they go back in the second half, they're hopefully ready to perform well."
On how much Cody has come along
"Very much so. His efficiency and ability to finish we knew that was going to be something that he had to get better at. I think he's learning the physicality of the game. He's just going to keep getting better and better. I think I mentioned this on the radio. The challenge I gave to Cody is the assist to turnover ratio. To me, he should be a two to one guy. He's a really good passer, and a willing passer. I thought he did a great job defensively tonight using his length, contesting shots, and rebounding the ball well. The thing I love about Cody's is he's so coachable. He wants to be great and is going to be great."
On what about this matchup made it so difficult for them to get in the paint?
"We talked in our scouting report about when Mallette and Ajayi had the ball, we wanted to shrink the floor with everybody else, really make it more of a team defensive effort instead of just an individual matchup. Again, Hadley had Ajayi and Cody had Mallette but it wasn't just those two guys. It was those two guys and their teammates shrinking the floor and making it hard for those guys to operate in space. Pepperdine really doesn't have a low post presence. The lefty kid Pitre made a couple of threes tonight and we're going to live with that. I thought it was a good team effort on their best players. When Ajayi has 13 points on 18 shots, that's good for us. "
On getting ready for Miami
“I haven't watched anything on Miami. I don't know anything or have followed their scores, but I'll be better able to answer that in a few days. They are a top-10 Team. Their program went to the Final Four last year. They have a great coach. He's been around for a long time. Great players so it's going to be a challenge. They are probably the best team we've played up to this point. Even though Colorado State was pretty darn good, Miami's probably a little better than they are right now. But we'll see.”
On RJ Smith's injury
“It's a lower leg injury. I don't know if it is a season-ending injury. I hope it's not a season-ending, but I don't know the answer.”
On being more consistent
“We need to guard the three-point line better. They got seven threes up and again they afford halftime. They had three after defensive rebounds. That is one of the things keeping them off the offensive glass they got 11 offensive rebounds. That's way too many. Six or fewer is our number. Six or fewer three, so guarding the three-point line better and defensive rebounding better. Outside of those two things we had 13 turnovers again and had some silly ones at the end. We had 11 at the media timeout with three turnovers. At the under for media timeout in the first half, we ended up with six, so it means we turned over three times in the last four minutes and then we had 11 turnovers at the under media and I said let's challenge you guys and let's not turn the ball over the rest of the game and we turned it over twice more so turnover, guarding the three-point line, and keeping them off the glass. That's what we got to get better at.”
On Julian Hammond III
“Julian's a really important guy for this basketball team. When he plays efficiently like he did tonight offensively, we expect that out of Julian. I think my biggest challenge for him is defensively taking on the challenge of guarding other teams' perfect guards because again, as we go through our season, he's going to face better players every night. I have a lot of confidence in Julian, and he's a big part of our team. Very efficient. He can shoot the ball well and make plays again, and eliminating the turnovers is to me the key with him. He had five against Colorado State. He only had one tonight which is great for us this one turnover for Julian is what we need from him. Julian's a big part of this team.”
On the longest break of the season
“We're going to take two days off, which we usually don't do during the season. That doesn't mean they're off, it just means they need to do what they need to do, and what Eddie Lamkin needs might be different than what Julian Hammond needs. What Julian Hammond needs might be different from what Tristan DaSilva needs. It’s an opportunity for them to get an extra lift, get extra shots, get treatment in the training room. They might be working on their academics, we reached finals on the horizon so it's an opportunity for them to use their time as they need. It's not a one-size-fits-all thing. Sometimes it is when you're practicing every day. Then we'll come back on Wednesday. It's a great week to put some new stuff in not that we're going to make wholesale changes, but maybe add a couple of things defensively, add a thing or two offensively, work on it for three or four days, and then get ready for Miami.”
Colorado Players
Tristan da Silva, Sr., F
On how the win feels
“It was great, you know, getting back out there and playing the way we're supposed to. It feels good.”
On they have been able to do at home that may be lacking on the road
“I feel like just playing confident out there, knowing what we're doing, trusting each other. I don't really know what the difference is between playing at home and playing away but it's just something about the events center. We just share the ball, and we trust each other and make plays for each other.”
On if he remembers having a 5 for 5 from the field and 10 for 10 at the line game
“Nope, but if I'm good, I was just getting open. Yeah, it came kind of easy to get to the free throw line too so that's easy buckets right there and then no, it was just kind of flowing, cheering the ball.”
On his performance in the second half
“Yeah, that's something we've been talking about, our consistency. That was an issue last year. We're trying to get back to playing consistent basketball for two halves, put two halves together. It's easier said than done but that's what we're working on.”
On the preparation for Miami?
“Obviously everybody individually, but also as a team, we’ve got to get ready because they're a really good team and, we've shown how effective and how well we can defend at home, but at a neutral site we still have to prove that so it’s on the bucket list.”
Cody Williams, Fr., F
On how this win feels
“Yeah, most definitely just kind of see the unselfishness. Maybe like 22 assists this game just coming out there, moving the ball, and playing team defense, getting back to the Colorado basketball side. It's just the best feeling.”
On what clicked in the first half
“I'd say just kind effort and intensity. We just had kind of some pride on defense, not them getting easy buckets, not them getting any offensive rebounds. I think for us, we came out with a chip on our shoulder especially from CSU and then we just have to use that and carry it for two halves like Tristan said, keep the field goal percentage under 50% for both halves. I think definitely just coming out with a chip on our shoulder being really locked into the scouting reports definitely helped us only get four points in the paint.”
On his comfort levels
“It just feels way better. The more games you play, the more time you spend out there, the more you learn about your teammates. You learn about their capabilities, their tendencies, you can get them open shots, then they're hitting it opens up stuff for me as well. Just that team basketball lets me get comfortable. I've learned what spots I can be effective in, cutting offensive rebounds, when to attack, when to kick out. I think just playing games and playing with my team and having that experience has kind of allowed me to see where I can be effective.”