Colorado-Utah Quotes
Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle
Opening statement:
“You go into these games this time of year in mid-February, and you don't expect to be up 30 at one point. It was just a great performance by our guys. I thought KJ was KJ tonight, doing what he has been doing all year for us. J'Vonne Hadley was phenomenal both offensively and defensively. We made the switch to put him on Madsen in the second half. Cody rolled his ankle. He was not at 100%. We started the game with him on Madsen, and he had 16 in the first half. He ended up with 18. So credit goes to J'Vonne with his defensive effort. I know Tristan da Silva didn't shoot the ball well tonight, but his defensive presence on Branden Carlson was terrific and he got some help. We wanted to make Carlson feel uncomfortable when he catches the ball on the block. He's seven feet tall, he's really skilled, and we wanted to make him feel uncomfortable on the perimeter when he caught it. Our guys did a good job of that. It's just a good win for February. Nineteen assists and 4 turnovers. I told Mark Johnson on the radio of my begging, literally begging this team to take care of the ball, and it finally worked.”
What did you like most with what you guys were doing tonight-
“I thought our movement was really good offensively. Sometimes we have a tendency to get stagnant. I thought our movement away from the ball, our cutting, our passing was sharp. We've really worked on passing. They made simple plays, and I thought the couple of turnovers we had, we could get rid of those. But it was good to see that happen, and every night we want that number to be 11 or less.”
On the Guards having a scoring mentality-
“Yeah, we wanted to be aggressive. We wanted to really put pressure on Utah. When we played them in Salt Lake City, they really got out and pressured the passing lanes, so we thought we could try to get downhill on them. I thought Eddie screened well and rolled well. The way they guard KJ in ball screens is a little different than most teams. They really showed hard and almost double teamed him, and KJ did a great job. We got some wide open threes in the first half and a couple in the second, so our passing was on point tonight. KJ is always aggressive. That's just who he is. We want Cody to be aggressive under control, and Hadley's game is just evolving. You can't consider him a big anymore. I always tell him I don't want him to forget his post moves because when he gets mismatches, he's pretty good down there. Not that we're playing through him in the post, but if he gets a guard on him he can do some damage down low.”
On Cody's ankle and how he's doing-
“Yeah, it swelled up a little bit. We just got to get the swelling out but the good thing is it's not real tender. It's not real painful, but we just got to get the swelling out and he showed great toughness. I thought coming back in the second half, he obviously wasn't 100%. We needed him with Julian going down yesterday in practice.”
On thinking about margins within wins:
“I’ll be honest with you…I was talking to a coaching friend of mine who's not in the business anymore yesterday, and I think too much emphasis is put on the NCAA tournament. They start talking about it in November, and I know our guys are aware of it, I'm aware of it. I know we have NET ratings and all that stuff, but I still don't understand the NET. I mean, it's been favorable to us, but I think it's talked about too much. We got Selection Sunday, we know what it is.
This is a long season, everybody's got 31 regular season games, we got four left, how we play down the stretch is gonna determine what our chances are, so I'm not I'm not trying to be naive and stick my head in the sand, but I just just think the key for me, as a coach, is just making sure your players are getting better; you're improving.
That's why our practices aren't long right now this time of year, but I told our team this week, I thought we practiced really well. We had a great practice on Thursday. Didn't go real hard real long yesterday, but our guys were dialed into the scouting reports…so that's what you want as a coach, you want to see your team playing better as the season rolls on. Some of that has to do with schedule, you run into a UCLA team who's really playing well right now, and you have to win the ones you're supposed to win…I think the schedule favors us down the stretch, but no games gonna be easy. It's all about trying to win on Wednesday, that's all we gotta worry about. Not that other stuff, that's for you guys.”
On how close the team is to coming together:
“Look, our guys like each other off the court. We talked about playing connected defensively tonight. We did that, especially in the second half. First half, not as much. We're not the deepest team we've ever had here at Colorado. I loved looking at the stats today. I don't think in our 14 years here that I've been at Colorado that we've ever had anybody in the top 15 in the league, and minutes per game, even when McKinley was here, he wasn't even in the top 15. KJ has gotta play heavy minutes, J'Vonne’s gotta play heavy minutes, Tristan has gotta play heavy minutes. Eddie is a big guy, he’s 265 pounds, it's hard for him to play 35 minutes a game, so that's why we need these guys because in the end we're not as deep as we've been, but that depth is really important to us.”
“We're not the only ones Oregon's going through it (injuries), it's just a part of the game. I'm not, and I would never, use it as an excuse. It's just been a challenge - a challenge for our players and a challenge for our coaching staff, however, I’m really proud of our guys to win a game like this when you're not at full strength - it says something about our guys and their toughness.”
On if Julian will be back next week:
“I hope so, his knee is sore. I talked to our trainer and he's in pain, but the swelling is not crazy, so I'm just hoping each day gets a little bit better, and because he can make shots and he gives us a guy down the stretch, that has been in big games…Julian Hammond is important to this basketball program without a doubt.”
On how KJ has progressed:
“The thing about KJ is that he's so tough minded. He never has a bad day or a bad game in terms of his motor and his energy, and because of that he's become a great leader. The biggest thing is that sometimes he gets caught in a trap of being aggressive, and we want him to be aggressive; we want him to be a downhill player and we need him to score the ball, but he also has to distribute the ball. I think the key for any point guard, and we've had some pretty good ones here…when you think about Spencer, Derrick, and McKinley, you need to find that balance. They have to think outside of themselves. That’s what KJ started to do this year. We needed him to score tonight, we needed him against UCLA, and UCLA just had a hell of a game plan. And the game plan was, he needs to give it up. He only took seven shots against UCLA. I can’t say enough about KJ Simpson. He’s playing like an All-American.”
Colorado Players
KJ Simpson, Jr., G
On tonight’s game plan–
“I think our game plan was a means of reading the game and crediting the team. We moved the ball side to side, and we got great looks. That's what you get reps up for. That's what we watch film for, and we were just ready to knock them down, and it happened to come our way. So, credit to the rest of the team for finding us and credit to being involved and being ready to knock them down. But, overall, I was just reading the defense.”
On season-high turnovers –
“Coach challenged us because he watched New Mexico play Colorado State, and he was talking about how they have four turnovers, so it was nice to go out there and live up to his expectations. And I think this team did a great job of being patient tonight, well-disciplined, and not forcing things. When they were open, we found guys making 100% passes.”
On thinking ahead into March –
“We're not oblivious to it, but I think the main thing is taking it game by game. We can't focus on anything ahead right now. When you start doing that, you lose easy games you should win. We just want to take it game by game so next opponent, so we focus on, but at the same time, we understand what's at stake and we want to take advantage of certain opportunities.”
On looking into next week’s games –
“We don't know anything yet. So we expect a full team to be ready and understand that towards this part of the season, it's all about taking care of your body and treating it like a pro. It’s about understanding what you need to get out of the practices. If you need extra treatment go to get your treatment and do the things that you need to do to get better for the next game Our mentality, doesn't change. As J’vonne said, we had a great week of practice this weekend. We want that same type of approach. And if guys are banged up, then at that point, put the next man up. Anybody with that Colorado jersey is more than capable.”
On coming back from UCLA –
“Credit to UCLA. They did a great job of guarding me, but at the same time, in my mind, I wasn't as aggressive. I felt I took that loss and I took accountability for it and wanted to come out and do more for my team. With that sense of feeling that I had it felt good to go out there and play for my teammates and back in at USC, I played in front of my family, and things like that. When you play for people other than yourself, good things tend to happen and I'm just trying to do that right now.”
J’vonne Hadley, Sr., G
On movement away from the ball–
“We had a good week of practice, and we got after it, and we really locked in. We pride ourselves on defensive rebounding, but we also worked a lot on offense this week. And it starts tonight for sure.”
On tonight's defense –
“We played Utah not too long ago. So, Utah was fresh in our minds. We know the personnel, and that's a big thing, knowing the personnel and knowing who can and who's a shooter and who’s a driver. We locked in, and tonight we showed Gabe Madson got tired there early, and we made some adjustments, and we were able to shut him down I'm not sure how many points he had in the second half, but it wasn't compared to his first-half points at all.”
On defending Branden Carlson –
“We were trying to limit his touches. He can't score if he doesn't have the ball. We discussed that all the time and Tristan did well early. Carlson got a couple of shots up, but they weren’t falling, so he shied away from it, and we held on to our defense overall because we've been working on it. We know we are obviously aware of what he can do. And he's hurt a lot of teams this year. So, we couldn't let that happen to us.”
On Cody Williams –
“ I mean credit to him and his toughness and his ability to put the team first. We need him, and he does a lot of good things for us in every aspect of the game. He understands that, and he's a tough player. So, he showed up tonight when he rolled his ankle and came back right away.”
Opening statement:
“You go into these games this time of year in mid-February, and you don't expect to be up 30 at one point. It was just a great performance by our guys. I thought KJ was KJ tonight, doing what he has been doing all year for us. J'Vonne Hadley was phenomenal both offensively and defensively. We made the switch to put him on Madsen in the second half. Cody rolled his ankle. He was not at 100%. We started the game with him on Madsen, and he had 16 in the first half. He ended up with 18. So credit goes to J'Vonne with his defensive effort. I know Tristan da Silva didn't shoot the ball well tonight, but his defensive presence on Branden Carlson was terrific and he got some help. We wanted to make Carlson feel uncomfortable when he catches the ball on the block. He's seven feet tall, he's really skilled, and we wanted to make him feel uncomfortable on the perimeter when he caught it. Our guys did a good job of that. It's just a good win for February. Nineteen assists and 4 turnovers. I told Mark Johnson on the radio of my begging, literally begging this team to take care of the ball, and it finally worked.”
What did you like most with what you guys were doing tonight-
“I thought our movement was really good offensively. Sometimes we have a tendency to get stagnant. I thought our movement away from the ball, our cutting, our passing was sharp. We've really worked on passing. They made simple plays, and I thought the couple of turnovers we had, we could get rid of those. But it was good to see that happen, and every night we want that number to be 11 or less.”
On the Guards having a scoring mentality-
“Yeah, we wanted to be aggressive. We wanted to really put pressure on Utah. When we played them in Salt Lake City, they really got out and pressured the passing lanes, so we thought we could try to get downhill on them. I thought Eddie screened well and rolled well. The way they guard KJ in ball screens is a little different than most teams. They really showed hard and almost double teamed him, and KJ did a great job. We got some wide open threes in the first half and a couple in the second, so our passing was on point tonight. KJ is always aggressive. That's just who he is. We want Cody to be aggressive under control, and Hadley's game is just evolving. You can't consider him a big anymore. I always tell him I don't want him to forget his post moves because when he gets mismatches, he's pretty good down there. Not that we're playing through him in the post, but if he gets a guard on him he can do some damage down low.”
On Cody's ankle and how he's doing-
“Yeah, it swelled up a little bit. We just got to get the swelling out but the good thing is it's not real tender. It's not real painful, but we just got to get the swelling out and he showed great toughness. I thought coming back in the second half, he obviously wasn't 100%. We needed him with Julian going down yesterday in practice.”
On thinking about margins within wins:
“I’ll be honest with you…I was talking to a coaching friend of mine who's not in the business anymore yesterday, and I think too much emphasis is put on the NCAA tournament. They start talking about it in November, and I know our guys are aware of it, I'm aware of it. I know we have NET ratings and all that stuff, but I still don't understand the NET. I mean, it's been favorable to us, but I think it's talked about too much. We got Selection Sunday, we know what it is.
This is a long season, everybody's got 31 regular season games, we got four left, how we play down the stretch is gonna determine what our chances are, so I'm not I'm not trying to be naive and stick my head in the sand, but I just just think the key for me, as a coach, is just making sure your players are getting better; you're improving.
That's why our practices aren't long right now this time of year, but I told our team this week, I thought we practiced really well. We had a great practice on Thursday. Didn't go real hard real long yesterday, but our guys were dialed into the scouting reports…so that's what you want as a coach, you want to see your team playing better as the season rolls on. Some of that has to do with schedule, you run into a UCLA team who's really playing well right now, and you have to win the ones you're supposed to win…I think the schedule favors us down the stretch, but no games gonna be easy. It's all about trying to win on Wednesday, that's all we gotta worry about. Not that other stuff, that's for you guys.”
On how close the team is to coming together:
“Look, our guys like each other off the court. We talked about playing connected defensively tonight. We did that, especially in the second half. First half, not as much. We're not the deepest team we've ever had here at Colorado. I loved looking at the stats today. I don't think in our 14 years here that I've been at Colorado that we've ever had anybody in the top 15 in the league, and minutes per game, even when McKinley was here, he wasn't even in the top 15. KJ has gotta play heavy minutes, J'Vonne’s gotta play heavy minutes, Tristan has gotta play heavy minutes. Eddie is a big guy, he’s 265 pounds, it's hard for him to play 35 minutes a game, so that's why we need these guys because in the end we're not as deep as we've been, but that depth is really important to us.”
“We're not the only ones Oregon's going through it (injuries), it's just a part of the game. I'm not, and I would never, use it as an excuse. It's just been a challenge - a challenge for our players and a challenge for our coaching staff, however, I’m really proud of our guys to win a game like this when you're not at full strength - it says something about our guys and their toughness.”
On if Julian will be back next week:
“I hope so, his knee is sore. I talked to our trainer and he's in pain, but the swelling is not crazy, so I'm just hoping each day gets a little bit better, and because he can make shots and he gives us a guy down the stretch, that has been in big games…Julian Hammond is important to this basketball program without a doubt.”
On how KJ has progressed:
“The thing about KJ is that he's so tough minded. He never has a bad day or a bad game in terms of his motor and his energy, and because of that he's become a great leader. The biggest thing is that sometimes he gets caught in a trap of being aggressive, and we want him to be aggressive; we want him to be a downhill player and we need him to score the ball, but he also has to distribute the ball. I think the key for any point guard, and we've had some pretty good ones here…when you think about Spencer, Derrick, and McKinley, you need to find that balance. They have to think outside of themselves. That’s what KJ started to do this year. We needed him to score tonight, we needed him against UCLA, and UCLA just had a hell of a game plan. And the game plan was, he needs to give it up. He only took seven shots against UCLA. I can’t say enough about KJ Simpson. He’s playing like an All-American.”
Colorado Players
KJ Simpson, Jr., G
On tonight’s game plan–
“I think our game plan was a means of reading the game and crediting the team. We moved the ball side to side, and we got great looks. That's what you get reps up for. That's what we watch film for, and we were just ready to knock them down, and it happened to come our way. So, credit to the rest of the team for finding us and credit to being involved and being ready to knock them down. But, overall, I was just reading the defense.”
On season-high turnovers –
“Coach challenged us because he watched New Mexico play Colorado State, and he was talking about how they have four turnovers, so it was nice to go out there and live up to his expectations. And I think this team did a great job of being patient tonight, well-disciplined, and not forcing things. When they were open, we found guys making 100% passes.”
On thinking ahead into March –
“We're not oblivious to it, but I think the main thing is taking it game by game. We can't focus on anything ahead right now. When you start doing that, you lose easy games you should win. We just want to take it game by game so next opponent, so we focus on, but at the same time, we understand what's at stake and we want to take advantage of certain opportunities.”
On looking into next week’s games –
“We don't know anything yet. So we expect a full team to be ready and understand that towards this part of the season, it's all about taking care of your body and treating it like a pro. It’s about understanding what you need to get out of the practices. If you need extra treatment go to get your treatment and do the things that you need to do to get better for the next game Our mentality, doesn't change. As J’vonne said, we had a great week of practice this weekend. We want that same type of approach. And if guys are banged up, then at that point, put the next man up. Anybody with that Colorado jersey is more than capable.”
On coming back from UCLA –
“Credit to UCLA. They did a great job of guarding me, but at the same time, in my mind, I wasn't as aggressive. I felt I took that loss and I took accountability for it and wanted to come out and do more for my team. With that sense of feeling that I had it felt good to go out there and play for my teammates and back in at USC, I played in front of my family, and things like that. When you play for people other than yourself, good things tend to happen and I'm just trying to do that right now.”
J’vonne Hadley, Sr., G
On movement away from the ball–
“We had a good week of practice, and we got after it, and we really locked in. We pride ourselves on defensive rebounding, but we also worked a lot on offense this week. And it starts tonight for sure.”
On tonight's defense –
“We played Utah not too long ago. So, Utah was fresh in our minds. We know the personnel, and that's a big thing, knowing the personnel and knowing who can and who's a shooter and who’s a driver. We locked in, and tonight we showed Gabe Madson got tired there early, and we made some adjustments, and we were able to shut him down I'm not sure how many points he had in the second half, but it wasn't compared to his first-half points at all.”
On defending Branden Carlson –
“We were trying to limit his touches. He can't score if he doesn't have the ball. We discussed that all the time and Tristan did well early. Carlson got a couple of shots up, but they weren’t falling, so he shied away from it, and we held on to our defense overall because we've been working on it. We know we are obviously aware of what he can do. And he's hurt a lot of teams this year. So, we couldn't let that happen to us.”
On Cody Williams –
“ I mean credit to him and his toughness and his ability to put the team first. We need him, and he does a lot of good things for us in every aspect of the game. He understands that, and he's a tough player. So, he showed up tonight when he rolled his ankle and came back right away.”