Oklahoma State University Athletics
Rogers State Postgame Quotes
November 30, 2016 | Cowboy Basketball
OSU Head Coach Brad UnderwoodÂ
Opening Statement
"Tremendous amount of props to Rodgers State. They thoroughly took it to us. They were aggressive, they played harder than we did. They are a good basketball team. I love Jeylyn Sharpe. We tried to make a conscious effort to guard Hester from the 3-point line, we didn't do a very good job of that. They controlled the whole tempo of the game with their effort. I think all you have to do is to look at our steals total, nine. Five of them came from Jawun just at the half court line. It shows our activity on the defensive end. I was fearful of that. We had three of the four days off coming back from Maui. To be honest, we didn't practice great. We practiced very lethargic. And then, I thought Mitchell Solomon was a big spark in the second half. He got us started. To let someone come into your house and shoot 57 percent, 50 percent from the 3-point line, wasn't much energy on the defensive end. Wasn't munch fundamental foundation on the defensive end and that is what is disappointing."
On if coming back from Maui was a concern for the freshmen not being used to traveling like that:
"Cam McGriff. I love Cam McGriff. He is going to be a heck of a college basketball player. His energy level in Maui was through the roof, and to be quite honest, it was pretty spectacular. We didn't see that here tonight. And I'm not just singling him out, there's a lot of people. I thought that Jawun played one of his poorer on the defensive end. But again, that's a tribute to Rodgers State. It's a tribute to their coaching staff, the great effort that they showed. They are good. They fought and competed. We try to be everyday guys and do that every day, no matter what it says on the front of the jersey. We have to grow in that area."
On if defense is the most challenging thing to coach in the older guys when they are already used to another defense:
"Yeah, it is concept. You can overcome a lot of things with effort. And you saw what happens tonight when you don't have that and you don't have energy. I got on to our bench three or four times because our bench was flat. Our bench didn't have the pizzazz and confidence. To grow as a basketball team, it doesn't matter who you play. We have to continue to work. Will we get better? Absolutely. But we have to continue to work every single day and we can't afford to take a day off in practice or two days off in practice. We have to grow in that. That is this teams challenge right now."
 OSU sophomore guard Jawun Evans
On what got OSU going after the first half
"The defense got us going. We just had to get some stops and get some steals. We needed some easy points and we just kept it going from there."
On the first half
"We were just in one motion. We were kind of sluggish and going through the motions. We could've done better and picked it up."
On his second-half adjustments
"I just got myself going on the defensive end. That's what got me going. Then just turning it on on the offensive end."
On the defense
"We just weren't in position. The defensive intensity wasn't there, so we just picked it up."
On Brandon Averette
"I think he's getting better and better every day. Just learning in practice and he's doing better in every game."
On how RSU kept up offensively
"They were just hitting shots. That's a great team. But we just had to pick it up on defense. Our defensive intensity got us ahead as much as we could."
OSU junior forward Mitchell Solomon
On his second-half adjustments
"The shots weren't falling, so when you have those nights, I was just trying to get to the rim, get rebounds and get to the line. I was just trying to be aggressive and get to the line."
On his driving dunk
"They were helping off on the pinch, so I just faked the handoff and went to the rim aggressively."
On his role as a bench player
"I'm ready to do whatever the team needs. If coach thinks that's what's best for me and for the team, then that is what I'm willing to do. It can calm some nerves, letting the game get going first and then coming in to help."
On the turquoise uniforms
"They're a good cause, so I'm happy to do it. They mean a lot to a lot of people, especially here in Oklahoma. I'm proud to represent them."
Roger State Head Coach Justin Barkley
On his team's performance:
"First off, I thought we did an excellent job competing. Anytime we get in these games, I don't ever question our effort. When we play Division I guys, we get pretty amped up, and I thought we competed for 40 minutes, and yes we lost the game, but there were some positives. The way they [OSU] plays defense, my gosh. We couldn't get the ball in reversals, and we kind of had to reinvent ourselves this week just so we could have some success on the offensive end. They're [OSU] going to have success this year, but I thought our guys responded. If you take away some of the silly turnovers where the probably picked our pockets and got some uncontested layups, if you take away a few of those, maybe it's a little bit of a different basketball game. I still think they [OSU] had more horses than we had and could have made more plays down the stretch, but really I was pleased with everybody's effort. This is something build on and go forward."
On what he said to his team being down eight at halftime:
"We have to be better out of the gates. We've lost a game this year because we didn't respond very well. When we start the second 20 minutes, I always talk about the first media timeout. I thought we did a pretty good job staying poised. That's a word we used on the board. Just be poised. They're [OSU] defensive pressure, and what they like to do, can really disrupt some things, and for us, to offset that, I thought Jeylyn [Sharpe] and Jonathan Buckley did a really good job of keeping the ball moving, and it opened up the floor for Baron [Smith Jr.], JD [Tisdale] and Travis Hester and anyone else who stepped on the floor, so I thought we did a nice job of paying attention to details. It allowed us to at least get some points on the board. We still gave up too many points, but I thought all in all we were pretty solid."
On what was running through his mind being down 5 under six minutes left to play:
"I'm thinking 'Are we tired?' Do we have healthy guys who can fight through screens who can block out and can we finish possessions? We were trying to play a series of one-possession games. We also have a game tomorrow. This is an exhibition game for us and a great opportunity for us given to us by Oklahoma State, but I'm also in a position where I want to see other guys compete in meaningful minutes, so we're still trying to figure out certain roles and certain pieces. I thought we did a great job in next-guy-up mentality."
On Jeylyn Sharpe's performance:
"I feel like since the Northeastern game, we've made some adjustments, and I feel like it has benefited him and Jonathan [Buckley] the most on our offense. Hopefully it's a sign of things to come. People see we played them pretty tough, and we have to learn from this. We're not a satisfied team, and we don't ever use the word complacency in our program, so what we have to take from this is let's get better. They [OSU] exposed some things we have to get better in, and we'll go back to the drawing boards tomorrow."
Rogers State senior Jeylyn Sharpe
On having the opportunity to play Oklahoma State in Gallagher Iba:
"It's an awesome opportunity. Playing these Division I schools is always really fun, and some of these people never have the opportunity to do it. We really appreciate Division I schools letting us come play them. It's just really fun, and the atmosphere is great."
On his 18-point performance against guys who are NBA-bound:
"I really don't think about the performance a whole lot. I just think that we play great as a team, and if you score, you score. You just have to do what you have to do, and you do your role and play team basketball. I happened to shoot well tonight, that's just the way it went tonight, but I think we played great as a team. Hopefully that carries on to the next few games."
On how playing OSU will benefit his team as the season continues:
"I think it's a big confidence booster. We just can't let it [the loss] get to our heads. Hopefully we keep this going the rest of the season and just learn from our mistakes, but it was a great game."
