Oklahoma State University Athletics
Texas Tech Postgame Quotes
January 21, 2017 | Cowboy Basketball
Head Coach Brad Underwood opening statement:
"I thought our little philosophical change defensively really helped our basketball team today. I had a sleepless night after our Kansas State loss which we got exposed. In that ball game, we had made nine three's, were 13-of-13 from the free throw line and were up by three in the first half. I knew I had to make some changes. About 2:45 AM that morning, I figured out what we were going to do and committed to it. We worked very, very hard the last couple of days prior to this game of just backing off. Our guys were talkative, and our guys were energetic. I thought we got off to a fabulous start, which I think gave our guys a little confidence. The first four minutes we were fabulous. Then offensively, this is the best we have been in terms of the half court. We were without Jawun (Evans) a lot of the first half. We got Brandon Averette, the freshman, on the road, who turned it over a couple of times. We got Jeffrey Carroll looks. We had 18 points on cutters, and that's what I like to see. Phil (Forte III) and Jeff are tremendous shooters. They got going. It was a great combination and a great start for us. The one telling stat that I was pleased with, because Chris' (Beard) teams are always great defensive rebounding teams. We missed 18 shots, and we got 12 of them back against one of the top defensive rebounding teams in the country. I was very pleased with our energy. It is great to get that first one under our belt. We talked about how we can't replay the first six games so that third's over. Let's start anew, and today was game one."
On weathering Texas Tech's comeback attempt:
"It won't necessarily show up in the numbers – Leyton Hammonds was fabulous. His talk, his energy, he took a charge. We almost accidentally stumbled into a charge in Big 12 play. Anybody who knows anything about my teams, we've always been one of the leaders in charges taken. We tried to take more charges the last two days in practice than we have all year. Today, we got some. We actually tried to take them. Leyton had a big one [charge] – he had two today. Those are winning plays. Those are what you have to do on the road. We were without Jawun (Evans) for a lot of the second half. We just kind of hung in there. Phil (Forte III) was instrumental. Jeffrey Carroll has shown what a good player he is, and he made some timely plays. I thought the jump to the zone was key as well."
On what today's win means for the team:
"I think we have proven that we can be a very good basketball team. We've beaten UConn, we've beaten Georgetown and we went to Wichita State and won. Maybe to get this Big 12 stigma gone. I like where we are at offensively. We will find out. We've got a quick turnaround – we play again on Monday. I felt like I had to give our team a little bit of hook, something new to hang their hat on. That's why I made the change defensively and just back completely off. Maybe there was a shot of confidence there. We spent a lot of time on it the last few days. To our guys' credit, they executed it. We will see going forward. I'm very positive, and I'm happy for our guys because they didn't let the six losses, leading in Allen Fieldhouse and getting beat at home in the last four minutes get to them. That's a huge jump for us."
On their defensive change:
"We gave up 48 points against Kansas State in the paint. We gave up 28 in a half, most of them came from their guards. I changed the pickup point. I've always been a very heavy based denial team – not letting teams run their stuff and forcing them to do things that they don't want to do. We got away from that a little bit. We backed off and got more into the gaps. We worked very hard at contesting shooters, being there when they catch and not trying to take away the catch. It slowed down our rotations. We got into some rotations because of their offense, but we didn't have near as many. Now we have to do the next step, which is eliminating some of the fouling that we are committing."
On the complete team effort:
"Thomas Dziagwa, you can't say enough. He's so confident and made a great move – a little shot fake against their press and made a nice little two-point jump shot and came back and hit another one. Those were big momentum plays in stopping their momentum. I think we had gone four minutes without a field goal at one point, those were big plays. We had Cameron McGriff back in the fold a little bit. It was unfortunate that he got in some foul trouble, but we need him. We are getting our depth back and a little healthier. It was a great team effort. Davon Dillard was extremely solid, big offensive rebound, made a couple of free throws and was very active in our zone. That's a pretty comforting feeling when you feel like you can go to your bench and get production."
Guard Phil Forte, III
On how today's game feels to end the team's losing streak:
"A lot better than the past six. We keep fighting, scraping and clawing. I'm so proud of this team. If you came to one of our practices, you would never be able to tell what our record was. We finally get a taste of what a Big 12 win was like. Now, we have to build on it. You can't celebrate it to long because Big 12 wins are hard to come by on the road, and we play a good TCU team on Monday."
On the team's defensive adjustments:
"You do whatever it takes to win. We gave a lot points up in the paint, and the coaches made an adjustment. I give a lot credit to Coach Underwood and the coaching staff. He has a system that he likes to play, and I think it says a lot about him to put his ego aside. Not saying he has an ego, but his style of play on how he likes to play. He noticed it wasn't working and tried to adjust to personnel. He deserves credit for that in order to give us a chance to win."
Guard Jeffrey Carroll
On how important a good start was during today's game:
"Huge for us, we came ready to fight. I think the motto for the game today was the first four minutes and the last four minutes. I think we did that."
On what clicked for the team today:
"We bought in today. We talked, and we played better on defense."
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"I thought our little philosophical change defensively really helped our basketball team today. I had a sleepless night after our Kansas State loss which we got exposed. In that ball game, we had made nine three's, were 13-of-13 from the free throw line and were up by three in the first half. I knew I had to make some changes. About 2:45 AM that morning, I figured out what we were going to do and committed to it. We worked very, very hard the last couple of days prior to this game of just backing off. Our guys were talkative, and our guys were energetic. I thought we got off to a fabulous start, which I think gave our guys a little confidence. The first four minutes we were fabulous. Then offensively, this is the best we have been in terms of the half court. We were without Jawun (Evans) a lot of the first half. We got Brandon Averette, the freshman, on the road, who turned it over a couple of times. We got Jeffrey Carroll looks. We had 18 points on cutters, and that's what I like to see. Phil (Forte III) and Jeff are tremendous shooters. They got going. It was a great combination and a great start for us. The one telling stat that I was pleased with, because Chris' (Beard) teams are always great defensive rebounding teams. We missed 18 shots, and we got 12 of them back against one of the top defensive rebounding teams in the country. I was very pleased with our energy. It is great to get that first one under our belt. We talked about how we can't replay the first six games so that third's over. Let's start anew, and today was game one."
On weathering Texas Tech's comeback attempt:
"It won't necessarily show up in the numbers – Leyton Hammonds was fabulous. His talk, his energy, he took a charge. We almost accidentally stumbled into a charge in Big 12 play. Anybody who knows anything about my teams, we've always been one of the leaders in charges taken. We tried to take more charges the last two days in practice than we have all year. Today, we got some. We actually tried to take them. Leyton had a big one [charge] – he had two today. Those are winning plays. Those are what you have to do on the road. We were without Jawun (Evans) for a lot of the second half. We just kind of hung in there. Phil (Forte III) was instrumental. Jeffrey Carroll has shown what a good player he is, and he made some timely plays. I thought the jump to the zone was key as well."
On what today's win means for the team:
"I think we have proven that we can be a very good basketball team. We've beaten UConn, we've beaten Georgetown and we went to Wichita State and won. Maybe to get this Big 12 stigma gone. I like where we are at offensively. We will find out. We've got a quick turnaround – we play again on Monday. I felt like I had to give our team a little bit of hook, something new to hang their hat on. That's why I made the change defensively and just back completely off. Maybe there was a shot of confidence there. We spent a lot of time on it the last few days. To our guys' credit, they executed it. We will see going forward. I'm very positive, and I'm happy for our guys because they didn't let the six losses, leading in Allen Fieldhouse and getting beat at home in the last four minutes get to them. That's a huge jump for us."
On their defensive change:
"We gave up 48 points against Kansas State in the paint. We gave up 28 in a half, most of them came from their guards. I changed the pickup point. I've always been a very heavy based denial team – not letting teams run their stuff and forcing them to do things that they don't want to do. We got away from that a little bit. We backed off and got more into the gaps. We worked very hard at contesting shooters, being there when they catch and not trying to take away the catch. It slowed down our rotations. We got into some rotations because of their offense, but we didn't have near as many. Now we have to do the next step, which is eliminating some of the fouling that we are committing."
On the complete team effort:
"Thomas Dziagwa, you can't say enough. He's so confident and made a great move – a little shot fake against their press and made a nice little two-point jump shot and came back and hit another one. Those were big momentum plays in stopping their momentum. I think we had gone four minutes without a field goal at one point, those were big plays. We had Cameron McGriff back in the fold a little bit. It was unfortunate that he got in some foul trouble, but we need him. We are getting our depth back and a little healthier. It was a great team effort. Davon Dillard was extremely solid, big offensive rebound, made a couple of free throws and was very active in our zone. That's a pretty comforting feeling when you feel like you can go to your bench and get production."
Guard Phil Forte, III
On how today's game feels to end the team's losing streak:
"A lot better than the past six. We keep fighting, scraping and clawing. I'm so proud of this team. If you came to one of our practices, you would never be able to tell what our record was. We finally get a taste of what a Big 12 win was like. Now, we have to build on it. You can't celebrate it to long because Big 12 wins are hard to come by on the road, and we play a good TCU team on Monday."
On the team's defensive adjustments:
"You do whatever it takes to win. We gave a lot points up in the paint, and the coaches made an adjustment. I give a lot credit to Coach Underwood and the coaching staff. He has a system that he likes to play, and I think it says a lot about him to put his ego aside. Not saying he has an ego, but his style of play on how he likes to play. He noticed it wasn't working and tried to adjust to personnel. He deserves credit for that in order to give us a chance to win."
Guard Jeffrey Carroll
On how important a good start was during today's game:
"Huge for us, we came ready to fight. I think the motto for the game today was the first four minutes and the last four minutes. I think we did that."
On what clicked for the team today:
"We bought in today. We talked, and we played better on defense."
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Players Mentioned
PG
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G/SF
/ Cowboy Basketball
G/SF
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SF
/ Cowboy Basketball
SF
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