Oklahoma State University Athletics
OU Postgame Quotes
January 30, 2017 | Cowboy Basketball
Oklahoma State head coach Brad Underwood opening statement:
"I'm still trying to process that ending. I'm really proud of our guys from the standpoint that it was so many different people. Phil (Forte) is going to get a lot of credit for the shot. To finish the game two for your last 15, that's kind of a helpless feeling as a coach. You don't quite know where to go. To shoot 33 percent on the road and you have to find a way to win. That was an NCAA-tournament like game where things get really hard and nothing is easy. Twenty offensive rebounds was huge. Very ironic that we got an offensive rebound and kicked it out and Forte hit the three on an offensive rebound. Mitchell Solomon didn't play very well tonight. It wasn't one of his better games but he hits two big free throws. Jawun (Evans) gets on the floor and makes a play. That's what I want our program to be about: hard work, hustle, toughness and I thought we did that tonight. We were fortunate to be only down one at half because I thought we were real flat. Jeffrey (Carroll) had a tough night and you have to give Oklahoma a lot of credit for that. They made his looks very difficult. The other thing that I thought was a big key for us was keeping (Kristian) Doolitte and (Rashard) Odomes out of the paint. We call it the box and I thought we did a really nice job. (Kameron) McGusty is a heck of a player. I saw him play a bunch when I was at Stephen F. Austin. I thought for the most part we did a good job keeping him in front of us."
On what was going through his mind on the last possession:
"I wanted to see what they ran. We worked on switching that but I knew that there would be a great opportunity. I was going to leave (Phil) Forte in. He's tough even though he's small. I was going to leave (Jawun) Evans in. I knew if we switched there was going to be a chance that they were going to throw something to the rim. We backed out of that and that's why I called the timeout. Then it was just them (OU) inbounding the ball, they'd have time for one dribble or two, or a quick pass and they just sit down and guard. (Jeffrey) Carroll challenged and we were fortunate to get that stop and get a rebound. We talk about when the ball gets on the rim, a lot of games are lost on an offense put back, so don't just stare at the ball, let's all do our job and get the block out."
On Jawun Evans' ability to get to the rim:
"It's just who Jawun is. Jawun and ball screens are just a really tough guard and we lean on him so much at times to do that. He made some great passes tonight that (Mitchell) Solomon usually finishes. You kind of have to pick your poison with Jawun on how you want to guard him. He's so crafty that he can attack almost anything you throw at him. He had a tough shooting night but that's a little deceptive when you get to the free throw line 16 times. Unfortunately he missed a few that he normally doesn't miss."
On Phil Forte, III, being the guy to hit the winning shot:
"I was just told that Phil has never hit a game-winning shot before. It's only fitting. I talk too much about Phil and what he means to me and what he has meant to Oklahoma State. His commitment, not just hitting the three-point record on Saturday, but his work and his passion. What an unbelievable young man. For him do that in Bedlam, and do it in that fashion with Phil is pretty meaningful."
On whether this game lived up to the name of Bedlam:
"Absolutely. As an outsider, being involved in Bedlam, everyone in the country knows what Bedlam is. And yet it hasn't been very competitive. That's a fact. Rivalries are good when there are games like this. When you throw out the records and the records don't mean anything. I think every player enjoys those moments and I know we do as coaches. It's good for us to win one."
Jawun Evans
On his steal at the end of the game:
"I was just being aggressive on the ball. I tipped it and it was loose and I had to dive on it."
On he feels after being banged up inside tonight:
"I am a little banged up, but I am good. I will go back and get in the ice tub. I will be good"
On what he saw from his teammate Lindy Waters, III tonight:
"He stepped up tremendously, hit big shots, got some rebounds for us that we needed. I see him growing."
On what this win does for the team going forward:
"It is big for us, it keeps us rolling. Keep working on defense, that is what will win us some games, defensively; getting stops and getting rebounds."
OU men's head basketball coach Lon Kruger opening statement:
"It was a tough finish again I guess. I thought we did a good job in the second half closing the margin. Their guys fought back proving that they should win. We didn't make the plays that we needed to make. Down the stretch, OSU did. They got a steal and made shots. We have to grow through it. We have to keep at it. We just need to have more grit to get into the win column."
On players not calling timeouts:
"Yes we had timeouts but in that moment Kameron (McGusty) was trying to protect the ball and trying to get out of there. Next time hopefully we will be a little more aware of our timeouts. But again, we had other opportunities as well."
On decision of Kameron McGusty taking the last shot:
"That was pretty easy. Kameron was great all night. He did a good job getting us back in the game creating a bit of a margin there late. It was difficult to make that decision."
On Kristian Doolittle and his ankle:
"He rolled his ankle in the first half and came back a little bit and wasn't great. He needed a couple minutes later to give Dante (Buford) a little break but he'll be fine."
On Jordan Woodard's health:
"He's obviously not a hundred percent but he's working at it. Saturday he wasn't feeling good at all. That definitely wasn't the case tonight."
On perimeter shooting the past two games:
"We haven't been the most consistent group. We have to keep working on that. I thought we had better movement tonight and better attack. At the end of the game we need to step up and make our shots to be more effective."
Dante BufordÂ
On his performance:
"I just try to come in and play my game on both ends of the floor and help my team out."
On how to bounce back after this loss:
"It's just a challenge we have to accept. We have to take it in strides and prepare for the next game.
Kameron McGustyÂ
On if he got the look that he wanted at the end of the game:
"The play worked out. Maybe I could have got a better look, but it happens."
"I'm still trying to process that ending. I'm really proud of our guys from the standpoint that it was so many different people. Phil (Forte) is going to get a lot of credit for the shot. To finish the game two for your last 15, that's kind of a helpless feeling as a coach. You don't quite know where to go. To shoot 33 percent on the road and you have to find a way to win. That was an NCAA-tournament like game where things get really hard and nothing is easy. Twenty offensive rebounds was huge. Very ironic that we got an offensive rebound and kicked it out and Forte hit the three on an offensive rebound. Mitchell Solomon didn't play very well tonight. It wasn't one of his better games but he hits two big free throws. Jawun (Evans) gets on the floor and makes a play. That's what I want our program to be about: hard work, hustle, toughness and I thought we did that tonight. We were fortunate to be only down one at half because I thought we were real flat. Jeffrey (Carroll) had a tough night and you have to give Oklahoma a lot of credit for that. They made his looks very difficult. The other thing that I thought was a big key for us was keeping (Kristian) Doolitte and (Rashard) Odomes out of the paint. We call it the box and I thought we did a really nice job. (Kameron) McGusty is a heck of a player. I saw him play a bunch when I was at Stephen F. Austin. I thought for the most part we did a good job keeping him in front of us."
On what was going through his mind on the last possession:
"I wanted to see what they ran. We worked on switching that but I knew that there would be a great opportunity. I was going to leave (Phil) Forte in. He's tough even though he's small. I was going to leave (Jawun) Evans in. I knew if we switched there was going to be a chance that they were going to throw something to the rim. We backed out of that and that's why I called the timeout. Then it was just them (OU) inbounding the ball, they'd have time for one dribble or two, or a quick pass and they just sit down and guard. (Jeffrey) Carroll challenged and we were fortunate to get that stop and get a rebound. We talk about when the ball gets on the rim, a lot of games are lost on an offense put back, so don't just stare at the ball, let's all do our job and get the block out."
On Jawun Evans' ability to get to the rim:
"It's just who Jawun is. Jawun and ball screens are just a really tough guard and we lean on him so much at times to do that. He made some great passes tonight that (Mitchell) Solomon usually finishes. You kind of have to pick your poison with Jawun on how you want to guard him. He's so crafty that he can attack almost anything you throw at him. He had a tough shooting night but that's a little deceptive when you get to the free throw line 16 times. Unfortunately he missed a few that he normally doesn't miss."
On Phil Forte, III, being the guy to hit the winning shot:
"I was just told that Phil has never hit a game-winning shot before. It's only fitting. I talk too much about Phil and what he means to me and what he has meant to Oklahoma State. His commitment, not just hitting the three-point record on Saturday, but his work and his passion. What an unbelievable young man. For him do that in Bedlam, and do it in that fashion with Phil is pretty meaningful."
On whether this game lived up to the name of Bedlam:
"Absolutely. As an outsider, being involved in Bedlam, everyone in the country knows what Bedlam is. And yet it hasn't been very competitive. That's a fact. Rivalries are good when there are games like this. When you throw out the records and the records don't mean anything. I think every player enjoys those moments and I know we do as coaches. It's good for us to win one."
Jawun Evans
On his steal at the end of the game:
"I was just being aggressive on the ball. I tipped it and it was loose and I had to dive on it."
On he feels after being banged up inside tonight:
"I am a little banged up, but I am good. I will go back and get in the ice tub. I will be good"
On what he saw from his teammate Lindy Waters, III tonight:
"He stepped up tremendously, hit big shots, got some rebounds for us that we needed. I see him growing."
On what this win does for the team going forward:
"It is big for us, it keeps us rolling. Keep working on defense, that is what will win us some games, defensively; getting stops and getting rebounds."
OU men's head basketball coach Lon Kruger opening statement:
"It was a tough finish again I guess. I thought we did a good job in the second half closing the margin. Their guys fought back proving that they should win. We didn't make the plays that we needed to make. Down the stretch, OSU did. They got a steal and made shots. We have to grow through it. We have to keep at it. We just need to have more grit to get into the win column."
On players not calling timeouts:
"Yes we had timeouts but in that moment Kameron (McGusty) was trying to protect the ball and trying to get out of there. Next time hopefully we will be a little more aware of our timeouts. But again, we had other opportunities as well."
On decision of Kameron McGusty taking the last shot:
"That was pretty easy. Kameron was great all night. He did a good job getting us back in the game creating a bit of a margin there late. It was difficult to make that decision."
On Kristian Doolittle and his ankle:
"He rolled his ankle in the first half and came back a little bit and wasn't great. He needed a couple minutes later to give Dante (Buford) a little break but he'll be fine."
On Jordan Woodard's health:
"He's obviously not a hundred percent but he's working at it. Saturday he wasn't feeling good at all. That definitely wasn't the case tonight."
On perimeter shooting the past two games:
"We haven't been the most consistent group. We have to keep working on that. I thought we had better movement tonight and better attack. At the end of the game we need to step up and make our shots to be more effective."
Dante BufordÂ
On his performance:
"I just try to come in and play my game on both ends of the floor and help my team out."
On how to bounce back after this loss:
"It's just a challenge we have to accept. We have to take it in strides and prepare for the next game.
Kameron McGustyÂ
On if he got the look that he wanted at the end of the game:
"The play worked out. Maybe I could have got a better look, but it happens."
Players Mentioned
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