Oklahoma State University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: OSU 83 vs OU 81 (OT)
January 20, 2018 | Cowboy Basketball
Oklahoma State head coach Mike Boynton
On the game his team played against Oklahoma …
"Wow. An amazing effort by both teams. I certainly want to give credit to coach (Lon) Kruger and his squad for coming in here and making it a game where it looked like the old days here and it mattered. It was Bedlam in here today and our guys were up to the challenge and kept competing and kept fighting and kept finding ways to make plays when we needed them. Those were plays we weren't making two weeks ago. To see our guys turn the page a little bit and make winning plays at the end of the game was pretty cool."
On Kendall Smith down the stretch …
"I told the guys here in the locker room when I started recruiting Kendall that a big part of our message to him was not that you could come here and be a pro or we want you be a Jawun Evans, but we wanted him to be a part of laying a foundation for a really competitive Big 12 basketball program. We knew he had the ability. We knew he thrives in big moments and I had no hesitation with putting him in there and giving him an opportunity to make a play knowing he's the type of guy who wants the ball in his hands."
On the strategy to double team Trae Young …
"At that point, you're just trying to keep him in front of you and trying to keep him seeing two sets of arms and legs and chests and have as much traffic as possible to make a really tough shot. He can make a shot over one guy at any time, so we thought if he could make a shot over two people then hats off to him for being a great player."
On Trae Young's career-high of 48 points …
"I'm racking my brain trying to figure this out. But at the same time, we know that he is very capable of doing that. He has a lot of freedom in their system, he's a phenomenal player and he can make a shot from anywhere. He got himself going there in the second half and put on a pretty good show for about six minutes, but no one else got in double figures. That was a big point of emphasis for us. Last time we played them, he got 27 (points) and 10 (assists) with other guys in double figures. That certainly makes it hard for you to beat them."
On how Oklahoma's offensive rebounding affected OSU's defense …
"We were trying to make it as hard on him as possible. He's the focal point of their offense, you can't deny that. The problem was that they got to the glass when we had so much attention on him to force tough shots. There were three possessions where they had five shots at it. You can't do that and expect to be successful anywhere, let alone the competition we were facing."
On the crowd …
"Our fans are tremendous. It's taken them a while to start to see the work this team has put in. We know we have great fans and we know when they come in this building it makes it hard on other teams that come in here. We certainly hope that we can continue to build from there."
OSU senior guard Kendall Smith
On his mindset for the shot to tie the game …
"Just being a playmaker. Give all glory to God. Like I have said before, I am going to stay aggressive and stay confident. I was able to help my team tonight."
On this game compared to the last Bedlam game …
"I think the passion I played with tonight. Everyone here talks about the big OU/OSU rivalry. Being from California, I don't know much about that. So, the first game, people say that we hate OU and things like that. I didn't have a passion or a real dislike for the university. Obviously we respect them at a very high level. After the [last] game and seeing how that went, being able to come back and play in Gallagher gave me another level of passion. The rivalry was kind of instilled in me after the first game."
On the crowd …
"Our crowd was wonderful tonight. Big shoutout to our fans and everyone who came out to support us."
On guarding Trae Young in the last few seconds …
"Coach Mike does a great job in practice, putting us in positions to guard with the full-court drills and half-court drills. I told the ref that I was going to show my hands and not foul. Obviously my teammates did their job in making sure they were in the right spot, so that when he drove that we were able to collapse him and get a hand on the shot."
On guarding Trae Young overall …
"I'm not big on giving the opposite team too much credit, but he is very talented. He is a very talented young man, but I think our team did a great job of staying locked in. I don't think anyone else scored double figures, so that was pretty good on our guys."
On Mitchell Solomon's steal …
"That's who Mitch is: he's the guy who doesn't mind doing the dirty work. He doesn't mind covering for his teammates. With the passion, energy and effort he plays with, as the four other guys on the court with him, you have to step up and match that. Mitch has been terrific for us, and I believe he will continue to do that. And we will continue to follow."
On honoring Remember The Ten …
"Coach definitely reiterated that to us before and after the game. When we put on the Cowboy jersey, we don't just play for ourselves and our families. There are many more people: our boosters, our fans, alumni and Remember the 10. Our condolences go out to everyone who was affected by that. We will continue to play hard, like I said, not just for ourselves, but for everyone else."
OSU senior guard Jeffrey Carroll
On the change from the last Bedlam to this game …
"I think just playing poised for 40 minutes or, tonight, 45. Playing poised, playing calm and playing Cowboy basketball."
On Mitchell Solomon's steal …
"That's him right there, to a T. He makes those plays all the time. We need it from him. I want to say I was in the backcourt. I just saw the ball, and I already knew. It's just him being him. He just dove for it and got it. And Shine came through and got it, then he scooped it in."
On the crowd rushing the court …
"It is the best feeling in the world: playing in Gallagher-Iba."
On being his favorite game he has played …
"This may have to be the best one, in my opinion. We fought for 45 minutes. There was so much emotion, passion and pride from us tonight."
On Coach Boyton addressing the crowd after the game …
"He loves the fans. It is something that our focus is on. He has so much passion."
OU head coach Lon Kruger
Opening statement …
"Very hard, hard fought. Obviously O-State opened the game sharp. A lot of emotion and jumped out there. I thought our guys did a good job of hanging in there in the first half and then regrouping and doing what they needed to get back in the ball game in the second half. Again, tough battle right till the end. I thought they got back some missed shots late in regulation and in overtime that hurt us, we couldn't get that rebound at critical times. Especially when we had the lead there a couple of times. But credit to O-State they did what they needed to do to win and we didn't."
OU freshman guard Trae Young
On playing an emotional game like today …
"This is a tough place to play like I said...this is a tough place and they're a different team at home as you can tell. They did a good job executing and we can't get behind in the first half and I think that's what got us."
On his hot streak in the second half
"I could have done that the whole game. I wasn't attacking as much. I was thinking too much in the first half. I didn't play my game in the first half and that came back and bit me. I just didn't play my game in the first half and I did a little bit better in the second."
On what he will take away from this loss
"You got to start out the game better. That's one thing. I know I'm going to get back and watch film and I'll be able to tell you more about it but off the top of my head just being ready to go from the beginning and it starts with me. I didn't bring the energy from the beginning. So yeah just do that and we'll get better."
OU junior guard Rashard Odomes
On what changed for them in the second half
"You know just, everyone's energy. We had a little talk in the locker room and just getting everyone to bring their energy back that we didn't have in the first half."
