Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State Men's Basketball Postgame Quotes
December 12, 1999 | Cowboy Basketball
Dec. 12, 1999
OSU Coach Eddie Sutton
"I thought the first half we really played well. We scored 47 points. In the second half, we lost our intensity. That always shows up on the defensive end when you're not really quite ready to play. When you're substituting freely like we did, you have a tendency to lose a little bit (of intensity). Overall, I was pleased with the game. They hit some big shots and some tres. I heard Desmond (Mason) say we fouled them, and they got some points there. I think they only had six tres in the first three games, and they hit six of them this afternoon.
"Bright points, I thought Joe (Adkins) might have broken out of his shooting slump, which is really good. In order for us to be an outstanding ballclub, Joe's got to score points. Glendon (Alexander) continued to shoot the ball well for us. Offensively, it's hard to really be that critical. You score 37 field goals. You get 31 assists. That means you're passing the ball around. We got good shots. We shot over 50 percent.
"Teams that I've had coming out of final exams, I've seen them play great ball. I've seen them play very badly. So, I was happy just to come out of here with a victory."
On the team's ability to maintain intensity
"When you get thirty points ahead, I don't think there are very many teams that can sustain that intensity level that you'd like to see. Coaches sometimes don't understand that, and I'm one of them."
On the team's current level of play
"Well, I think we've got a lot of room for improvement. I think we've just got to get to a point where we do a better job over an extended period of time. We play in spurts, it seems to me. We've got to get that corrected. We've also got to get those two big, young kids where they can come in and play a little more relaxed than what they're doing. Those seven top players I think are playing pretty good basketball right now."
Brian Montonati
On his performance"I really didn't rebound all that much in the first half. I wasn't really concentrating on it. In the second half, I came out and really went to the boards hard and tried to play defense. It's kind of hard to play in a game when you get up by 30 points, sometimes your emotions get away from you. Overall, I thought I played pretty well. I missed some easy bunnies here and there and had three turnovers, but I'll take it."
On the team's performance after finals
"We had finals this past week, and that tends to take a lot out of you. Some
of the fellows were a little tired and I had a cold. We came out and played
really well in the first half. In the second half, we kind of let our
defense fall apart and they went on a 19-point run."
Doug Gottlieb
On his first collegiate game in front of his brother"My brother coached for their team, so it was kind of a big night for me. Getting him to see me play in college for the first time was really special. It was really cool to see him over on the sidelines."
On the team's overall performance
"We played well, especially in the first half. We kind of put it in cruise
control for some reason in the second half. We continued to play hard, but
things just didn't go as well as they did in the first half. I think we are
coming along well as far as our offense is concerned. We are moving much
more fluidly. Guys are hitting shots and playing well together, and that's
all you can ask for."
San Diego State Coach Steve Fisher
"The first half, we were afraid. It appeared to me as if we played very much in awe of Oklahoma State, and I think that was reflected in 14 offensive rebounds for them and something like 14 turnovers for us. You can't win when you do that. I was proud of our second-half effort. Some people would say that Oklahoma State was so far ahead that they didn't try, but I'm going to say that for the second half we competed the way you have to to have a chance to be successful."
On shooting 58 percent in the second half
"You have to build on that. You have to find ways to take small victories
and spin negatives into positives. The first half was an embarrassment in
terms of effort and energy. I could have gone out there and kept them from
getting 14 offensive rebounds. You have to play that way. You have to play
unafraid. If you compete, then you have a chance. In the second half, I
thought that we competed very hard. We talked before about playing hard and
playing smart. We did neither in the first half. The second half, we
played hard all the time, and we played smart part of the time. That's
progress. Now we just have to not have ourselves so hopelessly out of it at
halftime and do that for 40 minutes."
On Marcelo Correa
"Marcelo competes, and sometimes he loses concentration because he tries too
hard. But I'd much rather have someone like that that you can tone down a
little bit than have someone who will go out and get their nose dirty and
get into the fray. We need to take what he's done and pass it on to two or
three others, and we'll have a chance to win some games."
San Diego State Guard Donte Wilson
"We didn't come out and play like we wanted to win. We came out a little soft and let them do what they wanted to do. The second half, I thought we came out and gave a better effort. Rebounding hurt us. They got second and third chances at shots."
On the team's second half play
"Compared to the first half, we came out and we played harder ball and acted like we wanted to win the game. We don't like to lose like this. We can't get down. If we get down, the whole season will be like this. We are going to take the second half and look at that and stay positive. We are going to try to build on the second half."
