Oklahoma State University Athletics
No. 7 Oklahoma State 73, Sam Houston State 57
November 28, 2004 | Cowboy Basketball
OSU Basketball
vs. Sam Houston State
Nov. 27, 2004
Postgame Quotes
OSU Head Coach Designate Sean Sutton
On Joey Graham’s performance
“We challenged him at half time and I thought he really responded in the second half. That is the Joey Graham we expect to see every night and the last 20 minutes he played like the type of player he was at times last year. He was aggressive offensively, he rebounded the basketball and he got to the free throw line and really carried us in the early part of the second half. He is a better player when he is attacking the basket and rebounding. That is his best effort so far this season in terms of rebounding.”
On Sam Houston State’s shooting “We had them down 10-3 and I thought at that point we had gotten off to a great start and then I thought we relaxed a little bit and they hit some shots. They hit some tough shots too. They hit eight three-pointers in the first half. That is the interesting thing about basketball. The three-point shot can really keep teams in games.”
On Stephen Graham’s rebounding
“He is probably the best rebounder in terms of the perimeter players that we have. He did not shoot the ball well tonight but he had eight rebounds in 19 minutes and that is one of the things that we challenged him to do is rebound and play defense.”
OSU Senior forward Joey Graham
On rebounding
“In the first half, I kind of got the feeling that they were not going to box me out. In the second half, I knew I had to come out and be aggressive and attack the glass.”
On slow start
“That is just something that happens. That is part of the game. Sometimes you are down at half time. You just have to figure out what you are doing wrong. You just have to go correct it in the second half.”
On Sam Houston State
“We knew they were going to be an aggressive team. We knew they could shoot the ball a ton. In the first half we did not pick up on things as expected. In the second half, we just came out and covered some things up. We played better basketball.”
On hitting the road
“We are looking forward to the upcoming games. we want the same kind of mentality that we did last year. We looked at the fans as our support. I think that is kind of what we are going to do this year. These games on the road we just have to buck down and play some defense. That is going to help us win some games.”
OSU Senior guard Stephen Graham
On defending the three pointer
“That kind of got us with the three pointers. We got caught up on the help side too much. We closed out a little to slow. In the second half, we picked up the intensity. In the locker room, coach told us to pick up our enthusiasm on defense and rebound.”
On the slow start
“It kind of concerns us. We have a big target on our backs. I am not sure what we are ranked. Everyone is out to get us. When people play us, especially if they are a smaller school, that is going to be one of their biggest games of the season. We just have to make sure we stayed focused. We have a real talented team but everybody has talented players. “
Sam Houston State Head Coach Bob Marlin
On the performance against Oklahoma State
“We executed the game plan all night and we did what we wanted the guys to do. We tried to control the tempo and keep the score down as best as we could.”
On the defense of Sam Houston State
“I thought that we had the game where we wanted it and with about seven minutes togo the game slipped away. We changed defenses a couple of times and I thought that help us for awhile. Like its been the case for the Cowboys all season, I told our team the last two nights. At some point in any game no matter how hard you hold John Lucas down he is capable of hitting a big shot or shots that will get the Cowboys going. Lucas hit some big three’s late and we got outscored 17-9 to end the game.”
On the play of the Sam Houston State offense
“We carried out our game plan and ran some clock. We missed some shots at the basket and we had a couple of baskets wiped off. We did a poor job at the free throw line and Oklahoma State was 17-20, which was a difference in the game. We weren’t strong enough with the ball.”
On Oklahoma State’s senior forward Joey Graham and senior guard John Lucas
“Those two guys are definitely All-American players. I have got to watch them play on television and I was able to see Joey at the NIKE camp. At that camp I really came to appreciate Joey. Ever since the change from Baylor to Stillwater, I have seen a new life in John and he has done a great job as a leader by getting the Cowboys to the Final Four last year and is going to be a great player for them this year.”
Sam Houston State freshman guard Brandon Streeter
On playing in Gallagher-Iba Arena
“It’s awesome, it’s everything I dreamed of. I am so glad to get to play here.”
On being matched up against John Lucas
“It’s amazing. He is a great player and it is an awesome opportunity to match up against him.”
On Joey Graham and John Lucas
“They are great. Definitely one of the best tandems in the nation.”
On the difference in the second half
“They wanted it more than us in the second half. They were hungrier than us and they made us pay for it.”
Sam Houston State senior forward Eddy Fobbs
On playing a top-10 opponent
“I love the big games. These are the games when I love to step up. It is a great environment.”
On the physical play of both teams
“There was a lot of pushing and grabbing. But it was happening on both ends, no one was getting more than the other person.”
On John Lucas and Joey Graham
“I love those guys. I know them from Nike Camp this past summer. They are great players and real good guys; two of the best players in the country.”
