Oklahoma State University Athletics
Postgame Quotes vs. Rogers State
January 08, 2008 | Cowboy Basketball
Oklahoma State Cowboy Basketball
Postgame Quotes vs. Rogers State
Monday, January 7, 2008
Head Coach Sean Sutton
On the game
“I was concerned about this game and that we could have that type of sluggish performance knowing that Big 12 opens up on Saturday against Texas Tech. I thought that once we got that18-point lead it was almost like the Texas-San Antonio game. We just lost all our intensity. Offensively we quit sharing the basketball and defensively we lost our aggressiveness and started fouling. As a result we don't look very good.
“Our guys need to be able to transfer what we do on the practice court into a game setting. Last three days of practice we moved the ball, we've been unselfish and then we get out here and in their minds we still have some guys thinking they need to score. And we're not going to win that way. This program has been built on playing hard, being unselfish and playing as a team. I don't think that we have selfish guys but we have to be able to understand that when we're not getting shots we need to help somebody else get shots.”
On Wren Baker being back in Stillwater
“It was good to see him. Our guys had a lot of respect for them. We talked to our guys a lot about them and how well they played against ORU. Wren has done a really good job with them. They had a good defense and they played hard. They made plays and stayed in the game. They did a good job late in the game of pounding the inside hard and drawing fouls.”
Junior Guard Byron Eaton
On the game
“I think we came out the way that we play against Oral Roberts. We knew this was a big game for Coach Sean (Sutton) because he was coaching against one of his guys that used to coach here. We came out really slow. I made some crazy turnovers, but my team was able to back me up and we got back on track. We got that lead going into the half and then we came out and opened it up. We got back into that mode where we weren’t aggressive and we started making more crazy turnovers. We let them get back into it. I’m just happy that we pulled out with a win.”
On his team’s 20 turnovers
“Going into the Big 12, we can’t have that. We just got a nasty win tonight ... If we want to do anything in the league or the post season, it needs to be the other way around - 20 assists and eight turnovers. I had some crazy turnovers, Obi (Muonelo) had some crazy turnovers. That is something that we have to correct if we want to do anything in the Big 12. We just have to work on it on the practice court. That is where it starts. We just have to get it right.”
Sophomore Guard Obi Muonelo
On his improved play
“Coach Sean has been telling me that I need to attack the basket. My teammates have been asking me why I don’t attack the basket like I used to. In my mind I just think, ‘Be aggressive and go to the whole as hard as I can’. I shouldn’t take a three-point shot as soon as I get in the game. Byron (Eaton) told me that and he said just to drive the ball first. That is what I have been doing and it has helped me be a little more successful.
“I never lost my confidence. I just feel like I haven’t been playing the way I should play. The way I play is being aggressive, shooting three’s, but shooting open three’s. Coach Sean and Coach Randy (Rutherford) said tonight that I took two three’s and that is the way I should be playing. The rest of my shots were all to the basket.”
On Rogers State
“They were better than I expected. I didn’t overlook them, but I thought that they came out and played with a lot of confidence. That kind of threw me off. Looking at it from the bench to start off the game, I could tell that they were playing with a lot of confidence and that they attacked us. That was impressive.”
Rogers State Head Coach Wren Baker
On holding James Anderson to 1 point in the second half
“I wish I could tell you some miracle adjustment after halftime that we made to shut him down … we played a little more zone. Maybe that took him out of it, but as far as saying 'we're going to play him this way', we didn't specifically bring his name up during halftime. We just told our kids we have to make layups and quit giving up offensive rebounds.”
“Oklahoma State is so aggressive defensively getting out in the passing lanes that we knew we could not afford giving them free points on the other end.”
On returning to Oklahoma State
“It was nice. I enjoyed it. Sean (Sutton), James (Dickey) and Kyle (Keller) have been really good to me. Sean made it a point to visit with me today and bring me in.”
“When the Suttons talk about basketball being a family, they mean it. I was treated very well today.”
“I didn't exactly know how to get to the visitor's locker room and when we left to go on the floor I had to ask the security guard, 'what door do we go in?' I had never went that path before.”
“I don't want people to see the score and think anything negative about Oklahoma State. They've gotten a lot better since that ORU game. If you know basketball you can see that they are competing and playing hard.”
“I think the challenge for us is to go back and treat the non-Division I opponents with the same respect and bring out the same intensity and energy as we do against these guys. "
