Oklahoma State University Athletics
Postgame Quotes
December 21, 2010 | Cowboy Basketball
Dec. 21, 2010
Oklahoma State Head Coach Travis Ford
“It was a good win for our basketball team. I thought Stanford played really well. I thought they came back and really regrouped after their last game and gave us a great effort. Kind of like the Alabama game I thought we went on just enough spurts and just enough runs and made just enough big shots to pull it out.
"I wasn't happy in the first half at all. I thought our offense took a lot of bad shots in the first half and defensively we were getting beat off the dribble. Our rotations were bad. Second half we did a better job of containing the dribble but we didn't do a great job rotating. I thought our defense was a little bit better even though they shot a higher percentage. We did give up too many open dunks. Our offense tonight helped us out. When we shoot the ball from the three like that in this building we have a decent chance to be successful.”
“Keiton's (Page) shot before half and the shot-clock shot were both huge shots. He struggled and that was his only basket of the first half so I thought it gave him a little bit of a boost and it gave the whole team a boost. We came out great defensively and did everything we wanted to do but our offense was letting us down which in turn got our defense a little down. We were getting all these stops but couldn't score in our own gym. That was a little disappointing. To make that shot going into halftime gave everyone a little bit of momentum.”
“I wasn't happy with shoot-around. Guys are out of school and probably laid around all day long before they came to shoot-around and things like that. The coaching staff talked about it today that we need to get them up. Usually we don't meet until shoot-around on game days. They were even sluggish in the locker room and I was a little concerned. But that shot woke everybody up. At halftime I wasn't upset. I was very calm because I knew we were going to play better. I told them to put it behind us, we're up one, we played bad on both sides but it's all behind us. I told them we'd play better in the second half.”
Oklahoma State Junior Guard Keiton Page
On his three-point shooting
"On two or three of those shots, Ray (Penn) got it into the paint, drawing a couple of defenders and I was just relocating and he was doing a good job of finding me."
On taking control of the game
"I knew we were struggling a little bit going into the second half and we actually got into the bonus pretty early in both halves, so I was just trying to get to the line a little bit and carry the momentum. I knew we were getting some stops, holding them to one shot, and Ray and I were just trying to get it into transition and get a couple of easy buckets and push that lead a little bit."
Sophomore Guard Ray Penn
On Keiton's three-point shot at the end of the first half
“After Keiton hit that shot it gave us the momentum going into the half and when we got in there we just said 'okay, now we just need to step on the gas.'"
On keeping the lead in the second half
"I think against Alabama we let up during the second half, and this time we knew Stanford was a good team and coach told us that they score 16 more points in the second half (than the first half), so I guess they're just a second half team."
Stanford Head Coach Johnny Dawkins
"I thought that Oklahoma State did a great job and I thought they played hard. They executed well. It was big at the beginning of the first half and they were big at the beginning of the second half. They made some key plays. The kid Page stepped up towards the end and made that big shot at the buzzer. They outscored us 14-2 in the last minute or so. We have to be better at closing a half and we have to be better starting the second half. I give them credit. It had to do with how hard they played and how well they executed."
On Keiton Page's performance
"He played really poised. He didn't make many shots early in the first half. I think his first bucket of the half was that big shot. As a shooter sometimes that is what you need. I think he does a great way of setting up his shot. He is very crafty. He doesn't let his size hinder him. I give the kid a lot of credit, he played well."
On mixing up his starting lineup
"We came out with a different starting lineup. You will see us changing our lineup from time to time based on our personnel and who we match up with."
On not starting the game well offensively
"With a new lineup in, all the sudden you have chemistry issues. Guys aren't used to having certain guys on the court at the start of the game and so I think that took us a little while to find that adjustment. I think once we did and guys got comfortable they started making more plays."
