Oklahoma State University Athletics
Postgame Quotes
February 26, 2011 | Cowboy Basketball
Feb. 26, 2011
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Oklahoma State Cowboy Basketball
Postgame Quotes vs. Texas Tech
Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011
OSU Head Coach Travis Ford
Opening statement
"Our team has been through a lot, to say the least. Not just lately, but the whole year. I'm really proud of them. I'm very proud of how they're competing. You can say what you want to about this team - and there's a lot being said. It may not be the prettiest, it may not be the most talented, it may not be the deepest, but they play hard and that's going to pay off for us eventually. It did tonight. We ran our offense well, but the numbers weren't great, except for the percentages.
"Keiton (Page) didn't have a particularly good game, but we got stops. Halfway through the second, they're shooting 70 percent from the field on the nose, and they ended the half with 41 percent in the half. That's incredible. That's having your back against the wall and responding and we had guys out there who were dead tired. We've got some guys out there that are tired that we've asked a lot out of this year, but they found a way to get a win. You look at two teams fighting for a win and it comes down to the last shot. It could've gone in, it could've missed. I'm proud of our basketball team. I thought J.P. (Olukemi) responded after I've been disappointed in him lately and I thought he responded and played harder and made some key baskets. Everybody on our team played hard and competed and made plays."
On what made Jean-Paul Olukemi get out of his recent slump
"His approach to the game. Humbling himself to the game. I've done some disservice to these guys because I've played them so many minutes. I've let them play and sometimes you need to sit guys down on the bench. I did that to him and he responded. I probably should have done it a while ago. He could probably use some more of it. I told him after the game, 'J.P., great game, but you're still not out of the dog house yet. Good game, but you're not there yet, but good game. We'll take those shots.' Again, as I've told him, 'if I didn't think you could be a pro, if I didn't think you could eventually be one of the best players in this league, then I wouldn't be down on you.'"
On if fatigue played a role in Keiton Page struggling
"Yeah, and to be honest, I've seen it in practice too. And how could you not expect it? I've talked to him about it. I said, 'Keiton, you look tired. You've got to get your rest every night. I will do everything I can to make sure you can get your rest in between practices and stuff like that.' Here's a guy I'm asking to play 38 minutes a game and he gives it everything he's got. They put a 6-foot-7 (Brad Reese) guy on him and he never left him. Brad Reese is their best defender. Everybody knows that. He's one of the best in the league. And they just don't leave him. I think Keiton doesn't get his due, maybe because he's so small, but I think he just gets beat on. Watching in film, I may be wrong in my assesment, they may not be fouling him. Everybody knows we run a lot of things to get Keiton shots. He's involved in a lot we do."
OSU Senior Forward Marshall Moses
On the game
“We needed a win badly and I think we played like we did. Our guys played like we needed to win. We fought when we got down. We didn't panic. We stayed calm. We knew we had guys that could make plays. I think J.P.'s play speaks for itself. He made big shots. He did what we needed him to do, but as a team we played defense. Matt (Pilgrim) probably played his best game of the year because of how hard he played and how intimidating he was when he was on the floor - the plays he made and the rebounds he got. We played really well today.”
On if the NCAA tournament is still a goal
“The NCAA tournament is a goal, but really the honest goal is just to win. We want to win games. We're becoming a better team and winning games will take care of itself. We want to get to the tournament, no doubt, but we're focused on the Baylor game.”
On Texas Tech's last shot
“He's (John Roberson) a good player. Nick (Sidorakis) contested it well. It was almost what they call a 'shooters touch'. It looked like it was going to do that. He's a good player he just missed the shot and we were glad. If it was coming off I think we had guys in position to get the rebound, but we were glad he missed it. I think our defense made him miss. That's not a shot that a player that good just misses. I think Nick did a great job contesting the shot.”
OSU Sophomore Guard Reger Dowell
On the team's goals
“Just take it one game at a time. We'er just going to prepare for Baylor and try to get that win and just continue playing hard and doing everthing we can to bring wins to this program.”
On being a starter
“It's way different. Just nerves really. That first jump shot it was just nerves. I can't really explain it more than that. I've got to just calm down and play basketball like I know how to do.”
Texas Tech Head Coach Pat Knight
On Texas Tech's play
"We got stops when we needed them. I thought offensively when we would cut and move they had a hard time guarding us and we got what we wanted. Guys were able to finish and hit free throws so that keeps you in the game. Our offense is everyone wants to get fouled and when you miss free throws it really hurts. We were able to hit them tonight and it gave us a chance to win it in the end."
On D'Walyn Roberts
"He missed six or seven games to start the season and a month and a half of practice, so it's tough to get back into game shape and get your shot back. The problem with D'Walyn is his body is so fragile that he can't come in and work extra after practice and work on his shot because it just takes an extra toll on his body so that hurts him from a shooting standpoint."
On the last three-point attempt
"Wide open three. The walk before that wasn't what I wanted but I have John Roberson, my best three-point shooter shooting a three and it was wide open and I thought it was in. We wanted to push it up and not call timeout because they're good at trapping and pressing. We couldn't have asked for a better shot."
On making mistakes
"There were big time mistakes that added up. It's tough; you can't make mistakes like that and try to pull out a win on the road."
On guarding Jean-Paul Olukemi and Keiton Page
"He (Olukemi) got away from us. I thought we did a good job on Page and we had a chance to win it at the end so that's all we could ask for playing on the road. I was really glad of the way we played Page because they need his points most of the time."
