Oklahoma State University Athletics
Postgame Quotes
March 15, 2011 | Cowboy Basketball
March 15, 2011
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Postgame Quotes
Oklahoma State vs. Harvard
First Round, National Invitation Tournament
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
OSU head coach Travis Ford
Opening statement
"I am proud of our team. It was not indicative of our practice yesterday, I can tell you that. We didn't have a very good practice yesterday. I had to bring them back last night and talk to them for a while. It was all mental at this point anyway, we were really trying to get these guys focused. I thought we put a little too much into it this late in the year. I would like every practice to go perfect, but I was just excited the way they came out tonight. I wasn't sure how they'd come out. I thought the were ready during the pregame talk and I thought how we started the game, Ifelt very good about it. We played 35 to 36 minutes of really good basketball. We had a few minutes of let-up, because we had an incredible amount of respect for Harvard. We have been talking about for the last two days all of the positive things of the Harvard basketball team and how difficult it would be to play them. I was glad that it was home. I am very proud of our guys. To win the first game is always tough. It is win No. 20, and with everything we have been through this year, and with the strength of schedule of 35, that is pretty good to have 20 wins."
On kicking the team out of practice the day before the NIT
"It was the first time all year. I wasn't happy. A lot of times during this time of the year you have to do things to motivate them and bring every trick out of your bag that you can. I wasn't happy, but I didn't plan to do it. I was trying to get their attention and make them understand that Harvard is legitimate. I really thought they should have been an NCAA team. You look at their non-conference schedule they played, they played five great schools and beat two of them. They lost one of them at Michigan by three, and then they did what they needed to do in conference play, I thought they should have been an NCAA basketball team. But we just needed to get our guys attention. They were ready, though."
On the advantage of playing at home
"I talk a lot about the personality of this team and this team not having a lot of personality. Different teams have different personalities. They don't get up for a lot of stuff. I've come in the room after big wins and everybody is kind of just sitting there, but tonight after my last talk with them before the game, I saw some excitement for the first time when they were leaving the locker room. They were excited to play. We didn't know what to expect crowd-wise tonight, we weren't expecting much. We knew it was on national television and we just wanted to keep it down tight, but when we walked out there it was as loud as it has been. I can't tell you how many people I have run into after this game that haven't been able to come to a game until this game. They either couldn't afford it or something like that, butthey were excited to come to this game. The energy level was great. I think our players felt that, and when I walked out there I felt it. We really appreciate the fans coming out here like they said on the PA thank you for making the effort. They had to come buy a ticket to come in, so we really appreciate the effort and we appreciate everyone sticking with this basketball team."
OSU senior forward Marshall Moses
On coming out ready to play
“I think we just carried over momentum from that KU game and we're seeing we're playing hard. We really do. Credit to Harvard because they're a good team, but if you can play good D(efense) and defend, what I think is the best team in America (Kansas), then you should be able to go out and do it every night against everybody.”
On feeding off Reger Dowell's and Matt Pilgrim's energy
“I fed off Reger's energy a lot tonight. A couple times on a ball screen, he would do what he always does. I would turn around and he's laying the ball up. That always gives you a spark. Matt played excellent tonight. He got some big-time rebounds and big -time baskets. We really did feed off of them a lot.”
On Markel Brown's dunk in the second half
“I don't know what I could say about it. That was amazing. Markel has the ability to do that every time he gets to the basket, athletically. That's the little steps from being a freshman to becoming a sophomore.”
OSU sophomore guard Reger Dowell
On if the seniors stressed the importance of the NIT
“Most definitely. We had plenty of meetings when Marshall (Moses) and Nick (Sidorakis) and Matt (Pilgrim) came in and were telling us how important these games would be and making the most out of the NIT and that it would be a great achievement for us if we could go all the way to New York and get a win. I think all our guys came out with the right mindset tonight and played very hard and got the win.”
On his ability to drive
“I just do what I can to help my team win. If I come of a ball screen and I see a lane, I take it. If I don't, I bring it back out and run a play. I just do what I can, really.”
Harvard head coach Tommy Amaker
On the game
"Certainly not one of our better performances we've played all year. Give a lot of credit obviously to Oklahoma State. I thought they played with a great deal of intensity; they're tough around the post area. I was very impressed with their quickness and speed. It certainly knocked us back on our heels how quickly they could get up and down the floor and their athleticism around the goal. We were a much better basketball team this season. It's disappointing with the kind of year we've had to have this kind of send-off for our final game."
On what went wrong
"We had a quick turnaround in terms of travel and everything to get here but without a doubt (Matt) Pilgrim and (Marshall) Moses, those kids are strong, they're veterans, they're senior players, and they played like it. They were very efficient with their numbers and I thought they had a very balanced team this evening."
On Oklahoma State
"You give credit to Oklahoma State, I thought they played exceptionally well and were very hungry tonight. I think we were able to make a run to get it down to eight and spent so much energy trying to battle back and it's tough to do so in this type of environment against a tough, physical basketball team."
On Oklahoma State starting the game strong
"It was a critical factor. We were hopeful that we could get off to a good start trying to manage the situation with the home-court advantage that they would have here."
