Oklahoma State University Athletics
Postgame Quotes
November 14, 2014 | Cowboy Basketball
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
Postgame Quotes
Oklahoma State vs Southeastern Louisiana
Friday, November 14, 2014
OSU head coach Travis Ford (from postgame radio show)
On turning the game around in the second half
“It was as big of a turnaround as I've seen from one half to the other. We talked about some things at halftime that we had to change. We made a few adjustments and we totally took them out in transition. I don't know if they scored any points in transition in the second half. I know for a long time, they had zero. That was pretty much all that we were keeping track of. Our whole intensity level picked up. We made some shots, and when you make shots, that gives you energy. I told our guys that sometimes the game is going to be ugly. This was an ugly game for about 30 minutes. We just hung in there playing against a really scrappy basketball team; a team I like. I think they've got some talent, and they played really well. They were very well-prepared. They took us out of a lot of our plays. It was good for us to see because we didn't adjust to that too well. When they took us out of our plays, we kind of just stopped. I told our team that we need to adjust to that, and we'll be better prepared for that. I loved the effort in the second half. We played to our identity. We let our defense create some offense and we passed the basketball. We had 19 assists tonight. We'll take that every night."
On the point guard play tonight
"I thought that (Anthony) Hickey was the difference in the second half because of his energy level on defense and what he created. He got out to a couple of steals, a couple of layups for himself, then he found a couple of guys for some shots. I really thought he was very good."
On Anthony Allen
I thought that Anthony Allen came off the bench inside and really played well. Obviously, if you look at his stats, he gave us great energy. He played to his size, and that's something that he's not been doing for us in practice. He played to his strengths. It was great to see that he did that tonight ... (He played with a little too much emotion) at times. He is an emotional guy and I like that. You've got to channel that in the right direction sometimes. He's a little boisterous and a little loud at times.”
OSU head coach Travis Ford (postgame press conference)
Opening statement
“Obviously it was much better, much more pleasing in the second half than in the first. We were playing hard, but were kind of stuck in concrete a couple times as far as the loose balls in the first half. I wasn't happy with our reaction. I thought we were a little tight. We played a pretty good basketball team that was well-prepared. They took our exhibition game, did a good job scouting us and took away some options. It was good that they did that because now we know we have to make some adjustments. But we played to our identity in the second half, that's the biggest thing. In the first half we did not, obviously. In the second half, we played more to who we want to be, how we want to play and created a lot of offense from our defense.”
“We need him to affect the stat sheet even more. I'd like for him to get five or six rebounds per game at least. But I thought he shot the ball well, got a couple blocked shots and a steal. He played a good game and those points he gave us (what) we needed. That's what we're going to continue to find, who else can score for us.”
On Le'Bryan Nash's offense
“It got to the point where we were playing off of him. You can do that with LB because he's such a good passer out of the post. He got a little frustrated at times, but it was a good challenge. He gave us some points that we needed, shot the ball well from the free-throw line. We got him a lot of touches.”
On Anthony Allen's improvement
“He got involved and gained some confidence as the game went along. He rebounded the ball above the rim, something we haven't had in a while. He had a physical presence around the rim blocking shots, rebounding and dunking. What he did tonight is what we expect, we just need to see it more. He got on a roll and wanted more of it because he saw what he can do.”
OSU junior guard Phil Forte
On first game of the season
"We got off to a sluggish start, give them credit. We knew coming in that they were a good team, Coach Ford told us coming in that this was the toughest first game we've had in a while. We knew coming in that we had to play well, we didn't really execute very well in the first half. We were kind of on our heels a little bit, and in the second half we were able to pick up the tempo, get after it defensively and that kind of led to some easy shots."
On his six steals
"I just want to do whatever I can to help our team win, whether it's deflections or rebounds, playing hard is something I try to do every game besides trying to knock down shots. It's not just me, that's everybody and we needed a little energy at the time, I just put myself in position to make a few plays and they converted them into baskets on the other end."
On Anthony Allen
"He's here to be a rim protector and defensive presence inside and with (Michael Cobbins) out these first couple of games, that's something we need to fill and he did a great job in the second-half, giving us a lot of energy, blocking shots and rebounding. His emotion kind of helped spark us and he did a good job of coming off the bench, and providing some positive plays for us."
On Leyton Hammonds' importance
"That's big, it just opens it up for everybody else. He's knocking shots down and other teams are going to have to respect him. We've all seen Leyton do it in practice his freshman year and it doesn't surprise me that he was knocking those shots down, I've seen him do it hundreds of times in practice. The fans haven't seen it as much, but we're expecting a big year out of him and we know that he can be a positive spark for us on offense and defense this year."
On quick turnaround
"Playing is always fun, everybody would rather play than practice. It's just another chance to get out here and play another game. We're excited, we get to take the court. We got some jitters out of the way hopefully and we just need to move on and continue to work on things that we need to improve on. There's things we've got to get better at and we've got a chance to do it on Sunday."
OSU sophomore wing Leyton Hammonds
On being comfortable
"It just felt natural today, making shots, playing hard on defense, but it starts with these guys in practice getting on me and telling me to play my game. Playing with (Phil Forte), one of the best shooters in the country, I want to make shots so I can be like him. It's always good to have these guys around pushing me."
On wanting to start the year on a positive note
"I'm always a believer in fast starts, starting off good and having a good foundation. This game I felt like I put myself in the right direction on defense, being more active, that's my main focus. Offense will always come, but helping this team out I feel like I can help out on defense and rebounding. I felt good today so I'll keep improving."
On Anthony Allen
"He's a wild horse sometimes, but he's a great guy. He's really emotional out there, he plays with a lot of passion, you just have to hold the reins on him sometimes so he doesn't get out of control, but he's a great guy."
Southeastern Louisiana head coach Jay Ladner
On Oklahoma State's offense
"They're extremely talented and skilled. We were fortunate to be where we were at the half only being down two, but we knew they were going to turn the intensity up in the second half. I thought we did a pretty good job of hanging in there. A lot of credit to them. They have an outstanding team. Coach Ford does a terrific job. It was an honor for us to come up here and play."
On facing a Big 12 opponent
"It was certainly a great challenge. We play in a much smaller conference, but we've kind of put things in perspective knowing that these games are going to help us prepare for games in our league. We won't play anybody with that size, strength and skill at our conference level, so this is a nice way to prepare for the conference season."
On building off tonight's game
"I think that there are several things to look back on, like how it was a two-point game at the half. I thought that was a great positive. We didn't play well at all in the second half ,but that's just part of the process. It's a pre-league game and we just have to keep trying to improve and get better."
