Oklahoma State University Athletics
Postgame Quotes
November 08, 2014 | Cowboy Basketball
Head Coach Travis Ford
On his thoughts about the win
"I'm glad that everybody got to play the minutes that I wanted. Everybody got to play significant minutes so we could actually see what they were doing. (Tavarius) Shine came in and gave us some good minutes. I thought Joe Burton came in and made some shots. Overall, there are a lot of areas that we have to get better at. Defensively, we got a little confused at times with which defense we were in. Overall, the defense was very good, but the times that it wasn't good was because of mix-ups, so we've got to correct that. I look down and we blocked eight shots, but my initial thought is that we didn't block enough. We still have to have more of a presence at the rim when you have two seven-footers out there a lot in (Marek) Soucek and Anthony Allen. We still didn't block enough shots and have that presence at the rim that I'm looking for. Michael Cobbins will bring us that when he comes back, and Anthony Allen will as well when he plays more minutes. Overall, the defense was very good. Offensively, we didn't push the ball enough. For some reason, our guys were slowing the game down and that's not how we've been practicing. They got caught thinking a lot instead of playing. They were thinking about what kind of plays we were getting into. We've got to try and make that more natural and do it at a higher speed. We've still got to get more from our five spot. It's plain and simple. We've just got to get more from the our guys playing at the five spot. But I'm just glad we got everybody to play. We got a good look at some guys. We played everybody even minutes as much as possible."
On the opportunity to get a good look at players outside of practice
"We know our top four guys, and then after that it's going to be based on practice and who's playing well in the game. (Tavarius) Shine was one of the last wings to get in the game, but he came in and made a couple of threes, so you never know. The first time Jeff Newberry came into the game, I didn't think he did too well, and then after that I thought he played really well."
On getting guys to embrace their roles on the team
"We've spent a lot of time talking to players about playing to their strengths. We ask them what's on their resume. If you're filling out your resume as a basketball player, are you a rebounder, are you a shot blocker, are you a scorer? What are those responsibilities. You must understand your role, and then accept that role and go do it. Play to your strengths and get better at your weaknesses. We've got some guys right now that have too many negative plays. We've got to cut out some of the silly mistakes. Some of the passes we made today were just ridiculous passes, but it's these guys getting to know each other and understanding how we're playing. I think it will all come around. More than anything today, I thought we played very hard. I thought we were very scrappy. I know I keep using that word all the time, but I think that's what we are. I think good things are happening. We have the ability to get hot from the three-point line, but I think we've got to develop more of a postgame. Le'Bryan Nash gives us that, but we've got to get more shots closer to the basket."
On preparing for Southeastern Louisiana
"I just talked a lot about next Friday's game with our team. It's our home opener. Things we've got to get better at, we've got to learn the plays and defenses a little bit better as far as what we're in. We're still going to make mistakes, but understand where you need to be. We've got to get more out of out five spot. I'm going to be concentrating on that our whole next week trying to get those guys ready. We also didn't play at the pace we need to play at today. We have a lot to get better at and we have a tough schedule to do it. We have a lot of games here quickly. I think we have six games in the first 12 days. That's difficult for this young basketball team, but with Michael Cobbins out, we have to play a lot of games early. We're going to be a team that can win some games and there will be some games that we are going to have to learn from. I told the guys that every time we walk into the locker room, I want their head up. If we win, I want you to celebrate, but if things don't go our way I want you to keep your head up because we have to learn from every situation before Big 12 play gets here. If we have that attitude and we stick together, then we have a chance to have a lot of fun. We've got to spend a lot of time making sure that all of these new guys really understand what this is all about before we start our home opener."
OSU senior forward Le'Bryan Nash
On his rebounding improvement
“That's a big emphasis this year, just getting rebounds, grabbing boards. All I do is play to win, and my team needed me to rebound.”
On being a team leader
“This team goes how far I go, and I'm trying to be the best player in the country. That's what I set my goal for and I have the opportunity, the offense plays through me. I just want to be a leader, being a senior I've been through it for three years. I know a lot, so the guys lean on me to be a leader on this team. I'm just trying to do my best, work hard and win games.”
On what Anthony Hickey brings to the team
“You see it, he's the head of our snake, and he's our point guard. We go through him, whatever he does, that's what we'll do. If we see him getting after it on defense, we're going to do the same thing. He sets the tempo of our defense.”
OSU senior guard Anthony Hickey
On making his Cowboy debut
" I was excited. I had experienced it in the SEC, but this is a new level. It was kind of close at first, but we pushed through. It feels good to be a Cowboy and get to get out there and play against somebody else.”
On if the game felt different
“The pace, like I said, we finally got to play against somebody else. Le'Bryan showed me he's on the boards and that's what we need from him. We play through him, night in and night out, he's going to be on his A-game and we're going to roll with him.”
On leading the team
“They always say it starts with me, so if they see me going hard and diving for loose balls, we'll hold each other accountable. When it's time to lock up, we'll strap it up and set the tone.”
On being comfortable with his teammates
“It's comfortable, but it has to be comfortable. Coach Ford will be on your butt for getting in the system and knowing the system, so I even run the two (shooting guard position) a little bit just to know the system like the back of my hand. I'm getting a good feel, knowing where guys are going to be and I'm going to keep progressing as it goes.”
