Oklahoma State University Athletics
UMKC Postgame Quotes
December 29, 2015 | Cowboy Basketball
OSU head coach Travis Ford
Thoughts on the game:
"We make every game interesting, that's what I told my team tonight. It's not going to work moving forward, gaining a lead and then losing a lead. We became very lax, we need to gain some toughness during that stretch. I told our guys that in the timeout. We need toughness on both ends of the court. Our defense became very timid, (UMKC) kept driving to the basket and putting it in. Previous to that stretch, we didn't see any of that. But as we've talked about before, we need to get mentally tougher. We see that in practice, we see that everywhere, and we have three days to solve it. As we talked about to our team, the reason you come to Oklahoma State is to play in the Big 12. However, you can't play in stretches or spurts, you have to have some toughness for 40 minutes. You will turn it over, you will miss shots, that's part of the game, but your mental approach cannot change. Our mental approach is a rollercoaster.Â
On the long break from play:
I was concerned and disappointed because I thought we played our best basketball against Florida, and then we had to take a break. On another note, it's important for our kids to go home, recharge and see their families. But, I thought we were really progressing from Minnesota to most of the game against Longwood to Florida. There were a lot of pluses. Tonight, I don't think we had our best effort, but we did some very good things defensively in the first half. We held a team that can score to only 18 points in the first half. They play a tough zone, which we struggled with at times. We did a better job of taking care of the ball in the second half. We turned the ball over way too much tonight. Then, we lost our mental focus. I didn't know what to expect with the long break we had, but it definitely wasn't the team that I saw during the Florida game. Our guys need to know that every game we play from now on is important.
On Tyree Griffin:
Tyree was huge on both ends. He bailed us out with some shots tonight. That's what was important. He was the one guy who was getting into the paint off the dribble. We were begging guys in timeouts to get inside and penetrate. He did that several times. he was the only guy we could get to do that. His approach was right mentally tonight. He attacked the zone, he stepped up to the challenge of matching up against another really good guard. I agree, that was one of Tyree's better games.Â
On Anthony Allen:
When they went on their run in the second half, it was because they were attacking the rim. We needed to have a presence there. I put him back in the game, and the game changed. We put other guys back in the game as well, and the game turned around. He gives us that presence at the rim. We need him to stay focused out there. I thought he rebounded the ball well. He got above the rim and rebounded a couple times. His blocked shots were very much needed from against a team that likes to get to the rim.Â
On Big 12 play opening on Saturday and hosting TCU:
As we told our team, this is the best league in America. I don't know if there is a close second. It's an exciting time, but you have to take it one game at a time. We know the challenge that is ahead of us, and we have to play better than we ever have. We have three days to get better. Hopefully we'll get a big win Friday night, and hopefully we can get some fans here during our home-opener of Big 12 play. I thought the fans were very good tonight. They were loud, and we need to get people here to support these guys. We need all the help we can get right now. We also need to get healthy. That's the other thing right now, we've got some key players out. We need to take care of the basketball, and take it one game at a time.
OSU Guard Jeff Newberry
On getting things going in the second half:
"I thought we came out a little flat. That's stuff we have to concentrate on, especially at home. We just wanted to have a good win going into the Big 12 and I think everybody knew that. Everybody in our starting five and our bench was getting us into it. The crowd did too. We just needed to come out with some type of energy to get a run going."
On playing with two point guards on the floor:
"I think it differs on what type of lineup we're facing, but Tyree can face taller guards too. It's good because I don't have to go up and handle the ball as much. We have two point guards in there who can both get it up the floor on their own. It's good that we can have an outlet on either being. We don't have to try to get it to one person to get the ball up the floor."
On playing in a mask:
"I didn't like it at all at first, but I'm kind of getting used to it now, though. It was a tough transition and I was worried about getting my face hit, but now I'm to the point where I'm used to it. My teammates keep me up, telling me to keep shooting and keep playing my game. I'm used to it now. I'll probably have a couple more games with it."
On looking forward to Big 12 Conference play:
"We're very excited. That's what you come here for. We're trying the guys excited who haven't experienced what Big 12 play is like, fun environments, tough games every day, this is what you come here for. This is what we've been working toward."
On Anthony Allen:
"He was great for us. We knew he could do it all year, we just tell him to be consistent all the time at practice. Now he's transitioning it into the game and making stuff a lot easier for everybody else. Now we can get fast breaks going easier with him blocking shots and people hesitant to go to the rim. He's helping us out a lot."
OSU Forward Jeffrey Carroll
On Tyree Griffin:
"Tyree played great. He always does that in practice so we're used to it. He always handles pressure really well and he plays hard."
On the importance of this victory:
"It's big for us, coming off a loss against Florida. Just to get back in the win column going into conference play is huge for us. We just have to continue to ride this wave we're on and continue to play well throughout the Big 12."
