Oklahoma State University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Oklahoma State vs UMKC
November 09, 2019 | Cowboy Basketball
On the win:
"Our game plan and approach today was to play inside-out, to try to establish Yor [Anei] and Cam [McGriff] in the paint, and try to make sure we were more conscious as a rebounding team and also taking care of the basketball. We did all three of those things very well."
On Kansas City being physical on the perimeter and cutting down the turnovers:
"They are an aggressive defensive team. They are pretty physical on the ball and they get in gaps, and sometimes we've struggled against teams who play that way. Tonight, we showed some growth and maturity in making good decisions and sharing the basketball and taking shots when they were there. We didn't make a bunch of threes, but the focus was trying to play inside, and we got that done."
On if he's concerned about not stretching out leads:
"I wouldn't say I'm concerned about it. It's something we will continue to work on, though. We need to figure out how to get from 18 to 23. I think one of the times it was a free throw block-out situation, so you've got a chance to clean that up and go play offense. Instead, you give up a basket and little things like that can, down the line, really hurt us. We have to continue to work on those."
On the team's length being invaluable:
"It is invaluable. We've got to continue to understand how to use it, especially when we change defenses and play some zone, like we did today. Our length has been a very big asset for us to use across the board in our lineup, and it's something we will continue to play to."
On Cam McGriff being more aggressive offensively:
"I do think it was fair to say he was more engaged. I think he tried to play more aggressively in the paint. He took four threes, but I thought all of them were really good shots that were either in transition or were no-doubt, pick and pop shots. The other shots were all really aggressive drives, where he got into the paint, played off two feet and tried to play to and through contact, which is where he is at his best."
On Avery Anderson and Isaac Likekele being on the floor at the same time:
"That is a really dynamic defensive back court. Avery with his quickness and speed, Isaac with his strength and athleticism in terms of being able to guard guys in different areas and length. Both of those guys are really competitive. They take a lot of pride in it. They give us a different look, and it's something we look forward to building on."
On playing aggressive and sometimes paying on the backdoor play:
"It's a play we talk about all the time because we are aggressive and play in the passing lanes, and teams are going to try to attack us that way. We have to have the mindset that it's a good thing for us because they are game planning for us specifically, not something they are going to do on a normal day, but we also have a scheme to be able to take that away. It's very rare that we get beat on a backdoor. It does look bad when it happens, but most of the time, we are there to defend it."
On learning about what your team has on the road:
"We just told the guys, you don't really know who you are as a team until you have to go on the road and play in a hostile environment, get out of your comfort zone, and have everyone against you. You have to really band together and figure out a way to play against a really good team. They have a really good team that is picked high in their league. They have the player of the year and a really good coach. We respect them a lot, but I look forward to the challenge."
On how they feel about protecting the ball better from last game:
"We protect the ball very well. We practiced it in practice for the past two days. Coach has been emphasizing taking care of the ball. That if we take care of the offense, we'll be able to score better and at a higher rate."
On what his role is:
"I'm the energy guy. I do everything. I play on the defensive side of the ball, the offensive side of the ball. Whatever they need me to do I'll do it.
On him and Lindy Waters III being on the floor at the same time:
"There's a bunch of energy on the floor because we both put pressure on the ball. He's a bigger guard so he can affect the smaller guards. I'm a quick guard so I can affect them by trying to hurry their offense up. It's just an effortless backcourt between me and Waters."
On how going against Lindy Watters III in practice has helped him improve his game:
"I've changed a lot. I feel like going up against bigger guards like Waters has helped me with maintaining my balance and trying to attack the goal. I appreciate him for that."
OSU sophomore forward Yor Anei
On what he's improved most in the post-game:
"I feel like I got a little bit stronger and I am able to hold my position for a little bit longer. As opposed to last year, I got pushed off the block every game."
On Anderson's block:
"I thought it was spectacular. I see him do it a lot in practice too so I knew when he was chasing him down that he was going to go get it."
On hearing his name being chanted from the student section:
"I heard the before the game and I heard them during the game too. It's mad love. Like I said I love the student section."
On Trey Reeves substituting late in the game:
"We tell him every time he gets in there that he has to score. He doesn't play that much so we really want him to score in the game or at least attempt to score. Trey is a great guy. He's the backbone of our team. He's just so unselfish that he doesn't want to take a lot of those shots. I feel like every time he gets in, he should shoot every time."
On the game:
"The three things you have to do when you play Oklahoma State is to do well on transition defense, defend the glass and you have to take away their threes. For the majority of the game, we did two of those things; transition defense and took away their threes but they killed us on the glass and that was the separator."
On Oklahoma State:
"They are good. Mike Boynton does a great job and he plays a lot of guys, which is going to pay off for them as they get into conference matchups. Those freshmen will start acting like sophomores quickly. They are a good team. They play hard and they play physical. That defense is hard to play against for the second game of the year. We struggled with that and that part is mostly on me."
