Cowboy Quotables: Boynton, Thompson and Wright

Week one of Big 12 play is in the books. Oklahoma State head coach Mike Boynton Jr. and veteran guards Bryce Thompson and John-Michael Wright met with local media Thursday for a look back at Tuesday night's trip to Texas Tech and ahead to this weekend's journey to Iowa State. Read on for some of the highlights:

Head coach Mike Boynton Jr. on…

… Tuesday's 90-73 loss at Texas Tech:
"Probably the worst defensive performance we've had, maybe in my time here. We've always been good -- and I'm sure there have been some games where we haven't been good -- But I've never felt like we had no answers… Some of it's immaturity and lack of ability to stay focused for a sustained period of time… We kind of punched first, they hit us back, and we never responded. So we've got to keep showing up and doing the work, but understand that that's part of the game -- on the road, in particular. Everywhere. You know, the (next) place we're going (Iowa State's Hilton Coliseum) is going to be even more difficult, so we've just got to understand the sense of urgency you have to have for every possession."

… Texas Tech guard Pop Isaacs' 24-point night:
"We had Pop Isaacs fairly bottled up there early. Then he got his first made basket on something that's very controllable – a free throw blockout. A kid like that doesn't need help with confidence. If he was zero for 12, at that point, and shot one with two guys on him, he would have felt like it was going in. But to get one that easy. To really break the ice for him, kind of got the ball rolling for him."

… Iowa State:
"One of the best defenses in the country. They force a lot of turnovers. That's how they ignite their offense, and obviously they won a bit of a rock fight the other day against another team who I think was No. 1 in defense coming in -- Houston. Anytime you can win a game of toughness against Houston, that tells you a lot about who you are. We'll have to play a lot better than we did the other day to have a chance. But there's also the fact that these guys just have to continue to grow and get better. We've got to play with more consistency."

… A balanced ISU lineup that includes six players who are averaging 9.0+ points:
"That's what makes some of the best teams the most challenging to prepare for. You can conceivably shut down the leading scorer, and another guy can make up the difference pretty easily. T.J.'s done a great job of getting old and staying old… They're physical. They're tough."

… OSU's four-guard lineup which had success scoring ball in Tuesday's second half:
"They had to adjust how they guarded us. You always want to try to make teams adjust to you as much as you adjusted to them. Obviously, what it does is it gives us more for Javon (Small) and Bryce (Thompson) -- just driving lanes. That was the first time that John-Michael (Wright) and (Jarius) Hicklen both played well at the same time. We even got a three from Connor (Dow) there. That was probably one of the things that I was banging my head against. I've been trying to find a game where my shooters all made shots. We got 23 points out of the three of those guys, Connor, John-Michael and Jarius. To give up 90 made it hard, but yeah, I liked (the lineup). We'll see how much we can use it. They played a pretty big team, themselves, but it may be something that we can revisit down the road."

… Integrating Brandon Garrison at the five in small-ball lineups:
"Yeah, particularly with smaller guards. You couldn't really do that if we were playing Justin [McBride] as a five or Dailey, because then you're small even there. You need to have some size, some ability to set good screens, to get guys loose in pick and rolls, to rebound, to maybe protect the rim if some of those small guys get beat off the dribble. So yeah, in many ways, he's at the ideal five man with that group."

… A tough night for Garrison after his breakthrough performance at Baylor:
"I'm sure for the following 24 hours (after the Baylor game), everybody was telling me he was Hakeem Olajuwon when the fact of the matter is, we really didn't throw him the ball. We used to do that with (Kalib) Boone. We'd throw him the ball and he'd use his footwork. BG didn't score like that. It was running the floor, rebounding – things that are very controllable. But younger guys tend to ride the waves of the adulation, the celebration, and they have a harder time bringing themselves back down to the process that got them there. That's our job as a staff, but it's also something you just have to live through and learn what it takes for you to get back by Sunday, by the time practice is getting ready to happen, to have forgotten about the game. I say it all the time: 'You can't think about what's coming. You can't think about what happened. You've got to focus on right now.' That's the only way to get through this league."

… The learning curve for freshmen big men:
"You see if towards the middle to end of January, if a guy's played enough plays and made enough mistakes… He (Garrison) hasn't been in foul trouble as much. Early on, you don't know how they call fouls in college. Like 'What's a moving screen? What do they call on rebounding? How aggressive can you be backing someone down?' So, it takes some time to adjust even to that part of the game."

… Upsets atop the polls this week:
"This has been trending this way, I think… As the transfer thing has become more prevalent, the talent is distributed more evenly. Part of what's happening is teams are taking longer to get to know each other, because you're not dealing with guys who've played together for three or four years. Like, it's just not happening anymore."

Senior guard Bryce Thompson on…

… What Texas Tech did defensively to slow them down:
"They did a good job of plugging the gaps and we were just a little stagnant on offense, we didn't have very many assists. We didn't have that continuity that we needed to get them off balance and play with close outs. That's something that we worked on today and got better at, but I think their ability to be in the gaps and hands on shooters kind of took us out of our game."

… The team's mindset:
"We try not to get too high, too low. Regardless of what's going on, we try to stay level-headed and approach each day [the same.] We had a good day in practice today, so we want to have another one tomorrow and have a great mindset going into Iowa State."

… His advice to young guys like Garrison:
"I'd just stress him that it's a marathon. It's a long grind, you know. You're going to have highs and lows but, like I said, just try to stay level-headed. Approach each day the same, get your work, watch the film, listen to the coaches and just live with whatever happens. Know that you're prepared and that you went out there and played as hard as you could."

Graduate guard John-Michael Wright on…

… Using Tuesday's 14-point effort as a springboard:
"It helps build confidence in late games and the games going forward for myself. My coaches trust me, my teammates trust me, so whenever I get in, whatever opportunity I get, I try to make the best of it and just do what I do to help the team."

… Overcoming some of his early struggles:
"It's been bumpy, but I've tried to keep a strong attitude. I'm a team guy, so I try and encourage my teammates that are playing, because ultimately, it's not about me. It's about the team's success. If the team succeeds, I succeed individually, as well. Yes, it's something I'm not used to, but again, I trust my coaches. I still think that they believe in me, so I just wait my turn. When I get in, I try and be as productive as possible."

… The four-guard lineup OSU used at Texas Tech:
"It had the floor more spaced, so we were able to get shots off… Offensively I think it worked for us. We had a four-guard front and four guards who can shoot. I think that lineup can help, in some ways, just depending on how the game is going, and in that stretch we needed that lineup."

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