University of Oklahoma Athletics
Oklahoma Postgame Quotes
December 13, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 13, 2008
Head Coach Jeff Capel
Opening comment:
“I am really proud of our guys, really proud of this win. A night when our best player played in foul trouble and didn't have a field goal for the game, we found a way to win. I thought the one thing that was pretty constant for us was our defense. I thought we did a pretty good job defending them. We had some lapses in transition when they were able to get out. But I thought for the most part we did a pretty good job. Even when Blake (Griffin) went out after the first three minutes I thought we still controlled the game. I thought we managed the game well, especially down the stretch.
“I thought some guys stepped up and made some plays for us. I thought Ryan Wright's minutes in the first half were great for us. I thought he did some really good things and we are going to need Ryan. I thought Willie (Warren), (Austin Johnson) and Taylor (Griffin) – those guys stepped up for us, as did Tony Crocker. (I'm) really proud of this win. It finishes up a three-game-in-seven-day span. We need this break and we look forward to it. We look forward to getting ready for our game next week.”
On controlling the tempo:
“We thought we were a little bit more athletic than them. I think they are good, I think their bigs are good, but we thought we could out run them. We really wanted to get out in transition. I thought we took advantage of that some, but not as much as we are capable of doing. I thought we made plays. Guys stepped up and made plays. We were able to stretch it out to a nine-point halftime lead and I thought we did a good job of opening the half and getting right back at them again.”
On five players scoring in double figures:
“That shows our balance. Again, our guys stepped up and made plays. Cade (Davis) stepped up and made two huge baskets for us in the second half for us. Ryan's minutes were tremendous for us. I thought Crocker hit a big three and Willie (Warren) made a spectacular drive and finish and Austin managed the game for us. We are proud of it and I thought we did a good job on the free throw line. We attacked and got there and thought we did a good job once we got there.”
On finding a way without Blake Griffin:
“He had a tough go because of foul trouble in that short span of time. Our guys stepped up and certainly we do not want to play without Blake in the game for extended minutes. We showed today we can beat a good team and were able to find a way. We feel like we have some other good players and they are starting to find their groove a little bit. I loved how aggressive we were. Again, I thought we did a good job attacking and getting to the basket.”
On facing his former school, VCU, in the All-College Classic Dec. 20:
“Obviously, I enjoyed my time there and had four great years. There are not many times you can leave a place on your own accord. I have and had great relationships there. VCU will always hold a very special place in my heart because they believed in me when it wasn't so popular to do so. For us, we are going to approach it like another game. I have total respect for their team and their players and coaches. We know it is going to be a challenge for us. We know they like to press, they like to run. They are a guard-oriented team and they have one of the best players in the country in Eric Maynor. We know they are going to be jacked up and we will be too.”
Sophomore Forward Blake Griffin
On not getting many shots:
“I wasn't really worried about it. I was just trying to slow down (Luke) Nevill inside because we felt like that is where they could really hurt us. I think our post guys did a good job on him.”
On getting two quick fouls early in the game:
“It hurt that I had to sit for so long in the first half, but other guys did a good job of coming in and keeping it going.”
On trying not to get frustrated:
“It was hard because it felt like I was getting fouled every time I got the ball, but it helped that everyone else was playing good. (Tony) Crocker was playing good. (Austin Johnson) and Taylor (Griffin) were playing good. Ryan Wright came in and played well. It's easy to forget how you are doing personally when all your teammates are there to pick you up.”
Junior Guard Tony Crocker:
On Utah's size affecting the game:
“We wanted to get their big guy in foul trouble and that took a lot of focus by our post players. I don't think it really affected us too much.”
On the team's defensive play:
“We really tried to keep the ball away from their big man. He averages 18 points. They have other guys who can shoot well and some guys who can't shoot too well. We really just played off the ones who couldn't shoot that well. We really tried to dig in on the post and keep him out of there. It was a team thing, not just one person.”
Utah Head Coach Jim Boylen
On team performance:
“I'm proud of my team and the way they competed. I thought we were physical and followed the game plan to a T. The game plan was to go after Blake Griffin and get him in foul trouble and I thought we could do that with our five and make him work for anything he got at the other end.”
On Utah's game plan:
“We were most concerned about turning the ball over and giving them turnovers for touchdowns, as we call them. We did not want to give them turnovers for touchdowns and we thought we could guard them in the half court with our five and our physicality on the Griffin boys. I think we did a pretty good job. If a team beats you from the line, I think you have to live with that, and they are a good basketball team.”
On not shooting the ball well in the first half:
“I told our guys at halftime to drive the ball. We had 14 points on the break at halftime and we thought we could run the ball here. We had 10 more transition points with 14 minutes to go in the second half. So I just kept telling my team to keep running it, running it, running it and shots would fall, shots would fall, shots would fall. Then we talked about driving it when they don't fall.”
On OU's Blake Griffin:
“He is a terrific player and I think he plays with the most force of anybody in college basketball. He plays with force and toughness, he competes, and is obviously a terrific player.”
Senior Center Luke Nevill
On containing Blake Griffin:
“The game plan was to contain him and make it difficult for him to score. I thought we did a really good job of that. I think in this game it was the other guys on OU's team that really hurt us. We contained Griffin pretty well.”
On the team's shooting:
“Our poor shooting really hurt us. We were missing some easy shots. We weren't able to make any shots when it counted, and they were making some difficult shots. Some guys on their team stepped up and hit some big 3's, which hurt us down the stretch.”
Senior Forward Shaun Green
On final minutes of the game:
“I think the final four minutes we were playing defense on them pretty well, but they got us on the offensive rebounds. That really hurt us because they made the most out of those opportunities after that. We were getting some good offensive looks in the beginning of the game, but then at the end they just wouldn't fall for us.”
Junior Guard Luka Drca
On being ready to play after missing the last game with a sprained ankle:
“It felt alright to play today. I really couldn't think about it during the game because I was concentrating on other things.”
On intentional foul confrontation:
“I just made a mistake. I tripped a guy, but I didn't mean to. I just wanted to win the game.”
