University of Oklahoma Athletics
Oklahoma Postgame Quotes
January 12, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 12, 2009
OU Head Coach Jeff Capel
Opening comment:
“First of all, very proud of our guys. It was a great win for us today against a really good team. I thought the environment was tremendous. I thought the fans were great right from the beginning. It was the best feeling I've had since I have walked out of that tunnel to start the game and to look up and see that atmosphere, and I thought our guys responded in a very positive manner to it. I thought we controlled the game throughout. I thought our defense was tremendous and I thought we competed. We are really proud of this win and hopefully this is something we can build off of and continue to get better.”
On Austin Johnson:
“It makes us a different team. I told A.J. I believe in him, I really truly do. I am not surprised that he had the kind of game that he had. He controlled it throughout and obviously when he scores that gives us a different boost. If you look at what he has done throughout the season for us, his assist to turnover ratio and getting us into stuff, he is kind of a calming influence.”
On the defensive effort:
“Our defense was tremendous today. We went all man. We did not play one possession of zone, 1-3-1 or anything. It was just good solid man-to-man. I thought our guys followed our game plan. We had to put it in very quickly, just in one day. I thought our guys had great focus yesterday and this morning and early this afternoon when we had shoot-around. I thought we did a good job of executing. Again, they have good players but I thought we did a good job defensively.”
On guard play:
“Our guards were tremendous. Austin, Tony (Crocker), Willie (Warren) driving and shooting it. I thought we did a good job of not settling for 3's and driving and getting to the paint and using ball screens and looking to attack. Cade (Davis) in the first half, his transition basket for us, his and-one. Our whole team played well. I am really proud of these guys.”
On Blake Griffin:
“Numbers don't tell the story all the time of a what a guy does. It was a big-time performance. He made plays down the stretch and he showed you everything. He showed you a three, mid-range, he drove it, post moves, blocked shots and he rebounded the basketball.”
On Juan Patillo coming out of a redshirt:
“Juan wanted to play and he was ready to play. I look forward to getting him in practice. He has been practicing with us but he has been on scout team so he doesn't really know our stuff. One of the things Juan can provide us is energy, rebounding and defense. We look forward to working with him and getting him out there.”
Sophomore Center Blake Griffin
On setting the tempo of the game:
“Texas is a dangerous team. For us to get on them early and not lose that is big. I know they kind of got close there at one point but everybody did a great job of bearing down and getting stops on defense, coming down and hitting shots, and executing.”
On the presence of Texas' post players:
“They just run guys in and out. You kind of roll one down and they just bring another one that is just as big and physical. Our guards did a great job of hitting the boards tonight and helping us out. Tony obviously showed just how good of a rebounder he is. Willie did the same, Austin (Johnson), and everybody did a good job. It was a team effort.”
On the importance of winning the Big 12 regular season championship:
“That is definitely our goal. We set it from the beginning of the season as our goal to be regular season and tournament champions. It does kind of put us on the path but at the same time beating Texas isn't the end of the road for us. We still have to play them again and we still have to play a lot of other good teams.”
Junior Guard Tony Crocker
On this being the best team effort of the season:
“I think we played hard and out played them because this game meant a lot. Since I have been here we have not beaten Texas. So it meant a lot to all of us just to get this win.”
On the performance of senior guard Austin Johnson on Texas guard A.J. Abrams:
“He played great offensively and defensively. A.J. Abrams is a very good player and he did a really good job on him. (Abrams) got a couple of looks but for the most part he did a really good job on him. He also did really good on offense.”
On the rivalry between OU and Texas:
“It has been talked about a lot. People have talked about it for a while. We had two more games before we even played them and people were already talking about how OU plays Texas coming up. We still have other games to play but it really meant a lot for the program. Everyone, except for the seniors, this is their first win against Texas. We had a great crowd out there tonight. That also helped a lot.”
Texas Head Coach Rick Barnes
On Damion James playing just six minutes in the first half:
“He wasn't hurt. We started the game and knew we had to have a great game defensively, and I think he gave up the first five points of the game. We had talked about what we wanted to do and we didn't get it done. But (James) wasn't the only one who started the game. I think Oklahoma came out and knew what they wanted to do and when they wanted to do it, and in the first 10 minutes we didn't give them any resistance at all. The way we went about it, the mental concentration and the game plan we wanted to follow, we didn't follow it.”
On cutting OU's lead to four points after being down by 16:
“They made shots through us, went around us and hit shots at the rim. Anytime we are forced into a situation where A.J. (Abrams) has to take 27 shots, it's not going to be good. He got more rips tonight than he's got in a long time. Again, I thought he rushed a few of them. But yet we wanted to go inside and got the ball there, but we weren't getting anything out of it. I just thought defensively we weren't very good, but I do give them credit. They portrayed the patience and maturity that they needed to, they've got great balance with their team and they really understand their roles. (Jeff Capel) has done a great job with them.”
On Texas' 11 first-half turnovers:
“Absolutely ridiculous. That bothers me, especially when some guys aren't even being guarded. There is absolutely no reason to turn the ball over when you're not being guarded.”
On containing Blake Griffin:
“He's going to get his points. He is a terrific player, but we weren't just concerned about Griffin coming in. (Oklahoma) can shoot the ball, they play with confidence. The fact is, you've got to make them defend a little bit, too, and when you turn it over they aren't defending. That is the frustrating part.”
Texas Senior Guard A.J. Abrams
On the game:
“I think we did a good job of fighting back, but late in the game they kind of got away from us. Then we cut it to four, but we missed some easy shots and they didn't. So they capitalized on a lot of opportunities.”
On Texas' intensity:
“I was disappointed, especially coming out in this atmosphere. I think we should have come out with more intensity. I think we did a better job after the first 10 minutes, but we have to come out with more fire power in the first few minutes.”
On Texas reserve guard Dogus Balbay:
“He showed he can still come out and have a good game, whether or not you guard him. He had the assists tonight and managed the game pretty well. Everyone knows he is one of the fastest guys with the ball, and if he can continue to push the ball down the court, I think it will help us a lot.”
On the OU-Texas rivalry:
“It's the OU/Texas rivalry. We just wanted to come out here and play well, and obviously we didn't. We didn't execute our game plan like we wanted to.”
