University of Oklahoma Athletics
Postgame Quotes
December 11, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 11, 2010
Head Coach Jeff Capel
Opening comment:
“I am really pleased with this win; we beat a good team. Oral Roberts was a hot team coming in, winning four out of five of their last five games. They shot over 50 percent from the field (in all five games). They knocked us back very quickly, but I really like how our guys responded. We were able to hang around there early and our defense got it going for us. We were able to take them out of some things they like to do.
“Coming into the game, I thought they were a team that screened well and cut. I thought they had some really, really good one-on-one players, led by (Dominique) Morrison. I thought our zones kind of took away some of that. It took away some of their drives and angles. Our defense ignited this game with some energy and we were able to take that to the offensive end and make some shots. So I am pleased with the win.
“I thought Cameron (Clark) had his best game. He started playing athletic the last two games. I have always known that he is a very athletic guy, but he is starting to understand how to play athletic all the time and gaining confidence there. I thought Carl Blair was really good for us. So we are pleased with the win, but we still have a lot of work to do.”
On OU's defense:
“Defense kept us in it until our offense got going. We went into a 1-3-1 and we went to (a) match-up (zone), but the thing that made it go was that our players were active and they had great voices in the defense. They believed in it. We started getting some stops which gave them more energy in the defense. They were seeing themselves have success in what we were doing, which made them believe in it more.”
On Cameron Clark's improvement:
“One of the things we tried to work on was getting the ball reversed so we had some opportunities to drive or have some guys on the perimeter shoot the ball. Cameron is a guy that can drive the basketball. But we have to get ball reversal and get the ball moving. He has done a better job of that. Our whole team has done a better job of that, which has enabled him to do a better job.”
On Clark's potential as a defender:
“He can become a great defender. A few things will have to happen. He has got to get stronger and really understand and embrace it more, but I do think, because of his length and athleticism, that he has the potential to be.”
On Carl Blair's performance:
“I think you see that he is a little bit older and has some experience. I think he is learning how to slow down a little bit. He still has a little ways to go with that and not over penetrating. Probably two of his four turnovers were from that, maybe three of them. But he has played well for us.”
“We definitely battled back and played great defense. On the defensive end, we played well. We had to talk our way through everything, and that's what we did.”
On his shooting:
“If I don't make my first two shots, I try to get inside the 3-point line or get to the basket or the free throw line. I still have confidence in my shot, so it's just a matter of me calming myself down and just shooting it like I've been shooting my whole life.”
Freshman Guard Cameron Clark
On the game:
“Coach (Capel) said I needed to be more aggressive and my teammates told me to be more aggressive on the defensive end, and that's what I've been doing.”
Sophomore Guard Carl Blair
On the team's defensive improvements:
“I think that started from last week -- defensive practices. We came in and just focused on that. It's starting to carry over. We don't want to lose. We have to get these wins; everybody's focused on that. We talk more, that's the biggest thing for us. Being a young team, we've got to talk on defense.”
“Our biggest thing is talking on defense. Coach (Capel) tells us that before the game, after the game, before practice, after practice. Good teams talk.”
On the emergence of Cameron Clark and on connecting with him for an alley-oop in two straight games:
“Cam is talented. If you keep working, talent is going to take over. His ceiling is sky high. The alley-oop thing – there's more to come. We're going to get one every game. We got No. 3 on SportsCenter the other night. We just have to keep going with it. It's exciting, but the main thing is winning.”
On the defense being the catalyst for OU:
“It means the world to us. That's the biggest thing for us – play defense, and we just have to continue to score with that. Just get better every day. Being a young team – a lot of new players – we have to find our niche. I think defensive-wise, it's something we have to stick to.”
Oral Roberts Head Coach Scott Sutton
On the game:
“I thought their toughness was the difference in the game, or our lack of toughness. Maybe that's the better way to put it. When things started going south on us midway through the second half, our guys didn't step up. They didn't handle adversity very well. We missed a lot of easy shots. Guys can complain and say they got hit on the arm, but we've still got to finish shots. I'm not saying that they did, but a game like this on the road, you've got to go in strong, got to finish. We stopped making baskets and I think it sucked the energy out of our guys and on the defensive end. But give OU credit because they stepped up. (Carl) Blair was great, obviously Cameron Clark was great. Guys made us pay, made big shots for them.”
On not being able to score:
“Jeff (Capel) went to a 1-3-1 (zone) that they hadn't shown much. I think Thursday night is the first time they've used it, if I'm not mistaken. It hurt us. I'm disappointed on how our guys attacked it. We went over it yesterday. We didn't think they'd use it as much as they did, but why not? It worked; they had success with it. And OU, I think they're really good in transition. And when you're not scoring, you're allowing them to play to their strength. They got out to transition and really made us pay. I thought it was a good coaching move by Jeff and their guys got stops, got steals and made us pay on the defensive end.”
Oral Roberts Junior Forward Dominique Morrison
On the game:
“I think they just out-toughed us. We got a lot of turnovers, crucial turnovers. They were getting second shots and we were missing a lot of easy shots.”
On the turning point in the game:
“We started missing a lot of easy shots. It's the Big 12. There's contact, so they're not going to call cheap fouls and we couldn't finish the play. We missed a lot of easy shots like that the whole game. We just missed easy shots. They picked up their defensive intensity a lot. They started making 3's and just went on a good run.”
On trying to turn the momentum back to their favor:
“Just try to go to the foul line, get an easy basket or an easy layup, something to get us back going, to get some momentum our way. We didn't have it after [OU's run]. At the beginning of the game we had a lot of momentum, but they went on a run and we went cold. And when a team's on a run, you can't go cold. You got to fight back, and we weren't able to do that today.”
