University of Oklahoma Athletics
Postgame Quotes
January 18, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 18, 2011
Head Coach Jeff Capel
Opening comment:
“It is nice to come in here with a win. I thought we did some good stuff. I thought our defensive effort the last about 10 or 12 minuets of the first half was about as good as we have had all year. We were very active, getting our hands on balls, getting deflections, and we took two charges down that stretch. We had them stuck on 17 points for a while. So I was really pleased with that. I thought we had some opportunities there in the first half to really expand the lead a little bit further, but we didn't make some good decisions in transition. I thought we left some baskets there. It was good to see Cade [Davis] make some shots. I thought [Andrew] Fitzgerald was really good down low for us again. Those two guys made some big plays down the stretch. Cade was shooting and Fitz was going down low. I thought Steven [Pledger] hit a big three. C.J. [Washington] gave us some good minutes. Cameron [Clark] made some really big drives for us. I am pleased with the win. Again, I thought we did some good things and we look forward to getting back and trying to get better.”
On the team's focus and the team's Big 12 losing streak coming to an end:
“It is good to win. We can't do anything about the past. We don't concentrate on last year or this past Saturday. Our focus is right now and what we have to do right now. I never worry about a streak because in my mind that streak didn't exist. We are talking about this team and I do not count a streak when it goes back to guys that aren't here anymore.”
On Andrew Fitzgerald's offensive game:
“He has a knack for scoring. He has always been a below-the-rim guy. So because of that, he has always had to be creative in how to score and getting angles and developing a really good touch of shooting. I think one of the things that helps him is that he can shoot it 15 to 17 feet with some consistency. That helps him to get angles down there. I thought he did a good job with wanting the ball, and I thought we did a god job of finding him. He shot a high percentage and did some good stuff for us.”
On Carl Blair's key free throws down the stretch:
“That was big because he hadn't had his best game. I know he was down because he is a good player and he has been really solid for us, but he just didn't have it with some of his decisions tonight. For him to step up there down the stretch and to calmly knock those free throws down, to be greedy and want the ball in that situation, to want to get fouled and step up really says a lot about him. Especially, when you are not having your best day. It is easy when you are not having your best day to put your head between your legs and to say I don't want it. But in this situation he stepped up and showed some confidence. That is something we very much needed right there. Again with the way they were scoring and shooting the 3 late, we needed all those free throws.”
On the team's competitive drive:
“We have competed all year long. I have told our guys -- I think it was after the Baylor game -- we are not the most talented team. There is not going to be another team in the conference that we are more talented than them. We may be as talented, but we are not going to be more talented. But that does not mean we can't win. We have to do the things we can control at a very high level every time we step on the floor. If we do that, we will put ourselves in a position where we can have success. Tonight is a good example of that. We didn't do everything right, but hopefully this gives our guys a little more confidence as we move forward in conference play.”
On his confidence:
“I'm always confident. I believe in me. I believe in us. I believe in what we're teaching. I believe if our guys buy in, which they have, and I believe if they learn how to do things the right way, then I am confident.”
Senior Guard Cade Davis
On the Sooners' first Big 12 win of the season:
“This is huge. I don't know how long it's been since we've won a Big 12 game, but now I don't have to worry about it because now we got one. It's big for us, especially now coming in to this stretch -- these next few home games that we have -- to build some momentum and get some confidence going. We still have a long way to go, correct some mistakes that we had. But right now we're just enjoying this win.”
On ending OU's Big 12 losing streak:
“It's a nice load off our shoulders. You know, we really weren't too worried about the streaks or anything like that. We were just focused on getting the win and focusing on doing things right and just fighting for however long we had to be out there tonight. Just to get a 'W' and we did that.”
On building leads through free throw shooting:
“You know, with Carl (Blair), Steve (Pledger) and Tyler (Neal) and those guys stepping up at the very end and making those free throws -- we built a lead tonight. And if we can limit turnovers and limit mistakes that we've made defensively, offensively we'll build on that lead. Hopefully we'll win by more than just a few points here and there; hopefully we'll be winning by double digits.”
On the upcoming game against Colorado:
“They're a very good team, they've got some very talented players. They're very hot, until they lost tonight. That's not going to stop them from coming in here and doing what they do. They play extremely hard and we know we have to be ready to play as hard as we did (tonight) -- even harder --with the team that they have.”
Sophomore Forward Andrew Fitzgerald
On the Sooners' first Big 12 win of the season:
“It was a confidence booster. All we can do is just build on the confidence from this game. Just keep moving on to our next one against Colorado. We just stay positive right now, watch video on Thursday and just go from there.”
On the importance of the offensive balance of the team:
“That's very important that we have a balance on our offense. It's not one person just scoring, it's a team effort. My job is to get my teammates open on picks and screens anyway possible, and it's their job to get me open too. So we're just relying on each other for us to score.”
Texas Tech Head Coach Pat Knight:
On his team's fight:
“These kids haven't quit. We've just have some bad spells of basketball and they played it to the end. The 15 turnovers in the first half really hurt us and we were trying to make a run. We missed two lay-ups, they hit two 3's and they kind of blew it open and we could just never get over the hump. We just play in spurts and we've had that problem all year. When we play badly in spurts we play bad and it's really hurt us.”
On Tech's inability to get stops at the end of the game:
“They got all the momentum, and it forced us to foul. The funny thing is that your defense isn't that bad when you look at the turnovers. They had 18 points off of turnovers. You subtract that and your defense really isn't that bad. So in some games you have to be careful as a coach looking at the score thinking we didn't play very good defense. You've got to look at the points coming off of your turnovers.”
On what sparked the Sooners' offense:
“I think it was us. We started taking quick shots and turned the ball over. We went back to our bad habits. We were getting a lead by sticking to our game plan and it's like we can't help ourselves. We get a lead and won't put our hand back in the cookie jar and it just hurts us every time.”
On what he likes about Oklahoma:
“I like them, I really like Jeff (Capel). We've become good friends and I hope they can take something positive from this. Hopefully they can get something snow-balled in the right direction. They've got shooters and some good guards, so hopefully this gives them so good confidence. It only takes one win in this league because all the wins are quality wins no matter who you play. That's what we're looking for; just to get one win under our belt, get some confidence and get something rolling.”
On the play of sophomore guard Mike Davis:
“You've got to give the kid credit. He's got a screw in his foot, came back in four weeks, had a long day of practice and plays in the game. I wish some of these other guys had his guts and his mentality. We wouldn't be having these problems.”
