University of Oklahoma Athletics
Postgame Quotes
January 08, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 8, 2011
Head Coach Jeff Capel
Opening comment:
“First of all, congrats to A&M. They're a good team, very well coached, mature, very good leadership on the floor. They have a group that seems like they're all about winning. I thought we did some good things in spurts, but when you're playing against this kind of team it's not good enough to do it in spurts -- you have to do it all the time. I thought we did a decent job in the first half offensively; our defense was something to be desired all game long. We have to get better there, but the second half I was disappointed. I thought we let the fact that we didn't score as well in the second half really affect our defense, especially late there in the game. We'll learn from this, we'll get better. Our schedule doesn't get any easier. This league is a very tough league, but we'll be prepared and we'll be ready to go out and play well on Tuesday.”
On if his team just suffered a poor shooting day or if A&M's defense was to credit:
“It was a little bit of both. Some of that credit goes to Texas A&M; they took us out of some stuff. They knew the stuff that we were running, were jumping plays and stuff. But still, we didn't screen, we weren't as effective screening as we need to be in order for our offense to be effective. We were just kind of rolling around out there instead of putting bodies on people.”
On Texas A&M offensively:
“The guy that I thought really hurt us, especially in the first half, was (Naji) Hibbert. He came off the bench and really got going and got some confidence. If you look at the first half, 24 of their 36 points came from two guys. I thought we did a pretty good job on (David) Loubeau. We were going to double him off of (Dash) Harris and I thought that game plan was pretty good. I thought it helped to get Loubeau out of the game with two fouls. But they got some transition baskets, just straight-line-drive layups. You know, us not doing a good job of keeping the guy in front. That's an area where we have to be good at -- we just have to be good at. At times we have been and tonight we didn't do a good job of that.”
On upcoming road games against Baylor and Texas:
“Two tough places, two good teams. But we'll be prepared. We'll be ready to get after it.”
Senior Guard Cade Davis
On the Sooner's offensive performance:
“We just didn't execute. Our screening was off; I think part of that was our defense. We lacked on defense, we weren't getting rebounds and we weren't getting out and pushing it in transition. They were making their shots and executing and they were running on us and getting layups, so that takes us out of what we're wanting to do a little bit. We we're slow getting into the offensive flow.”
On what the team can take from this game:
“We still need to get better. We still have a lot of things we need to work on. We were confident coming into this game. Before the game, we felt that we could beat them. Something we've struggled with early on this year, they came out and punched us in the mouth early. We've been in that situation before and we've come back from it. During that time we still felt that we could come back. We had to play defense and play things the right way, but in the end they just wanted it more. But it's not going to get any easier from here, going to Baylor and to Texas. This is a taste for the young guys of how tough the Big 12 is and hopefully they know now what to expect and we'll just try to get better from here.”
On his experiences of playing with Texas A&M guard B.J. Holmes:
“We went on a mission trip to New Zealand with each other. It was me, B.J and Bryan Davis, who used to play for them. It was a month-long mission trip. We put on clinics for the kids in several towns. So he and I have a great relationship. I love him to death and have a lot of respect for him and his team. They're a solid ball club and he's a great guy.”
On how this team can improve on the road moving on into Big 12 play:
“We just have to want it more; we have to want it more than the other team. A&M wanted it more; they did the things to get the job done. You've got to have a tougher mindset, mentally and physically. We just have to understand that we have to do everything right and we haven't done that all year. We've just got to make sure everything is solid from here on out and do everything we can to win.”
Sophomore Forward Andrew Fitzgerald
On having to play behind the whole game:
“The majority of the game we were playing catch-up; just really trying to fight and play as hard as we could, trying to catch up. But when you're down to a team like that it's hard to catch up.”
On if the performance of Texas A&M guard Naji Hibbert surprised him:
“No, it didn't surprise me. Naji's a good player. I've known him since I was 12 years old, playing on the same AAU teams. When he gets hot, he's hot. So I wasn't surprised at all.”
Texas A&M Head Coach Mark Turgeon
Opening comment:
“I thought that we were pretty good the first half and really good in the second half. I thought that our defense picked it up in the second half. We did a much better job on (Andrew) Fitzgerald and our team defense today. We really shared the ball. We ran and we shared the ball. We had 17 assists with 25 buckets. We worked hard this week and it showed. The guys played well and they deserve this. They really had a tough week.”
On Texas A&M getting better throughout the season:
“I didn't know. We are really inconsistent and I was a nervous wreck before the game because I didn't know what I was going to get. It depends on how much energy I have. If I can keep a foot up them all year, I think we have a chance to get a lot better. We are really a young team that is kind of immature. One day a player practices really hard and then the next day he won't give me everything. That is just a wasted day and that is what I am trying to correct. We have some young talent and some pretty good depth. I think that we can get a lot better. It depends on how hard we work.”
On the game:
“I was happy. It was Oklahoma's first conference game and they had a pretty good crowd out there. There is a lot of fight in them still. You look around the country and it is tough on the road, and for us to handle them like we did is a good sign. I said to the guys that it is a marathon and not a sprint and that we have to get ready for the next one.”
Senior Guard B.J. Holmes:
On playing point guard:
“When Dash (Harris) goes out, I come in and play some point guard. Today was kind of slow but we tried to speed it up in the second half. I think that we did a good job of controlling the game.”
On Oklahoma's Cade Davis:
“Yeah, me and Cade were able to play in New Zealand last summer. He really worked on his game this summer. They have him playing the four right now and their team is a lot like ours with Nate (Walkup) playing an undersized four. They find a way to get it done and Cade did well today.”
Sophomore Guard Naji Hibbert:
On his game:
“I try to be aggressive in all areas of the court and not just shooting. If I see an open lane, I try and take advantage of it.”
On Oklahoma's Andrew Fitzgerald:
“We started playing together during AAU ball when we were 13 or 14. We played high school ball together for a year and he is probably one of my good friends. It was good to play against him because I haven't seen him in a while. He has lost a lot of weight.”
