Postgame Quotes

Feb. 9, 2011

Head Coach Jeff Capel
Opening comment:
“First of all, Texas is very good. They're the best team we have played all year by far. I think they have all the ingredients to really make a deep run. I though we competed, they are just better than us. Our inability to make a shot in the first half and our inability to guard effectively just dug too deep of a hole. When you play against a team as talented as they are and playing with as much confidence as they are, you have to do almost everything right. That didn't happen to us tonight. I thought we got some good looks. First half, first play we got a layup and missed it. I thought we had some shots rim out. I thought the first half we had some guys that allowed their inability to make a shot affect their total game. We can't have that. I've said it, guys around here know. We have to control what we can control. Again give them credit, they are very good defensively. That is the reason why they lead the league in field goal percentage defense. So they took us out of a lot of stuff. Great team, wish them luck and we will continue to get better.”

On OU's offense:
“I thought we got some good looks. Not all the time, but I did think we got some good looks. One of the things we talked about coming in was that we wanted to execute out stuff. We wanted to get the ball moving and get the ball reversed. Then we'd have some lanes and some opportunities to drive it. We wanted to play inside-out with Andrew (Fitzgerald). We didn't think Andrew would be a guy that could score right over the top of them, but would face up and get angles. I thought when we did that we got some good looks. Obviously we are a team that is going to have to makes some shots from beyond the arc. That didn't happen for us. But, I did think we got some good looks at times.”

On what his team needs to do to bounce back against Missouri:
“We will get back in here and practice tomorrow. It is a different style than we have seen all year, a different style that many of our young guys are not accustomed to. So we will have a day of preparation tomorrow, a day of preparation Friday and we will be ready for them on Saturday.”

On freshman forward Tyler Neal's performance:
“He played really well. If he'd have made some shots, he plays great -- if he had finished a couple of those. But I thought he really, really competed. For him to have seven rebounds and six points, I thought he really, really competed against a very tough senior in Gary Johnson.”

On if his young team gains confidence by doing some things well against quality opponents:
“Not really, to be honest with you. I'm not trying to be funny, but not really. I think you get confidence by winning and having success. We know it's a tough stretch coming up. I know (we play) Missouri on Saturday and I honestly do not know who is after that. All my attention right now is on Missouri and we'll figure out who we play after that and we will start getting ready for them.”

Senior Guard Cade Davis
On how tough it is getting into an offensive rhythm against Texas:
“It's pretty tough. They pressure really well on the defensive end, they get out in the passing lanes and take away angles and things like that. It's tough, but you've got to work a little harder, get your angles right and make sure your passes are there. But they are a tough team to try and get in the flow of things offensively.”

On if Texas is one of the better defensive teams he's faced:
“Oh sure, and their bench is really good. There's not much of a drop off when those guys go to the bench, so they can keep that pressure up all game, push the ball and have fresh bodies, things like that. This is probably one of the best defenses I've seen Texas (have) since I've been here.”

On the crowd:
“They were incredible; a big shoutout to our fans coming out and dealing with the weather. We know it's a big rivalry with Texas coming in, so a lot of people are going to come out for the game, but they were cheering for us loud and we appreciate it. Were just disappointed that we couldn't give them something more to cheer about.”

On the play of sophomore forward Andrew Fitzgerald:
“We've been able to lean of Fitz all year long; he's been consistent. We want to play inside-out as much as we can and go through him and get him started early. With his post moves and with his ability to move with the ball -- his footwork is really good -- we know when we get it to him we've got something really good, especially now since teams are starting to double him. We need to make sure our spacing is right so he can kick out to our shooters. Hopefully we can knock down shots for him.”

Sophomore Guard Steven Pledger
On if he should have taken more than 12 shots:
“I think 12 shots is fine. It's just the layups that I was missing. If I make those layups, the game turns around. So I feel like (those) 12 shots were definitely the right shots. They were coming within the offense. But I've just got to capitalize on the free layups.”

On what it's going to take to get back on the winning side of things:
“We just need to stick together as a team and follow the scouting report. Know what (opponents) want to do, what we talk about in practice and things like that. I think if we limit turnovers and things like that, we'll definitely start winning again.”

Texas Head Coach Rick Barnes
On the win:
“Our defense was really, really good to start the game. I thought that Dogus (Balbay) and Gary Johnson really did a nice job of getting the starting force on the defensive end. We got out and we ran and got some baskets that way. I told our team coming in, I'm not sure any team has improved any more than Oklahoma, with watching them on tape, with the things that they do and they execute. We were good tonight but defensively we were good and we had some chances maybe to stretch it out early but we turned the ball over. But again, they stayed with it, and a lot of those turnovers were created by them -- the fact that they just kept doing what they do. Overall, it was a good win for us.”

On OU sophomore forward Andrew Fitzgerald:
“I really like him. I think they've done a great job with him. He's one of those guys -- he's undersized but he just has a great feel for the game, he's got great body control and great hands. They do some good things that make it hard to guard him and get help from people, but he's really improved, and again, I think their staff has done a great job. They found him and by the time he's done he's going to be really terrific.”

Texas Sophomore Forward Jordan Hamilton
On the offensive consistency:
“I just think on our offense now -- we switched it up from last year. These guys do a great job of screening and Dogus (Balbay) does a great job of finding me out there. I think we've just been executing lately and making shots.”

Texas Senior Guard Dogus Balbay
On their offense:
“I was just trying to push the ball early in the game and set the tone on both ends of the court. Offensively, I just try to be aggressive and actually try to create some open shots for my teammates, but I was open so I just went to the rim and took my shot. As I said, I'm just trying to set the tone early in the game on both ends of the court. Defensively, just trying to be tough. It's really important starting a game really tough and setting a tone for us, so I'm trying to do that.”

On their defense possibly being the best in the country:
“You know, it's been our goal, playing great defense. We know we can play defense every night. Shots may not go in every night but we can play defense every night. We don't really care what the others say about our defense, we just focus on our stuff -- it's all about us. We're trying to get better every day on defense. We can still get better I think.”

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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