OU-SWOSU Postgame Quotes

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Head Coach Lon Kruger
Opening comment:
“I thought for the second exhibition game we took some steps that you would hope to see. The defense was good from start to finish. Southwestern State is very active, athletic and quick. They move the ball, they move themselves and cut hard. It was good work for us to get in that kind of action offensively. We did a good job on the boards. I thought we converted rebounds into transition very quickly and made a lot of good plays for each other on the offensive end. We shot a little bit better than we did the other night and that was good to see as well. We have two good exhibition games under our belt, and we made a lot of progress with this group. They understand that we have a long way to go and have a big challenge ahead. I think that experience that they had is good for that understanding.”

On what the two exhibition games told him about his team's depth:
“We had a month of practice and I don't think it was much different than expected coming out of these two ball games. A lot of guys played their minutes well. We will look at it in the early season for sure. You get to Big 12 play and it definitely changes a bit but we will look at going pretty deep here in the non-conference run.”

On his team's defensive performance tonight:
“The guys' focus has obviously been defensively. Mechanics are pretty good and I feel like against this type of club there was a lot of pass, cut, move and drive it at you. It will challenge you if you are not pretty sound fundamentally and I think we will look at the tape tomorrow and see some things we like from a starting point like communication and reaction to pass and cut. Defensively, it was a good challenge for us.”

On Khadeem Lattin's play:
“He is around the ball when it comes off the boards. That's great to see. Two games, that doesn't happen by chance. He is a little like Ryan (Spangler) in terms of anticipation of where the ball is coming off. Going against Ryan every day in practice probably helps him a lot. His energy is good. He got into a little bit of foul trouble in the first half so that limited him a little bit. I think he has had two good exhibition games.”

Junior Guard Isaiah Cousins
On improving his shooting from the first exhibition game:
“From last game to this game, I wasn't really forcing shots. I just let the game come to me. I was just trying to make plays for my teammates when I get the open shot.”

On how he sees the team, heading into regular season play:
“I just think this is the beginning of something big. Each game we are going to learn and build as a team. We are going to get better with each game and each practice.”

On junior guard Dinjiyl Walker:
“I like his game. I like his toughness. His is strong for a little point guard. He brings quickness to the table.”

Junior Forward Ryan Spangler
On improving offensively from the first exhibition game:
“I felt good today; I felt in a rhythm. Getting rebounds off the bat will help you get your offensive game going. I'm just trying to help my teammates get open, and help them get open shots. I'm going to rebound and do what I have to do.”

On where the team is, heading into regular season play:
“I think we have a good starting point. Obviously there is a lot of work to be done if we want to get where we want to get. I think we are at a higher starting point than where we have been. I feel like every day we keep getting better. I think my teammates are willing to come in every day and work.”

On freshman forward Khadeem Lattin:
“He for sure gets better every day. From where he was when he first came in to where is now, it is crazy how much better he has gotten. I think what helps him is he works hard. He's going to be ready to play and he works hard enough to put himself in the right position.”

SWOSU Head Coach Bob Battisti
Opening comment:
“I'll just start with saying one thing. That's a class program and class act. From Coach Kruger to the assistants, players, and everyone involved. A total and complete class act.”

On the experience his players gained coming into this environment:
“Yes it is, I mean our guys dream of playing at this level and they're at a high-level Division II, but there is a difference between high-level Division I and high-level Division II and we found that out tonight. We didn't give ourselves a chance with how we shot the ball. But give them credit as well, their defense was pretty good.”

On what he learned about his team after playing Tulsa on Friday and OU tonight:
"We learned we have a lot of work to do if we're going to reach some of our goals. That's why you play these kind of games. You get exposed and you learn more about yourself when you lose than when you win.”

On if he saw anything differently from his team than on Friday:
“We valued the ball a little better this game than we did against Tulsa. We did a better job in the second half, but that's just something we really stress is taking care of the basketball.”