OU-Southeastern Louisiana Postgame Quotes

Return to Recap

Head Coach Lon Kruger
Opening comment:
“It's always good when you start a ballgame like that. I thought on both ends we really opened up sharp. They made shots and had good effort and awareness defensively and kind of sustained that margin the rest of the ballgame. It was a good first game. We'll learn a lot from it and get ready for the next one on Wednesday.”

On what having TaShawn Thomas eligible means for the team:
“Tay, in addition to his talent, ability, and maturity level, has leadership and is a three-year starter. That experience is huge. It adds a really good player to our squad and our guys are excited about that, of course.”

On his reaction to the news of Thomas' eligibility:
“Well, elated of course, most significantly for TaShawn. He is on course to graduate in May and he has done everything right. We're excited about the ruling and excited for Tay.”

On Thomas' play today:
“It's good to get him out there. He did fine, but what he is going to do is way more than that. He does it every day in practice. We'll be able to put him in situations and take advantage of mismatches. He will be able to create off the dribble. We'll get it to him in the post and he will find people on the perimeter. He can finish in the post as well. He is just a guy that is kind of a mismatch nightmare for the opposition because he can do so many different things. We will use him in a lot of different ways.”

On if he has ever seen a player make as many 3-point attempts as Buddy Hield without missing:
“I don't know that I have. It's a record at OU, so I imagine that it would be a record at a lot of different places as well. It was great to see Buddy get it in rhythm and like he said, the guys do a good job of getting him the ball in rhythm. He got a couple in transition, got a couple off the dribble, he got a couple from Isaiah (Cousins) and Jordan (Woodard) so he got it in a lot of different ways actually. He has been shooting it well all year and has worked so hard on that part of his game throughout the summer and fall. It was great to see in the first game.”

On Isaiah Cousin's performance:
“Isaiah's game has just blossomed in every way. He is finding people off the dribble, he is rebounding the ball and keying the break. He is doing a really good job for us defensively and sets the tone on the perimeter. Again, he is going to keep doing that because he works hard at it and wants to keep making progress.”

Junior Guard Buddy Hield
On having TaShawn Thomas eligible:
“I think Tay is a great all-around player. He is so mobile that he can drive it, he can kick it, he can shoot it and he can also post up. I feel like having him on the court helps us a lot in sharing the ball. He makes plays for everybody.”

On his shooting performance:
“My teammates, Isaiah and Jordan, found me in good spots. I can't turn down a wide-open shot. It's hard to turn down a wide-open shot. They found me in good spots. Thanks to them for finding me in the right spots. I am still trying – today I didn't get some calls – to change my game up. My teammates are doing a great job finding me with the ball. Hats off to them.”

On the snow:
“I haven't seen the snow yet. It's not Buddy Love type weather.”

Junior Guard Isaiah Cousins
On having TaShawn Thomas eligible:
“We can feed off the big man. That creates easier shots for us guards, because Tay is really good as a post and it spreads out the team.”

On if his improved strength is helping him rebound more than last season:
“When you see a little guard in front of you, you have to bully them a little bit. I think that helps me because getting stronger and being tight with the ball helps me fundamentally rebounding.”

Senior Forward TaShawn Thomas
On getting the news he was ruled eligible:
“I was on the phone already and I saw that coach Kruger was calling so I said, 'I have to take this'. I didn't know what was happening, but I was just lying on the couch at home. I was on the phone with my girlfriend.”

On the timing of the ruling:
“For some reason I thought I would find out either early in the morning or sometime in the afternoon. I did not think I was going to find out at like 9 o'clock at night.”

On his reaction to the news:
“I started screaming and then I called my mom. She went crazy. I called my dad and he went crazy. My roommate went crazy, and then Buddy (Hield) and Isaiah (Cousins) came to my room and went crazy. All my teammates hit me up and were going crazy. That was all we could do.”

On if he was worried about the ruling during the waiting process:
“Sometimes. That is natural for someone who is going through a long process like that, but the team and my family helped me get through the wait.”

On this team compared to others he has been on:
“Very talented. We have a tight-knit core. Every one cares for every one else on and off the court. The first thing I noticed on the court was that every one talks on the defensive end. That is one thing I fell in love with about the team. I take pride in defense, so them talking with me on the court meant a lot to me when I got here.”

On if he was nervous for his first game of the season:
“Of course. First game at a new school, obviously I wanted to be great. I didn't play as well as I wanted to, but to get that first game out of the way is relieving. I have had a lot of stress the past couple months, so getting that first game out of the way helps a lot.”

Southeastern Louisiana Head Coach Jay Ladner
On OU's Buddy Hield:
“Let me just say this about Hield: we got here real early and he was already on the floor. This is what I look at. As a coach, I am looking at he's out there early, he's got a process. He wasn't just out there just what I call casual shooting. He's out there working with a purpose. You could watch him – how smooth he was, a nice compact stroke. On our team, we don't even have anyone who can guard anything like that. But I was very impressed with that. Obviously, a beautiful shooting touch and certainly a he's got a chance to be a good professional player. And then it wasn't like all the shots he had weren't uncontested. We did the best that we could. You've got to give him credit. I even told him at halftime, I passed him, I said, 'I'm enjoying watching you play, son.' Obviously, he earned my respect and I didn't realize it was a school record, but I certainly sat over there and watched every one go in.”

On being down 16-0 in the first half:
“I'm new here. My first year we've got six scholarship players. We dressed out six scholarship players. Most of our guys were walk-ons and we were playing a lot of walk-ons as well. We did some of the same things that got us in trouble the other night at Oklahoma State. We had poor execution, lack of chemistry; most of our players are new to each other. It's just a growth process for us right now. I thought after the first five or six minutes we obviously dug ourselves into a hole and we kind of hung in there and that gives us something to build on. Coach Kruger is obviously one of the great basketball coaches in the country. They were obviously very well prepared for everything that we did. They were prepared back for things that I did last year when I was coaching junior college, so obviously they had done their homework and you have to give them a lot of credit. But I was also proud of our guys. We went toe-to-toe with them there in the second half and made a run there and forced Coach (Kruger) to call a timeout, so we can take some positive things from the game as well.”

On opening the season against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State:
“Who opens at Oklahoma State and Oklahoma? It is what it is and it's very difficult and we're keeping things in perspective. Our league, like a lot of leagues, is a one-bid league. We have the same goals as Oklahoma does. We want to get in the NCAA tournament. We want to win the NCAA tournament. Obviously, personnel-wise we certainly need to upgrade that if we're going to ever achieve that goal, but we need to be more like the Butlers and the Virginia Commonwealths. That's where we have to try to make our niche. We've got to do some things where we can have a chance at some games, but when you have to go play for guaranteed money and open the season here… But we're keeping things in perspective. We're telling our players that our tournament's a one-bid league just like a lot of leagues that are one-bid leagues, and we're playing for that tournament in the end. This is a start. Hopefully in January or February, we'll look back at this game as a great learning experience. The other night at Oklahoma State we were down two at the half and played poorly at Oklahoma State and then we just kind of gave in to it once the lead extended a little bit. But again, we're trying to instill a battle mentality, a competitive pride and not quitting. I don't' think we quit tonight. I though the other night we got ourselves down and we became individualistic. I didn't see that as much tonight.”