OU-Missouri Postgame Quotes

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Head Coach Lon Kruger
Opening comment:
“It was a really good win. I thought Missouri played well to open it up. We had four really good days of practice this week, working on having better possessions, getting better shots and getting the ball inside a little bit more. We valued possessions a little greater than we did in the Bahamas last week. Again, it was something that the guys recognized we needed to work on and they did a great job. It was good to see them transfer a lot of that to the game tonight. It was a good win, a new starting point, and we have to keep getting better.”

On the defense getting the offense going in the first half:
“Defensively, we have been making progress. We have been getting better. You're right, I thought there was a stretch were we just got out of the backcourt and kind of opened it up in the first half. It started with our defense getting steals and a couple of blocked shots. The guys, defensively, I thought were pretty solid all night.”

On if they got the ball inside more tonight:
“We threw it inside a lot more tonight than we have been. We threw it inside tonight like we have been doing in practice. The guys understand the value of that. Ryan (Spangler) and TaShawn (Thomas) need a lot more touches to take some pressure off of the perimeter guys. It will get the perimeter guys better shots. Once we get it inside a little bit more, both Ryan and TaShawn are really good passers out of the post and our perimeter guys know that. When it goes in there, the defense drops in and Ryan and Tashawn are both very willing passers getting it out of there. If the defense doesn't go, Ryan and TaShawn are pretty aggressive to score in there. I liked our starting point, offensively, much better tonight.”

On Isaiah Cousin's performance early in the game:
“Isaiah got us going on both ends early. He made some shots early. I thought, even more important, was his pressure defensively and disrupting the flow of Missouri. Missouri's guards are good. They handle the ball well and they are tough. Isaiah did a good job with the pressure and being disruptive.”

On what it means to have a young player like Dinjiyl Walker to be able to run the offense:
“It's very important. Our depth, I think, is going to continue to improve throughout the year. Frank (Booker) will get it going. He didn't have a normal game tonight. Austin Mankin did a good job in there tonight. Austin had a really good week of practice. Khadeem Lattin, I think we are seeing brief glimpses of what he is going to be able to become. He's a really talented guy and he is working to become more physical in practice every day. D.J. Bennett played his minutes in the Bahamas really well. Our depth is good. C.J. Cole came in at the Bahamas and gave us a nice few minutes. I like the depth of our group.”

On what getting another win against a non-conference opponent means going forward:
“The league is so good. All of the teams in the league are winning. All of the teams in the league have impressive wins in non-conference. That's just how tough the league is going to be. All of these are good in preparation for conference play. We know how tough that is going to be every night out. Now, we go on the road for a really big challenge next Saturday to a Tulsa club that is playing well, then Oral Roberts here, Washington in Vegas, and Weber State is a trap game that we have to be concerned about going forward in preparation for conference play. The non-conference schedule is good, the league is good and we are going to keep making progress.”

On if they pay attention to the SEC/Big 12 Challenge:
“I think there is pride in the league. Last year, the league was recognized as the best with seven out of 10 teams in the tournament. This year, it looks like there are eight teams receiving votes at this point. Again, we know how tough that is. Certainly as a league you take pride in everyone winning games, especially in a challenge like that.”

Junior Guard Buddy Hield
On getting out of his shooting slump:
“It does feel good to get out of that. My teammates picked me up, you know. Isaiah (Cousins) and Ryan (Spangler) told me to keep on pushing and make shots. In the second half I got going a little bit, and I was able to extend my range out a little bit and make some shots. It is good to see some shots go down. I couldn't do it without my teammates helping me and talking to me.”

On if the team's steals tonight indicate the type of pressure it is capable of employing:
“Yes sir. We have a lot of quick guys. Jordan (Woodard), Isaiah and myself and then guys like Frank (Booker) and Dinjiyl (Walker) coming off the bench—we just do a good job pressuring the ball. Isaiah and Jordan have some good hands and even Ryan and TaShawn (Thomas). I got steals off their deflections and I was in the right place at the right time. It was a team effort and thank God we have good guys that play together. We just go out and run afterwards.”

On this year's team playing better defense and turning that into offense in transition:
“It's fun, you know. We get out there a lot. We see the change in the guys wanting to play defense and being committed to defense. It is fun getting deflections and getting after guys. It makes the crowd more energetic. You saw we had a good crowd tonight. We feed off them. We just kept going and got after the ball.”

On Trey Slate's 3-pointer:
“Trey is a guy that works hard. Seeing him make shots makes the whole team smile. He puts in more work than anyone on this team.”

Junior Forward Ryan Spangler
On scoring in transition after forcing turnovers:
“I think we are able to get back. We are pretty fast getting up and down the court, and I think we are a better team when we can get out and run.”

On showing balance between his perimeter shooting and his post game:
“Coach told me to work on getting in the post, getting deep position and trying to get inside game. That is what we worked on all week, and I think it showed tonight. Every once in a while I was able to step out, and they weren't on me, so I was able to shoot. Just teammates passing.”

On having TaShawn Thomas to help in the post:
“Yeah, my rebounds go down because he takes them. Just kidding. That's good for me. It is a relief having him. I think he spreads the court. He can pass, like Coach said. He can score any time he wants, and he can run the floor. He fits in perfectly with us.”

Missouri Head Coach Kim Anderson
Opening comment:
“Two segments of the game; they did a great job at taking advantage of our turnovers in the first half. Then they had a good run there that took the lead from two or three to 12 or 13. Then in the second half, we came out in the beginning it was 15-0. We are a young team and we are trying to learn. Oklahoma did a great job at putting pressure on us and forcing us to turn the ball over at crucial times.”

On what he wanted to see in second half:
“First of all they did a great job at making us turn the ball over, at least in the first half. We have had trouble adjusting to adversity. When we try to execute something and it doesn't work we have trouble adjusting and making a play. That is something we have worked on a lot. At times we are getting better at it, but obviously we weren't at times tonight. I thought they really did a great job at putting pressure on us. In the second half we were a lot better after making the adjustments at halftime. In the first half we had guys in there, like I said we are a young team. We have been through it a little bit. Playing a game like this, this is big-boy basketball and you have to be ready for anything that they are going to throw at you.”

On if he was surprised by the way Oklahoma put pressure on them:
“They hadn't done it a lot. I certainly knew from knowing Coach [Kruger] over the years that they certainly could do that. I thought we panicked more than anything, and they put pressure on us. The problem was they stole the basketball and that eliminated our transition defense, which we had done a good job of there for a while. Then we quit. They started getting steals, and we started taking a bad shot or quick shots there and we didn't get our guys back on the baseline. I thought that was the game in the first half. The second half they just came out and played. We missed too many shots early. We had a couple of shots that rolled in and out. Then we had a repeat of the first half for five or six minutes and then the game was out of hand.”

On the turnovers by key players:
“They need to be a lot stronger. We have got to better. We have to be stronger at the position. Ryan [Rosburg] struggled a little bit, Namon [Wright] struggled a little bit, so we are playing more D' Angelo [Allen] and he is a freshman. I am encourage by what the freshman did. I am encouraged by how Namon played and Montaque [Gill-Caesar] started off well. D'Angelo just brings activity to the game and he is learning. All we can do is keep working. I knew when I got here that we were going to have a young team. I have to be positive. I have to do better job coaching. We have to do a better job learning.”

On ways to get the ball inside more:
“We have looked at getting some other guys inside. We just haven't been very good at the post. We can get the ball inside, that is not the problem. The problem is we have to make the play and score the basket. We are working with Ryan [Rosburg] and some others, and they are working hard. They are doing everything they can. We just haven't been able to get the ball in the hole.”

Missouri Sophomore Forward Johnathan Williams III
On going for the pump fake that resulted in his second foul being a learning moment for him:
“Yeah, I've just got to learn from it. My feet were still on the ground, but I've just got to learn from it – stay on my feet and give him some more space.”

On if he anticipated the kind of pressure that Oklahoma presented:
“No sir. I think in the second half we started to control it a little bit more, but in the first half they got a couple of steals.“

Missouri Freshman Guard Montaque Gill-Caesar
On what makes Oklahoma a tough team to play:
“Personally, I think that – obviously they are older than us. We are a really young team. I think they just outplayed us. In the first half, I think there was a stretch of like 10 minutes where we scored only seven points and, I mean, on defense they were attacking us. On offense they were attacking us. I think all around we just kind of succumbed to what they were doing.”

On starting off differently than previous games:
“Yeah, definitely. We weren't aggressive enough and we just kind of settled too much.”

On having Williams III on the bench with foul trouble:
“It hurt us a lot. We didn't have the inside presence that we needed. He's a guy that comes in, he hits shots, he can stretch out the defense, he can rebound, and that's what we needed.”

On when Williams III is not in the game, if there are other ways they can get the ball inside:
“I think as a team we have to work on attacking. As a team, we are driving with our head down and we're getting four shots and turnovers so that's something that we need to work on.”

Players Mentioned

D.J. Bennett

D.J. Bennett

C.J. Cole

C.J. Cole

Buddy Hield

Khadeem Lattin

Khadeem Lattin

Austin Mankin

Austin Mankin

Trey Slate

Ryan Spangler

Ryan Spangler

TaShawn Thomas

TaShawn Thomas

Dinjiyl Walker

Dinjiyl Walker

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