Postgame Quotes
1/21/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 21, 2002
Missouri Head Coach Quin Synder
On the first half: "We started the game very well and very efficient. We're still finding ourselves, we're fragile, but we're still OK."
On OU's run at the end of the first half: "That run came from their offensive glass where we weren't tough enough on the boards. You have to be strong and tough and the guys were weak with the ball."
On Missouri's players: "We have to have some guys step up. We need Kareem (Rush) to be stronger and he knows that. I thought Arthur Johnson had some double teams but we can't not go to him because of that."
On OU's defense: "Guys were going by us and you have to guard your man. Defensively, they get in you and you have to take the challenge. I thought we played early that way."
On Oklahoma: "They're as talented as anyone in the country."
Oklahoma Head Coach Kelvin Sampson
On the game: "I couldn't be more proud of our kids. I was trying to get our team focused on Missouri after we made such an emotional investment at Kansas on Saturday. My hat is off to Quin Snyder and his team. They are a very talented basketball team. I've been watching (Clarence) Gilbert for these past few years and he's such a good shooter. I'm not sure if we've ever been able to really contain him. We were lucky to catch (Kareem) Rush on an off-night, but I thought our kids played hard and helped each other out on defense. We also didn't let them get many great looks at the basket."
On senior forward Aaron McGhee: "I thought Aaron played with real toughness tonight and that's all you can ask for. As long as he's giving great effort, that is what matters. You don't just want to look strictly at statistics."
On junior guard Quannas White: "What a lot of people don't realize about Quannas is that he's thirty pounds heavier than Hollis. When he drives the lane, he can absorb a hit better than Hollis can."
Oklahoma Junior Guard Hollis Price
On tonight's game: " I thought we played really well. We came out with a lot of intensity and we let Clarence Gilbert get off a little bit, but that's what good shooters do. Gilbert and Rush are both great shooters and we did a really good job on Rush."
On playing two tough teams in back-to-back games: "You want to play games back to back like that. It was a little tough getting things turned around so quickly, but we did well tonight and got a really big win for us. We answered the call tonight. We did a great job of executing our offense and we had a big advantage on the boards."
Oklahoma Junior Guard Quannas White
On OU's run to close the first half: "I feel like we did a good job of getting into a rhythm there. We were getting some open shots and they were just falling for us. We were making things happen on the defensive end and that allowed us to run and score some points. We ended the first half in a great way."
On his hot play the last two games: "I'm just trying to do whatever I can to help the team. I had a good game the other day against Kansas and today as well. I'm really working on defense and trying to make things happen on the other end, too."
On having such a big game on his 21st birthday: "This feels so good. I told the guys this is what I wanted for my birthday and they gave it to me."
