Missouri Quotes and Coach Knight Quotes
1/19/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 19, 2005
Missouri sophomore Thomas Gardner
On Texas Tech:
"They were real comfortable today. We really couldn't get in to shake them up or rattle them a little bit to get them out of their comfort zone. They really played in a rhythm and played a quality game. It was tough."
On recovering from the loss:
"We just have to practice harder. If we practice hard and we really compete in practice, that will translate into the game. We really have to start buying into the team and really try to give all that we have into the team. We really have to trust our teammates."
Missouri sophomore Linas Kleiza
On the loss to Texas Tech:
"It's a hard experience to lose like this. We just have to keep our heads in it. We know what we have to do to get better. We need to focus on our defense and keep our energy up. We just felt like we were dead out there. It just wasn't us out there for the second game in a row. We just have to bring it every night."
On recovering from the loss and moving on:
"We're a talented team. We're a good team. We give our hearts out. I feel that we can win. We did that before. Tonight our effort was poor, but like I've said, we're young. We're fighting some adversity, but we're going to bounce back. On Saturday we're going to be a whole different team."
Missouri Head Coach Quin Snyder
Opening Statement:
"Obviously it's disconcerting to see how we played in terms of our focus defensively. You can't play with two or three guys playing with energy and some guys taking off defensively. We really hurt ourselves with our turnovers; it makes it very difficult for us to get anything going when we give the ball to the other team. A couple of times when we did get to a point when the lead had been cut to four, two and then had possessions with multiple turnovers, one right after the other. I told our team `you have to hate how you played more than anything in order to do something about it'. We've been like this earlier in the year and the slippage that has occurred to me is slippage in their team focus."
On effort and execution:
"It's a combination. There wasn't a whole lot that we did well tonight. There was a possession here and there that we were solid but our response to adversity was that every time that we got hit with something, again from the outset of the game, it wasn't fatigue, we started the game not having vision of the ball and the ball passing us, then they scored easy buckets. We started the game turning the ball over and that's execution related. No matter what you do offensively you've got to be strong with the ball and you can't take a dribble off your foot and throw it to the other team. I think some of that beyond execution were our mental energy as well as our physical energy and our commitment to really play in the right way."
On making changes:
"I think the one thing that we've felt is the pain of this performance and for our guys to feel that on a deeper level than they've been feeling. I felt that after K-State we would feel that and I thought we'd come out and have a better effort tonight that obviously wasn't the case. We need to understand how badly we need each other on both ends of the floor. We're not individually good enough and I don't know that our focus is always on those little things. I know it's not and that to me is taking ownership in those things and the identity of our team. I think that when we started playing better it was because we had development of that identity and that's what have not been there the last few games since Oklahoma State. We haven't been focused on holding on tight enough to do it."
On how to make changes:
"Horton has been making great progress but tonight he looked like a freshman. He was bothered by the game. We were bothered by calls, bothered by lots of things. I think the biggest thing is for our guys to take ownership of it, unless you take responsibility for it it's not something that's going on externally it's something that's going on inside of us and we can continue to emphasis those things in practice that's obviously something that we do, I don't think that's enough in itself it needs to be more than that, we need a deeper level of change."
Texas Tech Head Coach Bob Knight
Opening Statement:
"The thing for us was that we got off to a really good start which in a couple of games we haven't and it's really hurt us, but I guess that we've really tried to concentrate on that a little bit and tonight we did and then they came back really well in the latter part of the first half. The most crucial thing for us was to keep the second half in a position where we didn't have to play from behind early, when we had a six point lead we could maintain that and we went back and forth a little bit. I would probably say that it was a good stretch that we've had in a game all year was probably the last 12 or 13 minutes of the second half. We haven't really been able to do that with any consistency. It's the second or maybe the third time that we've done that and there's been about three times we've let it get away from us, so we're about .500 in opportunities to get control of the game. That was very good for us, I was really pleased for the most part with what we did defensively I think we got a little impatient offensively. That's not what we wanted to do in the first half although I came in at the halftime and I was not real pleased with the offense but I was surprised that we only had three turnovers based on how I thought about our offense. Then in the second half I thought we moved well offensively but I think we made some passes that I didn't understand so obviously a pretty good game for us and we've just got to move on."
On turnovers:
"Turnovers are always a result of two things...defense and offense I think they combine to make a turnover. Both teams are always going to make some outstanding plays defensively and there are going to be some careless plays made offensively and those careless plays usually result in something not good."
On points in the paint:
"We're trying to take whatever we can get. When you're ahead it's easier to get closer to the basket then it is when you're behind and that's why it's so important to maintain the lead in the beginning of the second half."
On Mizzou Arena:
"I think it's a really nice place. It looks a lot like Hearnes, same color, same size. You've got a lot of money to build a duplicate. It's cleaner than Hearnes."
