Mizzou Basketball Post Game Quotes
3/4/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 4, 2009
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Mizzou Basketball Post Game Quotes
Missouri vs. Oklahoma
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Mizzou Arena, Columbia, Mo.
Post Game Head Coach Quotes
Oklahoma Coach Jeff Capel
Opening Statement...
"He (Mike Anderson) has taken his program so far. They (Missouri) played so hard tonight. They fought so hard. We couldn't get control of the tempo tonight. They turned us over, sped us up. They had control of the game. We have to get back and get ready for another fast-pace team in Oklahoma State. So we're going to get ready and look forward to that."
On his concern with OU's play late in the season...
"There's always concern, but we'll figure it out, we're OU. We hit a couple bumps in the road, had that game without Blake (Griffin). We had a tough stretch, down the stretch. We had a tough set of games all in a row. But we'll get better. We'll use these games as a learning experience."
On the Mizzou Arena atmosphere...
"It was great. Tonight the arena, the crowd was magnificent. The students were in it. And the thing that made it great was this team (Missouri). They give them something to cheer about. They give them something to get excited about. The style, the energy, they feed off each other and the players feed of the crowd and the crowd feeds off the players.. It's so much better than two years ago when we came up here."
On Missouri's defense...
"Well you know when you play them you're going to feel the pressure. One of the things we talked about was not turning the ball over, not allowing them to speed us up. We didn't do a good job of either of those tonight. They're athletic and they play hard and they play through every possession. They play run through mistakes. Even though they make them, they play hard and make up for mistakes."
Missouri Head Coach Mike Anderson
Opening Statement...
"First I want to compliment Coach Capel and his team. What a gutsy performance. They had an opportunity to really run away, and I think our guys got a rhythm going, but they (OU) wouldn't go away. It was a very emotional game for our guys. But it was amazing. Those (senior) games can go one way or another. I'm one of those guys, I always want to reward my seniors. For those four seniors to go out that way was great. I was tickled to death, I'm a father to all those guys. But for Mike (Jr.) to go out in that setting, to literally spark our basketball team. In one of the biggest games of the year he came out and performed. It was a great night for our guys. For our guys to come back like that off of a big loss to Kansas really shows their resilience."
On achieving a perfect regular-season home campaign...
"That's a tremendous feat, especially after what took place last year, going 16-16. I don't even know what our record was at home. We played some pretty good teams, and we beat some pretty good teams, in a mighty way. For those guys to do that, this just tells you they're the ultimate team. They really respond to their fans. It's all about momentum. The louder the place gets, the better our team plays. You want this to be a pit, you want teams to be afraid to come here."
On coaching his son, Mike Jr., for four years...
"It was a proud moment for me as a father. I got really choked up when I was walking out there with Mike (Jr.). To see him at this stage in his life, from a baby, now he's a man. I was so proud he chose to come play for me. Most coaches don't want to coach their son, but if I could do it all over again, I would."
On why Missouri is successful...
"One thing our kids do, they leave it all on the floor. They're going to play hard, they're going to play to win, they're going to play together."
Oklahoma Sophomore Forward Blake Griffin:
On The Game:
"We didn't come out ready to play. They jumped on us; they had a lot more energy than we did. They got points off of turnovers, which is what they thrive on."
On what impresses him most about Missouri:
"Their intensity. They do a great job of running the passing lanes and getting steals, and pressuring you."
On another loss:
"We'll be all right. We'll be fine. This isn't the end of the world. We've got one more conference game, the conference tournament and then the NCAA Tournament. We need to put this game behind us and learn from it, but this game isn't going to make or break our season. We just did a poor job of executing on offense. We'd make kind of a run, then we'd turn the ball over. We didn't do that great of a job taking care of the ball, and that's how we kept turning the ball over."
On if he wants to see Missouri again in Oklahoma City:
"Yes."
Why he thinks they'll be allright:
"Look at the teams we've lost to. Those aren't bad teams. Missouri is obviously a good team, they're undefeated at home. Kansas is obviously a good team because they just beat Missouri. Texas is a good team, they've just had their struggles. I'm not worried about it."
Missouri Player Post Game Quotes:
Senior Forward DeMarre Carroll:
On holding Oklahoma at arms length:
"It was very important and you've got to give credit to our crowd. They really kept us in it tonight."
On emotions before tip-off:
"Me personally, it's been an up and down battle. When I first got here, from me getting shot, to going 16-16, to have a season like this and basically set history by going undefeated at home. It really caught me emotionally. I don't want to talk about it right now because I might get emotional again. But it's been a great career at home and I love Mizzou. I'll always be a Tiger."
"Once I hit the locker room, I was ready. I use those emotions to motivate me; to fire me up. We don't lose at home.
"And I have to say again, J.T. Tiller...defensive player of the year. He really stepped it up again a lot...going from one guy to the next. He stepped a lot, so hopefully my boy gets Defensive Player of the Year."
On being perfect at home:
"Perfect that's a great word. It's one thing you dream about going into every season. This season was a dream come true. To finish it off like this - it's amazing."
On the play of Michael Anderson Jr.:
"Mike Jr., he's never started a game, but coach put him in the lineup and he made some big plays."
On the Play of Blake Griffin:
"We worked on it all week to try and guard him. Sometimes it was a double [team], sometimes it wasn't. But us not giving him the double team like he's seen all year, those other guys were going to have to find something different to do."
On Finishing Perfect at Home:
"We know if we do the right thing, we can beat any team in the country. I love the city, love the fans, and love Mizzou."
