Post Game Quotes
12/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 18, 2010
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Mizzou Head Coach Mike Anderson
Opening Statement:
"It was kind of a strange game, to look down the bench and there's Corliss [Williamson], the Big Nasty, down there on the other end. It brought back a lot of memories and was very emotional as well. I'm proud of him, and I think he's going to do a great job. I thought his kids were kind of rattled early on. They cut it to seven, and then for the most part got after it. We did a good job of identifying the strengths we have, going inside, and then eventually we started making shots. They're a team that's going to play up-tempo, and our guys welcome that. We shared the basketball tonight, and I thought defensively we did some good things. We played a variety of defenses, and when you talk about 33 assists on 45 field goals that's being pretty efficient."
On the defensive intensity of the team...
"That's what we've been working on. We're a work in progress... we've got to be able to finish games. Whether you're up or down, you've got to continue to focus on the task at hand, which is making it tough defensively on your opponent and creating easy offense for us. I thought we did that in the second half. If you look at some of the games we've played, it seems like there's always a letdown somewhere where we start playing to play, and playing for stats. The teams that have been good for us, no matter the score, have played good team basketball, and I thought you saw that tonight."
On Kim English's career high assists...
"I think he realizes that sometimes it will be other guys [with the shot]. I think you saw some of that tonight. Passing is contagious like shooting is contagious, as are playing with intensity and getting after it. Those are all contagious, and I hope we can continue to get better in those areas."
On whether Pressey is ready to play Illinois...
"He'll be ready. He's a gamer. Gamers raise their level of play anytime they go out to play. It will be a learning experience for him, but I think it's like the first half. In the first half of this game, you had the good and the bad [of Pressey]. After half time, he came out and just played basketball. He'll be fine."
On takeaways from the game...
"We had a lot of guys playing. Anytime you play a game like this here you get an opportunity to give guys playing experience, and I think that will be key for us. You get a guy like Ricky [Kreklow] who was perfect from the field tonight. That will get some more confidence in him and continue to build his confidence. He's got a chance to be a really, really good player."
On Michael Dixon's return...
"I will allow him to practice now as of tomorrow. We don't have a time frame, but he will be reinstated in practice with our basketball team. He's got some things he's got to do, and we'll see what takes place from there."
Mizzou Player Quotes
Kim English
On if it will be a boost to the team walking into the Illinois game ranked in the top 10…
"No, not at all. With these kinds of games, it's just like an elite game or a rivalry game. You can throw all the records and white-collar stats out window. This is hard-nosed basketball. It's going to be a grind. They beat us two years ago, and the ten before that. We beat them last year and especially with them coming off a loss, they're going to be really hungry. I know how we felt going into that game last year after them beating us, so I know McCain, McCamy and Mike Tisdale, and the leaders of that team are going to be really hungry coming into St. Louis."
Phil Pressey
On if he has competition for point guard...
"No. The way I feel is contagious. If I start passing, Kimmie is going to do the same thing, L Bo (Laurence Bowers) is going to do the same thing. It's a good thing once when we're all passing that means there's a lot of assists going on and a lot of buckets going in."
On what Coach Anderson will tell them the team did wrong tonight…
"For me, he is going to get on me a lot for turnovers. That's my big pet peeve right there. If I get a turnover, I get so down on myself and they just pick me up. The only thing we did wrong this game is turnovers and offensive rebounds."
On if the Illinois game will be one for him to prove the player he is..
"Of course it is. I guess every game is a big game like we will say. So this is pretty much taking my practice to the game. I'm not looking at the opponent, I'm just looking to get better and if I bring my practice to the game, I'm sure I'll be alright."
Laurence Bowers
On if it will be a boost to the team walking into the Illinois game ranked in the top 10…
"I don't think all the rankings will play a part in this bragging rights game. Regardless of the fact that if we're ranked 9th, 8th, or 7th, that Illinois is home and they just came off a loss. We try not to let the rankings get in our head anyways. We try to stay humble like Coach said. We know we're going to be in for a big fight come the 22nd and we just have to bring it. We have to build off of this game and hopefully carry the momentum off of this game, but work on the mishaps we had tonight because Illinois will exploit them if we don't."
