Mizzou Basketball Post Game Quotes
2/12/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 12, 2011
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Mizzou Head Coach Quotes
Mike Anderson Quotes
Opening statement…
"It was good to see our guys get back on track. We had great energy. Oklahoma came out really shooting the ball well. With our defense I thought we dictated the tempo, we kept up on them and eventually those shots were not falling. Big kudos to our bench. I thought our bench was a big difference. They scored 42 points but it wasn't as much the points that they scored but I thought they really came out and defensively really got in the passing lanes, rebounding the basketball and sharing the basketball. They had great execution. I thought that was a big difference in the first half. In the second half I thought we came out with the mind set of really stopping Oklahoma, and we did. And then of course, we had some bad shots... some bad decisions, let me put it that way. The bench came in and did an excellent job. Mike Dixon, I thought, played well and that's something he's been doing in practice the last three days and I thought he brought his practice to the game, as well as Ricky Kreklow and Justin Safford. Justin looked like a poised senior out there and really did a lot of good things for us. Steve Moore, what can you say, we went inside and we had an advantage and we took advantage of him. Again I think the guys came off the bench and gave us some great, great minutes and I think that was the difference in the game."
On Ricky Kreklow's 3-pointer…
"I thought that was a big bank shot for him. Intended, unintended, it went in and that happens in basketball so maybe that will be the shot that gives him the confidence. The thing I like about him is he is doing all the other little things for us. He does all the little nasty work. He cuts, scratches, bruises in practice and there's no difference in the game so it was good to see him come out and have some success."
On Marcus Denmon elbow to the face…
"Well he got a couple stitches on the face. Kind of one of those shiners that gets you some stitches. He caught a nice elbow of course that's going to happen when you're in there where the action is. That's one thing we've been talking about, you got to be physical when you get in there. So he's got one of those war wounds, but I think he's going to be okay. I think he got it from one of our guys."
On Justin Safford…
"I thought he played well. I thought he played like a senior's supposed to. Its amazing because Justin was out of practice a couple days ago. He was sick with this bug that's going around. He didn't even practice, Marcus didn't practice yesterday. So I was amazed that Marcus had the energy to play. What he did in the first half and part of the second as well as Justin, that tells you the makeup of our guys."
On unsung heroes…
"Well I think that's been typical of our bench all season long. We've had different guys coming off the bench and different starters. When Phil was on the bench he brought that same kind of intensity. So its good to see those other guys really starting to play well but it's one game so lets see if we can get some consistency. That happened in practice so it was good to see that carry over in the game."
Senior Forward Justin Safford
On struggles this season...
"I don't think I was struggling mentally, I just needed to come out how I was playing and play better. I wasn't really shooting the ball well, so this was the game to get me back on the right track."
On the bench's contributions...
"I just think guys coming off the bench know what Coach is looking for and that's energy. Collectively before we go out there, we have to bring that energy and to pick the team up and I think that's what we did."
Sophomore Guard Michael Dixon
On Safford's contributions...
"Justin plays with a lot of energy and intensity and he thinks about other guys first. He does a lot of good screening and when you screen, you get yourself open."
On bench's contributions...
"We weren't really worried about scoring too much. Obviously all the guys on the bench can put the ball in the hole. We just keep working on it and the intensity and energy. As you can see today, we got some points off our defense. The points come with just playing hard offensively and defensively."
On Ricky's performance...
"Ricky plays extremely hard, like a J.T. Tiller hard. He goes hard in practice and gets after guys, and sometimes guys don't like it. Anything positive he can do in the game, including points, it's always good. It was good to see him put the ball in play today, because he works so hard."
On bouncing back from Kansas...
"A lot of people aren't very successful in there (Allen Fieldhouse). It was tough, but we're just focusing on Texas Tech right now. We're not really worrying about how we played two games ago. It was good to get a bad taste out of our mouth though."
Junior Forward Steve Moore
On the bench's contributions...
"Coach is always talking about how when we sit there, we see what's going on and so when we get out there, we can fix it and just bring the energy."
On his offensive plays...
"I always look to score, but I don't force anything."
Oklahoma Head Coach Jeff Capel
Opening Statement:
"First of all, congratulations to Missouri. They're a really good basketball team. I thought their energy and their fight really got to us in the second half. I thought we did some good things in the first half, and had an opportunity to have a lead at halftime, but I don't know who that was out there for us in the second half. That's not taking anything away from Missouri, because they took it from us. We talked at halftime about transition defense and valuing the ball. Then on the very first play, they reach out and take the ball from us and get a layup. We come down on the second play, take a quick shot-- which I didn't necessarily think was a bad shot-- but we take a quick shot, and then don't get back into transition, so right away they have four points right after halftime off of transition and we've turned the ball over. From there I didn't think we fought like a team that's really hungry to win, that's tied 4-5 with this team and has a chance to come in and get a win on the road against a top 20 opponent. I don't know the reason for it. I'm disappointed, but again those kids played really well."
On whether Missouri's fast pace affected the team...
"I don't know. I don't think so. If you looked at the minutes, I think our guys probably played less minutes in today's game than they have all year. It could have been part of it, because the pace of the game is very different from what we're accustomed to, but that's no excuse. We have to figure out a way to be tougher. We talk to our team about it all the time, we have to find a way to be physically and mentally tougher. We weren't that, especially in the second half. I thought we had some moments in the first half where we were. I think we had nine turnovers at halftime and they were plus 10 on the rebounds, but I just didn't think we fought and competed to like we needed to in the second half."
On Andrew Fitzgerald's two quick fouls...
"I think we had a lead, if I'm not mistaken, when he was out there. When he's not in the game we really don't have anyone we can throw the ball inside to, so they don't have to guard anyone for us down there. I thought they were two interesting calls. The last one was 94 feet away from the basket, you know, but we are a different team with him out there. I don't know though, he played, what, 23 minutes and didn't have a defensive rebound? How is that even humanly possible? You're in 23 minutes, you're our biggest guy and don't have a defensive rebound. We need everyone rebounding."
On Missouri's bench...
"I think they're good. They have good players. When you can have Michael Dixon coming off the bench, that's great. I thought Steve Moore gave them a really good lift in the first half. Ricky Kreklow hadn't made a shot, and of course it comes against us on a bank with a contest. He's a shooter... I watched that kid in high school. He's a kid that can shoot the ball. Sometimes all it takes is one shot, and that's what happened. It took one for him. Just seeing it go down gave him some confidence... in nine conference games he hadn't scored, and then he had seven today. I think they have a good bench, I think they're well-coached, and I think they have great poise although they play at a very fast pace."
