Nov. 8, 2002

Recap?|? Final Stats?|? Notes

Missouri head coach Quin Snyder

On the game:

"I thought after the last time we played, we really had a dismal performance on the defensive end. Part of it is our guys learning what that defense is and making it part of their identity, and I thought there was a really effort to do that tonight, and that pleased me. Our focus was there. We still have letdowns, be it in transition or penetration or on the boards. I think we can improve in those areas if the focus is there. We had some guys that were a little more relaxed tonight. I thought we took better shots. We got loose with the ball as the game progressed, but I thought we played together tonight."

On the play of junior point guard Ricky Clemons:

"Ricky's a long ways away from where he needs to be. He had a good night tonight, and he knows that, but there's some things he does very well on the floor. That nine on the turnover column is almost a triple-double. That's not what we need from him, and he knows that. He got a little bit careless at times, but he also really ran our team tonight."

On the play of MU's bench:

"The teams we play against in our league play defense. These guys are together for a couple days, and they did a good job, but generally the defense you play against in these things is not as high a level. Having said that, I think our guys are figuring out what they can give to the team. Najeeb (Echols) is defending and rebounding. I pulled him out of the game once because he didn't go for the offensive glass; the next time, he was going. Jeff Ferguson is taking shots that come to him. Kevin Young is running in transition. Those guys, frankly all need to defend and rebound. ... If they defend and rebound, they can contribute."

On the play of junior center Arthur Johnson:

"AJ missed his first three free throws, he missed his first few shots, and there's been times when he hasn't had the maturity to fight through that. I know he ended up going 1-of-5 from the line, but he made the fourth. He all of the sudden got on a roll offensively when he made a live shot. AJ can shoot the ball; we've just got to keep working on that."