Missouri Player and Coach Quotes
2/22/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 22, 2005
Missouri Player Quotes
Missouri senior Jason Conley
On the changes made at half:
"We weren't talking much. We really weren't talking a lot. I think that's what hurt us. On the defensive end they were scoring a lot. I picked it up."
On the upcoming game against Texas:
"This is a good team we're playing. We're playing for a major spot. We're coming up on .500 in the league. We're going to approach this game like we do all the others. They're a really good team and it's going to be no different."
On second half play:
"We started to play more. We didn't attack the paint enough against the zone. A lot of three's of course, but we just weren't attacking the paint. And then the second half came around. We were moving around and dishing out and I think that's what got us going. In the second half they also showed man [defense] a lot and they didn't do that in the first half. When we see man; we're actually good at both, but man is actually better."
Missouri freshman Jason Horton
On getting to play in his home state:
"It'll be special. We've got to focus on getting the win. It can't turn into Marshall Brown and I going back to Texas; we need to get the `W'."
On Missouri's winning streak:
"It feels good. Winning can get addictive and I hope it does continue. This is our thing; we just keep finding ways to win."
Missouri Head Coach Quin Snyder
Opening Statement:
"Obviously I'm real disappointed and angry and a lot of other emotions about how we came out in the first half. All I can say is that it's something that we try to emphasize 10 different ways. Coming off of a big win on the road, with some guys suspended from Colorado, knowing that we have to have energy and we have to be focused and to not play that way is obviously an understatement. We saw two completely different teams. I want to give our guys credit for what they did do to be better. At this point in the year we've got to be more focused in our preparation. Our guys need to bring a lesser treatment; we need to shock guys to get them ready to go. In trying to do that the personalities are down right now and have come to a realization that we need to change what we're doing. That's not happening. We don't have the luxury of not playing for five or ten minutes let alone 20 minutes."
On being down by only six at halftime:
"I felt that way a little bit at Nebraska. With all the turnovers I think if I could point to one thing that we could solve, it's something that we emphasize and continue to emphasize, it's something that we talk about and talk about and then that's what's going on. Put guys on the line for, take guys out of the game for--talk. We need to talk to each other to be connected and to play hard, when we don't do that we're not focused. In the second half when I walked into the locker room the second time we had a locker room full of energy. We've got to be able to generate that energy without external impulse. Whether it's me, you know I can't run out there and jack the guys; I've tried during time outs. We've got some guys that need to find that. That's part of competition. If you want to win even if it's not in your nature to talk you figure out a way to do it if it helps your team win. It's such a relief that we won the game, after playing that way in the first half."
On the halftime talk:
"It started all the way through the first half. At almost every time out, stating the obvious about what's going on the court. Whether it's a simple back screen, there's no talk, no switch to the ball. That's something I know our guys know. Why we don't do it in that very situation. We're at the point where we're taking guys out of the game; it's one way to get their attention. We're not that deep right now so getting to them, yelling at them, trying to motivate them that way that was a lot of the halftime. I've been challenging them, there was a lot of that, but ultimately I think our guys need to keep challenging themselves."
On using Brian Dailey:
"Well, I was trying to get life, get energy. Brian knows who he is as a player. For him to be effective and to do something for our team that's what he's got to be. Frankly, if you look at our team statistically we've got a lot of guys that should be thinking about playing that way and our team should be thinking about playing that way. We need to be that way. We need to send that message to ourselves all the time for us to be good. And when we've done that we've been competitive. So I think for guys to see Brian playing that way, he's a motivational tool for them and frankly he was effective, he did some good things because he's energized when he's competing."
Colorado Head Coach Ricardo Patton
On Colorado's lack of bench support and fatigue:
"I thought we wore down a little bit in the second half. We primarily had two guys that typically scored for us on the perimeter, Andy Osborn and Richard Roby; I thought those guys wore down a little in the second half. I guess Missouri's defense got them (Osborn and Roby) into foul trouble. But I am very proud of just how these young men came in and gave themselves a chance to win, and they played hard and just ran out of ammunition down the stretch."
On Colorado's suspended players:
"I feel certain that those guys we left behind had total disregard for their teammates, the team, and the program in general, and that's unfortunate. I think they'll learn from that mistake and move on."
