Nov. 11, 2008
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Coach Mike Anderson Post-Game Quotes
Opening statement...
"First thing, I want to thank our students for coming out, the Zou Crew, to the last couple of games. That means a lot to us. Now on to the game. I thought our guys brought energy. I thought our guys brought some toughness, but let's give Missouri Southern a lot of credit. They came in here with a game plan. They had a couple games under their belts. They wanted to slow it down, but I don't remember a lot of nights where a team took more shots than we did and that's what they did. But I do think we took some good shots and got to the free throw line."
On the positives and negatives of tonight's win...
"We played a ton of line-ups tonight. You look out there and you see a line-up with five freshmen out there and I thought they did really, really well. You can see there is some talent there. We are a work in progress. We just have to get better and better and get on the same page. The one thing we talked about last week was cleaning up the turnover part of our game. That's the one that has kind of caught my eye. We did a lot of other good things but I thought the turnover part of our game was too many. Hopefully that is something we will rectify."
On his strategy behind putting several different players on the floor...
"I think it was a combination of getting guys some quality playing time. At the same time there are going to be situations when, lets say, Leo (Lyons) gets into foul trouble. So now who is the guy who will come off the bench and give us some energy, a guy who is going to plug in and keep us in (the game)? I thought Justin (Safford) came in and even added. Sometimes you want to stay on the same level. He took it to another level and we went on a big spurt. So I think for a guy like Justin, they are all trying to compete for playing time and this is an opportunity for that to take place."
On who will play during the regular season...
"We'll play the guys accordingly. I think we've got a lot of guys who will come out and get a lot of quality minutes. But I think you will see a core group. You've got to have a core group. I think we have a better idea, we'll evaluate and watch the tape and practice here in the next couple days and we'll go with the guys that we think are more ready, you've got to go with the guys who are more ready."
On where Missouri needs to improve...
"I think we got careless with the basketball. Sometimes you get really careless with the basketball. Early on I thought we created some turnovers and got some easy opportunities. It went ugly, when you steal it sometimes we were throwing it right back to them. And that's carelessness with the basketball and I think sometimes that's personnel. But at the same time, you've got a lot of new faces out here. This is a new team. This team has nothing to do with what took place last year, this is a brand new basketball team. They're still working hard, but I think they're doing a lot of other good things. When you look at eight blocked shots that tells you we were really coming after some shots. We had 17 assists, that means we shared the basketball."
On staying on the floor ... and out of foul trouble...
" It is very important, we have gotten a lot better this year, so it is not as important as it was last year, but I still need to make sure I stay focus and stay out there for senior leadership on the court."
On defense and rebound performance...
"It was enough to win the game today, but it wasn't by far what we set our goal for. We want to dominate on the glass; because that's something we didn't do to well on last year. So were still trying to improve on it - were a new team and I think we will improve as we go alone."
On young players stepping up...
"We need everybody, all the way. Just for example, how I got in quick foul trouble today, somebody has to be ready at all times, and that's how it's been going so far.
On combinations early in the season
"Of course there were a lot of combinations, and a lot of guys played tonight, so we really don't know what is going to happen the rest of the season. At least everybody got a chance to go out there and contribute; I think we did a decent job we just practice on improving our turnover rate."
On turnovers...
"I just think it was unforced turnovers like coach says ... We will have the ball and we would try to make the fifty-fifty pass instead of just making the single and letting the other person make the pass. We just have to have an honor system and trust our team mates more and make the past that gets to the guys."
On defense and rebound performance ...
"When I look at it, I think that people don't know it is harder to rebound when you playing against guys who are just exhibition. That's just something we have experienced during exhibitions, and we are just learning from it and getting better."
On 3 pointers...
"Yes, Leo and I have been working on it everyday. Coach told us that if we don't hit it in practice then we won't pull it in the game. So everyday I have been practicing so I can shoot better and it will show in the game."
J.T. Tiller
On who has been standing out among the new players...
"They all stand out, but I think the front runner would probably have to be Marcus because in the beginning right now he seems to be the most comfortable on the court. I wouldn't doubt that Miguel and Kimmie definitely are two others that fill those shoes, but everybody will fill more comfortable as they play more minutes."
On team-mate Zaire Taylor...
He is helping out tremendously. He may be new to the big 12 but he is not new to the college game and he knows a lot because he has a couple of years under his belt. He brings a lot of knowledge and experience to the game."