Mizzou vs. Oklahoma State Post Game Quotes
12/30/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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MIZZOU HEAD COACH KIM ANDERSON
Opening Statement...
"Tough loss for us. Great college basketball game. Great environment. I'm proud of the way we played. I thought we did a great job in the first half defensively. We kind of kept (Phil) Forte and (Le'Bryan) Nash under control. In the second half, they drove it to the basket more and made the plays. They got to the free throw line a lot and we didn't do as good of a job as we did in the first half. I'm proud of our effort. We just need to get over the hump. We made two really good games. We just haven't been able to finish them off."
On the intentional missed free throw at the end of overtime...
"It worked perfectly. We had a play ran for D'Angelo Allen to get the rebound, but the ball bounced left. Keith (Shamburger) picked it up, brought it in, defense rotated over and D'Angelo had a close shot. He didn't get fouled. I know I did some antics on the floor, but he didn't get fouled. It seemed like a really long three seconds to me. I'm sure that was going through his mind too that there can't be much more time left. I know he just wanted to get it off."
On Johnathan Williams, III performance tonight...
"I thought once he got going he was really good. I thought early on he was struggling a little bit. For us to be good, he's got to step up because he's a guy that can make plays even though he's a power forward. He made some plays. He's grown so much as a player since I got here. His game has expanded. His shooting has gotten better. He's that go-to guy that we kind of need."
On Oklahoma State's ball pressure throughout the night...
"I really thought we did a good job of handling their pressure especially in the first half. In the second half though, they got us. I thought we really handled it pretty well. A couple times we tried to do too much. We tried to dribble inside too much and we're not big enough to do it. I don't want a program where we get a standing ovation for losing by two points. I'm not criticizing the fans. I just wish we could have gotten over the hump for these guys."
MIZZOU PLAYER QUOTES
Sophomore Forward Johnathan Williams, III
On his outside shooting...
"I'm shooting it at practice. Most importantly, I'm trying to help carry my team by developing my game. I'm trying to carry my team by helping them get the win. I made a shot, but we didn't get the win so I've just got to keep on playing hard. I've got to put this team on my back and lead them. I think tonight I did an okay job, but to me I failed because we didn't get the win. That's how I look at it. I'm just trying to help lead this team in the best way I can and help Coach Anderson the best way I can. I'm just trying to get the next win."
On his big sideline dunk in the first half...
"I saw a lane and dunked it, but it seemed to get the team going and it built a run. That's what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to give my team confidence and to get us more offensive points."
On guarding Oklahoma State's Le'Bryan Nash...
"They set a lot of picks for him and that gets him a lot of easy buckets. He's a great player."
Freshman Guard Montaque Gill-Caesar
On the purposely missed free throw to end overtime...
"We got a point blank opportunity. The defense rotated and then recovered really well. It's just a missed layup."
On the loss...
"The fans were into it, but it doesn't matter what the fans think. Every game is a game. It doesn't matter if it's Oklahoma State or Oklahoma. We lost a game, so we've just got to go back to the drawing board and figure out what to do different next time."
On the past two losses against Illinois and Oklahoma State...
"It's tough because we're right there. Getting over that hump is the toughest thing to do. You don't really know what to do because you feel like you did everything you could. It encourages us because each and every game we're getting better."
OKLAHOMA STATE HEAD COACH TRAVIS FORD
Opening Statement...
"Very proud of our team's effort in the second half. I was very disappointed in the first half. We were very sluggish. Phil Forte, III is very sick. (physical well-being). Michael Cobbins is very sick. Anthony Allen, Jr. has been sick. We've been really under the weather and I think it showed a little bit. We had two or three guys out there trying to play and we had two or three other guys just trying to get their wind a lot of the time."
On the team's play in the second half... "As I told our team, what I'm happy about is, we still didn't play that great in the second half but we grinded it out. It wasn't pretty but we sat down, guarded and made some plays when we needed to. It wasn't like we went out there and made a bunch of shots and got back into it. We just had to dig in. In the first half we didn't dig in. In the second half we dug in and played with a little bit of toughness to us. It wasn't pretty."
"Sometimes it doesn't go the way you want it to go. Luckily, we figured out how to get a win. I'm so proud of these guys. I was not happy at half time. It was good to get a win in front of a big crowd and one that was basically a home game for them. We fought through some adversity and figured out how to win a game and it wasn't pretty. Sometimes, for a coach, that's just as gratifying as going out and making a bunch of shots. We didn't make free throws, we didn't make threes. We did a lot of things that weren't good but we grinded it out. We fought it out. That part, I'm proud of these guys."
On Mizzou's play...
"That team, I thought, played well. They're playing their best basketball. I said that coming out of their Illinois game. Boy, they played great in the Illinois game. Tough game there. For how we won this game, I'm proud of our guys."
OKLAHOMA STATE PLAYER QUOTES
Senior Forward Le'Bryan Nash
On the team's second half adjustments...
"I just listened to my coach. In the first half, when we got down a lot, I got down on myself. I think I wasn't there in the first half. I wasn't leading my guys in the right way. Things got heated and Coach Ford and I talked at halftime and he just told me to come out in the second half and redeem myself and that's what I did. I tried to help my team the best way I can. In the second half we fought back and I got to the line a lot. We got a good win against a good team."
