Mizzou 76, Tennessee 64 - Postgame Quotes (Feb. 13, 2016)
Mizzou head coach Kim Anderson
Opening statement…
"Obviously a great win for our guys. I am really proud of the way we responded. We hung in there and obviously these two guys made some great plays. I think this is a meaningful day for a lot of reasons. I do want to thank the athletic department and everybody who made today possible."
On containing Tennessee's Kevin Punter…
"He got two fouls at some point and went out of the game. We had talked about him being a key to their team. He has a tendency to take the ball as far as you'll let him take it. If you don't build a wall or corral him he is going to take it all the way to the basket. I thought we did a good job on him in the first half. He got loose in the second half, but all in all I thought he was the key to their team. He scored 21 points but he had to take some shots to get him. I thought we did a pretty good job."
On responding better this game to a close score…
"I think these guys have grown up a little bit. I think they've matured. I think they were determined not to let this game get away from them. Terrence had that rebound which was an unbelievable rebound. I just think they had a determination today and certainly the beauty of the day was probably figured into that. They didn't want to lose. I think they were tired of losing. We talked to them about that at practice several times. When I get mad I say 'aren't you tired of losing and here's what we have to do.' Today they executed and they executed pretty well. They zoned us a lot, but we were able to get the ball to Ryan and Kevin and the guys made some big plays, some big tip-ins. That comes from energy and activity and from not worrying about how many minutes you're playing."
On Namon's quick start …
"It was good. He had been struggling shooting the ball from three. It was good to get off to a good start. That was the biggest thing because we've been spotting teams fifteen points and then decide we were going to play. It's hard to come back in the SEC when you are in that situation. I thought the crowd was great. I thought that got us really going. Having that type of crowd and a lot of students here, I hope those people will come back. Obviously they are a big part and really helped us with the type of atmosphere in Mizzou Arena.
On how rewarding this win was…
"It's obviously rewarding to get a win. Certainly this team has come close. One thing I will say, I think they have always played hard. There's times they could play harder. We haven't always played smart and I've talked a lot to you guys in the media about gaining some confidence and being consistent. Hopefully today gives us some confidence. Hopefully we get confidence when we come out and play South Carolina. I'm sure they're not happy. They are a little bit of a different team than Tennessee, they get after you more. My plea is for ten more thousand people to come out on Tuesday night 6 o'clock, Rally for Rhyan night part two."
Mizzou assistant coach Brad Loos
Opening statement…
"You could not have scripted this day any better than what it was today. I am so thankful for everything that everybody's done. Thank you doesn't do it justice. I'm happy for the way the day went, I'm happy for the win. I am thrilled by the amount of money we raised. I am really happy for our guys. They have been working really hard and deserve a win. They needed this too."
On Brad's expectations for today…
"We talked about it, but we really had no idea what was going to transpire today. In my wildest imagination, this could have been unbelievable. The way it turned out was amazing and I couldn't have asked for anymore."
On how loved the Loos family feels after today….
"That doesn't even begin to describe it. What does this say about this community? What does this say about this athletic department? What does this say about everyone in mid-Missouri? How special is this? This is a little girl that of the 10,000, 9,500 of them have never met her. For them to come here and give their time and money for her that says something about the type of people we have in Mid-Missouri. It is very special. It's like what I said the last time, there is a lot of bad in this world and you turn on the news every day and you can see it. In this process we have learned there is a lot more good than bad. This is very special for us."
On the first emotion he had walking out of the tunnel today…
"Overwhelming. Because again I didn't know what to expect. So to walk out there and see all that and to know that they were there for my daughter. Wow. What can you say, again, special people. Very special people in this area of the country."
On the speech he gave the guys before today's game…
"Before the game, right before we went out, I pulled the guys together and said 'hey look, my daughter for the last four months we've been watching her in a hospital room suffer. And what gets us through, as a family is that we know she is going to get better. She is going to beat cancer. There is no doubt in any of our minds that it is going to happen. So that gives us that fearlessness. That gives us the confidence to go fight the next day. Because there's bad days and to get through those bad days you have to have the confidence that there is going to be a positive result at the end. We do know that. I told them 'If you guys want to do something for Rhyan, go out there today and play with that same fearlessness, knowing that you're going to win today.' And I think it definitely showed because they came out to the game with that confidence and fearlessness we haven't seen in a while."
Mizzou senior forward Ryan Rosburg
On emotions after game…
"First off, I wanted to say that I had no ill intent with the last dunk. I apologized to Coach Barnes after the game and he said it was fine. I honestly thought they were going to foul me and given my free throw percentage I didn't want that. Today was awesome. It was so special all around. You could tell everyone had a little more pep in their step today. It was an amazing environment with the fan support. Having the whole community rally around this little girl and our team. We appreciate it so much and I know that the Loos' appreciate it. To finally finish that game off was just a great feeling."
On winnable game…
"Every game we go into basically with the same mindset, especially lately, of we think we can score against anyone and we are not going to back down against anyone. Whether they are shorter or taller than us we are always going to post up hard and try to shoot our shots."
On playing for Rhyan…
"Before the game Coach Loos said something that really struck home with us. He said that every day when his daughter goes to the hospital, she has no fear because she knows she is going to beat cancer. She is not worried about anything else. She knows she is going to win. He told us that we need to play like the way she would and make her proud. We need to go out there and have no fears and expect to win and do everything we can to win because we know that is what she is doing every day."
On his standout performance…
"It's great. I am happy we won. I would be just excited if I don't score today but we still won. I have scored some points the past couple games, but it's bittersweet every time because you want to win. Being a competitor, you want to win. This is much better. I have been playing like I have got nothing to lose. My days are numbered; I know that. I don't' want to have any regrets looking back. I want to give it my all and play my heart out every game I have left. It's a countdown now and I am playing hard. The shots are falling and my teammates are finding me."
On leading for most the game…
"It was different. We are used to playing from behind so it was great. I thought we showed some pretty good composure. We had some turnovers but we found a way to win so I am just proud of everyone."
Mizzou freshman forward Kevin Puryear
On 3-point shots…
"I've been shooting a lot and I've been really trying to get my confidence up from the perimeter. I feel like I am a pretty decent midrange shooter so I am trying to expand my game and be more of a threat. They fell tonight and I am going to keep working to keep them falling in the future."
On emotions of the game…
"From the beginning I don't think losing was an option for us and we were more determined than we have ever been. For Coach Loos, this is an emotional day for him and we love Coach Loos and the Loos family. We just really wanted to do that for him. I think we were really passionate about today and the crowd was great and that definitely helped us. Like I said I don't think at any point, winning wasn't an option."
On the close game at the end…
"When it gets close at the end of games like that I would say that composure is the most important factor. You see sometimes where teams get rattled, but I think we did a good job of staying together and staying composed, knocking our free throws down and hitting some shots down the stretch. That was really great for us. I think once we told ourselves that we just needed to stay calm that definitely helped us."
On Ryan Rosburg…
"I can't even find the words to describe it. Rosburg has such good footwork and I really like to learn from him because you don't really see footwork like that very often. Ever since I got here he has always taken me under his wing and shown me the ropes and I really appreciate that from him. To see him have a moment like this, I couldn't be happier for him."
On looking forward…
"South Carolina is a very good team. They had a hard bump today but we know they are going to come here and play their hearts out and we are going to do the same. This win definitely gives us momentum. It is good to go into the next game knowing that you won the last game. We just have to come out and mind our Ps and Qs and play good defense. They are very physical so we have to be ready for their physicality and hopefully win the game."
On winning vs. Tennessee…
"The drought was definitely tough because there were a few close games in there that I feel like we could have won. Now that we did win, I feel like it is good for our confidence and it says a lot about our team and how we respond to adversity. We could have come out and said we are not going to play hard but we all just stuck with it and we are going to keep pounding at it every single game. That is the only way we are going to get better."
Tennessee Head Coach Rick Barnes
Opening statement…
"I think that the most important thing that happened here today was what Missouri did for Rhyan Loos. It is unbelievable that they would do that. I have always had great respect for the University of Missouri and their fans. To have a fundraiser like that for a disease we all hate, that is the biggest win of all. I think you have to give the Missouri basketball team all the credit. They came out knowing it was a game that they could probably win. I know what it is like to struggle. They have not won a game in a while. Every time we tried to get back in the game, we had some missed free throws, turnovers and those types of things. One of the big things we saw coming was that we could not let them get to the free throw line. They did a great job and you have to give them credit. I have a lot of respect for Kim. He walked into a tough situation, but they certainly made the right hire. He got it turned around. I know a lot about this program, it has great traditions and he is restoring it back to where people want to see it."
On trouble with Rosburg…
"We normally play five guards, but when we play zone, we normally like Kyle Alexander back there. I think Kyle is going to be terrific for us. He has only been playing basketball for two years, literally playing the game for two years. We are just watching him get better and better. We are always looking to double the post, and Kyle let Rosburg in the paint. We are not surprised when people look to go at us inside. We have had trouble with that all year. We are the kind of team that cannot rely on two or three guys every night. We have not been good on the road because we have not gotten consistent play. We do not know what we are going to get from certain guys and it shows up. It comes down to that competitive spirit. We just do not have enough of it when we need it on the road. When we got it down to a working number, we missed key free throws. We got in the open court and we should have gotten some easy plays. There were a couple big offensive rebounds we gave up. Another crucial play we gave up is when I thought we had them out of sorts with four seconds on the shot clock and we fouled. That was a big play. When we are fighting uphill like we were the whole game, those plays matter."
On free throw's chain effect…
"I do not know. We have been good at it all year. It just depends on the day. Admiral Schofield has struggled. It is the timing of all of it. We had a chance to get it down to put some pressure on them, but we just kept giving them enough breathing room. It was not the kind of pressure we wanted. Kyle is doing a lot for us. We just need everybody to play. We simply put too much on some guys. We need other guys to help us."
On expecting stuff out of certain guys…
"It is frustrating. It really is. If we knew what we were going to get and certain things you want to get. We are small anyway and some of the best games we have played this year have been when we rebound the ball collectively. We got outrebounded today. That is why you do not take playing hard for granted. I think playing hard is a talent. Not everybody plays hard. Not everybody can figure out what it is they can and can't do well. Some things are just nonnegotiable and that is your effort."
