Mizzou 81, Miami (Ohio) 55 - Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Kim Anderson
Opening statement…
“I thought we started off much better than we have in the last several games, but then I was disappointed in our performance after we started. We were up 16-2, and then we turn around at halftime and the game is virtually tied. But, we came back in the second half and I thought, offensively, we played with a lot more confidence. And our defense was good the whole game. So, a good win for us and I’m really proud of these two big guys (Russell Woods and Kevin Puryear). Russ was relentless, especially the second half. And I thought Kevin really played hard to post up and take advantage of mismatches. So, a good win, and we need to celebrate this for a while and in a couple hours, move on to the next game.”
On changes made at halftime…
“I think the shots going in obviously helped. I thought we came out with a little more energy, and for some reason less tentativeness. And obviously Frankie making that shot to get started certainly helped. We had a pretty frank discussion at halftime. We didn’t talk a whole lot about defense because our defense was not that bad. It was just offensively how we got stagnant. We did some things schematically that I thought helped us and we got better ball movement. We made some shots and got rolling a little bit, got going up and down, a little ball movement. We made the shots outside which means we could throw it inside, and that makes the game a lot easier when all five guys can participate.”
On the pressure on players when shots aren’t falling…
“I think they were pressing. I do. When you think about how much time they worked. They’ve worked very hard, there’s never been a practice when they have not worked hard. And then to not have success is frustrating. Especially how some of those close shots bounce around the rim and come out. They were pressing a little bit. So I’m glad we made some shots. Now I think we can relax a little bit. Terrence’s shot before the half was big because we were really, really, scuffling. We were up 16-2 then it was 25-23. So I thought that was a key shot and then Frankie’s shot to start the second half.”
Senior forward Russell Woods
On what changed for him in the second half…
“Coach Anderson gave me confidence. I wasn’t doing well in the first half, but he jumped me at halftime. Kevin [Puryear] kept my head up and told me to keep playing and fighting. That gave me the confidence to go out there in the second half and go hard.”
On his improved free throw shooting and offensive rebounding…
“Yeah, that’s been a big point of emphasis for me. We’re not that big of a team, so I know that Kevin and I need to go up there for every rebound. Our team really relies on us for that.”
On looking forward to Arizona…
“We have to come into practice with the right mindset, be ready to go. We know they’re a good team, but they have to come here. We just have to keep working and do everything that Coach tells us to do.”
Sophomore forward Kevin Puryear
On how big the three-point shot was from Terrence Phillips at the end of the first half…
“That was a big momentum booster for us. I think that play carried over into the second half. In the locker room at halftime, we had a big discussion about knocking down shots and not putting too much pressure on ourselves. I feel like we passed up a few opportunities in the first half that we should have took. In the second half, we did a really good job of setting each other up and making the easy play and we got some good shots out of it.”
On how it felt to see the shots fall in the second half…
“I feel like we played much more loose in the second half. When the shots weren’t falling, it started to weigh on us a little bit. We were kind of over-analyzing the game. Then when you see the ball go through, it built a great amount of confidence for us. Frankie [Hughes] gave us a great spark, so did Cullen [Vanleer] and that opened it up for everybody else.”
On looking forward to Arizona…
“Arizona is a great team. We have to prepare, mind our P’s and Q’s. I have a great amount of confidence in Coach Anderson and my teammates. We’re going to come out and give it our all. It’s going to be a great test for us and we’re excited.”
