Mizzou Men's Basketball
Georgia 62, Mizzou 60
Postgame Quotes
Head coach Cuonzo Martin
Opening statement...
"I thought it was a good game. First, hat's off to Georgia winning the game. I thought they did a great job. They did a great job setting the tone throughout, putting us in position, making plays, timely threes, getting to the foul line when they needed to, getting big rebounds. So they run the game. Give them credit.
On whether there was a minute mark or limit on Michael Porter, Jr.'s play against Georgia...
"We knew as a staff, coming back, it wouldn't flow as well unless you got him spotting up in the corner. One, because of foul trouble, we put him in some spots that he wasn't accustomed to from the time he was practicing. But other than that, I thought the guys were fine. I thought he had opportunities to score the ball. I think, more than anything, probably rushing his shots, shooting a little quick, because I thought the shots he took were good shots. And the biggest thing, trying to get him around the post a little more so now he doesn't have to exert as much energy as far as making plays.
On the pro-Mizzou crowd and the energy in the arena...
"I've appreciated them all year long, not just this game, but I think that's what Mizzou fans are made of. That's what they're built like. That's what it normally looks like. I applaud all their efforts and appreciate their support and the way they represent our team, our program, our university. I don't take that for granted. Our guys understand that. They feel that energy and that vibe. I think Mizzou fans are as good as anybody in the country when they support like that, and I truly believe that.
On cohesion of adding a playing into the Mizzou lineup...
"The good thing about it, you had it now, so now he's going through it. Mike is a guy who puts a lot of pressure on himself just because of the shots. You don't have to go back and watch film. I don't think there were a lot of bad shots. I don't. I think it was just the energy, the way they defended, not allowing easy looks. And the thing is, try to get to the rim, try to get to the rim, not necessarily drive to the top of the key unless they make you drive it. Try to post up around the rim. So make the moves easier. But I think they'll be fine because they've had a chance to play with him. I think, more than anything, because of the foul trouble with some guys, we had to go, and I think we kind of put him in some spots that he probably wasn't used to. But I think we'll be fine. I'm glad he actually got it out of the way and we can move forward. Things we can look at in practice to put them in position to be successful.
On transitional issues for Michael Porter, Jr. coming back to play...
"We lost the game, and I feel like we had an opportunity to win the game, and we came up short. It's not so much as what Mike did or didn't do. I mean, Jordan Barnett was 1-8, 'Kash' was 3 for 10. Those guys make shots, they make plays. Give Georgia credit. They do a good job defending. So that's part of it. I think going through it, I knew at some point that's what it would be because, again, when he left the game, he was one of the best players in college basketball. So you don't come back and say, okay, I'm going to fit into a role. His mindset is still the same person. It's just maybe step slow. Instead of 40, maybe 37. It's just all those things, and just really going through it. I think the great thing for him, he actually went through it. So now we can take a couple days off, regroup, and just put him in different spots where now he understands because I think the energy and all that, it has a lot to do with it. I know my days coming off of injuries, you're just flowing off of sheer energy and mental toughness.
On Jontay Porter's game and his ability to impact games going forward...
"I think the biggest key with him because all the stuff he was doing, he's been able to do. The last month or so, just putting work in, extra work. He's coming in and consistently getting the work in, working on his shots, ball handling, his passing. His post-up game, I think, I'm not sure, it wasn't Auburn, but we lost to -- I think Ole Miss. One of those games where they were switching the smaller guys on him and going in the post, and he wasn't taking advantage of it. Just really sit down and talk and say, man, that has to be an advantage for us. That's an insult when smaller guys are guarding in the post. Now you see him in the post, he takes bigger guys down and uses his body well and putting them in the rim. He wasn't doing that before.
On the design of the final play...
"We were going with that play. Now, again, you read it, guys did a good job making the pass. You read the defense. It was a man to zone, and there was a different action. But guys did a great job delivering the ball.
Freshman forward Michael Porter, Jr.
On his return to the court...
"It felt good to be back out there, for sure. I loved being out there with my team. My whole thing coming back was just to be able to help where I can and do what I can to help.
On defending Georgia's Yante Maten...
"He's a good player. It was cool to be able to guard him. You got to give him credit. He put his team on his back, but it was fun guarding.
On the feeling of playing with his brother, Jontay Porter...
"Yeah, it was good to see Jontay. He had a pretty good game offensively, so I'm proud of him. No, it was really fun to be out there with him. The encouraging part for us is just that besides -- I mean, he's the only one who had a really good offensive game. We played, to me, about as bad as we played offensively, besides him, as we have all year. So we've got some things we've got to fix, but it's small things. We were just missing shots.
Graduate senior guard Kassius Robertson
On regrouping after jumping out to an early, but giving the lead back to Georgia...
"It's huge when you don't take advantage of leads like that. I think we had a lot of shots that weren't dropping. They usually do. We got down a couple times in the game, but we always clawed back.
On potentially playing out of sync and finding rhythm on offense...
"Yeah, we missed some shots that we typically make. We missed some easy tip-ins and some layups and some open threes. But I think we did a poor job of fouling, and we put them in the bonus really early, and they made a lot of money at the free-throw line. So I think it was more about the defense. Overall, we played good defense, but like I said, just the fouling part.
