Oregon State Post-Game Quotes
December 30, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2010
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Oregon State vs. Arizona State
December 30, 2010
Gill Coliseum
Corvallis, Ore.
Head Coach Craig Robinson
On executing the offense ...
"Their match-up zone has been so hard for us for the last couple of years so it was really nice to have some success against it. The success we had against it was absolutely and unequivocally a function of how we practiced this week. The guys put the time in. They were attentive. They worked hard. What you saw was a result of four good days of practice."
On opening the Pac-10 season with a win ...
"It is always big to win the first game and beat a good program like Arizona State. It's big to have that first game televised and play well. But it's only one game and we have another game in two days that we have to be ready for."
On ending the first half strong ...
"We were able to score and take the lead right at the very end. That was a real momentum changer. Our fans are some of the most knowledgeable fans in the country. To hear them cheer on plays that have slight nuances makes you know how knowledgeable they are. It's great and it is great for our guys. We came out (in the second half) with just as much fire and just as much execution."
On the play of Joe Burton ...
"Joe is a completely different player than he was last year. He is thirty pounds lighter so he's is getting the feel of his body again. I don't know if this was a breakout game. It was a good culmination of a body of work that he has put in up to this point. We are hoping he can build on this game and make the next game as good as the next and the next."
On the difference between the team now and from the start of the season ...
"The biggest difference is that now you have a group of young players that are much more experienced now than they were at the beginning of the season. The hardest part about college basketball is going from high school to college. They now have a body of work that they can look at and say `I didn't do this right, I did this right, I got to this better, etc."
On having a player like Roberto coming off the bench...
"He is a competitor coming off the bench. He's an offensive threat coming off the bench. He got seven rebounds in 18 minutes. Having guys like Roberto, Joe (Burton), Ahmad (Starks) come off the bench, it's getting closer to being like a regular team."
On the upcoming Arizona game...
"They are very athletic. They have arguably the best player in the league in (Derrick) Williams. They also have some very good pieces to go along with that. I have to make sure that in this short preparation time that our minds are right."
Sophomore guard Jared Cunningham
On why the Beavers were successful against ASU's match-up zone ...
"This year we executed real well against it. In practice we had our white team imitate them very well. And then just cutting to the basket and getting wide open cuts, which helped us a lot at making three-pointers at the end of the shot clock."
On the quality of play the past two games ...
"Our confidence is real high right now. Since the last game against Illinois-Chicago, we just came out this whole week of practice and practiced real hard and just got with it and never looked back."
On the play of Joe Burton ...
"He was a big spark. Joe held his own down there. He got a lot of rebounds and scored for us in the paint and we could rely on him to get the ball in the basket."
Freshman guard Ahmad Starks
On hitting three-pointers after ASU made them ...
"Just knowing we couldn't let that get us down, we had to keep playing basketball. (Ty) Abbott had a great first half and it was good that we held him scoreless in the second half. But we also stepped our game up and we were able to catch a rhythm."
On the play of Joe Burton ...
"It makes the game so much easier. If he's scoring down low and making plays than everybody else is going to be open. Today he did a good job of scoring and passing the ball. He was great."
On the difference of the team now compared to the non-conference games ...
"Every game we played hard, but in some of the games the ending wasn't what we expected. Just going to practice every day and working hard and putting up shots and going through the offense is what has helped us."
