Oregon State Post-Game Quotes
November 16, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 16, 2011
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
Oregon State vs. Hofstra
TicketCity Legends Classic Regional Round
November 16, 2011
Gil Coliseum
Corvallis, Ore.
Head Coach Craig Robinson
"When you're coaching a team you never think about more than a game away, but if somebody would have told me that I'd be sitting here talking about being 3-0, I probably would have agreed to give away my right arm so I'm glad I didn't have to do that."
On the win...
"This was by far the gutsy win I've seen of our teams since I've been here. To take a bunch of really good basketball players from New York City who tried to come in here and steal one from you, take a punch in the mouth, be able to deliver one back and come out with a win was just tremendous. Everybody contributed to this, not just the guys who played, because in order to be prepared for a game like this you have to have hard practices. There is a really good feeling in that locker room right now, winning a game like that."
On the physicality in the game...
"They tried to get physical with us, they tried to change up their defenses and they changed their offense a couple of times. Each time our guys handled it and I think that is a function of their maturity. It's still a young team, but they've played quite a few games now and they haven't seen everything, but they've seen a lot of things. To be able to play a team like that and ... not lose your cool in that situation was very impressive to me."
On Joe Burton's play as a big man who can pass...
"In the history of Princeton basketball, they are always guys like that. You find skillful, bigger guys who can take the pressure off the guards. Joe is special because, unlike most of the guys who I've seen play this position, Joe also has the IQ of a point guard and can see steps ahead in the game of basketball. Joe can make all the passes ... [and] I haven't seen a Princeton-type center get 11 assists in a long time, let along with three turnovers."
On the 35-point scoring night from Junior Jared Cunningham...
"We needed every minute Jared was out there. I think they woke a sleeping giant because Jared was kind of having a sluggish day until they started really pressuring him and got him going. He decided he was going to take the game over and make sure we weren't going to lose. For those of you that have been watching us play, that's some growth for him. He is really playing assertively and is playing like an all Pac-12 player right now."
On Jared Cunningham being able to take over a game offensively...
"We almost had it happen last year at Arizona State when Roberto (Nelson) did it for us. If you take Jared out of the equation tonight, you could say Devon (Collier) did it as well. That means we have three guys that are capable of doing it and have done it in the past. That's really nice to have. Then you have Ahmad Starks who I think can carry a team offensively from time to time as well."
On the team defense...
"They scored 41 in the first half and then we held them to 31, which is what we wanted to do in the second half. Given all the offensive help that went on, I was really impressed with the way we played `D'."
On the maturity and teamwork of the team...
"I've learned that they are extremely tough-minded, and I won't have to worry about that. I also learned that it was nice to get an early test with a punch in the mouth. I always use that term `punch in the mouth' when a team jumps you and you are able to kind of chip away, even it up, and then pull away from them. I told the guys, this is a great game to put in the memory banks because you are going to be in situations like that, especially on the road. You can call on that memory to remember that you can do that."
On coaching this year's team...
"I'm having fun coaching this team (and) I suspect that we will continue to grow. I told these guys that in spite of how we do in games, this has been a really enjoyable preseason to coach these guys. Our practices are harder than games and that's how it should be. These guys can work and crack each other's heads in practice, and then they can have fun eating pizza together. It's been really fun to coach these guys, but we have a lot of work to do and I want to keep it fun and win some more games."
On confidence gained from the close win...
"It really is not just this game, it's the preparation up to, and through this game that give us confidence out on the road playing against a good team. If we had not been practicing well and happened to win this game, I wouldn't feel this way. I feel like we have been pretty consistent from an effort standpoint, a work standpoint, an energy level, a defensive standpoint, and now we're like `let's go take our bike out and test it against the other kids down the street.' We're looking forward to it."
Junior guard Jared Cunningham
On his performance tonight...
"In the shoot-around earlier, I felt like I was making some shots and I had a good mood coming into today. It was a team effort and I looked upon my teammates to help me out."
On what he has learned about the team in the first three games...
"We fight to the end, everybody wants everyone else to do well and we are never going to give up. When we play tough teams like that, we just have to grind it out. These guys are with me and I'm with them."
On his wrist and the possibility of injury...
"It's fine. I fell and hit the bone but I'll be fine. I'm a tough guy; I'm going to pull it out."
On how the game was physical...
"They came in tough. They're a physical team and they weren't going to back down. We have to represent our home court well and we fought to the end."
On whether or not this was the kind of game last year's team may have lost...
"I wouldn't say that we might have lost it last year, but there would have been some points in the game where some of our buckets wouldn't have gone down that went in and some of the free throws at the end went down. We did a great job of capitalizing in the end. We got the victory and we're 3-0."
On Joe Burton's nickname...
"I call him `Sauce' because he is very tricky, but I'm going to come up with a new one soon."
On other players contributing...
"We're all still young - Devon is a sophomore and I'm a junior - and to score those points and help the team win, it was a tremendous effort for us. Ahmad can light it up from outside and Berto (Nelson) can do the same. Today their game was a little off and we picked them up. In the future, look for them to put some more shots up and score the ball a lot too."
On the defensive intensity...
"This year we've changed to man-to-man and we work on it every day in practice, talking out there and communicating with your teammates. We did a great job with that today."
Sophomore forward Devon Collier
On having wide open dunks...
"It was Joe (Burton). He kept on looking to me and my teammates were penetrating and I was just finishing. That is how we should be playing at all times."
On being down early...
"We responded well. We just kept on playing and never gave up."
On playing this game being from New York...
"I knew it was coming and I knew they were going to come with a chip on their shoulder. We just had to respond well. My teammates responded well and we handled it maturely. I'm proud of my team for not fighting back and just handling it on the court."
On having a physical game...
"I feel that it will help us in our future games because other teams will do the same thing and we need to respond well. This just helped us for the future."
On games becoming more and more competitive...
"I feel like we are ready. We still have stuff to work on and that is what practice is for us so we will keep on pushing."
Junior forward Joe Burton
On the assists...
"I love passing to (Devon Collier). I like passing to all my teammates, but this guy is so crafty around the basket and makes it easy for the passer to make an entry pass so I just kept giving it to him. He was hot."
On being an all-around player...
"I just do what I can to help the team win. Coach (Robinson) told me to be a threat and put some shots up whether it goes in or not. Making the other team think that you are going to score and shoot opened up the passing down to Devon (Collier), and also to Jared (Cunningham), Roberto (Nelson) and Ahmad (Starks). I'm happy with how it worked out."
