Oregon State Post-Game Quotes
December 13, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 13, 2011
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
Oregon State vs. Illinois-Chicago
December 13, 2011
Gill Coliseum
Corvallis, Ore.
Head Coach Craig Robinson
Opening Comment...
"We are really happy with that win. What I told the guys in there, before anyone starts talking like 'well you're back', we all want to pick it up like that. Friday was an anomaly, and that is how these guys approached the game. They came out like Friday had never happened, and I was really pleased to see that. We had a great team defensive effort and a great effort from the guys off the bench. If we can get that kind of production off the bench and have that kind of depth that is going to help us win a lot of games this season."
On getting his 50th win as Oregon State's head coach...
"It is interesting because I had no idea how many wins I had as a Beaver. I mean it is nice, but it is not that big of a deal. It is nice because we won the game. But we want to win some championships and we want to go to the NCAA tournament. That kind of stuff -- the team goals -- are more interesting to me."
On Illinois-Chicago playing man-to-man defense...
"He (Howard Moore) is a terrific coach and he probably used that to work on some stuff. They want to be a man-to-man team, which I know he played at Wisconsin, and they play man-to-man exclusively. I know when you play for a good coach, you stick with what you learned. But having said that, it was good to see our guys make some shots. I wanted to see them get their confidence back. We aren't the greatest three-point shooting team in the world, but we certainly didn't shoot as poorly as we did on Friday."
On the benefits of having two scoring threats on the team...
"It is absolutely necessary to have two good shooters on your team to compete with the good teams in this league. They all have really good go-to guys, and then a third person that may come from an array of different people that can produce. I think that Roberto is a starter for us, but we can't start six guys so he is the one that comes off the bench. That is what we are hoping to get from him on a regular basis, because if you have Jared, Devon and Roberto who can consistently put in points, and then have Ahmad, Joe and Angus, it makes it tough to play against us."
On having fun during the game...
"It was great to see them out there having fun. I probably left them (the starters) in there a little bit longer than I normally would, especially with the guy in the other locker room being a good friend of mine. But I wanted them to have that fun feeling of playing, and it meant a lot to me and to them to see them having some success."
On the help defense tonight...
"We are getting better. One of the things we really focus on is that we are really trying to get better every single day. This is one of my favorite times of the year because the guys don't have class work and they don't have any other responsibilities but to work on their game. These guys are such good basketball guys. After they got their exams out of the way, they have just been really focused on playing basketball. We had a couple of the best practices of the season this week after the Idaho game. One of our points of emphasis this week has been our weakside help and it was just terrific to see all of those big guys in there in the middle away from their men. When you are 6-5 and taller, there is a real phobia for getting out in the open space with someone that is 6-1 and our guys just embrace that, got out there and helped, and then hustled back on their own guys. It was terrific to see."
Junior guard Jared Cunningham
On the first dunk setting the tone of the game...
"I definitely think so. The team knows that I can dunk the ball, so they encourage me to do it and when I dunk everyone gets excited."
On the result tonight compared to Friday's game...
"Tonight's win was a great team effort, everybody was focused in on tonight's game and Friday's loss really hurt us. It made the team step back and look at ourselves and that was what made us practice hard and that showed today."
On how the win felt after what the team went through last week...
"It was honestly very tough. It didn't only set me back personally but it set the whole team back as well. We just wanted to come out today and play well and keeping a lead like that was great. Roberto knocked some shots down, and Eric had 14 rebounds, which was awesome too. If we play like that throughout the whole season and if we focus and come ready to play, the community and fans will see some great things from us."
On any of his dunks making SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays...
"I would hope, but I don't have cable so if they did I wouldn't be able to see it anyways."
Sophomore Guard Roberto Nelson
On the back-to-back-to-back three pointers...
"It felt good. Finally the shots are starting to fall. I've been working hard in practice and just trying to make the shots I shoot in practice more `game-like'. The guys did a good job at getting me open shots and screening for me."
On Jared Cunningham getting back in the game rhythm...
"It was definitely great. Being in practice with him every day you know what he is capable of and you know what he can do. It wasn't a surprise to me when he came through the lane and got everyone high when he dunked the ball. Those are the plays he makes all the time in practice."
On the pressure of his lofty expectations...
"I don't let all the hype get in my head. All the stuff I work for, you just have to make sure you're going into practice and working hard. When I got here, I didn't really know how to work hard. I thought I knew, but Coach Robinson did a great job of helping me transition from high school to college. It was just a big change for me and I wasn't ready mentally and physically. But now he has shown me the hard work it takes at this level and going against guys like Jared (Cunningham) in practice makes me better each day."
On stepping up and giving the team more scoring threats...
"It's big. We have to try to make sure that we are all playing well. If I'm having a bad game, I know that Jared is going to pick me up and vice versa. We are making sure that we are doing everything right so when we get a chance to do something we are making the best of it."
Freshman forward Eric Moreland
On coming in with defensive intensity with the second group...
"We just wanted to come in and make sure we don't lose intensity with the second group. The first group does a really good job of setting the tone and we just wanted to come in and make sure none of that drops."
On being comfortable coming in the game late...
"When I come in the game, I want to bring the intensity and do what I can. Whatever it takes, I just want to come in and help the team. As long as we win, I'm happy."
