Oregon State Post-Game Quotes
December 31, 2012 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 31, 2012
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
Oregon State 84, Texas-Pan American 59
December 31, 2012
Gill Coliseum
Corvallis, Ore.
Head coach Craig Robinson
Opening Comment...
"Well, this will be a nice way to ring in the New Year here coming off of a bad game and playing such a good game. Actually being nervous about having a big lead in the first half, I thought that the guys were a little tentative coming out of halftime. But we called an early timeout and they responded great and just came back with a lot more energy and just kept their foot on the gas pedal. So that was very good to see.
"Secondly, it's nice to see Ahmad sort of come back to his old self. I'm hoping that he's back for good. I told him that he reminded me of that old movie `Invasion of the Body Snatchers' where the guys would be in a pod and be a replica of the guy who is actually alive. We had the replica for a little while there and now I think we have the real guy back."
On the importance of establishing an inside game to help shooters like Ahmad Starks...
"I think going inside out is the way to go. I think most teams would prefer doing it that way. If you can't do it that way, and you have some good three-point shooters that can just make shots, that's helpful. It's like having a running game to go along with a good passing game. Going down low is like your running game and we wanted to make sure we set the tone there. We wanted to see if they could guard us down there. The way Joe got started it really showed us that we can keep going down low. And then I think that helped Ahmad because at one point Joe was scoring so many points that they were saying `alright you have to dig down, dig down', but they couldn't dig down with Ahmad there. Once they started digging down with Ahmad's guy then he was wide open for a couple of those early shots."
On relying on Joe Burton's experience more with the injury to Angus Brandt...
"Absolutely. Joe is undersized for his position in the conference, but he's extremely effective and it's going to be ever more important that he establishes himself in the conference play. But he can score down low. He is helped by the fact though that we have Devon Collier who is a forward who can score like a post guy. His natural position is small forward but he can score like a 4 or 5 down there. So that'll be helpful. This conference is going to be so tough. Every game is going to be a knockdown, drag out fight and you've got to take advantage of your opportunities when you do and make fewer mistakes."
Senior forward/center Joe Burton
On taking advantage of the size difference...
"I think I scored our first 10 points real quick and then they started sagging off. We have Ahmad and Roberto and Olaf on the outside so they started taking their shots. They started hitting and then they started pushing back down. So it was a push-pull kind of thing. It was a double-edged sword for them. It was good to have everybody play well on the inside and outside."
On playing well right before Pac-12 play begins...
"This just gets us ready. It's always good to beat someone, beat the team bad and blow them out. It's Civil War week for us now so we are excited about that. 10-3 is a good record going into conference play and I think we have the momentum now. We have a win under our belt to go play Oregon on Sunday. We need to have a good week of practice and hopefully no injuries, and a lot of focus and dedication."
Junior guard Ahmad Starks
On the importance of playing well after Saturday's loss...
"It was really big just to shake it off and not think about it definitely going into Sunday's game coming up. That was a tough loss but we were able to shake it off and get a good win going into conference play."
On how it felt to get some shots to fall...
"It felt good. The past five games, and especially the loss, I kind of blamed on myself. I told the team it was on me. It wasn't so much about the physical play but more about my mentality. Approaching these last few games and playing mid-major teams and lower competition, I have to approach every game the same way instead of lackadaisical. So I took the blame. Coming out here I wanted to be aggressive and get a good feel going into conference play."
