Oregon State Post-Game Quotes
February 10, 2013 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 10, 2013
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Colorado 72, Oregon State 68
February 10, 2013
Gill Coliseum
Corvallis, Ore.
Head coach Craig Robinson
Opening comment...
"We can't play against a team this good and turn the ball over 21 times. That was the first thing I noticed. And then the second thing, I think we missed probably five, maybe even seven, point-blank shots right around the basket that when you're playing against an NCAA team, you have to make those play. We didn't make those plays. Having said that, I was very proud of the effort the guys put forth. We got off to a bad start. Actually, I didn't think it was a bad start. I think they got off to a hot start and we sort of had to get our footing. But once we did, I thought it was a pretty nice effort there."
On the cause of turnovers late in the game...
"Nerves, youth, a couple of them were freshmen, a couple of them were guys trying to make plays, and then bad decisions, too. So it was a combination of those three things. And it's a shame because I thought we were playing so well, playing so hard. We were making them miss. We'd go down in transition and we'd turn the ball over. A lot of them were unforced, just trying to feed the post, we just threw it out of bounds. "
On trying to prepare for late game scenarios in practice...
"We have a way of simulating the end of games, but you can't really simulate having a bunch of fans and the dynamic of what took place out there. That is really hard to simulate but that is hard for everybody to simulate so that's not an excuse. What we have to do is be better at executing in the critical parts of the game both offensively and defensively. You just have to keep working on it and reinforce the fact that it's better to get a shot than it is to make a spectacular play. If you get a nice steal, you can't throw a behind-the-back pass up the court. You just hold onto it and try and get a shot. I thought every time we ran our offense, we got a decent shot at the basket. So I think those are ways of doing it. It just comes down to having the experience of doing some things, having them work and then doing those over again."
On his team losing close games of late...
"I don't think its effort and I don't think its lack of talent so I always go back to execution. I think if you broke it down within execution it would be consistency, because if you can execute for 37 minutes you can execute for three minutes. It is just being consistent enough at the end of games at important times when the pressure is on to be able to do it."
On what he can do as a coach to help his team execute at the end of ball games...
"I've tried a lot of different things. I've tried calling timeouts, I've tried not calling timeouts, I've tried calling the actual play for them and I've let them do it on their own. Short of getting out there and playing myself, there is not much more that I can do from that standpoint. So what I am planning on doing is at practice just working on these end of the game situations and try and get them in similar situations. We do that a lot anyway but we have to do it more."
On his team using different defensive schemes versus Colorado throughout the game...
"Our game plan was to go with a little bit of all three, but what happened was the 1-3-1 was working so well, we were doing that more than anything else. Then in the second half, I thought the 2-3 was working really well for us, which puts us in a better position to rebound. The decision was not based on what wasn't working, it was based on what was working."
On the play of Colorado guard Spencer Dinwiddie...
"Perfect. He didn't miss a shot all night. He had two turnovers, so he just played perfectly except for that he was in foul trouble in the first half. What would have happened if he would have played the entire first half? But they have a very good team with very good players . They play well together and they think they can win every game that they are in. There was a sense of toughness out there."
On whether or not his team doubts themselves during games...
"When you watch these guys at practice, I have all the confidence in the world that they think they can win the games that we play. Then when you watch them play I see it, but then at the very end something happens., so maybe I have to rethink that but I am with these guys every day and I am watching them practice every day. They don't practice like guys who are defeated or have thrown in the towel. They don't play like that. They play hard but subconsciously when we lose games at the very end that might be in the back of our minds."
On what offensive plays he chooses to run at the end of games...
"It depends on the situation. Our offense was not our problem today. I though every time we got a shot we got a pretty darn good shot, so in that situation you just run your offense until you get the shot that you want but we do sometimes say, `let's run a play for x-person', so we do a little bit of both but it's not one or the other, it's what feels right to do at the end of the game."
On his team's shot selection...
"That's the issue, this game we didn't get the looks because we turned the ball over. I wasn't happy with what we got at the end of the game. There were times when we stopped, came back, then get ready to do something then we turn the ball over. The short answer is, no I wasn't happy with the looks we got. We didn't have an opportunity to let our offence work for us because we turned the ball over with not much pressure.
On his team's decisions on what types of shots to take...
"We don't say go for a three-pointer, that's not how we coach and that's not how we play. We run our offense until you get the shot you want. Part of that adjustment is them playing defense trying to keep us from making threes. Then you try and take what the defense gives you. It's more of what does it feel like we can get. For a while we were getting stuff right around the basket, and then missing it. Then we were making a couple outside shots, they make an adjustment, we're driving to the basket.
On playing to win verses playing not to lose...
"I thought we were actually being aggressive, we just made mistakes in this game. I didn't see us being hesitant at all. I thought our guys were attacking, and then we would miss a shot, turn the ball over, or make a shot, and we just didn't make enough of them. I didn't see them try to run the clock out, that's not how we play. We were trying to do what we do, which is pretty effective, getting the ball to the basket. I just thought we didn't execute that enough. We we're doing what we wanted to do, but we couldn't make the ball go in the basket for either a reason of missing the shot or throwing the ball away.
On Joe Burton's play of late...
"I think he has risen to the occasion of understanding that we need him to play more in order to be in these games. When you get to be a senior and you start looking at the end of your career, you take less for granted and you appreciate the games, practices, and everything about being a part of a team and even more. So I think it is that combination. Then finally, he a senior that has improved each year, and this is the end result of putting the work in. What you're seeing is, is a combination of three-and-a-half years of preparing to be in this spot right now."
Junior guard Ahmad Starks
On Colorado's ability to force turnovers...
"We were just a little too careless with the basketball. They didn't step it up big time defensively, they stayed in the same thing. They didn't even come out with a big run to throw us off. It was just us being careless with the basketball and we have to be more careful with it in crucial times."
On offensive struggles late in the game...
"Usually in situations where we need a basket, you look to the two of us (nods to Roberto Nelson). We were either running sets to go down low and if not there would be a ball screen for Roberto or something like that. There wasn't too much one on one, for the most part we had what we wanted."
On Colorado's second-half defensive adjustments...
"They would sometimes deny the elbow entry pass, which takes away from some of our offense in general, but there was nothing specific that they were doing in that regard."
On guarding Spencer Dinwiddie...
"Early in the game he tried to get to the elbow a lot and throw up those floaters. With his length he can do that on a lot of people, which makes him tough to guard."
Junior guard Roberto Nelson
On another close loss...
"It is definitely frustrating and it is definitely tough. Playing Division I basketball this is kind of what you sign up for. You sign up for tough games and all of this adversity that you go through as a college player. We have to continue to go back to practice and just keep working on it. As you can see, we can hang with anybody. We have a great team, a great coaching staff, great people around us, and great fans. Everyone around us is rooting for us. We just have to continue playing hard and sometimes the ball just doesn't fall your way."
On the difference down the stretch...
"Down the stretch when it's close like that it always comes down to who is getting the loose balls, the limited second chance points and turnovers. I think that we did a great job of the first two but I think that forcing turnovers is something that we were lacking late in the game. I had a really bad turnover and I think that it cost us. We were kind of going on a run and we were getting over that hump, and I was going to pass it down to Eric (Moreland) and I shouldn't have jumped into the air. Coach has been telling me about jumping in the air and passing, and it just was a crucial turnover by me during a crucial time in the game. Those are the things that cannot happen, especially when you are going in the right direction because that is demoralizing."
On practicing certain types of situations...
"I wouldn't say that we always practice being down but I think we practice four minute games. I mean the game is cut into fours and we work on the times when we are up. Sometimes, we just need to push the tempo. Coach does a great job of giving us plays that we need to run and stuff that we should feel familiar with when we get down to the last minute of the game. I think coach did a great job preparing us for this but I feel that it falls on us. Coach does take the blame a lot but this one falls on us because we are the ones who are making the turnovers and being careless with the ball."
On Colorado's length affecting post play...
"We have some really good post men and we weren't precise with our passes. We were kind of throwing the ball up there and sometimes getting tipped. They were athletic, but I think we were just a little bit longer than them and we just need to go over it in practice. Sometimes it's tough and it's hard to emulate the game but you just have to be ready when the time comes."
On passing up three-point opportunities late in game...
"We weren't desperate for a three, we didn't need a three, and we didn't need to shoot a three then. There was 30 seconds left on the clock and you don't want to shoot a three and then potentially miss it and then be out of the game. You want to take the highest percentage shot possible which would be a layup, just hope that it goes in, foul him, and hope they miss the free throw."
On confidence going into next week...
"I don't think we have lost confidence, because we are a team that plays with confidence. We don't hang our heads, we keep fighting throughout the game, and don't give up. Our confidence is just as high as it was last week and last game. We are going to approach this game just like any other, as if it was our last game and play hard to get a couple of wins."
