Oregon State Post-Game Quotes
February 21, 2013 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 21, 2013
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
Stanford 82, Oregon State 72
February 21, 2013
Gill Coliseum
Corvallis, Ore.
Head coach Craig Robinson
Opening comment...
"Well, this wasn't our typical play 38 minutes and then blow it; this was a little different and I am supremely disappointed in the way it came about because I thought it came down to rebounding and toughness, which is something that we typically do pretty well. I know those guys in the locker room know that and they are disappointed especially coming in here for Joe (Burton's) last weekend, but we have more basketball to play."
On whether the game was closer than the statistics indicated...
"That's why you can't always use these stats, because they don't take into consideration time and situation. You make these guys (Stanford) miss when you are only down two or one or four and they get putback after putback, those are important second chance points. If you are not matching them on those, the stat sheet doesn't look as dire as it actually is."
On his team's defensive play in the second half...
"I was hoping we wouldn't be looking for someone else to do a job rather than just hustling over and doing it ourselves, so there were some bad lapses. This was not our typical type of game, we were very laissez faire in certain, key situations and it's almost as if psychologically we didn't want to win this game."
On being plagued by foul trouble in the second half...
"It didn't really feel like it was the foul trouble that bothered us because I felt the game was not called overly for them (Stanford) or overly for us. I thought we had an advantage in the first half and then they had the advantage in the second half, so you sort of half to play through all of that. Then there was a discrepancy but we got a little bit more aggressive and then we got to the foul line, so it was a little bit better. I was not subbing because of fouls, I was subbing sort of offense, defense. Jarmal (Reid) was getting rebounds and Devon (Collier) wasn't, so that was the reason for that."
On his team's effort...
"It looked like it meant more to them (Stanford) than it did to us and that's the danger you run in, playing the way that we have this season. There is no need to yell and scream, these guys have a game plan, they follow the game plan and we win. They don't follow the game plan and sometimes you still win, but not this season. We don't have enough horses to not do what we need to do and not execute and still win games."
On Oregon State turning the ball over late in the game...
"There were a couple of them there. There was the one where he (Eric Moreland) did a great job to get an offensive rebound, bring it back out and he throws it right to Challe (Barton's) man and then he throws the one out of bounds. It wasn't any one person's mistakes that cost us. It was a team effort and I take full blame. I want these guys to know I still have confidence in them. This was a game where we let them (Stanford) beat us with our effort in the second half as opposed to losing it on some key plays down the stretch."
On trying to impart a sense of urgency to his team...
"I am trying to do that but I don't want them to feel like I am laying everything on them. It is a real delicate balance this season. I have been trying to keep their confidence up, keep their aggression up, but I am also trying to kind of turn the reins over to them because ultimately I can't play. The coaching staff can't play, none of us can and they have to actually execute. It is a learning process and when you are turning a program around like this, the bulk of the four of the five years, you are working at coming from behind 20 point deficits. That is what we got good at, now you have to be good at playing games where you are head-to-head with people for the whole game, learned behavior. So I am trying to keep that into consideration when I am teaching these guys how to do it. I am trying to give them a little bit of instruction and I am not cracking the whip. I don't feel like it's a crack the whip time, it's just that we have to work through this and learn how to be a better team."
On not being able to stop Stanford's big men...
"It's funny because if you look at the points in the paint I could say the same thing about them with us. It's just at the key times, when you had to get stops and get the defensive rebound we didn't do that. So in those instances, those guys (Josh Huestis and Dwight Powell) over powered us and we are just not used to seeing it. It is quite frustrating but we still have games to play so I have to keep these guys motivated to not let this happen again."
Junior guard Roberto Nelson
On thoughts about the game...
"It was a tough game, a really tough game. We always have battles with Stanford, they are a well-coached team and they play hard. They did a great job of executing down the stretch."
On keeping the team in the game...
"I have great teammates, let me start by saying that. Realistically, there were some shots that I should have made. I was wide open and these guys are getting me shots, and I'm standing in the corner wide open and I'm missing them. I'm just thinking that if I make a shot we can go for the lead. I think I missed one at the top of the key that would have put us up."
On calling out teammates in a game...
"That's what we need and realistically, that's the right thing for Joe to do. I don't think Eric (Moreland) realizes how athletic he is, and how much presence he brings down in the paint. I think sometimes he sells himself short, not necessarily that he shy's away from contact but sometimes he just does an up and under when I've seen him in practice just go up and dunk it. We're just trying to make what happens in practice translate to the game."
On lack of fan turnout...
"You can't blame them, we've got to win some more games, that's what it really comes down to. You can't lose and expect the same amount of fans to be there, that's just not what happens in sports. You win games, more people come. You lose games, you lose fans, that's how it goes."
Senior center Joe Burton
On second half struggles...
"I think everyone knows, rebounds, and second chance points. We did well in the first half keeping them off of the boards but I guess we got too comfortable and they came out harder than us."
On exhaustion from more playing time...
"Physically? I don't know. My body has been numb since probably my sophomore year here, so I don't even know if it's broken or feeling good. I just roll with it, it's all worth it in the end."
On Roberto Nelson's play tonight...
"He brought us back, that's the thing. The thing about Roberto is that he doesn't take his credit where credit is due. This guy plays hard through everything. I've been watching him since high school, the Compton Magic, and here at Oregon State. He's a tough player, a good teammate to have, and a good guy to have your back through the war. Yes, he missed shots, but he's not missing too many. When he misses, he concentrates more on the next shot that's going down. We couldn't expect more out of him than what he gave to the game tonight."
On lack of fan turnout...
"I love the fans. The people who come and stay for the whole game, I love them. That's life. There's bigger priorities than a basketball game, if there's family issues you've got to take care of that. If the fan's are there, they're there, if not, they're not. They're probably watching on TV with the PAC-12 Network. You can just stay at home now and watch our games on the television."
