Post-Game Quotes
11/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 15, 2008
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Final Stats |
Game Action 
Tulsa Head Coach Doug Wojcik
Opening Statement...
"I think we set the offensive side of game back about 20 years tonight, but I've always been a grinder myself. Tom Izzo was a grinder and he taught me to grind. We grinded that one out and found a way to win.
"I find a lot of positives in our defense. If you had been to our exhibition games and seen the statistics, our rebounding was poor and we out-rebounded them by 12 tonight. It was a hard-fought win and we are real pleased."
On free-throw shooting...
"We shot free throws for about 15 minutes this morning. We have been struggling with that a little bit. I want Glenn Andrews to become a better free throw shooter, because he's a scorer and makes plays but he's got to shoot free throws better."
On the second half...
"To play the second half without two starters, and then have a guy like Ben Uzoh rise up and play 38 minutes with only one turnover was huge. I was really proud of Steven Idlet's minutes, but we were a little thin but we found a way to win. Now we will rest and move on."
On Jerome Jordan's status...
"He's been a little ill and dehydrated and he just cramped up. I hope we can get that under control."
On having your best two players play well in the opening game...
"Ben (Uzoh) and Jerome (Jordan) really stepped up. Ben is made for that and Jerome has shown over the last month of last season that he is heading in that direction. Jerome can't help but affect the game with his length and what he does defensively.
"We need those guys to play that way, and we need Ray (Reese) to be healthy. You have seen the immergence of a Justin Hurtt and he played well tonight making three free throws down the stretch when we couldn't hit the ocean at the free throw line."
On Tulsa's defensive play...
"We've been a good defensive team for four years. I thought the kids did a great job on Robert Jarvis, with Bishop Wheatley and Ben Uzoh playing extremely well. The thing about Ben Uzoh is that he is doing it at both ends of the floor, and there are not that many players out there doing that well at both ends."
Tulsa Junior Guard Ben Uzoh
On the teams shooting...
"We didn't shoot it too good. It was very sloppy but we will take any win we can get right now. We won the game on defense tonight and coach stressed that throughout the week and I think we did a good job of that tonight."
On Oral Roberts playing good defense of Tulsa having poor execution on offense...
"I think both teams take pride in our defense. They did a great job pressuring the ball and making our offense start far out in different areas of the floor. The defense just took over."
On opening the season with a rivalry game...
"It means a lot to win this game. We have had this game circled on our schedule for a long time. I wouldn't want any other game to start the season off. I am glad we got this game under our belt and we are just going to prepare hard and look forward to the next game."
On guarding Robert Jarvis...
"It's tough because he does a great job of moving without the ball, so I tried to use my length and my size to bother him to force him to go inside, don't let him run around as much. I think we did a good job as a team, Glenn (Andrews) guarded him a few times and Justin Hurtt did a great job on him as well. It was just a great team defensive effort tonight."
On slowing down Oral Roberts' two best offensive players - Robert Jarvis and Marcus Lewis...
"Those are their most known players and throughout practice this week we had them highlighted. I think we did a good job on them as a team. It is fun when we get to see the hard work pay off."
On playing without Jerome Jordan in the second half...
"We wanted to pick it up on the defensive end. Steve (Idlet) and Sam (Mitchell) came in there and battled hard. Jerome (Jordan) effects the game on both ends of the floor, so coach kept emphasizing to be aggressive and to come through on defense and I think we did that."
On playing Oklahoma State this week...
"It is going to be fun, we are going to prepare hard. We are going to go down there and give them our best effort as a team. It starts with preparation so we are ready to get back in the gym and to get it rolling."
On what the team will work on to prepare for Oklahoma State...
"Free throws. We didn't do a good job at the line tonight. Another thing I think we can emphasize is rebounding. We also have to work on winning the hustle plays that don't always show up in the box score, but all those plays really affect the outcome of the game.
On hitting two big shots down the stretch...
"In making a transition from the shooting guard to the point guard, the coaches tell me to be aggressive and to look for my shot. I feel like I am a pretty good decision maker so I felt comfortable shooting the basketball tonight. A couple of shots fell and we won the game tonight so I am happy with how things turned out."
Tulsa Sophomore Guard Glenn Andrews
On bouncing back from the slow start personally on offense...
"It took a while but I just fought through it. My shots were not falling so I had to find other things to do to get the team going and energized."
On playing without Jerome Jordan in the second half...
"We felt like we had to step up and everyone on the team had to raise their level of play once he went out. It shows how strong of a team we are, when we can pick it up for somebody when they go down. I think it's a good thing to show at the beginning of the year because it's going to be a long season and this will be good for us."
On playing Oklahoma State this week...
"I think it is going to be a good opportunity for our team. It will be a crazy environment down there, but it will get us ready for tournament play and the conference season. I think it will be a good opportunity for us."
On what the team will work on to prepare for Oklahoma State...
"We have to get more shots up so it becomes more fluid in a game. I will get a lot of shots up in practice because my shot wasn't really falling today so I will be ready for the next game. Some days we have days like that but we just have to go back to keep working on it and eventually things will come back."
Oral Roberts Head Coach Scott Sutton
Opening Statement...
"It was kind of an ugly game. I would like to say it was great defense, but I'm not sure if it was great defense or ugly offense. We were fortunate to be in the game as poorly as we shot, and to have a chance in the end was pretty remarkable. We had the ball down four points with two and half minutes left and we couldn't step up and make plays.
"I'm disappointed we lost but this team will get better. I've said that many times this preseason that this team may not be a good basketball team until February or January. We just have to continue to work and get better, and I think we will."
