Tulsa-TCU Post-game Quotes and Notes
12/30/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2010
Tulsa vs. TCU Basketball Post Game Quotes Dec. 30, 2010
Tulsa Head Coach Doug Wojcik
Opening Comments... "It was a really good win for us. We haven't had any easy ones. They're a good team. They've won nine games already. They beat USC. USC went to Tennessee and won. They've beaten Houston and Bradley. Jim is a good coach. It was a very physical game.
I was very proud of a couple things - for us to win and Bryce not play a great game. Bryce is 3-1 since the Weber State game as our point guard. The other thing was Steven's double-double was great. He played great. It looks like he has the rust off of his game. Our assist to turnover ratio was terrific at 13-8. We shot fourteen threes in the first half and came back and only shot six in the second half, but made three big ones. Scottie and Justin's threes were huge. I thought we showed great character and leadership. I give all of the credit to Justin and Steven as our team captains."
On close games and how they help preparation... "I think they help us prepare for sure. But what is it going to do for us in January, February, and March? I don't know. Hopefully, you learn lessons from the winning side of it. That's what has happened over the last two weeks. Earlier in the month, it wasn't happening, so it wasn't a whole lot of fun. There's a fine line between winning and losing. I think D.J. Magley and Joe Richard guarding their four-man at the three-point line was a big part of the game. Garlon Green was 0-2, and Amric Fields was 0-1. They did a fantastic job. I think you see the value in D.J. Magley when he gets to two fouls. The difference in our team between when he's playing and when he's not playing is apparent.
Tulsa Players
#11 Junior Forward Steven Idlet
On taking early leads at the start of each half... "We talked about that coming out at the start and at the half. We have to throw the first punch. We had both of those big runs. We've just got to learn to put them away and keep our foot down on the pedal to keep pushing that lead."
On performance tonight and his big assist at the end of the game... "Every game is like that. You want to come out, establish yourself, and play well. My teammates did a great job of getting me the ball while I was in a good position to score. I've been needing to pick up my rebounding a little bit, so it was good to get a double-double tonight. I've got all the confidence in the world in throwing it to Justin and Scottie out of the post. Scottie made a huge shot, and I appreciate that assist."
#15 Senior Guard Justin Hurtt
On Steven's game tonight... "He had a big game. We couldn't have won it without him. He scores it on the block, he makes the pass out when he needs to, he's rebounding the ball, and he's playing at a high level now. We needed him to do that for us to win games. I feel like he's doing a good job of that right now."
#30 Sophomore Guard Scottie Haralson
On making an important 3-point shot toward the end of the game... "It was unexpected. I thought Steven was going to take the shot. He kind of lost it a little bit. I rotated over so I could be in his line of vision. Then I squared up and just shot it. It felt really good to make it. It felt like a pressure was relieved off of my shoulders because I had just given up a bucket on the other end. I had to make up for it."
TCU Head Coach Jim Christian
Opening Comments... "I just thought that was a really physical, really well played game. Both teams played extremely hard. Both teams competed [well]. It's just one of those games where we ran out of time. I take my hat off to them. They hit three huge shots down the stretch, and those are not easy shots. They're a tough team to guard because you've got to pick your poison with Idlet inside and the two perimeter guys who can shoot the ball deep. And when we finally got the lead back, there were two big-time shots by those guys and it made us answer the call on the other end of the floor. Sixteen offensive rebounds by them I think was the difference in the game."
Did the first five minutes of each half set the tone for you guys? "It made us battle back. Obviously we got down by ten to start the game and down ten to start the second half. Especially when you're on the road, it just made the hole a little deeper. I was proud of our kids though. That's been one of our emphasis: when we're in those situations, we've got to fight our way back into the game and not look to run to the hills. We battled our way back and when you're on the road you want to give yourself a chance to win, and we gave ourselves a chance to win. We've just got to sure up some things to put it away. But I give Tulsa credit. On those two plays they hit when we had the lead, we guarded them pretty well and they still hit tough shots."
Both teams have been scoring a lot of points. Is this the kind of defensive game you expected? "I think both teams have played a lot of games in a short period of time. We've played a lot of games and haven't had a lot of practice time, and I have six new players. Since Christmas we've really practiced and I think we've become a better defensive team. I think this was as well defensively as we've played all year."
TULSA NOTES . . . • Steven Idlet had his third double-double of the season and the seventh of his career. • Steven Idlet had a career-high 14 rebounds, bettering his previous career-best of 11 boards. • Justin Hurtt has now scored in double-figures in all 13 games this year and has scored in double digits in 59 career contests in 101 games played. • Scottie Haralson scored in double-figures for the fifth straight game, and the ninth time this season. • Justin Hurtt moved up one spot on the school's all-time scoring chart, surpassing Eric Coley (1996-2000) for 21st place. Hurtt now has 1,186 career points.
