Tulsa Post-Game Quotes vs. UTEP
2/20/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 20, 2010
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Tulsa Head Coach Doug Wojcik:
Opening Statement...
"It was a tough game. UTEP played great and we continue to struggle starting games. We just didn't have the passion you need to have to start a game. We dug ourselves a hole again, and we tried to climb out of it. We fought pretty well in the second half but just didn't have enough to finish it off."
On the slow starts...
"If I start [trying to explain it], it looks as if I'm blaming individuals. I only have so many guys and you can look in a lot of different areas and sort of figure it out for yourselves. I just don't want to sound like I'm blaming anyone in particular."
On changing things up...
"We changed routines in the last two days. I'm not big on changing things all the time but I'm just trying to be positive, encouraging and all of that. That's not going to change skill level, not at this stage of the year. That's what is difficult, because at the end of the day it is a skill game. We had 19 offensive rebounds. That's effort. It's the skill side of the game."
On playing Duke next Thursday...
"They're really good. It's a great experience and that's why the game was scheduled. The game was scheduled in my mind for Ben Uzoh and Jerome Jordan. We are going to make the most of it. I used to live there and it's a great venue, and hopefully we will start a game better than we did today."
Tulsa Senior Jerome Jordan
On the frustration of losing at home...
"It's very disappointing. I think we did a good job late in the second half fighting back and getting stops, but early on we just couldn't get any stops and couldn't get anything going offensively."
On UTEP's early run on offense...
"They spread the floor pretty well. They ran a lot of ball screens. They got a lot of lay-ups early on by isolating guys. It was tough."
On attempting to correct TU's late-season slide...
"It's a combination of playing good defense and getting ourselves [back on track] offensively. We have to go in there every game with the mindset that we're going to execute our game on both ends."
Tulsa Senior Ben Uzoh
On second-half momentum getting killed by turnovers ...
"It was very frustrating when you battle back like that and you exert so much energy. We just have to be tough mentally. We have to take care of the ball. We have to knock down shots. We have to continue making plays."
On frustration with late-season slide ...
"It's definitely a tough time. We just really have to stick together. All is not lost. We have a lot more ball games to play. We definitely just have to band together and stay tight, stay strong."
UTEP Head Coach Tony Barbee
Opening Statement...
"It was a good win. I think we played well defensively which was the key from the start of this game. [Tulsa is a] hard team to guard especially when you've got two all-league guys in Uzoh and Jordan. It makes it hard to play and then you've got a third scorer in Hurtt, which makes it really tough. Our team's been really locked in defensively for about the last six weeks and it's really showed. We've rebounded the ball. We out-rebounded them at halftime, and I thought it looked like we may have out-rebounded them for the game. But those two areas were the key to the game and allowed us to get into transition and get some offensive rhythm."
On UTEP's Randy Culpepper...
"He's been playing great all year long and he's taken a big step this year. He's gone from just being a great scorer to being a great basketball player. And it shows in his numbers, not in his scoring, it shows in his numbers. [His] shooting percentage from the floor is ten points higher than it was last year. His shooting percentage from the three is ten points higher than it was last year. This is the first time in his career that his assist-to-turnover [ratio] has been two to one in the positive. I think he's become a complete player."
