TULSA POSTGAME QUOTES VS. ABILENE CHRISTIAN
11/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
TULSA HEAD COACH Frank Haith
Opening statement
"Finishing up the third game in five days, I thought our defense was really good. I thought that in the second half, offensively, we got going. We still are not totally crisp yet but I thought we had really good possessions. We left some buckets out there, missed free throws and opportunities, but I think we are going to get better with that. All in all it was a good performance."
On D'Andre Wright
"He was outstanding. I could not say anything other than that, he did not miss a shot. I thought he played with great poise. He's getting more and more comfortable within the offense. Even at our first game at ORU, he made 15 attempts, but he missed some shots around the basket. I think he obviously got more comfortable the last two games and that was good to see."
On having 11 guys score
"That was important for us tonight to continue to establish our bench. I think we had a number of guys who can score. Our numbers, from a shooting percentage - it is what it is, it's not where I think it will be and we're getting better. Like, James [Woodard] right now is not shooting the way I think he is capable of, so I'm not really concerned about any of that. I look at Shaquille Harrison tonight and the flow of the game, he only took one shot. And we know Shaq is going to be a guy who is going to be a double figure scorer for us, but he played within the game and had five assists and no turnovers. He played great."
On what he is looking forward to over the next five games
"We'll we've got a great opportunity to go to Vegas and play two teams from two power conferences. Starting out with Auburn from the SEC and then you got Oklahoma State from the Big XII and Oregon State from the Pac-12 in the other match-up. We're going to get two power conference wins or two RPI games, it's a great opportunity for our guys and I'm excited for our team to get out there and compete in a high level game on national TV. Our first game is on National TV so it's a tremendous opportunity."
TULSA JUNIOR GUARD James Woodard
On playing three games in five days
"I think once the ball went up, everybody was in game mode and ready to play. I think we came out with some great energy from the jump. It was the best start, probably, so far. We just need to continue to build on that. It has been rough with three games in five days but we are just pushing through it and playing our game."
On the team development in the past few games
"We are piecing it together. I feel like we progressed and we are just going to continue to work hard in practice and find our identity and just keep building on that. I think so far we are stepping in the right direction."
TULSA JUNIOR FORWARD D'Andre Wright
On his play tonight
"I felt pretty good. We just wanted to come out here and get this win, you know it is the third game in five days, so we had to push through. It feels good to come out with a victory."
On the team development in the past few games
"I feel like we are starting to figure ourselves out as a team, as a whole. Coach Haith emphasizes a lot, we need to get our identity right. I think we are showing it in spurts, we still have a lot to work on but I think we are starting to slowly piece it together going into the rest of the non-conference."
