TULSA POSTGAME QUOTES VS. OKLAHOMA
12/13/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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TULSA HEAD COACH Frank Haith
Opening Statement
"Obviously, Oklahoma is a really good team, they played very well today. We're struggling with our confidence. The chemistry with our bigs and our perimeter guys, we're having a tough time with that. Against a really good team we needed to have more out of our front line and we weren't able to get that. Obviously [TaShawn] Thomas was outstanding, he was terrific today. But we have to continue to work and get better."
On how hard today was for James Woodard after coming off of the box-and-1 on Wednesday with his brother here and his shots not falling
"He [struggled]. James was in a tough spot. Playing against your baby brother, and I wanted him to relax. He had some good looks, he just had one of those nights. We wanted him to be a little more assertive the other night against the box-and-1 and I think he learned from that. He was more aggressive tonight, even though they didn't play box-and-1. We need James to be James. We have such a small margin on this team because of the offense but also because of personnel in terms of the number of guys who can score. James is a guy we need to score for us to be really good."
On how pleased/displeased he was with the zone defense today
"We probably played six possessions with zone."
On when he makes the call if the zone is going to work or not
"We didn't play it that much in the first half, and not at all in the second half. We usually play out of bounds-zone-unders, so that's a possession we always do it. But they made some threes in transition and that really hurt us, because you have to go back and set your defense against them. And they really hurt us on the glass. Those are the two areas they really hurt us. Their numbers don't say they are a great offensive rebounding team, but they had 12 of them [today] and had 24 second chance points from them. You take those points and the transition buckets they hit, I thought that was the difference."
On the lack of confidence after beating Creighton
"Folks probably didn't see the Little Rock game, but I thought we played great there, in a place we hadn't won at. We made 11 threes in that ballgame and we were really confident. Even though Brandon [Swannegan] was outstanding, our front line struggled a little bit in that game. Yes, absolutely I would have thought we were headed in the right direction and then we had the setback on Wednesday, which was disappointing. Looking at Oklahoma from my perspective, you're playing a team that is ranked, you have an opportunity to get your guys to come out and play with some moxie. Late in the first half, there was a stretch where they got away from us, they had a five or seven point lead and then there was another stretch at the beginning of the second half, I thought that was difference in the game."
On being 5-5 with only two games left before the conference schedule starts
"Those two games are important games. We have good teams to play. Incarnate Word just won at Nebraska, and Missouri State is pretty solid - they have a player who can shoot the ball. We've got a good team to work with, and the only way out of where we are is to get in the gym."
On D'Andre Wright's play
"We need him playing at a higher level. There's no question. I think he's very capable. D'Andre has talent, I think his issue is all mental. (It's about) just being able to go out there and do it, and be consistent with it. He gets fouls that are really unnecessary, number one. And that takes him out of rhythm, and he gets them early. His third foul, when he got there he was behind, he was trailing the play, and he reached in on a transition bucket. He needed to let that play go. I took him out tonight after his first foul, to see if we could not get his two quick ones. But he went back in and got his second one. It hurts us, because we don't have the kind of depth in our front line where we can survive with him not being the player I think he is capable of being."
On what he sees in Oklahoma right now
"They are very talented. They shoot the ball very well. TaShawn Thomas is a tremendous addition. Getting him eligible really, really helps their team because he is a tough matchup. I look at him as a big-time addition to their unit. Their guards are good, and with Ryan Spangler you can take some pressure off of him and that makes them a really good basketball team."
On whether Oklahoma reminded him of any of the team in The American
"I don't know our league that well in terms of watching the other teams, it is too early for me to tell, so I couldn't say that. I can say this - Oklahoma will be one of the better teams in the Big 12, for sure."
On whether the timing of the Southeastern game contributed to the loss
"It's tough to go back and look at stuff like that. I do know that, for the folks that weren't here, I put that [loss] on me. I had some personal stuff I had to deal with, and I got here the day of the game. I thought our guys just weren't ready. But in a game like that when you play teams that you should be [ready for], two things normally happen. One is that teams make threes, which they did, and if your effort isn't right it makes it very difficult [to win] and that's what happened to us on Wednesday."
TULSA JUNIOR GUARD Shaquille Harrison
On whether he feels like the team's confidence is a little low right now
"Yes, I feel like our guys are a little low on confidence and we need to raise it a little bit. Sometimes some of our shots aren't falling. Their shot or the stroke feels a little bit different. Some of our guys have that. We just have to get back in the gym and find our stroke."
OKLAHOMA HEAD COACH LON KRUGER
Opening Statement
"Tulsa is a good ball club, so we feel very good about the result today. I thought our guys, from start to finish, were pretty solid on both ends of the floor. They were a little sloppy, a little careless with the ball in the first half but really handle it well in the second half. Tulsa's guards are so good off the dribble and they have big guys who can step out and make shots, but I thought our guys played their personnel pretty well. Offensively, I thought we had really good flow in the second half. Jordan ran the club very well; Isaiah and TaShawn obviously had big days and were pretty efficient in the second half especially. It is a good road win! We just have to keep getting better."
On TaShawn Thomas
"Coming out of the Bahamas we realized that we need to get the ball in to TaShawn and Ryan a lot more. Last game, Ryan had a big game against Missouri. TaShawn had a big game today. We had gotten away from that balance, and Ryan and TaShawn help us get back to it a little bit. We want to play more through the post, we have for the last couple ball games, and I like the results much better."
On Khadeem Lattin's injury
"Trainers are checking his knee out just a little bit more now, but our trainer Alex said that he could have gotten back in the second half if we had gotten to that position. That was encouraging news. Beyond that, I do not know anything more."
On Tulsa's play with a new coach
"It always takes a little time to transition, but they have played good basketball. We watched all their tapes of course, and against Creighton they were very good. They had a good win at Little Rock. Obviously the Southeastern game screwed some things up but they played well. We have prepared all week expecting that they would be a good basketball team and play well. I thought our guys did a good job on that."
On Buddy Hield struggling this game
"Buddy will be fine. He is going to work at it and stay in the gym. If our biggest problem is Buddy not making shots, we will feel pretty good about that because we know he can make shots and make plays. He is going to stay aggressive for us."
On Jordan and Isaiah's rebounding
"Our guards have rebounded the ball pretty well all year. Jordan can get a ball on the defensive boards and go, or Isaiah. Buddy is rebounding the ball well also. TaShawn and Ryan also do a good job, but our guards rebounding the ball makes the difference for us. It is big when Jordan and Isaiah rebound the ball like that."
On OU's game against ORU coming up later this week
"I haven't watched ORU yet. I know that their coach does a great job there and has for a lot of years. We know that they will come in and play hard, we always expect opponents to play well. We have just a day or two to turn it around. That is the good thing about this club, we have had a lot of practice time in the last couple weeks and we have really benefit from that. Now we do not have much in preparation for Oral Roberts so it will challenge our experience to bounce back and be ready to play."
OKLAHOMA SENIOR FORWARD TASHAWN THOMAS
On his large contribution to the Oklahoma win
"Coach has been telling me to be more aggressive when I touch the ball, because there would be times when I would get in the lane then pass it out and have a turnover. Coach said he'd rather me have a shot attempt than a turnover. So that's what I've been focusing on the last few weeks."
On his past success vs. Tulsa while at The University of Houston
"I told a couple of teammates about when I played here. I told them my stat line. So, that was definitely in my mind."
On his improvement after mediocre play in previous games
"It's definitely a positive for me. I'm just trying to stay humble. After we got back from the Bahamas, coach Hill and coach Kruger told me to stay in the gym and get extra reps in. Since then, I've just been in the gym. I feel like it's been paying off. So, I just have to stay in the gym some more and be ready to play like that any game.
OKLAHOMA SOPHOMORE GUARD JORDAN WOODARD
On the good team play from the inside-out
"I feel like we had some good practices in the last couple weeks. We focused on playing inside-out and I feel like that gives us a great flow on offense. We've got some guys inside that can get the job done and it makes it easier for the guards in the long run when our bigs are handling their business down low."
On his play vs. Tulsa
"Coach really wanted me to take care of the ball and make sure the guys are getting involved. We just got up and down a little bit in the first half and we executed on offense. My teammates hit shots and it was a good flow."
On playing against his brother James
"I wouldn't say it was easier. You know, they've got a lot of guys returning from last year's team. They're an experienced ball club. But, we've got another year under our belt. I feel like we came in and competed hard and we were ready for their best shot. I felt like we played well throughout the whole game."
OKLAHOMA JUNIOR GUARD ISAIAH COUSINS
On the inside game opening up Oklahoma's guard play
"It gives us a chance that when we're open we shoot it. Hopefully, we're able to make the shot. It makes the game easier and opens the floor up for us."
