TULSA POSTGAME QUOTES VS. MISSOURI STATE
12/17/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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TULSA HEAD COACH Frank Haith
Opening statement
"Great win for us. I thought that the kid, Marcus Marshall, was the best guard we've played all year. He was just terrific. To have a guy have a stat line like he did, with 36 points, usually when that happens you lose. But it was great to have [Shaquille Harrison and James Woodard] do what they did tonight. I thought it was our best performance on the offensive end. Definitely in the second half we executed well, we screened well, but all in all it was a great win for us."
On pulling out the close win
"It shows a lot of character. The way the game was flowing -- Marshall was just terrific. He answered every bucket. I've seen teams that didn't have the character and toughness to keep battling, keep making plays. I thought our guys did that tonight. It's something we can build on. Tight ball games, executing in late games, it's always been good to go through. They're healthy, when you come out on top. They're good to be in. I thought we did some nice things. We had some big stops. Some things we need to clean up is offensive rebounding. They had a couple of buckets there, I thought if we've gotten those rebounds, at least two or three of those, where they've scored on those second shots late in the game. That's something we have to clean up. But we got enough of them. And I thought our execution in late game was really good. We scored when we needed to. The big play, I remember, we were running some baseline screens for James, and after the timeout we said, `look for the slip,' because they were jumping out him. Then (Rashad Smith) Smitty got the layup. That was great execution. Those things you want to see your team do and be able to read. I was really proud of how we handled ourselves."
On building on a well-executed game
"We liked the 30-plus points in the paint - we had 36 points in the paint. We were pushing the ball, playing in transition. I thought our offense was really good today and that's something we can build on. We shared the ball - 12 assists. Shaq's line was terrific. He had 23 points, seven assists and one turnover. Shaq's on a roll. His numbers of the last five games - he's playing at a high level, he probably doesn't want to go to Christmas the way he's playing. It's good to see him be consistent."
On James bouncing back after struggling for a couple of games
"It's never good to see a guy struggle. I want him to be perfect all of the time. To see him battle back and get himself going - I thought he was patient. I thought when he got that steal and dunk, that kind of got it going for him, that was in the first half. Then he hit a three right after that. In the second half I thought he was a lot more comfortable. When you're the best scorer on your team you're on the top of everybody's scouting report. So early in the game it's probably going to be harder, because everyone is keying in on you. The game has to be loosened up before it gets loose for you. His patience was good tonight."
TULSA JUNIOR GUARD James Woodard
On shooting well in the second-half helping to get the team's confidence back
"Yes, absolutely. Once we got going, I think the energy from the bench and us all being on the same page and moving the ball pretty well helped. Also, Shaq was attacking the paint and being aggressive and that's what we need so the defense can collapse and find the shooters. I think everyone was being progressive on the offensive end."
On if having an opponent going off like Marcus Marshall makes him more likely to take more shots
"Honestly, yeah, you do. Because you think `Man, we have to stop this guy.' And that's on us defensively when someone goes off like that. But he's a great player, we knew coming in that he was going to make his buckets. Yeah, it gives us a little edge on the offensive end that we have to score, that we have to counter him. So that made us even more aggressive."
On getting into a rhythm after his first made shot
"I was just feeding off of my teammates. I think everyone played a role with me catching the spark once I got my first basket. My teammates were picking me up and motivating me. I really think that's what got me going, I was just so focused in the game. It was a tight game the whole game so I had to be aggressive. Also Shaq and Rashad Ray helped with the way they were pushing the ball and I was getting open shots and open looks.
On if he changes anything in his preparation after having a couple of off nights
"When you have an off night, you just can't let it get to you mentally. The game is 80% mental, 20% physical. So you do have to go back and get more shots in and keep shooting and make sure my technique is right but all-in-all you just have to stay focused and think about the next shot and the next game."
<> TULSA JUNIOR GUARD Shaquille Harrison
On shooting well in the second half helping to get the team's confidence back
"I felt like we were getting a lot of good shots compared to the past couple of games. I was seeing more people open and attacking the paint and getting open shots, and when you get open shots, you're going to make them."
