Tulsa Postgame Quotes vs. Old Dominion
2/15/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 15, 2014
TULSA HEAD COACH Danny Manning
Opening Statement
"Today was a great effort day for us in terms of defense. We guarded well, stayed true to our principles, and just stayed active with multiple hustle plays. That is what you have to do to be a good team. Today we came out strong, and this is one of the best defenses that we played all year."
On the value of forcing shot clock violations
"Our guys were good defensively today. I'm very very happy with their effort and how they came out in the first half and guarded. Numbers-wise, we appeared to play better in the second half based off of shooting percentage. They missed some shots that they normally make. Not too many times does their leading scorer not score. A couple guys did a very good job of face guarding him and made his catches hard."
On Tulsa's improvement in conference play
"I think that we are on an up tick. We are definitely playing better. I feel that way because of how we're practicing. Guys are challenging each other, and the entire group is getting better. The adversity that we faced early on helped. If you're around our guys a lot, you'll notice that their spirit never waivered. They continued to stay positive. We know what type of team we are. We have to be a balanced team offensively, and we have to lock in defensively. When we're able to put those two together, we can be pretty competitive every night."
On Brandon Swannegan's improvement since the Southern Miss game
"Brandon (Swannegan) has gotten a lot better. A lot of his fouls early came because he was in a position to block a shot, but he would follow through. Now he is at a point where he is able to contest a shot up top and not pick up those types of fouls. Offensively, he has always been a very talented post player. He is able to get to his left shoulder with that hitch move and post hook. He is really just playing with more confidence. He is playing great. There is no way to say it. He has been great offensively and great defensively, but he is working hard in practice. That is seen on the court."
On the importance of having four forwards that can be subbed in and out at will
"It is nice to be able to sub in two big guys at a time. We've been able to do that as of recently. Hopefully that will continue. I kind of jumped on them in the first half because of rebounding. We can't play a half where our big guys only get four rebounds. We did a much better job in the second half."
On Tulsa's stingy defense against Old Dominion
"Defensively, we were good tonight. Our guys guarded with the scouting report. They guarded actions and knew personnel. They made multiple effort plays. Defensively, I think we have been getting better a little by little for the last three or four weeks. Tonight, we came out and were locked in defensively. Offensively, it clicked for us too. It just ended up being a really good game for us in general."
On the Tulsa's image as a sound, defensive-minded team
"We talk about it all the time and we mention it publicly. We want to be a team that is stingy on the defensive end. We want teams to shoot a low percentage against us. Right now, we're in a groove defensively where our percentages are pretty good. I think that they could be better. I think that we could do a better job on the glass and be a better rebounding team throughout the course of the game and drop their percentage down even more. As long as we continue to lock in and focus defensively, we are pretty decent."
TULSA FORWARD Brandon Swannegan
On his improving play since fouling out against USM
"I just do whatever coach asks me to do. They ask me to come in and bring energy... In that game I needed to be smart. Since then, I was just like, `I've got to be smart and stay out of foul trouble as best I can."
On this impressive stretch of positive performances
"This has been great. I've been playing really well and we've been winning. So let's keep it rolling."
On playing a complete game
"Coach always tells us to put in 40 minutes of a complete game. I feel like we came out and we did that today. Once we had them down we had to keep pushing. Once we had them down we just had to keep pushing... and that's what they preach to us every day."
TULSA FORWARD Rashad Smith
On the team's improvement
"As every game goes by we get stronger as a unit. We trust each other more. Practices are tough for a reason. The coaches always say, `Let the game be easier' and that's what has been happening the past couple of weeks."
On the difference between the team's recent games and their 1-6 start
"Just from our team and our coaches alone, we knew that is was just a learning experience. We knew it wouldn't be like that all season. But, everybody looking in may have been worried and thinking, `Oh man. This is not their year'. But, we knew that once conference came. (Those games) were just getting us ready for it. We expected to be here right now."
On flying under the radar early in the season
"Even early in the season, there were some games we dropped, but I think we're a force now that everybody has to get ready for."
OLD DOMINION HEAD COACH JEFF JONES
Opening Statement
"Yes, Tulsa was terrific. We knew coming in that they had a very good team. This was a big game when you look at the standings, I think it was significant for both teams. Clearly Tulsa was ready to play and clearly we were not. To come out and start the game, for the first three possessions we had predetermined that we wanted to run a certain set early on to see how they were playing, but it took us until the third possession to get it right. I think that just shows a lack of maturity. This was a big game and for whatever reason, I don't know if the moment was too big, I don't have the answer for why we played as we did but it is unacceptable and embarrassing. On the other hand, we could have played great and I don't know if it would have been enough. Tulsa, as I said, I think Tulsa is playing really well right now coming into this game and they were very impressive. We could have played really, really well and still walked out on a loss."
On Tulsa's defense
"I think it's about energy. I don't think they are doing anything a whole lot differently than some of the other teams are doing but their guards are pressuring the ball and pursuing. Their bigs did a great job of, whether it's ball screens or other situations, using their length in the lane and helping and recovering. There just were not that many opportunities to get an open look. They were really crisp offensively too, they move really well without the ball and they move the ball. People will look at the shooting percentage and say they shot the ball well. They did, but there was a reason they shot the ball well, they got great shots because they did a lot of good stuff."
On ODU's shooting percentage and lack of execution
"The execution, the concentrating, whatever label you want to put on it, we didn't have it."
