TULSA POSTGAME QUOTES VS. MEMPHIS
1/22/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Recap | Box Score | Notes
TULSA HEAD COACH Frank Haith
Opening statement
"Obviously it was a great win for us. I thought our guys played extremely hard and played extremely well. Defensively we were really good. We had active hands. I thought our energy, on both ends of the court, were really, really good. We just weren't making shots early in the game. I thought we got good looks. Then in the second half, we got out in transition and we made some shots. All-in-all it was a great win for us. I thought our guys played with great tenacity the whole game."
On Shaquille Harrison's stat line
"Yeah, it's pretty amazing. He played an unbelievable game. He had a double-double and four steals, no turnovers, six assists. He's at a high level, I keep saying that, and I hope he stays there, but he is playing at a very high, high level."
On the run at the beginning of the second half and what was said in the locker room
"We just missed shots in the first half, we missed a couple of bunnies around the basket. But we wanted to make sure we understood that our defense was OK in the first half. We had to have great LEO - great communication - on that end of the court. We talked about our execution, being patient and attacking their hard edges in the ball screens. I thought we did a much better job of that in the second half."
On the defensive plan coming into the game and how it worked out
"They're so good inside, I have a tremendous amount of respect for Austin Nichols and Shaq Goodwin and Calvin Godfrey. Those guys are all outstanding players, that's one strength of their team. We knew going in that we had to do a tremendous job on those guys to have success. I thought we did as good of a job as we could. I thought our guys fought hard out there. But those guys are terrific players."
On the win despite the low field goal percentage being a testament to the defense
"Go back to the Temple game when I talked to our guys, I think we shot 17% in the first half and we still won that game. This is a great thing for us to see as a coaching staff because we can still win a game and not shoot the ball well. It helped our guys understand to hang their hat on the defensive end, and rebounding and playing tough on that end. Some good things will happen if you just trust that and believe in that consistently."
On the guys shaking off missed shots and going down the court to play good defense
"Absolutely. Exactly. Hopefully with that it gives our guys confidence to continue to play. We have a saying: "Next play. Next possession." It's over with and you can't do anything about that miss. But what we can do is control how we play on that end of the court every time, every single time."
On what the emphasis was on going into the second half
"Just keep doing what we needed to do in terms of what we talked about before the game and playing how we needed to play - with great energy. Memphis' Trahson Burrell had nine offensive rebounds last time out, so we wanted to make sure we limited them to one shot. We were continuing to do what we needed to do in terms of an offensive standpoint. We were executing, being patient. Like I said, I thought we took good shots in the first half, we just didn't make them. We got clean rebounds in the second half which allowed us to run, which is one of our strengths, I think we are good in transition."
On the talent level of this team
"I think we have a talented team. When we got here we were learning where we were at compared to the talent in the American, and I think we have good talent. But I also remind our guys every day about Southeast Oklahoma State. We got talent, but we can lose that game too. I think we're growing and we're still a developing team. I think there is still room to develop and this time of year you don't stay the same. You get better or you get worse and we want to continue to get better."
On frustrating Austin Nichols
"We had different guys guard him. And the whole thing is not one guy shutting down one guy. Our whole deal is team defense. We're really preaching help and having each other's back. So I felt we did a really good job of having our head on a swivel and rotating and being active and aggressive. We have a tremendous amount of respect for Austin, so it was important for us to understand and know where he was and have at least three sets of eyes on him."
On keeping the team focused with all the buzz and if you are telling them to take one game at a time
"Yeah, old coach speak. Yeah, we do [tell them that], we do. I think it is important. You don't assume anything, you don't take anything for granted. We have to keep growing. We have a road game this weekend. We have two road games back to back and we have a quick turn-around game after that, so we have to be really focused to have success."
On how impressed he has been with the crowds since non-conference play ended
"It's just amazing. They have been outstanding. I think they should get a W too. They are a big part of our wins. We don't win without them. You hear our guys talking about the energy - it's our crowds helping them get through these games. We thank them, this is their team. We want them to embrace that this is their team and I think our fans have taken ownership."
On if he was worried about the crowds in December
"I was so worried about our team and getting them better. I wasn't focusing on any of that. I was focused on just getting better. And you know, I learned a long time ago to only concern yourself with what you can control and at that time we could control on getting our guys better."
On if the team is better this week than they were last week
"I think we are getting better. I think we are getting better each time out. I think we're doing a lot of things better. Hopefully people are able to see that on the court. I know I can as a coach, I see us getting better each time out."
TULSA JUNIOR GUARD Shaquille Harrison
On how he didn't let bad early shooting affect the team the rest of the game
"I felt like we tightened up on defense a little bit and started to get out on transition. We got a couple of easy buckets and then the basket started to look a little bit bigger for us."
On how the team was able to come out and dominate to start the second half
"It started with our energy. That was our goal. We wanted to pick up the energy in the second half because we were a little bit down in the first half. That helped us tremendously. That fueled us, it was like a snowball effect."
On being able to maintain the energy, when the team isn't making shots, knowing that it would pay off
"We just have to keep playing hard. We're trying to get better each and every day. We need to use every game as a stepping stone to get better."
TULSA JUNIOR GUARD Rashad Smith
Taking out Memphis' inside game
"Coming into this game we knew we had to be tough. They have great bigs and they have a really tough team. One of the main things we had to do was box out. Even if you don't get the rebound, hopefully one of our teammates will. We had to really protect the interior and just go from there."
On being so successful in a tough basketball conference
"We go to practice everyday and work hard; just trying to get better. That's all we really focus on. We pay close attention to the teams we're playing and we always pride ourselves on the defensive end. We can't be complacent, we just have to keep working hard."
On feeling the energy change after TU's back-to-back dunks after 28-point lead cut to 14-point lead
"It can be tough when you're up and you relax a little bit. That's what we did for a little bit. Once we felt them coming back we just had to find a way to get our energy back up. The ball got tipped to me while I was wide open, and I think that helped lead to James Woodard's dunk too. That really brought us back up."
On the big crowd in back-to-back games
"We really love our fans and our student section. They've really been helping up throughout this winning streak. We would like to see a lot of people in the stands. We come out every night and try to work hard and try to get a win, but we can't do that without the students or without the fans. They've been doing a great job."
MEMPHIS HEAD COACH JOSH PASTNER
Opening Statement
"I have to give Tulsa full credit, I thought they played great. They had the hit-first mentality tonight and they kind of punched us in the mouth, and we did not respond well. Coach Haith, his staff, and their team, they did great. It is just one of those games where we could never really get in a rhythm. We had 17 turnovers, which resulted in them getting 22 points off of those turnovers. They got 16 offensive rebounds, which resulted in 19 second-chance points. They were the tougher team tonight, and they were the aggressor. We went on a scoring drought tonight, which we have had an issue with this year. We also had trouble with our turnovers, which we have done a good job on as of late, but today we had too many. We cannot have that many against a good team like Tulsa. We need to bounce back, we have a game on Saturday against Tulane and we need to get home, regroup, and try to improve."
On having only one offensive rebound in the first half
"I really felt we had a great practice on Monday, a great practice Tuesday, tremendous shoot-around today, our chemistry is at an all-time high; I really did not see us coming out and not playing aggressive. I felt we were ready to go. Maybe our approach wasn't right, for whatever reason we just did not play well. One (offensive) rebound in the first half; that signals that they were the aggressor. From top to bottom, including myself, we didn't have a good game today. Any responsibility obviously goes on my shoulders for the way we played today, that falls on me. We will bounce back, we will have to get better, but like I said we give Tulsa full credit. Coach Haith has them really playing well. They were at one point 7 and 5, now they have won six in a row. You have to give his staff a lot of credit."
On the fouls and officials
"It had nothing to do with the officials. Tulsa played better; they deserved and earned the victory. We cannot allow things outside of our control to factor in and bother us. Some guys just have to be better about that, but that is part of maturing as a team and we will get there. The bottom line is Tulsa earned the victory and they beat us from top to bottom."
On Tulsa winning despite low shooting percentages
"They shot 40% from the field, 16% from three, but they have done a great job enforcing live ball turnovers, and they do a great job of spreading the floor. I also thought the crowd here at Tulsa was really good tonight, it was loud. Coach Haith has them playing at a very high level, and you have to give him credit. I know they were 7 and 5 at one point and they have now won six straight. Again, that is a credit to Coach Haith and his staff. Whatever they have done in that time period, they have done it right and it has worked for them. I told our team that Tulsa had as good of guards as we have played all year long, but I also thought that Rashad Smith hurt us tonight. He played really well."
