TULSA POSTGAME QUOTES VS. EAST CAROLINA
2/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
TULSA HEAD COACH Frank Haith
Opening Statement
"It was a very important win for us. I thought our guys had really good energy to start the ball game. Defensively, I thought we let up a little bit in the second half, but all-in-all it was a really good win. It's good to see us shoot the ball well, share the ball well and execute well against a team that played off of us and played zone primarily the whole game."
On having a better game against ECU this time around
"They played at home and they shot the ball really well in the first game. Terry Whisnant, I think he had 22. I think they made 12 threes. They were aggressive. Their zone was good. But I thought we attacked the zone better tonight. There is no question. Obviously, having that time off and practicing, I thought our guys knew what we were looking for, we knew how to attack it and execution was better."
What did Brandon show you to make you want to start him tonight?
"Brandon's starting wasn't more of what Brandon was doing, it was about trying to keep Dre focused and take a little pressure off of him. I thought he was a little tense the last couple of games. He had gone so long without getting two quick fouls, and the last couple of games he's been getting in foul trouble, so he's been sitting a lot in the first half. It was my intuition to change it up a little bit and try to help Dre. We need all of those guys. Obviously, Brandon did a great job in terms of starting. He missed his first shot, then I don't think he missed a shot after that."
Is that something you think you are going to continue
"We'll see how it goes. I talked with Dre a lot before we made the decision to do it. He was part of the decision. I didn't just say, Dre, you're not starting. We had lengthy conversations about what would help our team and would that help him."
On Nick Wood playing in the first half
"He's been shooting the ball well [in practice]. ECU plays zone and if anything when you put Nick in the game you have to think he's a shooter. At least defenses will guard him and give us good spacing. I thought when Nick played in the first half he had great ball movement. It's the little things we see as coaches. He had hockey assists. I don't think he had any assists, but he got the hockey assists, the pass before the assist. I was really proud of Nick giving us good minutes. And he defended when he got in."
How have you been getting back to focusing on defense during the six days off
"We watched a little video before the game of clips of ourselves. We haven't taken a charge in two games. So we had a couple of charges tonight. We needed to get back first to the floor. There were a couple of plays during the last two games where the other team was first to the floor. But Tulsa basketball, who we are, that's how we won. We had to get back to that."
After losing two games, do you feel like you are now the hunter instead of the hunted
"We need to be hungry. We need to play hungry. I think when you're on top you're going to get everybody's best effort. Five games left we are going to get everyone's best effort. It's just how you attack it. I thought we lost a little bit of grit and toughness the last two games. Hopefully, we got that back tonight. We better have it on Sunday, because the team that comes in here on Sunday, they'll have both guns blazing."
On Rashad Smiths injury
"Yeah it's dislocated. I think he'll be fine. I don't know though. It was a lot of discomfort for him to go back into the game. I think he could have, but he had a lot of discomfort. So we'll see how it goes in the next couple of days."
What do you expect out of Temple on Sunday
"I expect a team that will play with great tenacity. A typical east coast team with a lot of swagger and physical play. Jaylen Bond is having a player of the year type year. Cummings has been terrific. They are super-talented and they are on a roll. I know they have SMU tomorrow night, but they've won seven in a row. They are probably playing as good as anyone in our league."
On shooting 51% on the night
"It feels really good. James made four threes, but we had other guys step up and make some threes. But we scored 30 points in the paint and that's who we are. With that said, I thought our passing was better. We had better decision making with our shot selections. It's very important that we continue to get better and shoot the ball better."
TULSA JUNIOR GUARD James Woodard
On the bounce-back win vs. East Carolina
"I feel like we're getting right back on track. We had a good couple of practices. We're playing hard. We played against a good team. They're a great shooting team. We're just getting back on track."
On his good offensive performance after a poor outing against UConn
"Coach really philosophized the idea of `next game, next possession'. I had to put that game in the past. We just came out with a lot of energy and positivity. Our defense was what got us going."
TULSA JUNIOR FORWARD Brandon Swannegan
On learning he was to be a starter for the first time in his career
"Last night, after practice, coach told me I was going to start. I was ready and I was kind of nervous, but it was a good game. I'm glad we won."
On the difference between being an `energy' player coming off the bench and being a starter
"I don't think it's any different. Now, I've just got to start off the game with energy instead of coming off the bench. I've just got to bring it right from the jump."
On Tulsa's play versus the East Carolina zone
"We attacked it. Coach always tells us to move the ball efficiently and `fake a pass to make a pass'. Shaq was just finding me in great spots. Marquel and Juice (Woodard), they all found me. I just finished for them and got them assists. I appreciate them for that."
On getting back on a winning track
"It feels good. You know, we were on a two game losing streak and it feels good to finally be back on track. We just want to keep moving forward."
EAST CAROLINA HEAD COACH JEFF LEBO
Opening Statement
"Tulsa played a better game tonight. We let them get 14 second-chance points. We knew Woodard would come out and play aggressive after not scoring in the UCONN game, but he was good tonight in 38 minutes. It was the difference. He was the best player on the floor."
On the slow first half
"We were slow, we didn't shoot it very well, and we turned it over. You are going to be slow out of the gates when you have eleven turnovers. We also missed multiple shots at the front of the rim. Lay-ups, our big guys had trouble finishing in there. We got nothing easy in the first half."
