Colorado, Alcorn State Quotes
November 24, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle
General
"I think the way our team responded to the situation on Saturday night was good. We needed it. Quite frankly I didn't know how we would respond. I was really proud of them; I was proud of them start to finish. We didn't play perfect, but again you hold a team to 28 [percent shooting] and you out-rebound them by 14 those are the thing that you're looking for. We didn't win by 40 and do those things; we did those things and won by 40. The score is a result of how you take care of business on the defensive end. That's the message that we're trying to get through. I was pleased with it tonight overall."
On Higgins and Burks not being in starting lineup
"I don't look at it like that. I look at it like I reward guys like Levi Knutson, Nate Tomlinson and Shannon Sharpe, Austin Dufault and Marcus Relphorde. On Saturday night, I was an emotional coach after the loss on Saturday and I've got to stick to my guns, but Cory Higgins is one of our best defensive players. Alec Burks has the capability of being one of our best defensive players. What I want is the team to understand it's not just about those guys; it's about the team and our whole program. But I'm proud of them. I'm proud of every one of them, certainly Cory and Alec. I don't look at it like they didn't start; I look at it like those other guys did. It's about perspective."
"We talked about it. Cory is a team guy, Cory is a guy that is concerned about the program, team-first. I was aware of it. It wasn't something I took lightly but I was proud as anybody by the way he handled that. I want this year to be special for our four seniors, Cory is one of them. Cory has been through a lot here and I think our basketball program and what we're trying to get established, I don't want to wait four years in to experience what we want to experience this year."
On bounce-back win
"Absolutely it was big. We got a little bit of sour taste in our mouth. It's not like we went to Georgia or San Francisco and got shellacked. We just didn't do the things we needed to do down the stretch to win those games. What I tried to convey to our team is it's not about the last play or the last two plays of the game, it needs to get taken care of much sooner than that in the first half, early in the second half. We're not going to win by 40 every night. But if we take care of our business consistently, consistency is what we've been looking for, and that's been lacking. Tonight I think we saw more of it, and I think that's a step forward, but it's just one night.
On balancing basketball with academics
"It's good. I told our team we're going to get better in two areas this week. We're going to get better as a basketball team because we're going to have a lot of time to practice and watch film. We're going to lift weights a couple times, and we're going to get better academically, because this is a week where we don't have class, but we can start preparing ahead for finals. Some guys are digging out of holes and some guys are preparing for what's ahead when finals week hits. This is a very critical time for a student-athlete, especially when you're a basketball player, because you've got games, you've got to travel and you've got finals coming up. This is a big week for us to get better in those two areas."
On bonding as a team
"Winning helps that bonding, and losing sometimes gives you a feel for what you have in the locker room. I like what we have in that locker room. I like the resiliency and the grit. I've talked about that a lot with this team. I think it showed up even with our two losses, and I think it showed up tonight with how we came and approached this game."
"We'll see. It's early in the season and you can't get too high after wins. You can't get too low after losses. You have to keep looking for those improvements, so you're only as good as your last game or your last practice. We'll find out where we're at when we play Harvard on Saturday. We just have to have a workman-like attitude. I'm not saying we don't have it, but it's about how we prepare, how we approach the game. It's not about who we're playing. That's one of the things I'm trying to get across to this basketball team. It's about how we play, how we prepare and how we produce."
On having Higgins and Burks back in starting lineup
"I haven't even talked about it; I haven't even thought about it. The starting lineup to me is irrelevant. What matters to me is the final result. To me, it's where this program's identity needs to come from. I think we took a step forward in that tonight. We will give ourselves a chance every single night if we do those two things; we'll defend and rebound. I said it when I got the job and I'm saying it right now."
Alcorn State Head Coach Larry Smith
On Colorado's up-tempo style
"We were trying to stop their runs because they were able to get easy buckets in transition. We were trying to slow the pace of the game down. We had good looks, but couldn't knock them down. We weren't hitting shots and we did not take the ball to the basket when our shots weren't falling."
On shooting struggles
"We had good looks, but our concentration was not there. We cannot continue to get open looks and not him them down."
On G Marquiz Baker
"Marquiz came out and he played ok. He has got to be more aggressive and take it to the basket. He is a good free throw shooter and has to attack the basket in order to get to the line."
On G Alex Savannah
"He played well. He did a lot of good things on the floor and he will find minutes. We do not have a fixed lineup right now. He has been solid the past two games and will continue to get more playing time."
On areas to improve upon
"You have to stay aggressive. Shots are going to get blocked, but you have to stay aggressive because when you do that, you get to the free throw line. Our transition defense was not very good. They ran and were able to get points on us. We need to do a better job of stopping them in transition."
Colorado Players
Cory Higgins, Senior, Guard
On whether the win marked a momentum shift
"I don't know. It was a step in the right direction, but we're not going to be able to see until the next couple of games. It was definitely a step in the right direction."
On whether this was CU's best game of the year
"That was probably the most consistent 40 minutes [we've played this year]."
On seeing his consecutive-games-started streak (97) snapped tonight
"Yeah, It's a streak I'm proud of. At the same time, it's always team first. I'm not going to sit and say it didn't bother me, because it was something I was proud of, but it's over with now."
On team chemistry
"We've got a lot of time to bond as a team and get better. Like I said, we took a step in the right direction, we've got a long ways to go to show the consistency, but we're going to have a lot of practice time and a lot of time with each other to really fine tune a lot of things."
Alec Burks, Sophomore, Guard
On the win
"I feel like we made a huge step by blowing this team out. I feel like we let our defense be our offense, and we didn't do that our first two games."
On Coach Boyle electing to leave him out of the starting lineup
"He said the best defensive players were going to play, and he stuck to his word. He preaches defense, and you've got to respect that.
On when he learned he wasn't starting tonight
"I found out yesterday. I just sucked it up."
On the motivation from coming off the bench
"I just played my role. I guess I had a bit of a chip on my shoulder because I feel like I wanted it worse, but I just did what the coach said. We got the win, so that's all that matters."
"For me, I felt like I was trying to prove him wrong and show him I could play defense. That was my main thing, that I could come off the bench."
Austin Dufault, Junior Forward
On feeling comfortable playing the five position
"Yeah, I had to do it last year, I guess. It was like a second freshman year for me last year, moving to the five spot. I learned a lot from last year, and I'm just trying to apply that to this year. As far as offensively, I just need to slow down and take my time a little bit. Defensively, I'm used to it from playing against a lot of five's last year."
