Colorado-Eastern Washington Quotes
Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle
Opening Statement
“We obviously weren't ready to play out of the gate tonight for whatever reason. That's very unusual for a team like this, who's had pretty good practices up until tonight. For some reason, we weren't ready to play, and we turned it over like it was nobody's business. We started feeling sorry for ourselves and our body language and defensive energy got bad. We let number eight, who's a really good shooter, make four threes in the first half. Eastern Washington was the better coached team and they played better than us. Thank God they got tired and were playing at altitude, otherwise it would have been a loss for us. Our guys finally woke up defensively, we got some stops, got out in transition, but we have so much to improve on. I have to do a better job and figure that out.”
On the turnovers early on
“The first four were dribbling turnovers. They just took the ball from us. Of our first eight turnovers, seven of them were steals from Eastern Washington. That means you're weak with the ball. You're not supposed to bring the ball down as a post guy. You're supposed to keep it up. They're a good defensive team with active hands. Our players have to take personal responsibility for taking care of the ball, and we didn't do that tonight.”
On if cutting the lead down at the end of half help settle the team in
“I guess so. It's better being down six, than down 16. I'm just disappointed in the way we came out. This is a competitive group of guys, but for some reason we weren't competing from the start tonight. That's my responsibility and I didn't do my job tonight. Eastern Washington deserves all the credit, because they were so much better than us. The first half wasn't even close.”
On if you told the team anything specific to get over that slow start
“I just kept begging them to take care of the ball, take great shots, and try to get stops. We got three kills, which is three stops in a row in the first half. The only way you're going to get back in a game when you're down 16 points is getting stops. We didn't shoot the ball particularly well in the first half. I thought our ability to take care of the ball in the second half was better.”
On how impactful Trevor was all over the floor tonight
“Trevor plays with great energy. He's going to make something happen on the floor, offensively and defensively. I appreciate how hard he plays. He's a plus minus guy right now, however. He’ll make a good play, and then he'll make a bad play. We just have to minimize the bad plays.”
Coach Boyle on defensive communication
“Off ball (screens), we don't switch, so it's just a matter of getting through screens, which takes toughness, effort, being in a stance and physicality. Other than Elijah Malone, we were switching every on ball screen, and there were countless breakdowns. When you switch a ball screen, you're supposed to take a pick and pop big man out of the game. You're supposed to be able to have a big now that's guarding a guard who’s got length and size. Now can our bigs guard guards? We didn't do a very good job of that tonight, and our breakdown in communication was atrocious. Again, thank god Eastern Washington got tired because they had some wide open looks in that second half that didn't go in because they were tired, and there were too many breakdowns. That's what the film will show, and it's not going to be pretty. We got to get better at that. Easiest thing to do is: there's a ball screen, we switch it.”
Coach Boyle on the Buffs playing more freely in the second half
“When we make shots, we’re going to play freely, but our ball movement was not very good in the first half. Our ball movement was better in the second half. Our cutting was not very good. In the first half, RJ Smith made a great back cut. Assane [Diop] found him on a back door, and it was a lay up, but he was the only one that I can remember in the first half. Second half, [Javon] Ruffin made a curl cut. Julian [Hammond] found him on a layup. We talked about that at time outs. We need more back cuts and we need more curl cuts. Finally, they started figuring that out. The thing about this team, offensively, in terms of playing freely, it's more about them playing together. I wasn't restricting them in the first half more than I was letting them play in the second. It was the same offense, it was the same players and it was the same system, but they played better in the second half offensively.
Coach Boyle on Sebastian Rancik
“The thing about Sebastian is that he’s really coachable. He's very conscientious. He wants to get better. When he gets his feet set, his ball is going in. We want him shooting the ball when he gets his feet set in the perimeter. Eventually, he's going to get scouted, and people are going to start running at him and running him off the line. He's gonna have to put it on the floor and make plays that way. Sebastian's doing a lot of good things for us. I'm on him all the time about rebounding, defending, taking care of the ball and taking great shots. If he does those things, his talent is unquestionable. His skill level is unquestionable. It's a high level for a freshman. So we're going to need him, and we needed him tonight, and when he gets open shots, he can make them.”
Coach Boyle on Colorado’s physicality tonight
“I thought it was good. I thought we wore them down again. Give Eastern Washington credit, because they battled us tooth and nail in the first half. That’s the strength of our team, our depth; our ability to wear teams down with that depth. We got a lot of guys that can rebound the ball. Elijah Malone didn't do a lot offensively because it's hard for us to give him the ball because we were not very good passers right now, but he had seven rebounds in 12 minutes. That's three offensive and four defensive. He continues to do that. We got to do a better job of getting him the ball, offensively and defensively. His ball screen covers got to continue to get better. If our guards don't get through screens, Elijah's going to be in a position where he's going to have to guard a lot of guards that are getting downhill, and that's difficult for him, given the physical nature of his body and his foot speed. If our guards can get through screens, we'll be alright. Right now, there's so much we have to get better at.”
Coach Boyle on Andrej Jakimovski
“Andrej’s gonna be fine. He's playing in a totally different system. We're asking him to do things maybe that he didn't get to do, or wasn’t asked to do at Washington State. In practice, in our exhibitions and scrimmages, he's been our most consistent player offensively and defensively, without a doubt. With Andrej, I know what we're going to get. Some nights he shoots the ball well, sometimes he won't. He had some good looks tonight. He’s such a good shooter, you expect every shot to go in, and he does too, but they don't always go in. The whole key is you better figure out how to help your team win when you're not shooting the ball well. Andrej does that. We got some other guys that when the ball doesn't go in, their head goes down, they start pouting and feeling sorry for themselves. We can't let that happen.”
Colorado Players
Javon Ruffin, Jr., G
On what changed in the last 10 minutes:
“We just started guarding. We were getting stops. We were able to get out in transition. Our offense was struggling a little bit to start. So then once you started getting stops and were able to run the offense was easier. Stuff just started to flow.”
On why they took better care of the ball in the second half:
“Yeah, I mean, I think obviously it takes a little bit of time, a lot of new guys on the team, first time, really being out there and showing us. So yeah, we had some things to figure out, but I think we just settled down. We were just playing a little bit too fast. No one was trying to be selfish or anything, but we were just sped up, maybe taking an extra dribble when we shouldn't have, trying to force passes that weren't there. And once we just settled down, let the game come to us. Then, I mean, then it was easy.”
On the opening night energy and turning around the slow start:
“I mean, it really came down to defense. There was, I think, about eight minutes left, after the media [timeout]. I was like, guys, they have, they had like, 24 I was like, make sure they're under 28 before the second media and they only had 27 and then they only scored four points in the last four minutes. And, I mean, that's what we just started guarding, that's really all that happened. That's what, that's when the flip switched.”
On the importance of winning the rebounding battle:
“Huge. I mean, that's one of our identities. You know, Boyle, Coach Boyle, is always about defensive rebounding. So, I mean, the offensive rebound is something that he preaches every day in practice. So I mean, it's going to show out there on the court.”
On coming back from the knee injury last year and playing a role in the comeback tonight
“It’s everything. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this for 3 years going on 4 here. Just the opportunity to have a summer, to train and really come up with the team the entire way. Practiced every practice, and then be out here and actually contribute and affect the win in the first game. I mean that’s why I’m here, that’s what I’m here to do. So it was huge. Gave me a lot of confidence going forward.”
On Sebastian Rancik making 4 3 pointers off the bench as a true freshman and not being phased by the moment
“No. I mean he’s not phased at all. He’s never scared to be aggressive. That’s one of the reasons he was out there and one of the reasons he was able to make an impact. He’s a super talented player. The fact that he can step up, when no one’s making shots and our offense is struggling, and actually make some shots and get us going is huge. That kind of turned the corner for us offensively at times."
Trevor Baskin, Gr., F
On what changed in the last ten minutes:
“Everything starts on the defensive end. We kind of were able to climb back in it towards the end of the first half, and I think we really emphasized that. And then obviously the last 10 minutes we were getting stops, getting out and running, and we were able to get into our actions early on in the possession and get paint touches. I think it was a big deal, because if we didn't get in the paint, our offense was not as efficient as it should be.”
On how it felt to be out there tonight:
“I mean, I wasn’t trying to make a statement. I was just trying to play the way I play, which is playing hard and really just trying to do it all, do what coach needs me to do on both ends, whether that's play defense on bigger guys or smaller guys, I'll try to do anything that coach asks me. I'll try to take care of the ball a little bit better. But, yeah, I think I like trying to be as versatile as possible. I say it all the time, and I try to be in the right position at all times. And that works out for me. Sometimes I get a nice pass from a guard or something.”
On why they took better care of the ball in the second half:
“Yeah, definitely felt like we weren’t settled in. mean the first, the first time I touched the ball, I kind of slapped it up in the air. So I think it was just that we were making uncharacteristic plays that wasn't really like us in the first half. And for the first part of that, it felt a little weird. We were a little out of fun, but we were able to calm down, calm ourselves down, take a breath and really dig deep and take care of the ball like we needed to in the second half.”
On the opening night energy and turning around the slow start:
“I mean, everyone's gonna have nerves in the first game. I mean, it's exciting, we've been looking forward to this since we've been practicing in June. So I'm not even sure if it was like nerves. It was more of an excitement, like, Oh my God. Like, I get to play a game that counts now. So I'd consider it more of that. I mean, and, and then eventually, the high of, oh my god, I'm playing a basketball game now. It kind of settled down, and we were able to just play our game.”
On how it felt to play his first game for CU:
“I mean, there were definitely moments when I was warming up trying to just, like, enjoy the moment. I think oftentimes we get caught up in a bit of just the vibes of the game. And for me, I just, I took a couple of minutes glances out into the crowd just to realize, like, this is kind of like a childhood dream for me. I mean, I get to represent my state. I get to have Colorado on my chest, wear the black and gold, and play with, play with a bunch of my brothers, my good friends. So, yeah, I'm a very much person who enjoys and tries to soak it all in and that, and that's really what I was trying to do. But once the ball was tipped I wasn’t soaking it in as much.”
On the importance of winning the rebounding battle:
“Definitely. I mean, a strength of ours is that we're really large in a lot of positions, and we would be doing ourselves a disservice if we didn't actually crash the offensive glass, because we realized that getting extra possessions is the most important part of this game, and if we can maximize the amount of shot attempts we get, and that means putting a little extra effort and then crashing the offensive glass, especially if we’re not shooting well.”
On Eastern Washington’s trash talking and if provided motivation
“It’s basketball, people are gonna chirp. Like MJ said ‘It’s easy to talk when you’re up’. It was fair for them to talk in the first half, they were kicking our (***) in the first half. But we knew that we had the confidence in our team. I just kept telling them you’re going to lose this game and we’re gonna win.”
On Sebastian Rancik making 4 3 pointers off the bench as a true freshman and not being phased by the moment
“He’s a fearless, fearless, kid and ultra talented. That 3 he had to the game was an electric moment for sure and he has no room for fear in his mindset whatsoever. Talking to him you can understand for sure. He’s a great player and is going to be great here for a long time.”
Opening Statement
“We obviously weren't ready to play out of the gate tonight for whatever reason. That's very unusual for a team like this, who's had pretty good practices up until tonight. For some reason, we weren't ready to play, and we turned it over like it was nobody's business. We started feeling sorry for ourselves and our body language and defensive energy got bad. We let number eight, who's a really good shooter, make four threes in the first half. Eastern Washington was the better coached team and they played better than us. Thank God they got tired and were playing at altitude, otherwise it would have been a loss for us. Our guys finally woke up defensively, we got some stops, got out in transition, but we have so much to improve on. I have to do a better job and figure that out.”
On the turnovers early on
“The first four were dribbling turnovers. They just took the ball from us. Of our first eight turnovers, seven of them were steals from Eastern Washington. That means you're weak with the ball. You're not supposed to bring the ball down as a post guy. You're supposed to keep it up. They're a good defensive team with active hands. Our players have to take personal responsibility for taking care of the ball, and we didn't do that tonight.”
On if cutting the lead down at the end of half help settle the team in
“I guess so. It's better being down six, than down 16. I'm just disappointed in the way we came out. This is a competitive group of guys, but for some reason we weren't competing from the start tonight. That's my responsibility and I didn't do my job tonight. Eastern Washington deserves all the credit, because they were so much better than us. The first half wasn't even close.”
On if you told the team anything specific to get over that slow start
“I just kept begging them to take care of the ball, take great shots, and try to get stops. We got three kills, which is three stops in a row in the first half. The only way you're going to get back in a game when you're down 16 points is getting stops. We didn't shoot the ball particularly well in the first half. I thought our ability to take care of the ball in the second half was better.”
On how impactful Trevor was all over the floor tonight
“Trevor plays with great energy. He's going to make something happen on the floor, offensively and defensively. I appreciate how hard he plays. He's a plus minus guy right now, however. He’ll make a good play, and then he'll make a bad play. We just have to minimize the bad plays.”
Coach Boyle on defensive communication
“Off ball (screens), we don't switch, so it's just a matter of getting through screens, which takes toughness, effort, being in a stance and physicality. Other than Elijah Malone, we were switching every on ball screen, and there were countless breakdowns. When you switch a ball screen, you're supposed to take a pick and pop big man out of the game. You're supposed to be able to have a big now that's guarding a guard who’s got length and size. Now can our bigs guard guards? We didn't do a very good job of that tonight, and our breakdown in communication was atrocious. Again, thank god Eastern Washington got tired because they had some wide open looks in that second half that didn't go in because they were tired, and there were too many breakdowns. That's what the film will show, and it's not going to be pretty. We got to get better at that. Easiest thing to do is: there's a ball screen, we switch it.”
Coach Boyle on the Buffs playing more freely in the second half
“When we make shots, we’re going to play freely, but our ball movement was not very good in the first half. Our ball movement was better in the second half. Our cutting was not very good. In the first half, RJ Smith made a great back cut. Assane [Diop] found him on a back door, and it was a lay up, but he was the only one that I can remember in the first half. Second half, [Javon] Ruffin made a curl cut. Julian [Hammond] found him on a layup. We talked about that at time outs. We need more back cuts and we need more curl cuts. Finally, they started figuring that out. The thing about this team, offensively, in terms of playing freely, it's more about them playing together. I wasn't restricting them in the first half more than I was letting them play in the second. It was the same offense, it was the same players and it was the same system, but they played better in the second half offensively.
Coach Boyle on Sebastian Rancik
“The thing about Sebastian is that he’s really coachable. He's very conscientious. He wants to get better. When he gets his feet set, his ball is going in. We want him shooting the ball when he gets his feet set in the perimeter. Eventually, he's going to get scouted, and people are going to start running at him and running him off the line. He's gonna have to put it on the floor and make plays that way. Sebastian's doing a lot of good things for us. I'm on him all the time about rebounding, defending, taking care of the ball and taking great shots. If he does those things, his talent is unquestionable. His skill level is unquestionable. It's a high level for a freshman. So we're going to need him, and we needed him tonight, and when he gets open shots, he can make them.”
Coach Boyle on Colorado’s physicality tonight
“I thought it was good. I thought we wore them down again. Give Eastern Washington credit, because they battled us tooth and nail in the first half. That’s the strength of our team, our depth; our ability to wear teams down with that depth. We got a lot of guys that can rebound the ball. Elijah Malone didn't do a lot offensively because it's hard for us to give him the ball because we were not very good passers right now, but he had seven rebounds in 12 minutes. That's three offensive and four defensive. He continues to do that. We got to do a better job of getting him the ball, offensively and defensively. His ball screen covers got to continue to get better. If our guards don't get through screens, Elijah's going to be in a position where he's going to have to guard a lot of guards that are getting downhill, and that's difficult for him, given the physical nature of his body and his foot speed. If our guards can get through screens, we'll be alright. Right now, there's so much we have to get better at.”
Coach Boyle on Andrej Jakimovski
“Andrej’s gonna be fine. He's playing in a totally different system. We're asking him to do things maybe that he didn't get to do, or wasn’t asked to do at Washington State. In practice, in our exhibitions and scrimmages, he's been our most consistent player offensively and defensively, without a doubt. With Andrej, I know what we're going to get. Some nights he shoots the ball well, sometimes he won't. He had some good looks tonight. He’s such a good shooter, you expect every shot to go in, and he does too, but they don't always go in. The whole key is you better figure out how to help your team win when you're not shooting the ball well. Andrej does that. We got some other guys that when the ball doesn't go in, their head goes down, they start pouting and feeling sorry for themselves. We can't let that happen.”
Colorado Players
Javon Ruffin, Jr., G
On what changed in the last 10 minutes:
“We just started guarding. We were getting stops. We were able to get out in transition. Our offense was struggling a little bit to start. So then once you started getting stops and were able to run the offense was easier. Stuff just started to flow.”
On why they took better care of the ball in the second half:
“Yeah, I mean, I think obviously it takes a little bit of time, a lot of new guys on the team, first time, really being out there and showing us. So yeah, we had some things to figure out, but I think we just settled down. We were just playing a little bit too fast. No one was trying to be selfish or anything, but we were just sped up, maybe taking an extra dribble when we shouldn't have, trying to force passes that weren't there. And once we just settled down, let the game come to us. Then, I mean, then it was easy.”
On the opening night energy and turning around the slow start:
“I mean, it really came down to defense. There was, I think, about eight minutes left, after the media [timeout]. I was like, guys, they have, they had like, 24 I was like, make sure they're under 28 before the second media and they only had 27 and then they only scored four points in the last four minutes. And, I mean, that's what we just started guarding, that's really all that happened. That's what, that's when the flip switched.”
On the importance of winning the rebounding battle:
“Huge. I mean, that's one of our identities. You know, Boyle, Coach Boyle, is always about defensive rebounding. So, I mean, the offensive rebound is something that he preaches every day in practice. So I mean, it's going to show out there on the court.”
On coming back from the knee injury last year and playing a role in the comeback tonight
“It’s everything. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this for 3 years going on 4 here. Just the opportunity to have a summer, to train and really come up with the team the entire way. Practiced every practice, and then be out here and actually contribute and affect the win in the first game. I mean that’s why I’m here, that’s what I’m here to do. So it was huge. Gave me a lot of confidence going forward.”
On Sebastian Rancik making 4 3 pointers off the bench as a true freshman and not being phased by the moment
“No. I mean he’s not phased at all. He’s never scared to be aggressive. That’s one of the reasons he was out there and one of the reasons he was able to make an impact. He’s a super talented player. The fact that he can step up, when no one’s making shots and our offense is struggling, and actually make some shots and get us going is huge. That kind of turned the corner for us offensively at times."
Trevor Baskin, Gr., F
On what changed in the last ten minutes:
“Everything starts on the defensive end. We kind of were able to climb back in it towards the end of the first half, and I think we really emphasized that. And then obviously the last 10 minutes we were getting stops, getting out and running, and we were able to get into our actions early on in the possession and get paint touches. I think it was a big deal, because if we didn't get in the paint, our offense was not as efficient as it should be.”
On how it felt to be out there tonight:
“I mean, I wasn’t trying to make a statement. I was just trying to play the way I play, which is playing hard and really just trying to do it all, do what coach needs me to do on both ends, whether that's play defense on bigger guys or smaller guys, I'll try to do anything that coach asks me. I'll try to take care of the ball a little bit better. But, yeah, I think I like trying to be as versatile as possible. I say it all the time, and I try to be in the right position at all times. And that works out for me. Sometimes I get a nice pass from a guard or something.”
On why they took better care of the ball in the second half:
“Yeah, definitely felt like we weren’t settled in. mean the first, the first time I touched the ball, I kind of slapped it up in the air. So I think it was just that we were making uncharacteristic plays that wasn't really like us in the first half. And for the first part of that, it felt a little weird. We were a little out of fun, but we were able to calm down, calm ourselves down, take a breath and really dig deep and take care of the ball like we needed to in the second half.”
On the opening night energy and turning around the slow start:
“I mean, everyone's gonna have nerves in the first game. I mean, it's exciting, we've been looking forward to this since we've been practicing in June. So I'm not even sure if it was like nerves. It was more of an excitement, like, Oh my God. Like, I get to play a game that counts now. So I'd consider it more of that. I mean, and, and then eventually, the high of, oh my god, I'm playing a basketball game now. It kind of settled down, and we were able to just play our game.”
On how it felt to play his first game for CU:
“I mean, there were definitely moments when I was warming up trying to just, like, enjoy the moment. I think oftentimes we get caught up in a bit of just the vibes of the game. And for me, I just, I took a couple of minutes glances out into the crowd just to realize, like, this is kind of like a childhood dream for me. I mean, I get to represent my state. I get to have Colorado on my chest, wear the black and gold, and play with, play with a bunch of my brothers, my good friends. So, yeah, I'm a very much person who enjoys and tries to soak it all in and that, and that's really what I was trying to do. But once the ball was tipped I wasn’t soaking it in as much.”
On the importance of winning the rebounding battle:
“Definitely. I mean, a strength of ours is that we're really large in a lot of positions, and we would be doing ourselves a disservice if we didn't actually crash the offensive glass, because we realized that getting extra possessions is the most important part of this game, and if we can maximize the amount of shot attempts we get, and that means putting a little extra effort and then crashing the offensive glass, especially if we’re not shooting well.”
On Eastern Washington’s trash talking and if provided motivation
“It’s basketball, people are gonna chirp. Like MJ said ‘It’s easy to talk when you’re up’. It was fair for them to talk in the first half, they were kicking our (***) in the first half. But we knew that we had the confidence in our team. I just kept telling them you’re going to lose this game and we’re gonna win.”
On Sebastian Rancik making 4 3 pointers off the bench as a true freshman and not being phased by the moment
“He’s a fearless, fearless, kid and ultra talented. That 3 he had to the game was an electric moment for sure and he has no room for fear in his mindset whatsoever. Talking to him you can understand for sure. He’s a great player and is going to be great here for a long time.”