Oregon State Post-Game Quotes
January 21, 2012 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 21, 2012
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Oregon State 78, USC 59
January 21, 2012
Gill Coliseum
Corvallis, Ore.
Head Coach Craig Robinson
Opening Comment...
"First of all, this was an important weekend. I think I said in here on Thursday that Thursday was the most important game since I have been here, but this is the most important weekend. Getting back into the mix with our confidence was really important, and I thought we did that tonight and it started with Thursday. Finally getting a chance to sweep those guys was important, but more importantly, it was great to get it done here at home with a great number of fans and with Gary Payton in the house. It was just a perfect storm and I am really happy for my team. They continue to work hard in spite of the tough losses, so now we just have to keep it up and be ready for Sunday.
On the defensive scheme...
"Well if you have been watching my team, our base defense is man to man, and we have been playing predominantly man to man the entire season. The reason why we stayed with the one-three-one was because we got like six steals in a row and built a good lead and just kept doing it. We played probably 25 percent man today and 75 percent zone, and probably out of that 75 percent we played two-thirds of it in the one-three-one and the other third matching up."
On Gary Payton being at the game...
"Most of you know that when I first got here, I thought that it was important to reconnect with all of the former players from the past, and Gary was one of those. I reached out to him and after about a season he called back and we have kind of stayed in touch via phone and texting. Then when he got inducted into the Oregon Hall of Fame two years ago and he came out to our open gym and he met the guys. You could tell he was really following what we were doing and I had always invited him to come to the games. He lives in Los Angeles or Las Vegas depending on what he was doing, so he would come to the games when we were in Los Angeles or at the Pac-10 tournament. So we would say 'Gary you got to come to a game in Gill, people would love it,' and it had been a long time. So that was really what really precipitated it and what got him here. Just because you guys are seeing him for the first time doesn't mean that he hasn't been following what we are doing. He has really been paying attention and you'd be surprised how many texts I get from him saying 'hang in there' or 'nice game.' He stays in touch with Jared and his family, so it was really exciting to have him here. He came to the shoot-around and it was just fantastic, and I am sure he got mobbed by the fans."
On what kind of influence Gary Payton's presence had on the team...
"Well to be completely honest, other than Jared, I think that the staff was more excited about it because we know him as a player. I am kind of saying that tongue and cheek because the players know who Gary Payton is, but a lot of them weren't born when he was playing. I mean these kids were born in the 1990s, and he just started playing in the league 1990-1991. It was exciting enough for them and it was great having a Hall of Famer give them a little pep talk and to share with them how confident he was in them. But I think the staff had a lot more fun with it, I know that I did."
On the upcoming game against Oregon...
"I think that I have the only team where I am more confident in my team. I think that some kids these days think they can do whatever they want to do. I am hoping that our team really takes these two games and lets it kind of spring board their confidence level. I have been confident about this team since May when they were doing individual workouts. It hasn't faltered at all because I can see the big picture. I see that we are maybe two or three possessions from feeling completely different about our record and that makes you feel different about yourself. I hope that the guys will use this weekend and just get really pumped up for Sunday."
On the long week leading up to Civil War...
"At this time of year, we could use a little bit of extra rest, so that doesn't bother me at all. I had talked about this probably all season long, win or lose, four overtimes or not, two losses away, these guys come to work every single Monday balling. The one thing that I don't have to worry about is effort with this group, so the fact that they aren't playing on Thursday, they are going to come in to work on Monday straight balling. We just have to work on our execution and make sure we can guard some guys."
On Eric Moreland's progress...
"Eric is surprising to everybody because they didn't get to see him last year. He got hurt early and it just knocked him out last season. He is continually getting better. There is a lot of stuff he doesn't know, but his sheer will to work harder than other people has gotten him on the court. That is a hard working kid even if he doesn't know what he is doing or where he is going out there sometimes, but he is always out there giving it his all. I am happy for him and I know the team is happy for him, and it just gives us another weapon."
Junior guard Jared Cunningham
On stopping USC guard Maurice Jones...
"At the beginning of the game we had to key in on him. We went and stopped his offensive game and made him have to pass the ball off to the other players. It was important to limit his touches. We did a great job this whole week, playing together and communicating. It showed out there and we got a lot of assists."
On playing in front of Oregon State's legend guard Gary Payton tonight...
"It was great to see Gary come back. He was one of the best players to ever come through here at Oregon State. It was good talking to him earlier before the game and hearing what he had to say. He has a lot of confidence in the team so it was great seeing him on the side of the court cheering for us."
On quick offensive start...
"We started off early tonight, started off hard. We knocked down a couple shots and got it going early. We did a great job of jumping out to a lead early and finishing."
On motivation towards next week's civil war game at Oregon...
"We have gained confidence from the past two games. We know that we can play with any team in the league and it showed out there. This week at practice we have to go hard and be prepared."
On turnovers creating offense out of strong defense...
"Today we went to a 1-3-1 and it really got to them. We caused a lot of turnovers and got a lot of exciting plays on the fast break. We take pride in our defense and tonight we played it well."
On team communication...
"This was more of the game that we wanted. The past couple games we were a little offset with our communication. We did a great job this week of talking, communicating with each other, and having each other's back. It showed out there on the court."
Junior forward Joe Burton
On playing better on the road...
"We are at Oregon next, so I guess it's home because it's still in the state. We are just going to buckle down. We have a week to prepare and just go hard in practice like we did for the L.A. teams. We came out on top so we will just do what we will be doing. Just keep working hard."
On what the team needs to do differently on the road...
"We just need to keep our composure, stay together and talk more. When we are on the road, we've been struggling so we just need to come together as a family."
