Oregon State Post-Game Quotes
January 05, 2012 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 5, 2012
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Oregon State 92, California, 85
January 5, 2012
Gill Coliseum
Corvallis, Ore.
Head Coach Craig Robinson
Opening Statement...
"First off, I'd like to say I couldn't be more proud of our team and our effort, especially coming off a weekend like the first weekend of conference play we had. I knew that if we could take care of the start, and it almost didn't look like we were going to down 5-0, but it felt better starting the game that we would play well and go toe-to-toe with them. I was really pleased with that and I was really pleased with the work they put in after the first weekend because they just came right back to work. It started on the bus back when they were watching film and trying to look at things we could do better. And finally, I would be remised in not pointing out that our crowd was just terrific. To still have kids out of school and to have as many of the Beaver Nation followers there, it was just terrific to see."
On how the team reacted to California closing the lead late in the game...
"What we were doing was that we were making winning plays. A team that is picked to win the league like they are, is going to be tough and they have some veterans that have been through the wars, so they know how to come from behind. It was nice to see them really take a run at us, and for us to hold on to our guts and run right back and widen the lead back out. I don't want to say it is a watershed moment, but it is a great learning experience and great accomplishment for these guys because they are young and they haven't been in that position before."
On if the 1-3-1 put California on their heels...
"It looked like it. So we ended up doing it a lot longer than we thought we were going to do it. I thought that Eric did a terrific job at the top and I also thought that our wings did really good jobs. We really seemed to bother them with our wing play, so we played it a little bit more than we had. We also played some two-three and played that more than we had. We just tried to mix it up and keep them on their heels because, as I mentioned before, they were a veteran team and they have been to the top of the mountain, so they know how to handle teams when they are down. We really wanted to make sure we put them away."
On having Jared Cunningham on top of the high screen...
"Offensively, we don't feel like we are like our teams of the past where we just want to create space for everyone. I thought that in the first half, we didn't do enough driving to the basket, and it showed by the amount of foul shots we took in the first half. In the second half, we got in the bonus early and we wouldn't to take advantage of that. So that was basically the mindset behind that strategy."
On why he changed the starting line-up...
"This was a game-time decision and the genesis of it started back when Devon had such a hard time getting it going last week. I had to remind myself and the staff that Devon has gone almost a full year and a half now as a starter, freshman to sophomore year, without having any bad games. And there was a lot of pressure on us, so I just thought let me give him another look and take some of the pressure off. So it wasn't like a demotion, he probably played around the same amount of minutes. He was very helpful out there to us."
Junior center Angus Brandt
On Angus, Ahmad and Jared being a combined 10-for-14 from three-point land...
"We've been working on our shooting all week and taking it seriously. It paid off tonight."
On Eric Moreland being in the starting line-up...
"I think he stepped up. I think he handled it great. He got a couple of steals at the start of the game in the 1-3-1. I really think that helped us to a great start and I am happy for him."
On having more confidence after tonight's game against California...
"You guys picked them to win the league this year and to get a good win on them definitely gives us a confidence boost going forward."
Junior guard Jared Cunningham
On starting the game out strong...
"That was the mindset today. We've been working on that in practice and the guys did a great job coming out today fast-paced."
On mixing up the defenses a little bit tonight...
"It was big. These past games we have been playing a lot of man-to-man and we figured that our length would disrupt them with the zone in the 1-3-1. It helped us a lot."
On being aggressive attacking the basket in the second half...
"The coaches told me to keep attacking the rim that Jorge Gutierrez was guarding because he had three fouls. I just kept trying to push it down and attack the rim."
On the high-screen working for him...
"I was kind of hesitant at the beginning going into the lanes because a lot of them tried to slide over and take the charge. Angus and Joe did a great job setting a ball screen. We work on that all the time in practice; attacking the rim hard and making a play."
Sophomore guard Ahmad Starks
On Cal making a run at the end of the game...
"We didn't get rattled. That's big because you stay under control and you just keep making good plays. Everybody made smart decisions out there, so we were able to keep our lead and eventually win the game."
On mixing up the defenses during games in the future...
"I think we are going to try and mix it up. So going forward, just getting adjusted to playing different defenses, because we'll need it down the stretch. We just have to keep practicing and get better at all the defenses so when we need them they can come in handy."
On how bad they needed this win tonight...
"We needed this big. We get the first one at home with a good start early. We just have to keep moving forward. We have another game Saturday that we are looking forward to. We have to shake this off and get ready to win that game."
On the slow starts in the games in Washington...
"We've been talking about the slow starts and just being able to come back from being down 5-0, then going on a 13-0 run was a great thing for us."
