Utah at Oregon - Quotes
02/22/15 | Men's Basketball
Dana Altman ? Head Coach
On the game...
"I was very pleased, we outrebounded them by nine in the second half, held them to 32 percent from the field in the second half. We have not done that defensively and on the boards against a real good team so I'm really happy about that. Offensively our movement was pretty good, Joe just didn't have as good of a shooting day but hit a huge one when we needed it."
On Dillion Brooks's performance...
"He really made some big offensive plays. I thought he hit big buckets for us when they got it down to 3. He was aggressive taking the ball to the hole, take out a couple of turnovers and he had an exceptional game. I thought he played really well and obviously gave us a big lift."
On beating a top ranked team late in the year after losing to Arizona earlier in the year...
"We needed to beat a good team and that helped us, no doubt about it. This will give us something but whether we can carry it on and make something about it will be a challenge. But this is a huge boost after Arizona came in here and popped us, so for us to get this win was huge for us."
Joseph Young ? Guard, Senior
On the team's progression...
“For the last three weeks this team has been putting a lot of work in and we've been going 100 percent in practice. We just had to come in like we have been in practice. That was the quality of our win tonight, just us coming together as a team.”
“Everybody has taken another step. Dillon's not a freshman anymore; I told him that. He's a sophomore now and he's got to make another transition in the game. He did very well at the end of the game. He executed and got a good poster. His celebration was crazy, but it was a good one. He got the crowd going and stepped up big time today. I feel like a lot of guys stepped up.”
On his confidence...
“That's the confidence I have in this team. We've put a lot of work in. Day in and day out from now we have to go 100 percent. We're not really worried about it. Jalil, Elgin, and I are going to come out and try to get us prepared for the last four.”
“I felt like I needed to make a statement, and I did. Coach wasn't mad about it, he just said the team needed to back it up. We're playing better, but we have to move the ball more on offense.”
On reflecting on his college career...
“When I was younger, nobody recruited me and I wasn't on top. Just working hard and having teammates like Jalil and Elgin, they always helped me keep my composure and lead this team. I didn't have that back in the day when I was growing up. Now, I'm getting these accomplishments because of my teammates and Coach put me in a good situation. I'm not a cry-baby, but I shed a couple of tears. It's a moment that I've never had before, and senior night is here and I won't play in this building anymore.”
“I'm going to miss the fans and the teammates. One thing I'm going to miss is the nets and the rims. I love when it goes through them.”
Jalil Abdul-Bassit ? Guard, Senior
On the crowd...
“I feel like every home game is a great atmosphere, but this one was special, especially on senior night. It's hard to explain and I can't really put it in words.”
On the team's energy before the game...
“Everybody had a sense of urgency and everybody was focused right out of the gate. From walk-ons to seniors, everybody was focused and ready.”
On what he'll miss most about home games...
“I love the fans here. I could be walking to the store and somebody will say something good to me.”
Brandon Taylor ? Guard, Utah
On putting themselves in bad situations...
“Turning the ball over, not taking care of the ball. They just played harder than us at the end of the day...We know that we're a better team than what we displayed tonight. We'll get better.”
Delon Wright ? Guard, Utah
On what went wrong...
”We shot too many 3's as a team. As much as we were open with good looks, we just shot way too many. We didn't get the ball inside enough. Turnovers and rebounding, too, I would say.”
“He (Coach Krystkowiak) told us he didn't want them (the posts) to get the ball at a certain spot, so if they weren't at a certain spot, we couldn't throw it in, so it was a little mix-up...When they started to double us, that got us a little hesitant of throwing it inside. Going forward we have to throw it in more and not worry about the doubles.”
On moving forward...
“We had a chance to compete for a (Pac-12) title. Now I feel like we just have to hope that Arizona loses and we keep winning. Moving forward I feel like we just have to keep winning and getting better.”
