Oregon vs. Washington St. Quotes
02/09/15 | Men's Basketball
Joseph Young—Guard
On offensive performance...
“Pretty complete. On the defensive end we were really making some stops and everybody was on the floor and I haven't seen everybody on the floor yet. I think we had a few loose balls on the floor and we came up with them. This team is learning and I like the activity we are giving each other and the postive energy is working.”
On finally seeing what Dwayne can bring...
“Yeah. A good player. He puts the extra work in and no one is going to knock down the shots if you don't put the work in. Seeing him in the gym after practice, before practice, and just doing the little things to get better. As the season progresses he is getting better and better. He wasn't shooting the ball too well in the beginning and I wasn't shooting the ball too well in the beginning, so I told him to keep his head up and stay positve and stay in the gym, and he has been doing that.”
Dwayne Benjamin—Forward
On focus of the team...
“We are pretty much learning each other. Learning how to play with each other, learning where we like to take shots from and that's pretty much it.”
On defense tonight...
“The biggest thing. It's always the biggest thing, but it was really the biggest thing in this game. We wanted to show that we can really defend.”
On offense....
“Everytime we get off to a good start we pretty much have a good ofensive game. We were really focused on defense and with all that energy, we carried it over to the offense, so it really helped our offense. We moved the ball really well.”
On getting the start...
“I just really try to play no matter what. Starting or not, it doesn't matter. I know we were going to have a little less without Jordan, so I had to pick my game up a lot tonight.”
Ernie Kent—Washington State Head Coach
On returning to Eugene…
“There was a lot of stuff that was written about how I'd never coach in this building. Little did I know, I'd be coaching at the other end. It was nice to come back here. The thing that's special for me is to see all of the support staff who work behind the scenes. I look at those people and realize that some of them have been here 20-30 years in Mac Court—that beat-up, old building. Now, they have this building to work in. That gives me a lot of pride. Those people, in my opinion, are the foundation of what Oregon is all about because they've been through so much. They've stuck in there and continue to work relentlessly.”
On the game…
“I thought Oregon was just terrific in the game. One of the things we talked about was how they were going to have a big crowd that was going to electrify the building. They're a team that has gotten rolling in this building and, sure enough, I thought they played fantastic. We tried man, we tried zone, we tried double-teaming Young. Obviously, we didn't play well. We didn't shoot it very well, and when we don't shoot it, we're not a very good basketball team, especially playing against a team of this caliber in their building. We need to shoot the ball, and to do that you need a lot of confidence and courage. We didn't play with it tonight.”
On looking ahead…
“You never get too up, you never get too down; you just get ready for the next one. The games come too fast and there's still a lot of basketball to play. It's really about where their growth is going to be finishing up the season. They have more growth in them, so I don't worry about being too hard on anybody. It's about moving forward—getting better, bringing them back to the drawing board, and getting back out ready to play again.
Dana Altman, Head Coach
On the game…
“I was really pleased with our activity in the first half, the guys really flew around. Diving on loose balls and made shots for each other. In the first half, I really loved our intensity. Joe played really good, Elgin gave us some shots. I thought it was a step in the right direction. It's the consistency we are looking for. We are trying to work on that in February. Just getting better and eliminating bad possessions both offensively and defensively. In the first half, I thought our activity was really good. We made steps, but now we have to go on the road. We have to toughen up and take care of business on the road. We have a lot of work to do, our schedule shifts against us. We have to come together as a team.”
On Dwayne Benjamin…
“His percentages have gone way up with his shot selection. I was really happy for him tonight. He filled in well; he earned more minutes with that performance. And he has been earning them in practice. He has been doing a really good job trying to get himself more prepared. He's just trying to get adjusted to the division one program.”
On defense…
“We didn't change anything we were going to do. We moved guys over. Roman got a lot more minutes and Mike got a chance, so that was the only adjustment we made.”
On the final stretch of games…
“We have to take more of an identity with guarding the ball. We have to take more of an identity in blocking out and being more physical on the boards. All of our guys have great confidence in their ability to score. Sometimes that is a curse because you do not go guard, or rebound. It's hurt us. I hope they aren't satisfied with just the winning season. Our goal is to be playing in March. Our hope is to be a consistent program. We have a lot of young guys that are getting better and a lot of new guys getting better. So, we are 17-7, we do not want to get comfortable with that. Especially, with the schedule shifting on us now. We've had a lot of good guys throughout the five years and I've enjoyed working with them.”
On Joe Young…
“He had a really good game. There were three or four plays in the first half where he really got those boards. That got our zone going, got us going, got him going. He had not been doing that. I got on him for not rebounding. For a while there he was averaging 6 rebounds a game and it kind of tapered off in January. Those rebounds are critical for us to stay in games.
On March…
“It's way too early to tell if we will be playing. All we have done is put ourselves in a position to play our tails off the last seven games. We've just got to get better and worry about USC and be ready for that.
On Jordan Bell…
“I was just disappointed. We talk to our players about representing our program and treating people right. I was just disappointed, I told him that. He was great, his parents were very supportive of my decision. Rob and I talked about my decision and he was supportive and Jordan understood.”
On USC…
“They can score and that is a problem for us. They had a heartbreaker at Cal the other night. They are really competing and we will have to play well there, no doubt about it. They have played people really tough.”
