The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Postgame Quotes
11.29.2011 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 29, 2011
TEXAS COACH QUOTES
HEAD COACH Rick Barnes
On Myck Kabongo's performance: I think he did a good job. You look at what he did offensively, and it's quite an impressive line. What I think he did that was most impressive was he guarded their best player all night. What people don't realize with Myck out front is that he is constantly getting beat up by teams setting ball screens and things like that. That's where his teammates really need to help him. I thought he did a terrific job tonight. Offensively, he made some good things happen, and defensively, he gets after it every night.
On the first half: It was a pretty good half if you look at the numbers. I would like to see us shoot better from the (free throw) line. We need to do a better job off the glass and getting rebounds. We did a great job of keeping them off the free throw line. We've done a great job of not fouling. In the second half, we came out and really stretched it when we should have really blown it open. We started fouling.
On the freshmen playing substantial minutes: Well, that's what we have. They had 22 offensive rebounds and they really beat us on every one of those 50-50 balls. There was at least four times where we had forced really good defensive possessions. We got the shots we wanted and got our hands on the ball. Then our post guys would lose the balls out of bounds. The better you become as a defensive team, the longer you'll have to play defense. You can't be a good defensive team if you don't get back and if you don't finish with a rebound. If you get those rebounds, then you won't have to spend nearly as much time on the defensive end. We really have some things to build on from this game. Tonight, we did some good things, and the guys did some good things individually.
TEXAS PLAYER QUOTES FRESHMAN GUARD Myck Kabongo
On playing more aggressively on offense: It's just a part of our offense. We've been working on spacing all week, and that (being aggressive) is part of the spacing. When it was there, it was going to be open. Prior to this game, our spacing was not the best and we worked on it so hard at practice all week. The spacing is there now, and some shots are starting to get open for us. All we have to do is keep improving and getting better with our spacing.
On being more of a scorer than a passer: I'm just doing what Coach wants. I'm an extension of him on the court and whatever he calls for me to do, I have to do and I have to execute. I have to continue to execute, make my teammates better and put them in easier positions (to score).
FRESHMAN FORWARD Jonathan Holmes
On improving on rebounding: I think it starts with our defense. When we get blown by, guys have to scramble and it's hard for us to find a guy to box out. But, it's definitely something that we need to work on. All five guys on the court definitely need to improve on rebounding.
On the play of J'Covan Brown and finding more balance on offense: I don't really think he's not shooting as well. I think he's just picking his spots. It's a long season, and I think he understands that. He's picking his spots. We definitely know more about the offense in terms of our spacing. We are seeing more opportunities to score than before.
On falling behind on defense against the screens: I think it was mainly communication. Sometimes we didn't have the right call on the screen. Sometimes we did but the guys on the backside didn't rotate over. It is something we need to continue to work on in practice.
NORTH TEXAS QUOTES HEAD COACH JOHNNY JONES
Opening Statement: I thought we got off to a really good start tonight; not necessarily on scoring, but defending early on, we had some great stretches there. Once we got settled in, I thought we played pretty good on the offensive end. We got some good looks. We did not shoot a high percentage but we went in only 10 points down at the half. We had the ball again going into the second half, so I thought we had an opportunity to maybe get some things going. Regardless, I thought they (Texas) did an excellent job of grabbing the momentum in the second half. It was tough for us to recover from. I give credit to Texas. I thought they did an excellent job in terms of executing, being patient, and making plays. Unfortunately, we were not able to shoot as well again tonight, and Texas had a lot to do with that with big, strong, tough defensive plays.
NORTH TEXAS PLAYER QUOTES
Guard Roger Franklin
On North Texas' rebounding advantage: One thing that our coach stressed was outworking them, and that was the main thing that the big guys did, even the guards. We wanted to outwork them on each possession and crack the glass because we know Texas is a big team that is known for getting big physical guys. We just gave it all that we had. We crashed hard and I guess you can say that the proof is in the pudding.
On defending J'Covan Brown: We knew he was a big-time player. Coach (Jones) just wanted me to be with him on every play.
On North Texas' offensive execution: I think we did have enough firepower. We still are a young team, and there are a lot of new guys on the team, including myself. We were expecting guys that know the system and have been here longer to guide us. One of the main things we are focusing on is getting better every day. We know we were playing a big-time team. Texas has great tradition, as far as basketball goes. I think we have enough firepower, but we could have executed better.