The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Quotes: Texas vs. No. 13/13 K-State
02.23.2013 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 23, 2013
TEXAS
Head Coach Rick Barnes
On Myck Kabongo's performance tonight: If I were Myck, I would be upset. He came back playing as hard as he can. The post players were huge in terms of our scouting and our game plan. They didn't rebound and we knew that was important. They didn't consistently show them the screens that we had planned. Offensively, they continued to put pressure on our guards to do everything. The guards had to do a lot of fighting through screens themselves. Myck pushed it. There was a huge swing at the end of the first half. We knew they had the last shot and we had just wanted to be in somewhat of a nuisance press in the backcourt. The one thing we said was that we can't foul. We have stressed that over and over. We have got to stop fouling. Javan Felix fouls. That gave them two points. And then Myck turns it over and they hit that last shot. Then we come out to start the second half and at one point they were shooting 89 percent. But we missed layups. I just felt like our post guys kept us from flowing tonight. Papi (Ioannis Papapetrou) held on to it too much and Jon (Holmes) took some shots he should not take at the time. We got hurt on the boards. Kansas State is an experienced team that is hard enough to deal with without giving them the things we gave them.
On Sheldon McClellan's having more playing time tonight his last outing at TCU: Right now, you look at the way certain guys are playing and we should redo the lineup again. You get to a certain point that you want to keep doing that. It's almost like guys get complacent. They think they have arrived. They think they are going to play. It is my job, as a coach, to know the thought process. I played on two really poor teams in college and I know what goes on in the locker rooms. I know how players talk and the excuses they make. I talked to Sheldon because I wanted to show him why he went in and came out of the game at TCU. I wanted him to tell me if he thought I was wrong in terms of my decision and what we'd talked about. After the game, he said that he understood. I talked to him against today and showed him some players that play his position and the effort things that have to happen. I know he did do some things tonight that you don't want to see, but we don't expect him to play perfectly. He did some good things. It's consistency - we need consistency and we need it from certain guys every single night. You expect it from guys who are a little bit older. Sheldon said it. It's all about accountability. He's a guy that at the beginning of the year, we thought should be our leading scorer. Sometimes you have to do drastic things to see how guys are going to do and see how they'll respond. Some respond quicker, some respond later and some don't respond at all.
On whether this team is not as good as he thought it would be now that he has seen them at full strength: The thing that bothers me is the effort, from the very beginning. I don't understand, as much as we emphasize it, how our post guys didn't do what they had to do. There isn't one guy on this team this year that hasn't had a chance.
Sophomore guard Sheldon McClellan
On if he feels Myck Kabongo is playing the way he expected since his return: Most definitely. He was being aggressive and getting us into the right sense - trying to keep us positive like he always does.
On having more playing time tonight than he did in the last game: It's not anything that really motivates me. I put that in my past. I just move on to the next game. So I can try to do whatever I can to help my team win.
Freshman F Ioannis Papapetrou
On if Kansas State took charge of the momentum heading into halftime: It was big. Coach Barnes talked about it after the game in the locker room. You know, it's the kind of plays that shifts the momentum of the game, and then changes the momentum. It was two big plays, and so instead of being a one-possession game at halftime, it ended up being a three or four-possession game. It just gave them momentum at that moment.
KANSAS STATE
Head Coach Bruce Weber
Opening Statement: It was a good win for our guys. I tried to explain that you have to be yourself and take care of business, take care of what you can control and that is the enthusiasm, and effort on a day like this. You also have to know your opponent; they are a different team than when we played them the first time. Kabango makes a big different and some of the other guys are playing big plays. They are much more aggressive than the first game at our place. We took a lot of shots from them but they kept coming at them. I talked about being relentless and keep pushing; I thought our guys did that. Rod was huge in the first half, we got in foul trouble and some guys got hurt, so some guy had to step up, Rod was that person. He kept the lead. There was great momentum going into the second half. 19 assist on 26 baskets, is pretty good numbers, we moved the basketball and got it to the open man. There were too many turnovers. We have to be careful on fouls, we have to be smart and adjust on the tight. We need Angel and every one else in the game.
On the field goal percentage: They moved the basketball, Angel was a key one but Shane spread defense; in a way he is one of our better passers, when he has matchup with big guys, he passes up and fades. He made some great passes along with Angel. They were aggressive on defense. We kept our composure and dealt with it, we got the ball made that extra pass that got to some easy easy goals.
Senior guard Rodney McGruder
On aggressive defense: It can be tough to play aggressive and not get in foul trouble but being a veteran player I know how to maaintan. I know how to play aggressive and not foul.
Sophomore guard Angel Rodriguez
On guarding Myck Kabango: He is a good player. He is pretty fast especially when the gets the ball with a running start. The scouting reports said he was not a good shooter, but today he was. He had a good game.
