The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Quotes: Texas vs. Baylor
03.04.2013 | Men's Basketball
March 4, 2013
TEXAS
Head Coach Rick Barnes
On Myck Kabongo being a game-changer on the court: Well, I thought that a big play down the stretch was when things were not shaky, but getting a bit different. Julien Lewis stepped into him and said, 'Slow down, just slow down. We're okay. Everything is okay.' I thought tonight when we got in some situations where we tried to take advantage of some matchups we had, I thought they really worked to try to do that. Defensively, we tried to do a number of different things with [Baylor's] Pierre Jackson who is a load to guard. Overall, we didn't have as many guys - they had two players, [Isaiah] Austin was 4-for-14 in 37 minutes and Jackson was 7-for-17. There was a lot of good - Cameron Ridley, Prince Ibeh, those guys. It was a game where it was our demeanor, it was the way we carry ourselves. It was the way they worked the game and played the game.
On any added incentive to beat Baylor tonight: I'll tell you - before the game I walked into them. I said, 'I don't care about Baylor. I don't care about X's and O's. I don't care about any of that. I care about one thing.' And I told them, 'No more team meetings. We're through talking about it. It's about Texas Basketball. It's about what's on your chest. We are going to compete. We are going to compete, and that's all I want to see.' That was it. What I meant by competing, I meant every single possession. Not one here, one there. Talking about finishing plays. I said, 'I don't know who is going to do what, but we're going to compete. Guys are going to do what they're supposed to do.' And tonight that happened.
On Cameron Ridley's aggressive play tonight: Yes, I thought he was terrific. I thought his demeanor was great. And I think what he did tonight was simple. I think he quit when he got the ball thinking, "I've got to go right now." He caught it, he finally located inside, let it settle down, then he makes a couple passes - inside and out. And maybe the play of the game was the rebound he saved and threw back to Papi [Ioannis Papapetrou]. That was a huge play. He's always moved his feet. He's improved that defensively. He's got to do that on the offensive end. He's got to get himself ready quicker. He has great hands. He really does. And he knows how to play basketball. Tonight he slowed down - he slowed down and let things develop.
On tonight's win being the team's best complete effort of the season: From a team standpoint - mentally and physically, no doubt. Just by the way they handled themselves. The way they did what we set out to do. Their poise, their demeanor, the way they never flinched. We weren't perfect. We're never going to be perfect. But the fact is, it's the way we want to play.
On senior guards Andrew Dick and Dean Melchionni: It's unbelievable. At the end of the game up in the locker room, it was one of the great locker rooms we've had this season. Those guys stood up and talked, and talked about their experiences along with a couple of our managers. Those guys have meant a lot. I told Andrew at shoot-around, 'It's not appropriate if you don't come out in a uniform.' That guy would run through a wall for anyone. Talk about a guy that's a competitor. He's probably the most competitive guy on the team. He's a competitor. Dean has got a lot of talents. He's as slow as a seven-year itch [laughs], but he plays. And he loves to play. Those guys are two of the last guys to leave practice because they don't get a lot of practice time, so they're over in the other gym playing one-on-one. They love basketball. They've meant a lot because they've understood their role. And the guys love them. I think that speaks volumes about them.
Sophomore G Myck Kabongo
On Cameron Ridley: He is someone who is very capable; he just needs his confidence to be up. Everybody knows he has it in him. I am happy to see him have a game like this in front of a home crowd. I am very happy for Cameron to come out and do what we know he can do. He is more than capable. I am happy that he has his confidence up for the next game.
On winning conference tournament: We are just taking things one day at a time. We are just looking to have a day off and relax, then get back out at practice on Wednesday. You can't look too far ahead.
On making moves toward the lane: Something that Coach always tells me, I try not to predetermine what I am going to do. Read the defense and see what they give you. It is a simple game. If two guys are on you, you hit an open guy and that is all I try to do. I try to give my teammates an easy spot to score and if I see two guys on me, I am more than willing to pass the ball.
On post season: We just have to keep working hard. You can tell we have been improving. This is the time of year we are no longer sophomores--we are juniors. Freshman are no longer freshman, they are sophomores. We have been through everything and it has been a tough year. We have to build momentum and work at it everyday.
Sophomore G Sheldon McClellan
On getting benched in previous games: I don't really think about it. I just move on to the next game and try to help my team to get the win. I just try to stay positive. It is not about me, it is about the team. I am just trying to do whatever I can to help the team win.
On Myck Kabongo's influence on his game: He is a guard that can break down defenders. When he breaks down defenders I just shoot the ball and that is what I did today.
Freshman F Ioannis Papapetrou
On complete game: Everybody was contributing, even if it was just a rebound or a jump shot. I really think everybody that came into the game did their best and gave their best effort, even if just for one minute. That is what we need and that is what we talk about everyday. I am just glad to be part of this team and everybody came into game fighting.
On his three in the corner: I just try to be aggressive. A bigger guy got on me so I tried to drive and be aggressive, but I missed the layup. Cam [Ridley] got the first rebound and gave me an outlet. When he passed me the ball, I was open so I didn't hesitate. I thought it was a great stop.
BAYLOR
Head Coach Scott Drew
Opening Statement: I thought that down the stretch the difference between this game and the first time we met this year was Myck Kabongo. I thought he really controlled the tempo in the last five minutes and was really able to run the team. He found open people and hit some open threes. His 19 points, eight assists, one turnover and three steals was definitely the difference between this time and the first time we played. When you've got a great point guard and have a lead in the last five minutes, it really helps things. I thought Pierre Jackson played really well and I thought we had some good production from guys off the bench like Gary Franklin, Rico Gathers and Deuce Bello. Unfortunately, we didn't do a good enough job defensively on Myck and the way he was able to create opportunities for Papapetrou and others.
On shooting threes: I think they gave us some, but you obviously have to get more in the paint. We shot 39 percent from three and that's not the end of the world. If those were field goals, we'd probably be over 50 percent. In the first game we played I thought we really dominated in the paint. Tonight they made it much tougher for our big guys to finish. I think we did a much better job in the first game of finishing, scoring and getting to the line. I credit their defense.
On frustration: It's really tough because you've got so many highs and so many lows and so many swings. I think that's college basketball this year. I think there has been wins and loses by everybody that make you go, "Wow!" That's why, down the stretch, you just want to give yourself a chance to get in the tournament because anything could happen this year. We're running out of opportunities. Texas did what they were supposed to do by winning their last game at home. Hopefully we can do the same because we have a good group of seniors and we have to make sure they have a memorable last game.
Gary Franklin
On last three or four minutes: I think they came down with a couple of huge rebounds. One led to number 33 (Ioannis Papapetrou) making a huge three when we were trying to come back. That's pretty much it. They came up with a lot of 50-50 balls that are pretty crucial in the last couple of minutes.
On frustration over last few weeks: It's been really frustrating. Obviously we want to win every game. No team is perfect so you'll lose a couple games here and there. There are games that I think we should have won. To not win those are pretty devastating. The feeling is that we just have to stay positive and look forward to our next game, which is a huge game against Kansas.
Pierre Jackson
On responding to loss to OSU: I think we did pretty good. It was a good game throughout the whole game. We needed to recover more 50-50 balls.
On shooting so many threes: I don't know. I think we were trying to take the easy way out and get back in the game. We were taking threes when they gave them to us, but they didn't fall down.