by Bill Seals
Opening comments:
“It was a good win Saturday for our guys. Watching the tape, I thought we did some good things offensively. We need to continue to shore up some things defensively and offensively both. It was a good win. The best thing about it is we had opportunities to respond to their runs and we did that two or three different times. In the second half, we were up 14, 12, 11, and we responded. And then Monte (Morris) and Deonte (Burton) were great.
“We have a really good team we’re going to play Wednesday, Oklahoma State. Brad (Underwood) does a great job. Obviously, they’re led by Evans, Forte and Jeffrey Carroll is having a great year. They have a tough home environment over there. We’re going to get their best, and so we need to be ready to go. We need to be disciplined, the way they defend you. We’ve got to make sure we take care of the ball and not give points off turnovers. That’s going to be the biggest key of the game.”
On his thoughts about the league now having first- and second-ranked teams in nation:
“It’s good. The league is, top-to-bottom this season, really good. There is no bottom. You’ve got elite teams and some really good teams. Kansas and Baylor are well-deserving of those rankings. Baylor has had a tremendous year. That game will sting over there for us, but credit them for finishing the game. The league is great. It’s been the number-one RPI league the last three years. I don’t know where we’re at right now. It’s great playing in a great league. It helps you in all facets – the NCAA, recruiting, the whole nine yards. But congratulations to Baylor. Their reward for number one is they get to go to West Virginia. I watched West Virginia against Oklahoma State and they’re really good. I saw Kansas State is ranked. That’s great for our league.”
On how familiar he is with OSU’s new head coach Underwood:
“When he was Stephen F. Austin, I was at Murray (State). It’s hard to schedule games. I remember I was recruiting in Memphis and he called me and asked if we were having trouble scheduling games. I told him a little bit and then he was having a heck of a time. We even talked about doing a series, like a best-of-five series during the regular season and getting with TV. I thought it was a pretty cool concept he talked about – play two at Stephen F. Austin, two at Murray and one back. I think when you’re at good mid-major schools you just kind of follow each other. I got to know him a little bit. I don’t know him great where we’re talking on the phone and everything, but I have a lot of respect for what he did there and what he’s capable of doing at Oklahoma State.”
On how his talk with newly-arriving post player Cameron Lard went:
“I just talked to him. I’ll let you guys talk to him at some point. I just want to get him here and get him adjusted to college. You’ve been talking about if he’s going to play, and he’s not even going to practice right now. I want him to get in some structure.
“Today, he was up at 7:45 for some academic meetings and class. He’ll get his physical sometime this week. Next week, we’ll start integrating him into the strength and conditioning program. We will have him start observing practice this week. I don’t know what part of practice. He’s so far behind, it’s hard to just throw him into 5-on-5. Some close-out drills, some shell drills so he’s learning. Then we’ll do individual workouts and slowly bring him along to get him into practice.
“He was good. I think he and his mom are excited he’s here. Once he gets settled and gets through this week, then you guys can grab him.”
On the possibility of Lard playing at some point this season:
“I just can’t see it right now. He’s not even going to get his physical until maybe Wednesday. We have two road games this week and Kansas on Monday. It just doesn’t seem realistic to me, so it’s not even something I’m thinking about. I just want to get him into some structure, get him a day-to-day routine and get him comfortable before I think about anything else.”
On what has enabled Donovan Jackson to increase his role on game nights:
“I think he loves to defend. The best thing Donovan is done is his attitude has been great over the last couple weeks. He’s hung in there. When he’s played 20 or more minutes, we’ve won every game. He’s played really well. Defensively, he’s been terrific for us. He can guard the other team’s point guard. He’s a gnat on the ball and is really active. That’s something I thought he could do. I liked his ability to shoot and he can defend the way we want to.”
On what makes OSU’s Jawun Evans tough to play against:
“He’s really good. The thing about him, he doesn’t shoot a ton of threes but he can make a three. He’s got a great body, is a great athlete, is really good with the basketball and great in transition. We’ve got to do a great job in our ball-screen defense against him, keep him out of the paint and contest shots. You’ve got to get back in transition from end to end. We can’t be on our heels against him.”
On the culture that Underwood is bringing to Stillwater in his first season:
“Watching them play, and Oklahoma State last year when you lose (Phil) Forte and Evans that’s hard for any coach to deal with, (Underwood) has established an identity of toughness and the way they compete. They’re really good defensively from a standpoint of them turning you over. Their stats won’t knock you over, but they turn you over. When they’re turning you over, they’re really good defensively. They make it really tough for you to run half-court offense. Brad has put a culture in there of toughness, a little bit of grit and that’s just how his teams are built.”
On his thoughts about the team playing games Wednesday, Saturday and Monday in the next week:
“That’s why you just go day-to-day. Today is Oklahoma State. We’ll have a good practice today. Tomorrow is quick because we have to go at 1, because we leave mid-afternoon to go to Oklahoma State. Then it’s a quick turnaround, you come back and then fly right back for a late-afternoon game on Saturday. Then you’re right back at it on Monday. I’ve got to do a good job of preparation and then also getting our guys the amount of rest they need while preparing them the way they need. It’s the fourth game in conference and we’ve just got to be ready for that. When that thing is over, we’ll get ready for TCU. This Wednesday-Saturday-Monday is a tough stretch, but that’s the great thing about this league. It is Big Monday, it is the opponents you get to play, so we’ve got to be ready.”
On Jackson overcoming rough stretch early in the season to become bigger factor:
“The biggest thing is he stayed the course. I’ve said in the past, and Matt (Campbell) has said it with football, you’ve got to stay the course and your character has to win out. He’s had some rough spots from a standpoint of being frustrated, which I understand and get that. He’s changed, his work ethic has been really good, and when you have your chances you have to respond and play well. It doesn’t mean getting 28 points, it means is he doing what we need him to do. He’s been really good. I have a lot of confidence in him. If we go four guards, he’s playing and in the rotation for extended minutes. He can play extended minutes, because he has great conditioning and quickness.”
On what’s enabled Jackson to pick up more minutes in Big 12 play:
“The defensive end has been the number one part. Offensively, you look at his stats some days and he’s missed some shots here and there. I think it was the Tech game that he impacted it a lot. I’m not sure what his stat line was scoring-wise, but just understanding his role. He’s really embraced his role. His shot selection has been good. I still want him to be aggressive and take open threes because he can make those, but he’s been locked in. He plays with a lot of energy and passion, and that’s fun to watch.”
On if this year’s team will go as Deonte Burton goes:
“He needs to play well for us to win big games. That’s the bottom line. We go on the road and he needs to play well on Wednesday to give us a chance. Your forwards need to be versatile to make plays with the way they pressure and spread you out. I thought that was his best game the other night by far, because he was efficient, unselfish and we need that Deonte. I texted him on the way home that that’s the Deonte we need. It’s not just that he made shots, but he played the right way. He took what the defense gave him. When they helped off he made threes. When they guarded him he drove it. He made a huge extra pass to Matt (Thomas) in the corner for the three. We need him to rebound more. For us to max out, he’s got to play well.”
On how frustrating it can be to coach a player like Burton, who has been inconsistent this season:
“That’s part of it. You don’t know. Shoot-around doesn’t base it. Practice doesn’t base it. He practiced awesome Friday before Texas Tech. He was chasing guys off screens and then he didn’t play. Then he comes back and had a great performance. You’ve just got to talk to him about consistency and focus. You keep telling him how much he means to this team. And then if he’s not getting it done, then I’ve got to have the toughness to go with (Nick Weiler-) Babb at the four and (Darrell) Bowie and Solomon (Young at the five like we did against Tech. If Deonte can get it done, it obviously helps a lot more.”
Opening comments:
“It was a good win Saturday for our guys. Watching the tape, I thought we did some good things offensively. We need to continue to shore up some things defensively and offensively both. It was a good win. The best thing about it is we had opportunities to respond to their runs and we did that two or three different times. In the second half, we were up 14, 12, 11, and we responded. And then Monte (Morris) and Deonte (Burton) were great.
“We have a really good team we’re going to play Wednesday, Oklahoma State. Brad (Underwood) does a great job. Obviously, they’re led by Evans, Forte and Jeffrey Carroll is having a great year. They have a tough home environment over there. We’re going to get their best, and so we need to be ready to go. We need to be disciplined, the way they defend you. We’ve got to make sure we take care of the ball and not give points off turnovers. That’s going to be the biggest key of the game.”
On his thoughts about the league now having first- and second-ranked teams in nation:
“It’s good. The league is, top-to-bottom this season, really good. There is no bottom. You’ve got elite teams and some really good teams. Kansas and Baylor are well-deserving of those rankings. Baylor has had a tremendous year. That game will sting over there for us, but credit them for finishing the game. The league is great. It’s been the number-one RPI league the last three years. I don’t know where we’re at right now. It’s great playing in a great league. It helps you in all facets – the NCAA, recruiting, the whole nine yards. But congratulations to Baylor. Their reward for number one is they get to go to West Virginia. I watched West Virginia against Oklahoma State and they’re really good. I saw Kansas State is ranked. That’s great for our league.”
On how familiar he is with OSU’s new head coach Underwood:
“When he was Stephen F. Austin, I was at Murray (State). It’s hard to schedule games. I remember I was recruiting in Memphis and he called me and asked if we were having trouble scheduling games. I told him a little bit and then he was having a heck of a time. We even talked about doing a series, like a best-of-five series during the regular season and getting with TV. I thought it was a pretty cool concept he talked about – play two at Stephen F. Austin, two at Murray and one back. I think when you’re at good mid-major schools you just kind of follow each other. I got to know him a little bit. I don’t know him great where we’re talking on the phone and everything, but I have a lot of respect for what he did there and what he’s capable of doing at Oklahoma State.”
On how his talk with newly-arriving post player Cameron Lard went:
“I just talked to him. I’ll let you guys talk to him at some point. I just want to get him here and get him adjusted to college. You’ve been talking about if he’s going to play, and he’s not even going to practice right now. I want him to get in some structure.
“Today, he was up at 7:45 for some academic meetings and class. He’ll get his physical sometime this week. Next week, we’ll start integrating him into the strength and conditioning program. We will have him start observing practice this week. I don’t know what part of practice. He’s so far behind, it’s hard to just throw him into 5-on-5. Some close-out drills, some shell drills so he’s learning. Then we’ll do individual workouts and slowly bring him along to get him into practice.
“He was good. I think he and his mom are excited he’s here. Once he gets settled and gets through this week, then you guys can grab him.”
On the possibility of Lard playing at some point this season:
“I just can’t see it right now. He’s not even going to get his physical until maybe Wednesday. We have two road games this week and Kansas on Monday. It just doesn’t seem realistic to me, so it’s not even something I’m thinking about. I just want to get him into some structure, get him a day-to-day routine and get him comfortable before I think about anything else.”
On what has enabled Donovan Jackson to increase his role on game nights:
“I think he loves to defend. The best thing Donovan is done is his attitude has been great over the last couple weeks. He’s hung in there. When he’s played 20 or more minutes, we’ve won every game. He’s played really well. Defensively, he’s been terrific for us. He can guard the other team’s point guard. He’s a gnat on the ball and is really active. That’s something I thought he could do. I liked his ability to shoot and he can defend the way we want to.”
On what makes OSU’s Jawun Evans tough to play against:
“He’s really good. The thing about him, he doesn’t shoot a ton of threes but he can make a three. He’s got a great body, is a great athlete, is really good with the basketball and great in transition. We’ve got to do a great job in our ball-screen defense against him, keep him out of the paint and contest shots. You’ve got to get back in transition from end to end. We can’t be on our heels against him.”
On the culture that Underwood is bringing to Stillwater in his first season:
“Watching them play, and Oklahoma State last year when you lose (Phil) Forte and Evans that’s hard for any coach to deal with, (Underwood) has established an identity of toughness and the way they compete. They’re really good defensively from a standpoint of them turning you over. Their stats won’t knock you over, but they turn you over. When they’re turning you over, they’re really good defensively. They make it really tough for you to run half-court offense. Brad has put a culture in there of toughness, a little bit of grit and that’s just how his teams are built.”
On his thoughts about the team playing games Wednesday, Saturday and Monday in the next week:
“That’s why you just go day-to-day. Today is Oklahoma State. We’ll have a good practice today. Tomorrow is quick because we have to go at 1, because we leave mid-afternoon to go to Oklahoma State. Then it’s a quick turnaround, you come back and then fly right back for a late-afternoon game on Saturday. Then you’re right back at it on Monday. I’ve got to do a good job of preparation and then also getting our guys the amount of rest they need while preparing them the way they need. It’s the fourth game in conference and we’ve just got to be ready for that. When that thing is over, we’ll get ready for TCU. This Wednesday-Saturday-Monday is a tough stretch, but that’s the great thing about this league. It is Big Monday, it is the opponents you get to play, so we’ve got to be ready.”
On Jackson overcoming rough stretch early in the season to become bigger factor:
“The biggest thing is he stayed the course. I’ve said in the past, and Matt (Campbell) has said it with football, you’ve got to stay the course and your character has to win out. He’s had some rough spots from a standpoint of being frustrated, which I understand and get that. He’s changed, his work ethic has been really good, and when you have your chances you have to respond and play well. It doesn’t mean getting 28 points, it means is he doing what we need him to do. He’s been really good. I have a lot of confidence in him. If we go four guards, he’s playing and in the rotation for extended minutes. He can play extended minutes, because he has great conditioning and quickness.”
On what’s enabled Jackson to pick up more minutes in Big 12 play:
“The defensive end has been the number one part. Offensively, you look at his stats some days and he’s missed some shots here and there. I think it was the Tech game that he impacted it a lot. I’m not sure what his stat line was scoring-wise, but just understanding his role. He’s really embraced his role. His shot selection has been good. I still want him to be aggressive and take open threes because he can make those, but he’s been locked in. He plays with a lot of energy and passion, and that’s fun to watch.”
On if this year’s team will go as Deonte Burton goes:
“He needs to play well for us to win big games. That’s the bottom line. We go on the road and he needs to play well on Wednesday to give us a chance. Your forwards need to be versatile to make plays with the way they pressure and spread you out. I thought that was his best game the other night by far, because he was efficient, unselfish and we need that Deonte. I texted him on the way home that that’s the Deonte we need. It’s not just that he made shots, but he played the right way. He took what the defense gave him. When they helped off he made threes. When they guarded him he drove it. He made a huge extra pass to Matt (Thomas) in the corner for the three. We need him to rebound more. For us to max out, he’s got to play well.”
On how frustrating it can be to coach a player like Burton, who has been inconsistent this season:
“That’s part of it. You don’t know. Shoot-around doesn’t base it. Practice doesn’t base it. He practiced awesome Friday before Texas Tech. He was chasing guys off screens and then he didn’t play. Then he comes back and had a great performance. You’ve just got to talk to him about consistency and focus. You keep telling him how much he means to this team. And then if he’s not getting it done, then I’ve got to have the toughness to go with (Nick Weiler-) Babb at the four and (Darrell) Bowie and Solomon (Young at the five like we did against Tech. If Deonte can get it done, it obviously helps a lot more.”
