University of Minnesota Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Omaha
11/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 27, 2015
On rules changes:
Recap | Notes | Photo Gallery
Minnesota Head Coach Richard Pitino
Opening Statement:
"That was a great win for us because that's a very good team, obviously a very good offensive team. I was very concerned about this game because of their ability to score points. We had a lot of respect for them, but we found a way to win. That may have been one of the tougher games to coach just because of the missed free throws"
On Murphy:
"He should have had at least 10 rebounds I thought...he made a big free throw when he needed to, I think he's going to be a very good player...I thought Jordan was really really good...very talented player"
"He should have had at least 10 rebounds I thought...he made a big free throw when he needed to, I think he's going to be a very good player...I thought Jordan was really really good...very talented player"
On Konate:
"Bakary is out of shape because he has been hurt for 6 weeks. He asked for a sub twice. But he did a lot of good things, he's evolving...he works his butt off, just needs to get in shape"
"Bakary is out of shape because he has been hurt for 6 weeks. He asked for a sub twice. But he did a lot of good things, he's evolving...he works his butt off, just needs to get in shape"
"I knew that would be a tough game. I would play them again because they make us better. That team is going to give a lot of teams trouble. We were very nervous about them."
On rules changes:
"You watch college basketball, and these rules are here to benefit the offense; they want more scoring, and I'm not complaining, I think it's a great thing.I think we did a better job of not fouling, but it probably had to do with we were getting blown by a lot too."
Omaha Head Coach Derrin Hansen
On what they need to do to overcome the second half lull and beat a tough team
"Well, you know, you cannot have empty possessions number one. Number two you have to make a couple of plays down the stretch. I thought we did a good job at getting the ball to the rim and I thought we could have gone to the line a time or two more but we didn't."
On what it means to play well against major college teams:
"Well people notice you and you sure want to win because you are a competitor and our guys want to win those games. To go into an arena like this, Williams Arena is historic, I have watched a lot of games here on T.V. and a lot of great players. So to come here and to be a part of a game like that means a lot to me and I think it means a lot to our guys too. So do we want to win it? Yeah, do we feel good about being close? No, but we can sure build upon it we are trying to be as good as we can be come January 1st."
Thoughts on his native Minnesota players (J.T. Gibson, Jake White and Marcus Tyus):
"It means a lot to those guys, Marcus Tyus is out for the year with the injury. But it means the world to those guys, it is great to come back and play in front of family and friends. You go back to thank Coach Pitino for that, you know we came in here and made it a three or four possession game two years ago. So sometimes you don't get invited back when you do that. So he was good enough to do that and let those guys come back, so it means a lot to them."
Senior Joey King
On coming out slow in the first half...
"Nebraska-Omaha is a tough team and we knew that coming in. A lot of these games over the next month or so are going to be a challenge and we got to make sure we fight through, come out strong in the first halves and really make a statement. Today, we came out a little bit slow. Coach was a little bit frustrated at half time. What was so great about today was that we were able to move on, continue to compete and really not bury ourselves in the second half. We continued to throw punches and, eventually, were able to overcome the hump and pull through with the win."
On having a bigger impact in the second half...
"Everything was fine for me in the first half, until I caught kind of a wacky second foul. I was a little frustrated with that, but having to sit those last eight minutes, I was able to watch the game and see what was going on, and they were playing tough in the post and slapping down. That's when I realized if we maybe ran some plays where it freed up some space, I'd find some open threes. It was nice to find a little space in the second half, knock a few down, along with Carlos [Morris]. He made a few clutch ones. In the second half, it was just a big time team effort from everyone, and it was just great to see."
On Carlos Morris coming back in the second half...
"What was great was that he was even able to bounce back in the first half. He hit a big three and he came out in the second half and wasn't discouraged with what had happened at the beginning of the game and just continued to fight with all of us. He just did a really great job."
Freshman Kevin Dorsey
On new guys being put in the game...
"I think we're doing a lot of different things to build [Pitino's] trust. There's always more that we can do. We're always going to make mistakes. We're doing enough, everyday, to build his trust and he can have faith in us to put us in in late game situations."
On Jordan Murphy's performance...
"He played great. If he plays like that every game, he could be unstoppable. Big Ten All Freshman. Coach told us something about what he could be if he rebounds or has a high motor. Coach preaches to him to always have a high motor."
Omaha Head Coach Derrin Hansen
On what they need to do to overcome the second half lull and beat a tough team
"Well, you know, you cannot have empty possessions number one. Number two you have to make a couple of plays down the stretch. I thought we did a good job at getting the ball to the rim and I thought we could have gone to the line a time or two more but we didn't."
On what it means to play well against major college teams:
"Well people notice you and you sure want to win because you are a competitor and our guys want to win those games. To go into an arena like this, Williams Arena is historic, I have watched a lot of games here on T.V. and a lot of great players. So to come here and to be a part of a game like that means a lot to me and I think it means a lot to our guys too. So do we want to win it? Yeah, do we feel good about being close? No, but we can sure build upon it we are trying to be as good as we can be come January 1st."
Thoughts on his native Minnesota players (J.T. Gibson, Jake White and Marcus Tyus):
"It means a lot to those guys, Marcus Tyus is out for the year with the injury. But it means the world to those guys, it is great to come back and play in front of family and friends. You go back to thank Coach Pitino for that, you know we came in here and made it a three or four possession game two years ago. So sometimes you don't get invited back when you do that. So he was good enough to do that and let those guys come back, so it means a lot to them."
Senior Joey King
On coming out slow in the first half...
"Nebraska-Omaha is a tough team and we knew that coming in. A lot of these games over the next month or so are going to be a challenge and we got to make sure we fight through, come out strong in the first halves and really make a statement. Today, we came out a little bit slow. Coach was a little bit frustrated at half time. What was so great about today was that we were able to move on, continue to compete and really not bury ourselves in the second half. We continued to throw punches and, eventually, were able to overcome the hump and pull through with the win."
On having a bigger impact in the second half...
"Everything was fine for me in the first half, until I caught kind of a wacky second foul. I was a little frustrated with that, but having to sit those last eight minutes, I was able to watch the game and see what was going on, and they were playing tough in the post and slapping down. That's when I realized if we maybe ran some plays where it freed up some space, I'd find some open threes. It was nice to find a little space in the second half, knock a few down, along with Carlos [Morris]. He made a few clutch ones. In the second half, it was just a big time team effort from everyone, and it was just great to see."
On Carlos Morris coming back in the second half...
"What was great was that he was even able to bounce back in the first half. He hit a big three and he came out in the second half and wasn't discouraged with what had happened at the beginning of the game and just continued to fight with all of us. He just did a really great job."
Freshman Kevin Dorsey
On new guys being put in the game...
"I think we're doing a lot of different things to build [Pitino's] trust. There's always more that we can do. We're always going to make mistakes. We're doing enough, everyday, to build his trust and he can have faith in us to put us in in late game situations."
On Jordan Murphy's performance...
"He played great. If he plays like that every game, he could be unstoppable. Big Ten All Freshman. Coach told us something about what he could be if he rebounds or has a high motor. Coach preaches to him to always have a high motor."
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
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