Head Coach Jeff Capel
Opening comment:
“Kansas is a great basketball team, incredibly efficient on the offensive end. We tried as much as we could in that first half to stop them. It’s kind of like pick your poison. They had such an advantage of size against us. They were making shots beyond the arc. They lead the country in field goal percentage and they were in such a great rhythm. But we got off to a great start and it was kind of a shootout there early. We felt that if we executed and got the ball moving we would be able to get good shots off, which I thought we did. But our inability to slow them down in the first half is what did us in. I thought we continued to fight throughout. I thought we had some guys do some really good things. In the second half I thought it was a little bit better, our defense. But they are a great basketball team and they have a chance to go a really long way.”
On OU’s game plan against Kansas:
“We came into the game knowing we were at a size disadvantage like we are in most games. I thought we could have fought a little bit more on the boards with our blockouts and being physical and perhaps we could get an over-the-back call, but I don’t think we did that. They just absolutely annihilated us on the boards. Again, they are a great basketball team but I thought our guys fought throughout the game.”
On freshman guard Calvin Newell:
“I thought he did a really good job. It was maybe his best game all year. I thought he was in control. I thought he played at a good pace. He was able to get us into our stuff. He didn’t turn the ball over. I thought he did a really good job out there for us today.”
On the Morris Twins:
“Those guys can shoot it, they’re skilled. They can play with their backs to the basket, they can pass it. They are very, very good. I knew that coming in from watching them and watching tape. Great size, so they can rebound it on both ends of the floor. I am just impressed with everything about their game. Especially with how much they have improved. That’s one of the things for a guy that’s a fan of basketball, when you see guys improve like that you know they have done it by work. As a fan of basketball, it’s really good when you see young people working on their games and getting better.”
On OU’s margin for error:
“Most teams have little margin for error. We have none. We have to do everything at a certain level. For our young guys, this is making them better basketball players and this is helping me become a better coach. I don’t like losing, our guys don’t like losing. But this is helping us for our future.”
