Head Coach Lon Kruger
Opening comment:
“That was a huge game for us. Really proud of the guys; thought they battled from start to finish. What made it more special is that Kansas State is a legitimate top-20 team. Our guys had a lot of respect for them going in. We had three or four days of really good practice. We shot well which helped a lot of things, especially because we couldn’t keep Kansas State from second shots, and loose balls; they did a good job there. I am proud of our guys. I am really happy for them. They have worked hard and continued to work hard throughout the first three league games. They have stayed after it every day of practice and we have to keep doing that. We have got to get better each day. We have a long way to go, but it helps reinforce their work effort with a win.”
On how important it was to win:
“The guys have worked hard and we haven’t won. To win reinforces that progress. That is not a glamorous answer, but I think from a coach perspective and from our team, the most important thing is that the win reinforces working hard. So working hard will give us a better chance to win. We just have to keep getting better every day. Every day since October 15, that has been our main pitch. Make progress today. The guys understand that we have a long way to go but we have to get better tomorrow.”
On Cameron Clark coming off the bench:
“I think Cam played his best stretch of minutes today in a while. It was good to see him come in and get a couple shots and, defensively, rebound the basketball. I thought Carl [Blair] gave us good energy and effort in starting the basketball game. But, it is really nice to see Cam go in because everyone wants him to do well and he has not played or shot the ball like he can, or with the confidence that he can. Hopefully this will get him going.”
Oklahoma Junior Forward Andrew Fitzgerald
On today’s shooting performance:
“What we did is just come out and shoot the ball with confidence, really. A lot of our teammates set us up in the right place at the right time. When they deliver the ball we just have to make the shot for our team. It all just comes down to us to keep working on it in practice, like getting shots up after practice or even before.”
On this year’s team:
“This group right here, I love this group. I love this group of guys and love the coaching staff. We have a lot of work to do, but I feel a lot of success is going to come our way because we put everything as a team out there and we play as hard as we can.”
Oklahoma Junior Forward Romero Osby
On his offensive performance:
“I credit our teammates. They find us in good situations but give us a little credit for working hard after practice and before practice. But, really give credit to our teammates because they find us in good spots and we do our best to knock the shot down.”
Oklahoma Junior Guard Sam Grooms
On bouncing back after Monday’s Bedlam loss:
“Coming off a loss, you expect your team to bounce back and give great effort in whatever they can do. All this week in practice, guys have had good days. We have been working hard in preparation for this game and you could see it this week that guys wanted to be better.”
Kansas State Head Coach Frank Martin
Opening statement:
“When we play certain guys in the game, Oklahoma was on the run and then we put the other guys back in and we settle things down and actually give us a chance, then they get tired. Then you put those guys back in and they do the same thing. We needed this game. You lose to Baylor the way we did and it hurts your feelings. We needed a game like this to make us better.”
On conference play and the level of competition:
“I don’t mean to go off on a tangent like this, but that’s why I tell you guys that cover our team to not look at a team’s record. Did Oklahoma look like a team that was 0-3 in conference play today? Did they look like a team that scored 48 points their last game out? You know, those kids are good. They’re very well coached, they have very good players, and they came out today with a purpose.”
On what wakes a team up after this game:
“Because you play the No. 4 team (Baylor), you lose close and everything is supposed to be hunky-dory. Then everyone says, ‘Wow, so close.’ Now you play a team that is in our league and not as good as Baylor and we get absolutely shellacked. You have to do the many things that you do practice. That makes you go home and look in the mirror. If you’re a man, the guy in the mirror isn’t going to lie to you. If you look in the other mirror hoping to get an excuse from someone else, then you get exposed. That’s what kind of game this was.”
