OU-Sacramento State Quotes/Notes

[OUHoops]

http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/archive/120211aab.html

Head Coach Lon Kruger
Opening comment:
“It was a good game for a lot of different reasons coming off these three games in Anaheim. I thought we really gained some experience there. [We] played a lot of different styles. Then we came back with three or four days of really good practice. For the most part the guys did a good job of transferring those things in practice to the [game]. They really moved the ball well and got it off their hands pretty well. They created good looks and shots for each other. In the first half, especially, we created some offense from defense when we trapped a bit. So, good step. The good thing about this group is they really believe in how important it is to make progress every day and they’re doing that not just in the game. They have done a great job in practice. Let’s continue to do that. A big week leading into two ball games next week; a big week of practice ahead.”

On OU’s hot shooting night:
“It is a direct result of making the extra pass. I thought the guys did a great job of creating good looks for each other. A few of those we pick up in transition and a couple layups and drunks were results of steals. But, for the most part, we made that extra pass and had really good looks.”

On OU’s defense:
“For 40 minutes I thought we sustained a little better. In each of our games we’ve had stretches of pretty good defensive play. I thought we had more of those good stretches tonight.”

On the offense generating points:
“It is always good to make shots. When you make shots it just makes everything else better. I thought Pledge [Steven Pledger] did a great job tonight. We want him shooting the ball but he turns down a couple of so-so shots to create a really good look for a teammate. I think everyone else feeds off of that. But when you make shots it makes everything else look pretty good. The guys did a good job tonight.”

On playing without Calvin Newell:
“We will miss Calvin. Calvin has done a good job for us. We respect his decision to need to get back and take care of some things at home. But, we will still miss him. I thought those guys that came in tonight… probably those minutes will fall more to Tyler [Neal] and maybe Carl [Blair]; and having Sam [Grooms] and Carl out there at the same time. Tyler will do a good job, as will Carl. So, guys just have to play their minutes and everyone has to step up and do a little bit more. I think our guys will understand that.

“The real challenge will come if we get two quick early fouls or if someone tweaks an ankle. All of a sudden you are a man less to start with. That’s where the challenge will come and our guys understand that. We have to do a better job of not picking up that silly reaching foul early. We just have to focus on making better decisions early with regard to fouls.”

On point guard Sam Grooms’ transition from junior college:
“Sam has made a really, really good transition from junior college to D-1 basketball. He is taking good care of the basketball. He is concerned about getting the ball where it needs to be. He is very conscious and he wants to make good plays all the time. He is kind of tough on himself, in a good way. Sam is a guy who will come in there and study that film and kind of identify what he did well, but also what he needs to do better. That’s why he will continue to make progress. I think he has made a quick transition to D-1 ball.”

Junior Guard Steven Pledger
On how hitting 3-pointers helps a team:
“It definitely is a spark plug. We’re definitely motivated by hitting shots and in this case it was the 3-ball today. Everybody was hitting and it spurred our offense.”

On if Calvin Newell transferring is difficult for the team:
“It definitely is. Calvin [Newell] was a big player on our team, coming off the bench and keeping the pressure up and also making shots. It’s definitely hard, but we had to come together. Maybe you have to put some more hours in the gym. You’ve got to pick up some more slack. So, it definitely is.”

Junior Forward Andrew Fitzgerald
On the team’s seven dunks:
“I enjoyed that a lot. It brings a lot of energy to the crowd. Last year, we didn’t have that many dunks. So since we’ve been having all these dunks, it brings a lot of excitement. It brings more people to see us win, but also to see the dunks. It brings some enlightenment, some joy to the stands, to the coaches and to the players on our bench.”

Sophomore Guard Cameron Clark
On getting into a better rhythm in the past week:
“Coach [Kruger] just said to attack more. I’ve been attacking in practice and I feel like it’s given me a little bit more confidence to try to do it on the court.”

 

[OUHoops]

Re: OU-Sacramento State Quotes

http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/archive/120211aaa.html

• With the 82-53 victory, the Sooners are now averaging 79.0 points per game after averaging 66.0 last season. After recording 80 or more points four times in 32 games last year, OU has already scored at least 80 points three times in six games this season.

• The win marked OU’s 30th straight at home against non-conference opponents and 88th in the last 90 such contests. The Sooners’ 29-point victory was their largest since defeating Texas Southern 82-52 on Nov. 18, 2010. In their five wins this season, the Sooners have outscored their opponents by an average of 17.4 points.

• All five Oklahoma starters shot better than 50 percent from the field. They combined to shoot 69 percent from the floor and 80 percent (8-for-10) from 3-point range. They accounted for 63 of the team’s points and racked up 16 assists against just three turnovers.

• Oklahoma recorded 22 assists, their most in 81 games (also 22 vs. Colorado on Feb. 7, 2009). Steven Pledger led the squad with five and was followed by Sam Grooms (four) and Cameron Clark, Romero Osby and Carl Blair with three each.

• Sacramento State’s 22 turnovers tied an OU opponent season high and led to 30 Sooners points. Through six games, opponents have averaged 16.5 turnovers, resulting in 18.5 points per contest for OU on the other end of the floor. The Sooners have forced 20 or more turnovers in three games this season.

• Sixteen of Sacramento State’s turnovers came off of Sooner steals, the program’s most since Dec. 7, 2008 (16 against Tulsa). Andrew Fitzgerald, Grooms and Pledger each had three steals.

• The Sooners boasted a season-high seven dunks, six of which came in the first half. Romero Osby led the team with three and was followed by Cameron Clark (two), Tyler Neal (one) and Steven Pledger (one). OU has recorded 24 dunks in its first six games and Osby has 12 of them.

• Oklahoma was 11-for-20 from behind the 3-point arc, good for a .550 percentage. It marked OU’s best 3-point performance since shooting .565 (13-for-23) against Nicholls State on Nov. 28, 2009.

• The Sooners outrebounded the Hornets 29-23, the fifth time in six games OU grabbed more boards than its opponent. Oklahoma pulled down nine offensive boards which led to 15 second-chance points.

• Clark led the Sooners with a season-high 18 points, going 7-for-12 from the field and 3-for-5 from behind the arc. Clark averaged 3.0 points on .167 (3-for-18) field goal shooting in OU’s first two games and has since averaged 13.5 points on .500 (22-for-44) shooting the past four contests. The sophomore guard also boasted a career-high three blocks in his 26 minutes of action.

• Pledger was 4-for-5 from the field on the night, 3-for-3 from 3-point land and 4-for-4 from the free throw line to total 15 points in 21 minutes. The junior guard has scored double-digit points in all five of his appearances this season, averaging a team-high 17.2 points and shooting .546 (30-for-55) from the field and .483 (14-for-29) from 3-point range. He shot .386 and .345, respectively, over his first two seasons.

• Junior forward Andrew Fitzgerald posted a season-high 13 points, going 6-for-8 from the field in 22 minutes. The junior also recorded four rebounds and three steals.

• Coming into tonight, Sacrament State point guard Dylan Garrity had 42 assists and just 12 turnovers (3.5 ratio). The Sooners held the freshman to four assists and forced him into seven turnovers.

 

[Shooterms]

http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/archive/120211aab.html

Those quotes from the Sac State coach seem eerily familiar and still, all the same, non-applicable.

 

[ohscsooner05]

Re: OU-Sacramento State Quotes

I think the Sac St. quotes are actually from the Idaho St. coach after game one this season. Good stuff from Coach Kruger though!

 

[ohscsooner05]

Re: OU-Sacramento State Quotes

Ha, beat me to it!!