Post Game Quotes from SI

[12th Street Baller]

Coach Capel

Opening comment:
“First of all, I am pleased with the win. I thought our four freshmen were tremendous for an opening game. Their first college basketball game, for those guys to step up the way they did and all of them contribute and play very well, it speaks to how talented they are. And the thing about that is I think they still have such a huge ceiling to get better. I thought Willie (Warren) was terrific in letting the game come to him and making plays.

“We have a lot of work to do. I wasn’t pleased with transition defense and some things defensively. Mainly, a lot of it was transition. We have to do a better job of really understanding and listening to a scouting report and carrying that over to a game. Our sense of urgency to get back and our communication needs to get better. I still want to play faster. I would love for our intent to push and to run to be like Mount St. Mary’s. We did some good things, especially rebounding the basketball, which is something we really tried to emphasize in practice. So it was good to see some success there.”

On Tiny Gallon’s 15-rebound performance:
“He did it in 22 minutes. He has the potential to be a very good rebounder because he is really long, he’s big and he has good hands. It is just a matter with Tiny (Gallon) of getting him to understand how to use his body. The biggest thing for us is to get him to really use his body offensively, defensively and for defensive rebounding – use his length for that. Hopefully it makes him hungry, hungrier to come out with 15 boards today, to realize how big that is for us and for him.”

 

[12th Street Baller]

Willie Warren

On the performance of the freshmen today:
“They’ve been doing the same thing they’ve been doing in our last exhibition game versus British Columbia and in practice and that’s hitting shots. Tiny [Gallon] is getting down there banging like we want him to do. Pledge (Steven Pledger) is hitting 3’s from anywhere on the court.”

On four of the freshmen scoring in double figures:
“What (people) fail to realize is we have probably one of the most talented freshman classes in the country. So they’re going to come out here and play ball, and they’ve shown me that I have nothing to worry about and that I can have someone to lean on when my shot isn’t falling.”

 

[12th Street Baller]

Tiny Gallon

On how critical it was for him to rebound well today:
“I mean it’s not that critical because I can rebound. So, like Willie [Warren] was saying, I don’t have to worry about stepping out and shooting a 3 – maybe once – but I just focus on rebounding and touching the ball whenever the guards give it to me.”

On if Coach Capel told him to be more physical with the other team this game:
“No, that was (Willie Warren). Yesterday, we were talking about it and he said he wanted me to go down. He was talking about Blake [Griffin] and all this. That really kind of got to me on the side, but I didn’t show it but we had a talk about it yesterday. He said if I rebound and go down there and play like a center or a forward, we can win a lot of games. And I took that to heart, so that’s what I did.”

 

[12th Street Baller]

Steven Pledger

On his first performance here today:
“I think I did well. I mean, I was just running around basically playing off of Willie [Warren] driving to the basket. Whenever he’s driving, I’m just sneaking around and I know he knows where I am. So it was a little dump-off here and there. Tiny gave me a little dump-off.”

On if he thought he was going to be the high scorer in his first game:
“I really did think it was going to be either Willie [Warren] or Tiny [Gallon]. I didn’t know I was going to be the high scorer this game.”

 

[12th Street Baller]

Mount St. Mary’s Head Coach Milan Brown

On Oklahoma’s team:
“I think they have a chance to be very good. Obviously, their young players are going to have to step up and play a major role. Not only making plays, but probably managing themselves in the locker room and managing themselves on and off the court. They have some talent. Willie (Warren) just needs to play like Willie and they will be fine.”

On his impression of Keith “Tiny” Gallon:
“I thought he did a good job. It was funny. I had talked to Jeff a couple places around watching them play AAU ball in July. I was laughing saying, ‘I hope you get him,’ because he is a big guy but a fun guy. It was great to see that he worked to get his body better. He is really good with the basketball. Today, we kind of needed him to be silly with the ball by trying to pass behind his back and shooting a lot of threes. He didn’t do that. He took one three and I’m pretty sure Jeff might strangle him for that later. I think he is going to be good. If he works and stays steady like he did against us today, then he gives OU a different low-post presence than Blake (Griffin). But he gives them a low-post presence for sure.”

 

[ClipperSooner]

Thanks for the posts 12thSt.

-ClipperSooner

 

[tomkar98]

Those are some awesome quotes! Thanks, 12th! I loved what the MSM coach had to say. I hope they do well! Good luck, MSM!

 

[mattham4]

Thanks for taking the time to post this stuff 12th...I appreciate it.

 

[Sid]

I still want to play faster. I would love for our intent to push and to run to be like Mount St. Mary’s.

:clap