Oklahoma State University Athletics
Charlotte Postgame Quotes
November 13, 2017 | Cowboy Basketball
Postgame Quotes: Oklahoma State 83 vs Charlotte 65
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OSU head coach Mike Boynton
Opening thoughts
"We weren't quite as sharp defensively. There is a lot of factors right now, we got a lot of moving parts. We are playing a lot of guys out of position, limited inside. We don't understand, yet, that you have got to play every possession. We got a good lead, felt comfortable and we let our guard down a little bit. I told the guys in the locker room there is going to come a point in time we are going to need 44 solid minutes of effort and focus. We didn't have that tonight and I'm proud of the way they competed and played, for the most part, and there is a lot of room to grow."
On Smith and Averette's combined efforts
"They stepped up to the challenge. We obviously challenged him (Davis) to do a good job defensively, but also to make him work on the offensive end and put pressure on him to not just be a guy who focuses on getting baskets and, for the most part, we held him in check. We fouled him a little bit too much that's pretty much how he got most of his points, but to limit him to no threes. To limit their team to just four made threes, a team that averages eight or nine, was something I was very proud of."
On Kendall Smith
"He was in the right frame of mind defensively and that's when I think it started. Then he was able to get a couple baskets to go early and that's what got us going on the offensive end and then he felt he could challenge Davis on the other end of the court. But also he continues to find a way to help his teammates to get better. He only three assists tonight, but he pushes the ball and puts pressure on the defense and he's got to continue to develop that way."Â Â
On Averette's dunk
"To be honest I'm surprised that he completed it. I've seen him attempt it a few times and I've got the fortune, I get to watch that kid practice. I recruited him for a full year in high school. I know what he's about. I know the type of work he puts into it and so I'm just very proud to see it all coming together for him and him having success in this time."
OSU guard Kendall Smith
On Averette's dunk
"He went up aggressive like we are taught to do every day in practice. He was rewarded because he went hard. It was a successful finish and I'm proud of him."
On his performanceÂ
"Being a new member of any team, you want to take a back seat until things are developed. That was my initiative coming in early. Just to move the ball and see where guys wanted their shots and let the offense come to me. Today I was a little more aggressive and found my shot early."
On the importance of rebounding
"It's big. Coach talks to us all the time about getting in there and helping guys out. We got Mitch that wants every rebound but we have to put a body on somebody and if the ball bounces our way, we're responsible for getting that rebound."
OSU guard Brandon Averette
On his dunk
"I saw the shot clock was running down and I saw the lane opened up. I saw him coming from the help side, he was kind of outside the lane. I just wanted to be as aggressive as possible. I knew he was going to contest it, so I didn't want to go up weak and get blocked. I just went for the dunk and it went in."
On the defensive effort
"That's what we proud ourselves on. Defense. We had a game plan and I felt like we executed it pretty well. We just try to bring energy on the defensive end first to get our offense going."
Charlotte head coach Mark Price
Opening statement:
"Oklahoma State played really well tonight, we knew coming in they were a really good defensive team. I felt like we got some good looks early in the game. Unfortunately we just didn't make shots tonight. Obviously that's some on us, that's a lot of credit to Oklahoma State as well, the pressure that they put."
On the Oklahoma State fast start:
"One thing I tried to emphasize with our guys is play with poise; not get caught up in the way they like to push you and play faster than you want to. But I felt like early on we got caught up in that a little bit and we were playing at their pace. And it's tough to win on the road when you do that."
On how it felt to return to Oklahoma:
"It's always nice to be back in Oklahoma. A lot of great memories here growing up in Enid. It was a great experience for my team to come back, kind of see where I grew up, my stomping grounds, and to play in a place like this is a great opportunity for us. We're excited, I'm glad we were able to do it. Obviously I would have liked to have played better as a team coming in but it was still overall a really good experience for our team and hopefully something that we can build on for the rest of the season."
