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QUOTES - Houston vs. SMU
2/18/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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HOUSTON HEAD COACH Kelvin Sampson
Opening Statement
"A big part of that game is when Rob Gray picked up his fourth foul with 12:40 to go, and obviously he was cooking. We do not have that type of team. They have other weapons. We have Damyean Dotson and Rob Gray. We cannot play without them for an extended stretch. We played great defense for large portions of the shot clock and the next thing you know, it's a one-and-one. Sometimes that's frustrating. That was a frustrating game. I am not disappointed in my guys' effort.
I am certainly disappointed that we lost. We were ready to play and well prepared mentally. Those guys did a good job of getting themselves ready to play. You have to make your one-and-ones, free throws and open shots. After all that, the Murphy's Law that seemed to be working against us, with 5:14 to go we were tied. Rob sat over there for five minutes, and the problem was how well he was playing. He was starting to get it going.
When we have Rob and Dotson going at the same time, we are good. Give SMU credit. That is a good team. They are ranked 19th, but they are better than that which tells you how good we are too. Let's not act like this was not a game that could have went either way for a long time. Sometimes you have to get some breaks and sometimes you have to make your breaks. When the opportunity is there, you have to take advantage of it. We got beat by a good team. I would have liked to see some things a little bit different."
On the team's free throw performance
"We should have made them, Galen (Robinson) was trying to make them. (Sterling) Brown and (Jarrey) Foster went 11-for-11. That is what it sometimes comes to. That is how important it is. In games like this, little things are big things. Galen has really improved his free throw shooting, it's unfortunate he did not have a good day today, because that would have sustained us. We had a lot of empty possessions where we had good possessions. We had great possessions, but if you miss a free throw, it's an empty possession. They kept being put on the free throw line. We had a lot of possessions where I felt like we guarded them really well, and the next thing you know they get two points from the free throw line. When that happens to you on the road, you count your blessings."
On Devin Davis
"We thought Devin would be our third leading scorer. You don't miss 16 games and come back. When he came back, he started playing right away. When you have an injury like that, you can't work on your cardio. His biggest issue right now is he is nowhere near in shape like (Damyean) Dotson, Rob (Gray) or Kyle (Myer). He is trying to work up to that. Today is the most minutes he played, but toward the end there I feel like fatigue got him. Devin is a 13 and 7 guy, he is not a 15 or 20 point scorer, that is not his deal. In a game like this he is a 13 and 7 guy.
SMU is a good team, let's not sit here and bash Houston. That is the 19th ranked team in the nation that we were tied with. These are two really good teams. We can't have missed free throws. When we were aggressive with their 1-3-1, we got the shots we wanted. You have to be aggressive against that kind of defense, I've played that defense for a lot of years. Our offensive was good for the most part. They are a good defensive team, but we are too. The problem tonight was the free throw line. We could not keep them off the free throw line, especially against the shot clock."
On four fouls in 46-second span
"Taking the air out of you is too much of a broad-based term. It is too general. It messes with kids' psyches, whether you want it to or not. I think it affects everyone in the arena. Not just the players, but the fans too. We have to make our free throws too. I'd like to get to the free throw line a little bit more. Rob was driving it really good. He was getting in the lane and getting whatever he wanted. Next thing you know, he is sitting beside me."
On moving forward
"We are still stewing over this one a bit, but we still got great opportunities in front of us. We were 13-7 at one point, and now we were 18-7. The last two games we lost were against SMU. We are a lot better today than when we played them the last time. Now we got a great opportunity against a really hot Connecticut team. They are playing really well now. They got their kids back and playing again. We have to step up and play good. We play good. I like our team. Tonight, every time we moved forward, we moved backwards. There was just not a lot of consistency in what we were doing down there defensively."
HOUSTON SENIOR GUARD Damyean Dotson
On moving forward
"We just have to keep staying mentally focused and tough, and focus on the next game and see what we have to do. Get our game plan together, go, fight, and win."
SMU HEAD COACH TIM JANKOVICH
On Houston
"I have to give Houston a ton of credit, they were very sharp, especially on the offensive end. I could see that they had done a great job of dissecting film and taking advantage of things that maybe they didn't last time. They jumped out on us. We also took some bad shots on offense at the beginning of the game, so that put us in the whole. This was a game played at a high level of intensity. Look at what Houston is doing. We've been seeing this for a long time. They have two guards that I would put with any combo in the country. I like them. Obviously, they played hard and they're well coached."
On having the week off before the next game
"It's well timed. Ben Moore and Semi Ojeleye played 40 minutes each. I 'rested' Sterling Brown, so he only played 38 minutes. Shake Milton was in foul trouble so his minutes were down. Ben Emelogu stepped up in a big way. He's the real deal. I love him. He's a starter that doesn't start. There were too many big plays and contributions to list, and that makes me very happy. I love the fact that we only turned the ball over seven times in a hostile environment. We just didn't shoot the ball well from the three-point line. If we can win without good three-point shooting, that's the best kind of win. Look at the games we played and the emotions that went into the Cincinnati game. Think of what it took to come back from being down 15 points. Two days later, we're down in Houston playing one of the hottest teams in the league; and they're fighting for an NCAA Tournament bid. This was as difficult a week as we've had this season. If I had an option I would have put the week off right here. I can promise that two of those days will be rest for the guys. We'll have plenty of time to crank it back up. It's a good time to get their bodies feeling better and their minds refreshed."
On Ben Moore's rebounding
"How about him? He had 13 rebounds last game, and he had 18 tonight. He rebounds, dominates defensively and gets assists. There's nothing he can't do. Semi Ojeleye started cold and finished with 22 points. Shake had a rough game; for whatever reason, it just wasn't his day offensively. But I can guarantee he did a lot of other things to contribute. We played great. We fought and scrapped. I have to give a lot of credit to Rob Gray and Damyean Dotson. They're unbelievable guards. We didn't have an answer for them defensively. We knew what the problem was, but we just don't have the solution figured out."
On the two 20-game win streaks with only one loss in between
"I don't want to be selfish, but what if we had pulled that one off? We had a chance. That would've been unbelievable. But, I'll take these any day of the week. I have a lot of respect for Houston, their coaches, and their talent. It was really a tough day for us, but I'm glad we came out with a win."
