Assistant Coach Mark Cline
On Coach Capel coming back for Kansas State:
“No doubt. I was down (at the hospital) today to see him. He looks good. I am expecting them to let him out tomorrow, Wednesday at the latest.”
On reserve center Orlando Allen:
“He actually has had some good practices. Since we have come back from Christmas he has practiced really well. I think he is a little bit better than what people perceive him to be. You have to understand he is playing behind Blake (Griffin). When the bottom line comes and you are playing against the Purdues and UABs, those types of teams, Blake is going to stay on the floor 36 or 37 minutes. When he does get in, if he does get in, it’s a minute or two minutes. A big body like him, he is one of those guys the longer he is on the floor the more he produces. I think people saw that the last couple games. He is a little better player than people give him credit for.”
On the way the team played:
“There were a couple of possessions where I didn’t think the team played extremely hard and stayed after it. Going into tonight’s game, based on their stats and what I saw on tape, Maryland Eastern Shore was stronger inside than they were on the perimeter, opposite of Coppin State. We wanted to come out and get after them a little bit and early, even though we gave up a couple buckets, I thought our traps bothered them a little bit. We ran through lanes, got our hands on balls that maybe we didn’t come up with and they actually came up with and scored on. The one disappointing thing tonight was Maryland Eastern Shore was averaging 17 offensive rebounds a game. We talked about that because they miss shots and they got 26 on us. We can’t go to Kansas State and give up 26 offensive rebounds or next Monday night against Texas.”
On stepping in as head coach:
“It was fun. I am an assistant and have been in coaching now for 20 years. It was fun, but I hate the way it happened because Jeff is my best friend and he is family to me. His dad came to Wake Forest in 1996, my senior year. I have known Jeff since he was in the fifth grade. I don’t want it to happen this way. My job is to do the best that I can to help him. Tonight he wanted me to do this and I did the best that I could.”
Sophomore Center Blake Griffin
On when the team learned about Coach Capel’s illness:
“Coach Cline brought us together on Sunday and told us that Coach Capel wasn’t here and told us what the situation was.”
On if Sunday’s practice and today’s shootaround were carried out the same as usual:
“Yeah, definitely. That is how (Coach Capel) would want it. We just carried on as usual.”
On the play of sophomore center Orlando Allen:
“He has been making huge strides since the time (Taylor and I) got back from California this summer and he had been here a month or so. (From then) til now he has been a completely different player. You have to give him the credit for that because he works so hard and he comes in and wants to learn. Our coaches have done a good job with him.”
Senior Forward Taylor Griffin
On senior leadership in practice without Coach Capel:
“All the older guys and captains had to step up a little bit. Coach Cline stepped in and took over. So, we didn’t have to do a whole lot. Coach Cline did a great job tonight. I guess it is a good situation to have to deal with because you can never have too much team leadership.”
On OU assistant coach Mark Cline:
“In my opinion he is a great coach. He stepped in pretty easily and it was not a big change.”
On if there comes a time when players are ready to be done with non-conference play:
“Conference play is what you look forward to. You love the big games like Purdue and Davidson and those kinds of games, but conference is what you look forward to every season. You know the guys and you know the teams and you know the gyms. You have the rivalries, it what you look forward to. The Big 12 is a great conference and I think it is an excellent opportunity going into our opening game.”
