March 3, 2012
Head Coach Lon Kruger
Opening comment:
“It was a good win for our guys. Obviously the ball game could have gone either way. With A&M, games have always gone down to the wire. I am happy for the guys. We had a lead there that we let slip a little bit but A&M made some good plays and good shots. I thought our guys executed some things well late, and had a good defensive stop there to get the win. I am happy for them.”
On OU’s last field goal by Romero Osby with 35 seconds left:
“Drew (Fitzgerald) did a nice job of looking to pin down on the outside of the lane for Roe (Osby). Roe was very patient in waiting and Pledger set a good screen across the lane for Roe. Sam (Grooms) then made a nice pass and Roe finished it. A lot of good execution right there with details. The timing of a play like that is so important and I thought Roe’s patience of waiting until Sam got into position was the key to it. Sam then delivered it right on the money.”
On finishing this game down the stretch after not doing it in some others:
“All those games come down to just a play or two that swing the game one direction or another. Those games that we lose, we miss an opportunity or two and the other team scores. The games we win like we did today, we scored and got a stop. They’re good games, they just always seem to come down to that critical couple of possessions right there. It might be at the 2-minute mark or at the 4-minute mark; someone’s going to get a little bit of a cushion and play the rest of the game from there.”
On playing Texas A&M right away again in the Big 12 tournament:
“It’s a little interesting. It’s the same for both teams. It seems like that happens kind of frequently with your last opponent, where you have to turn around and play the same one again to open conference tournament play. All across the country you kind of see where that happens on maybe several occasions. It’s an easy scout for both teams. Both teams are very familiar (with each other), and probably not a lot of difference in this game and the one on Wednesday in terms of preparation. We know they have a lot of good weapons and we have to do a good job guarding them. We need to execute things a little bit better.”
On if finishing the regular season at .500 was what he expected going in:
“Didn’t have any idea going in, quite frankly. I like the work ethic of our guys. I like their enthusiasm every day in practice. I like that they have consistently gotten better throughout the year. On the other side of it, we have got to be a lot more physical. We need to be a lot more physical and compete more for loose balls and results. But I know this group well and we will add some guys to it, of course. But, before all that happens we have a big game next week and that is what we are focused on. As far as the first year goes, I think these guys have handled themselves very well. Everyone would like to win more games. Everyone would like to win right away. Our coaches and players are no different, but they will keep working at it. I know they will keep making progress.”
Junior Forward Romero Osby
On the improvement of his offensive game:
“Coach gave me confidence on being more aggressive and getting low and strong. My teammates are doing a good job of encouraging me to score and stuff like that. When you have support and stuff like that, sometimes it just takes over to where you can just play at any type of level. I am just blessed to have people around me to encourage me to do better offensively.”
Junior Guard Sam Grooms
On Romero Osby’s basket with 35 seconds left:
“Coach drew up the play to give Roe the ball; obviously he had a good night. We just executed well. Everybody took their time and got into good position like they’re supposed to. It was good timing and obviously Roe finished the play. It was a good screen by Pledger, good sell by Fitz. I made the pass to Roe and he sealed the deal and finished the play.”
On his free throw makes with nine seconds left:
“I know I haven’t shot it well on the year, but just confidence. I’ve been in the gym day after day shooting before practice and after practice, just building confidence in what I do. My teammates obviously have enough faith; Roe had enough faith to give me the ball. I had no other choice; you’ve got to go up to the line in the last seconds and make those shots so your teammates have more confidence in you so the next time they do it again, and again. That’s what good players do. The shots went in for me and I was proud of myself; a little bit scared at first, but I was proud of myself.”
Sophomore Guard Cameron Clark
On his six-game stretch of solid play:
“I am just feeling more confident. My team is telling me to go attack and Coach is telling me to go attack. I am just doing it and it’s showing.”
On his 20 rebounds the last two games:
“Coach says that our guards need to rebound. We are not that big down low, so all the guards have to help. So that is what I have been trying to do.”
Texas A&M Head Coach Billy Kennedy
Opening comment:
“I thought both teams fought hard. The difference was we had a hard time guarding in the post. They got a little bit closer to the basket and were able to score on us. I thought once we started doubling the post it helped us some. But you have to give them credit; they made the plays they had to down the stretch."
On having to battle back from a big second-half deficit:
"We're not good enough offensively to have to do that, and it showed. I thought we were lethargic at times, and you can't give a team a 14-point lead on their home floor when you struggle to score like we did. Our guys fought hard and I thought if we could have ever taken the lead it would have been a big, big help and put a little more pressure on them, because both of us struggle winning close games at the end."
On if he knows what happened with the out-of-bounds jump ball call at the end:
“No, it kind of epitomizes our whole season, another bad break. We thought it went out on them, but I wasn't real pleased with the officiating most of the game. But you have to put yourself in situations where one possession isn't that big. Unfortunately it was a big possession."
On if he was surprised they called a jump ball in that situation:
“If they don't know it, that's the right call to make. I don't think they're able to go to the monitor in an out-of-bounds situation. But, they should have been able to make that call."
On facing Oklahoma again Wednesday:
"There will be no surprises. Obviously they know everything we do and our personnel, and hopefully we know everything they do. It's going to come down to the toughest team; toughness and who competes the hardest on a neutral floor. Both teams have proven that we're pretty much the same in a lot of areas. We have the same deficiencies and have some of the same strengths at times."
