Jan. 6, 2013
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
COACH SENDEK
"Not only did the Sun Devils get a big win tonight, but we did so in the presence of one of our legends, Coach Frieder. It's always great that he can come by and be with us. I understand that Alton Lister was here as well. You had to love the students tonight. We had a great student section. I thought the crowd in general really helped our basketball team. There was good energy in the building. I was really proud of our guys after falling behind early. They kept their poise and continued to chip away until we got back in the game. It really took some positive contributions from a lot of different guys. I thought Jahii (Carson) did a really good job of running our team on a night where he didn't get as many shot opportunities as he's been accustomed to. He kept his poise and just did whatever he could do to help us win. Chris Colvin played a lot of minutes. We really needed his defensive size. I just thought his toughness really helped our team. Carrick Felix. I don't know if I've coached a guy who's played with more heart. The guy doesn't take one second off. His effort and his energy and his heart have been remarkable. Somehow John Gilling gets ten rebounds again. We've turned him into Dennis Rodman. Jordan (Bachynski)'s presence at the basket was significant with nine blocks. Bo Barnes comes in and hits a big three. Eric Jacobsen takes a charge. Ruslan (Pateev) gives us some good minutes. It was just a good team effort on a lot of fronts."
ON BEATING COLORADO
"I'm always of the belief that whatever win you're celebrating right now seems like the best, but we have great respect for Colorado. They have a terrific team. Coach Boyle does a great job with them. To get that win at home is really important for us."
ON WHAT HE DID TO WHEN THE TEAM FELL BEHIND
"We just challenged them to pick it up. We may have mentioned the fact that it was early. There was a lot of time left. We needed to get going a little bit. All I remember right now is seventeen to four. That score, for whatever reason, is emblazoned on my mind."
ON THE EFFORT OF THE TEAM
"The guys just really played with a lot of heart. To me, it's heart. I don't know if there's a better word to depict our team tonight. We had a lot of heart. It starts with our leader, Carrick Felix. I could search for other ways to explain the same, but to me, anything short of that misses the mark."
ON HIS TEAM'S DEFENSE
"Our guys really competed. The defensive effort in the second half was outstanding. Colorado is a good offensive team. I believe they were second in our league coming in in three-point shooting. Our defensive numbers across the board tonight; you would sign up for those almost any game."
ON CHRIS (COLVIN)
"He really provided for us. He ended up with five assists. He had four in the first half. He did a great job of breaking the defense down. He got Jordan a couple easy baskets."
ON JORDAN'S PRESENCE
"It's a huge difference maker for us. He erases some of his own mistakes. He certainly covers the backsides of his teammates. He just has a great instinct, great timing, and he obviously has the gift of size. We've all seen a lot of big guys not be able to do that. It's almost something that's a gift; it's instinctual. It's no something that you can necessarily teach. As he's moved into his third year, that's really become a big part of his game for us."
ON WHERE THE TEAM WAS ON 50/50 BALLS
"I feel like our guys played with a great effort all across the board. I couldn't be prouder of their heart and their poise and composure. They stayed even-keeled when we were struggling early."
CARRICK (FELIX) QUOTES
"This win definitely means a lot. Colorado is a well-coached team. They are one of the best teams in the Pac-12. Coming into this game I knew it was going to be a battle. I think we stepped up to the challenge. As you can see, we continued to hustle and execute. It came down to rebounding and being physical. The second half defensively was the best we did all year. We buckled down on our assignments, and nipped it in the bud. During our half time talks we talked about the little things we need to do. So we went out there executed and played hard."
WHAT CAUSED THE ENERGY
"We found energy from the crowd, and everyone on the bench. I can definitely say that Chris Colvin was the energy spark for us. He's definitely the x-factor for our team. Ruslan.Pateev came off the bench and gave us a big lift. We all played well together. We knew it wasn't going to be easy. We were down by so much during the first half, we just knew we needed to stay calm and composed, because it was going to be a long game. Every time during the huddle we would talk about chipping it away, and taking it one possession at a time. I think we executed that well."
ON THE PLAY OF CHRIS (COLVIN)
"Chris Colvin is a tremendous player. Today he used his penetration to the best of his ability. He definitely looked to drive and kick it, which he's really good at. We are just at the right spots at the right time. I have to thank Chris Colvin, because he is so unselfish, and plays his role."
ON BEING DOWN 20-7
"We just had to keep chopping wood. We knew we needed to stay composed, because it was a long game.
QUOTING JORDAN (BACHYNSKI>
"They are a great team. They won the Pac-12 last year, so they are a force to be reckoned with. For us to step up, play like we did, and come out with a win was great."
ON JAHII'S CONTRIBUTIONS
"Jahii Carson may not have had many points, but he contributed so much to the game. You don't have to score to effect the game, and he showed us that tonight. He controlled the floor, played great defensive, and did what we needed him to do.
ON JONATHAN (GILLING)
Guys are doing what they needed to do, and playing their roles. We needed Jonathan Gilling to step up on rebounds. I'm doing my best not to let my man get a rebound. I'm just trying to get him out of the play and push him under the basket, which gets me out of the way for rebounds. Jonathan Gilling has really stepped up his aggressiveness and going after those balls, which is what we need.
COLORADO QUOTES
QUOTES FROM SPENCER DINWIDDIE
"We stopped playing defense. As a group, we stopped playing defense and we stopped rebounding. [Bachynski] had a great game and their defense is predicated on following them to the big guy, so he gets a lot of blocks. He's a great player and I'm not taking anything away from him. It had nothing to do with [him] really. We shot bad from all over the floor, we shot poorly from the three-point line, I know I personally did."
ON WHAT IS PREVENTING THEIR DEFENSE FROM BEING BETTER
"It's a pride factor. Our team, as of right now, doesn't buy in to defense. Our principles are defensive rebounding and we go through spells and droughts were we stopp laying with our principles and you just can't do that. That's why you let a team back in to this. There was no excuse for that. I'm very disappointed because we feel like we definitely came out on this trip and played well enough in the first game and this game we gave it away."
QUOTES FROM ANDRE ROBERSON
"I definitely anticipated [Bachynski] as going to give us trouble. We just played terribly in general. It was very disappointing. We planned to be 2-0 right now, and certainly That's not the case. We just have to get back to the gym and work hard every day at practice. I feel like we started off well and I feel like we let them back into the game, and things started going south. It got out of hand and execution was a big part of that, too."
QUOTING COACH TAD BOYLE
"It went wrong probably about halfway through the first half. We got off to that start and they just chipped away. Our defense isn't good enough right now. The bottom line is you have to win games by getting stops, and we just fouled too much. Bachynski was the difference in the game. We tried to attack him but his blocked shots in the second half, and we missed open threes that we normally make. We have to be mentally tough enough to overcome that, and right now we're not, because we let the frustrations on the offensive end - the shots not going in or getting our shots blocked at the rim - affect us defensively. We were not tough enough yet."