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South Dakota State University Athletics
0305 MBB vs. SUU postgame quotes
3/6/2012 1:33:00 AM | Men's Basketball
2012
Summit League Basketball Championships
Post-Game
Quotes
Men's
Semifinal - #2 South Dakota State vs. (6) Southern Utah
March
5, 2012
South Dakota State head coach Scott Nagy
"Honestly, the first half they beat us up. They were more physical than we were. Basically at the start of the game, we got to the line and then the next 20 minutes we got to the line once. We shot too many threes and played very soft, very soft and they were physical. We were very fortunate that they went 4-of-11 from the free throw line. It is the only reason that we were ahead at that time. They had seven offensive boards and they were beating us up. We went back inside in the second half and started off by throwing the ball inside and pounding it inside."
on second half defense being better
"Our first half defense wasn't bad. We held them down to 40 [percent shooting] but we didn't rebound the ball. We talked about that today. This team pays attention to detail and I mean Southern Utah. They pay attention to rebounding on missed free throws and doing things other teams don't. We talked about it but we just didn't have good focus. The way the game started kind of felt like it was going to be easy again. We made some threes. It is fake, phony and gives you a false sense of security. In the first half, they were just tough, a lot nastier than we were. We talked about it at halftime. There wasn't a lot of yelling. They are men. I think Griffan [Callahan] got to them and took care of it. We need Griff [Giffan Callahan] on the floor we can't have him in foul trouble."
on defensive philosophy
"Yes (playing better defense) is the only difference in the basketball team. You know we don't score as many points as last year but we don't have to because we are better defensively. We did get bigger and worked hard in the weight room. It is one of the reasons why earlier in the year we weren't any good at all offensively, we spent time working on defense. At the end, we are starting to guard the way I had hoped."
on the main thing that sticks out about Western Illinois
"A couple of things. Like last night when Southern Utah beat Oakland and our fans were celebrating and I was not celebrating because quite frankly we probably match up better with Oakland than we do with Southern Utah. My stomach kind of dropped. I was in a bad mood. I said, 'hey, you are crazy if you think this will be easier, it will be harder.' Like tonight, our fans were rooting for Western Illinois over Oral Roberts. But I feel the same way. Jim [Molinari] has done an unbelievable job. And, he has got a lot better players now. He is coaching the way he wants to coach now. So I feel the same way. We better have ourselves prepared because he will have them ready."
on the meaning of playing for the Summit League title and NCAA berth
"I don't think we have to remind our players what is at stake. Our theme this week is play like you are loved. If you have to perform well for people to feel good about you, then you will play tight. When our guys play like they are loved, people closest to them care about them and how they perform doesn't matter to them; it releases all the pressure on the performance and you play well. It is the theme and it hasn't been anything else."
on personal standpoint to be playing for shot in NCAAs
"It is personally satisfying. We will all be able to take stock of that when season is over, so there isn't a lot of thought about that. I have been emotional this week. I have, because I remember quite frankly, what we went through and really nobody went through all those years like I did. I do think it makes it more gratifying; but at the same time I won't give a thought to that tomorrow. That is something we can look back on after the season is over."
South Dakota State guard Nate Wolters
on the dunk
"I can't believe it went in. I just tried to attack the rim hard, and it happened to go in. I was fortunate there."
on taking control of game in second half
"In the first half, we took a lot of bad shots. The second half we got the ball inside to Jordan [Dykstra] and Tony [Feigen] and then it really started to open for me. They are a physical team. In the first half we didn't play well but then we responded."
on playing Western Illinois -
"They are a lot like Southern Utah. They are really good defensively and well-coached. So, it should be a fun game and one of the games you want to play. It should be a lot of fun."
South Dakota State forward Jordan Dykstra
on going inside
"We got our butts kicked in the
first half. In the second half we started getting the ball inside and playing
inside out and things started happening."
on close games with Southern Utah
"I guess we talked about how bad we got beat up. We talked about getting after it more. I think we did a good job of responding."
on SDSU's improvement on defense
"I think it is the main reason for success. Our focus on defense and defensive effort and it is starting to pay off a little bit."
Southern Utah head coach Roger Reid
"First thing I'd like to say is that South Dakota State played a great game. I think they're playing the best of anyone in our league right now. I think that's very evident. They're just playing great basketball. So give them a lot of credit. I really feel terrible for one of our guys. Undoubtedly our top scorer and so forth. We're not going to compete without our top scorer. But you know what, that doesn't take away from everyone else in that setting. That doesn't take away either from South Dakota State. Like I said, they're playing the best of anyone in this league right now. But I feel terrible for Jackson [Stevenett] the kind of person he is, and the last game of the year. The guy's played tremendous basketball and not having a chance to be in there [is unfortunate]. Just a great job by South Dakota State."
on the emotions after the upset last night and then
losing Jackson [Stevenett] tonight
"I felt sorry for
the young man. I've basically seen it all. But this game is for players. When a
guy has the kind of strength and character that he has for our basketball team,
I feel bad for him. I feel bad for the rest of the guys. Let me put it into
perspective for you. Take Nate Wolters, who has the ball in his hands all the
time when it counts, the whole game. When we need a play, Jackson [Stevenett]
is our Nate Wolters. When we need a basket that's who we go to. I mean that's
the guy. You know what he does? Just like Nate Wolters, he responds. He has all
year. You gotta have that kinda
guy in your lineup that when you need a basket, momentum, he can capitalize and
you're right there. So it just really, really [leaves] a big void when you take
a player of that magnitude out of your lineup. I've said this team [SDSU] is
the best team in the league right now and it's going to be tough to beat a team
like that when you're short-handed."
on struggling
to contain [Nate] Wolters all year and did they try anything different tonight
than you had in the regular season
"We had a game plan that would've helped out a little bit, but I think when
Jackson [Stevenett] went down [that changed things]. The thing that makes
[SDSU] a great basketball team is they have great, great shooters. When you
have a point guard [Wolters] that's got great court vision, he's just a great
player because he has such peripheral vision and when he penetrates he can see
everybody. Reminds me of John Stockton who played for the Jazz. He always knew
where he had an outlet and he never got himself in trouble because he had eyes
in the back of his head."
on this being SUU's last Summit League Tournament
"It's been great
to be a part of this league. It's
a great league. At Southern Utah, we've been so appreciative to have a league
to play in. It's been a monster league for our basketball team."
Southern Utah guard Ray Jones, Jr.
on whether guarding Nate [Wolters] in the second
half with foul trouble took away from his game
"Nate's a good player, he's a great player. He's really crafty and he's really good at getting you in foul trouble so as you guard him you keep your fouls in mind. You know when he penetrates you kind of have to back up but you don't want to let him score at the same time. So as a player and a competitor sometimes you just foul him. He wears you down throughout the course of a game. He plays 40 minutes and you can tell he's in great shape. It's just really a mental game. You have to play with him the whole game."
on playing well in the first half and [Jackson]
Stevenett going down
"When Jackson
went down I really didn't know how bad it was. After halftime, that's when it
really set in that Jackson [Stevenett] was done for the night. That hurt
knowing that we wouldn't have our leading scorer on the floor. We've started
with Jackson [Stevenett] for 30-some games, so we have a chemistry coming out
of halftime. Not having that, it's definitely a blow to the stomach. But we
pieced together and tried to rally together and say we were going to win it for
him so he could just rest up for tomorrow. But things didn't go our way and you
gotta give your hats off to [SDSU]."
Southern Utah guard Damon Heuir
on when Jackson [Stevenett] went down and whether he felt pressure to score
"Jackson leaves a big hole when he gets hurt like that. I mean, it's a big hole to fill. But we've been a team all year, had four guys in double figures all year. I didn't really feel like I needed to step up. I felt like our offense was getting shots and I hit a couple. So I think the [entire] offense was what really tried to fill Jackson's hole."
on playing well in the first half and [Jackson]
Stevenett going down
"The first half,
I mean I didn't think we played that well. I think we weren't executing and our
defense sort of wasn't the best. But because we were playing with such effort
it was sort of paying off for us and keeping us in the game. Coming into the
second half, we didn't pick it up that much. We sort of dropped off a little
bit, effort wise, and that's when they were able to go on a run and we never
were able to recover from there."
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
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