Kansas State University Athletics
Oregon State at Kansas State
Dec 22, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 22, 2002
KANSAS STATE HEAD COACH JIM WOOLDRIDGE
On the turnaround the team has experience in the last few games...
"Once we got past the Northwestern game we really tried to emphasize the month of December and play a season within a season. Let's not worry about our record, let's not look back. Instead let's look forward and here's out challenge in December. And these guys have responded well."
On this being K-State's best game of the year...
"I thought at times it was. At times we played great offensively and at times I thought we played great defense. You could probably pull little segments out of the game and say that's the best we've played.
On where the team is at right now...
I feel like they've really grown. They are starting to understand who they are and what it takes to win. They are gaining confidence.
I've said this before and I'll say it again, this has been out best group as far as work ethic and listening and trying to execute what we want them to. I think they've got a chance to continue to grow. We've come along way since the Virgin Islands."
On Gilson DeJesus...
"His shooting right now is incredible and the times that he is registering that three for us are coming at some of the most critical times of the game, weather it be in the first half or second half. He's been out best player, I don't think there's any question about that. From start to finish, with what he's doing offensively, getting 10 rebounds today and the way he's shooting the ball we didn't take him out of the game in the second half. He's just played awfully well for us."
On Tim Ellis' play off the bench...
"I thought his play was really good. He's continued to give us a lift off the bench. I'll go back and look at the tape, but I'm not so sure this wasn't his best game. He hit some shots when we were in dire need. Those shots are different than the ones coming with an 18-point lead.
"I'm surprised with what he's done with his minutes. He just finds a way. If you look at his minutes, they've been very productive."
KANSAS STATE PLAYERS
SENIOR FORWARD MATT SIEBRANDT
On Oregon State...
"That is a big-time opponent we played and they are from one of the top conferences in the nation. Any time you beat a Big 10 team or a Pac-10 team, that is a huge win. So this was a big win for our program."
On the play of Gilson DeJesus...
"He was on fire. He was shooting the ball so well and I just hope he can continue the whole year like that. It's helping us so much."
On the team's shooting...
"We're really finding easy shots for each other. We are searching it out in our offense, we're moving the ball really well, and that is giving us good looks. That's why I think we've shot the ball at such a high percentage the last few games, and if we keep playing well together, that's what you are going to see."
On Tim Ellis...
"He's a spark plug off the bench. He comes out there with energy, defense, and can come out there and hit a few threes and drive the bucket. He's a spark plug off the bench, and that's huge for us...
I played with him at the junior college, and I knew he was going to be an athlete and an above-the-rim type of guy. He's really showing all of that."
JUNIOR GUARD TIM ELLIS
On how he feels about the season right now...
"I fell pretty good and I'm just glad we got a victory tonight. We can go into Christmas break feeling good about ourselves, instead of being down."
On coming off the bench and hitting shots...
"I come off the bench, but I get a lot of shots up before the game. I'm pretty ready when I come off the bench and the time is right, I'm ready to take a good shot. . . I try to get as many reps as I can before the game."
On his role on the team...
"I just come in and see what needs to be done. Maybe there is some rebounds, or whatever, but if my shot is open, I don't hesitate to shoot."
SENIOR FORWARD GILSON DEJESUS
On the team's play...
"We've been playing defense really well since the first game, but I think we struggled offensively during the first five or six games. So, we've been working on it, and I think we are doing better."
On what coach has told him about shooting...
"He knows I can shoot, he knows we have a lot of players who can shoot. He said if the ball comes out from the post, to just shoot, use your shot. You've got Jarrett who can shoot, as well as Frank and Janerio. So, he told that to all of us."
On being more comfortable than last season...
"It's my senior year and my second year playing under the same system. So, I've gotten more comfortable, I've gotten better."
On having more offensive options this season...
"It's better. We have me, and we have Pervis, and we have a lot of young people who we have never had in the triangle before. This year we have Frank that can penetrate, and Jarrett that can penetrate and pass the ball too. Matt's playing great, Pervis is playing great, and we've got Tim off the bench, so we've got a lot of options."
OREGON STATE HEAD COACH JAY JOHN
On the Kansas State offense...
"From a scoring standpoint they were phenomenal. It is hard for me to tell based on what they have done before. Can they keep doing that as the year goes on or are they evolved to a point were this is what they are going to be? Gilson DeJesus had 21 points on seven field-goal attempts. That is three points a shot and that's pretty good. Twenty-five assist and six turnovers, that is pretty good. If you can't make stops, when you go on offense it puts a lot of pressure on you. Even in the first half, we were almost a point per possession on offense, but they were 1.3 or 1.4 and that is just an unbelievable effort."
On preparations for Kansas State...
"They didn't do anything that we didn't anticipate. They just did it unbelievably well. We were never really in a position, other than the first 10 minutes of the second half (where I thought they were awfully flat) where we came, executed, got some stops, and did some things with confidence. We had the ball down seven, a chance to get two or three and we get a forced shot. Then they score, and we are hanging back and forth for a while until it kind of blows up at the end."
OREGON STATE FORWARD PHILIP RICCI
On K-State shooting well...
"They were hitting a lot of shots, and it was hard to guard when people are hitting shots all the time."
On whether the loss dampens the six game winning streak they had coming in...
"Not at all. We have a three-day break for Christmas, and we just have to come back strong and get ready for Coppin State."
On the second half come back...
"We always feel we can come back. If we are down, we are always going to fight to come back. We aren't going to just give in. But yes, we thought we could win that game."
On Jimmie Haywood's game...
"He is shooting really well right now. He is in a good rhythm, and we just have to keep him in it."
OREGON STATE GUARD JIMMIE HAYWOOD
On shooting well the last couple of game...
"My teammates, they give me the ball. If I work as much as I do, I'll start to knock my shots down. My teammates expect me to step up."
On trying to answer K-State's shots...
"A majority of our scoring normally comes from the inside, and when we have outside scoring as well as inside scoring, we can do some things. But they were just knocking down a lot of shots, and it was tough for us to guard them. DeJesus was knocking down every shot he took, and every time we made a run he just had an answer for it."