Postgame Quotes
12/15/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Recap | Box Score | USATSI Photo Gallery 
Sophomore guard Jordan Roland
On scoring 27 points
Obviously once a couple go in you get more confidence, so I think as the game went on my teammates were finding me and realizing I was hot â€" I owe everything to them.
On his feelings after having a career-high scoring game
It was exciting that I played pretty well, but I was just happy that we won the game. It was a big win for us.
On embracing his role as a starter
It has definitely boosted my confidence. I'm shooting the ball a little more, but overall it has really just boosted my confidence.
On having a season-low for turnovers
That's been a weak point for us, turning the ball over. MoJo has been on us about it, and I think we've really matured in just taking care of the ball.
Graduate student forward Tyler Cavanaugh
On battling down low and playing against Tacko Fall
Yeah, I mean he's huge. Credit to him, he's gotten a lot better since last year. He's a force around the hoop. I thought Kevin Marfo and Arnaldo Toro did a great job battling him inside in our 2-3 zone. He's going to get those dunks because he's so tall but I think we just took a step forward as a team.
On winning five out of six and what has changed as a team
I don't think anything has changed, we just found our rhythm. We started to hit some shots, we've stayed the course. I mean, losing Yuta is huge. Guys like Jordan Roland and Matt [Hart] have stepped up. I mean, Pat Steeves as well has been out. We're down, but all of these teams are down and out right now. I mean, B.J. Taylor is out for them. We just have to keep doing what we're doing. The 2-3 zone is great, we're active in it, and play defense and make shots and we'll win a lot of games.
Interim head coach Maurice Joseph
On having a season-low for turnovers Yeah, I thought we did a much better job taking care of the ball than we had in previous games. Obviously we were turning the ball over quite a bit, so it's been a point of emphasis in practice, in drills, in live play, in walk through, all that kind of stuff. We kind of had to hunker down in the zone and figure out why we were turning over the ball, why we're turning the ball over. Lots of work goes into something like that, but that's part of the growing process for a young team, understanding how to handle pressure, where to be on the court and all that kind of stuff. I'm very happy we had our season-low in turnovers, it's refreshing to come in here and see a single digit in the turnover column. I don't think we've had that yet this season, so I'll take it.
On Jordan coming into his own offensively
It's tough to make up what Yuta brings on both ends of the floor, really. We knew we were going to have to do it by committee. If it wasn't Matt Hart, it's Arnaldo Toro, if it's not A.T., it's Jordan, if it's not Jordan it's Collin Smith. We have to do it by committee. We have to make sure that as a team we continue to do the things we need to do to make up for his absence. I think we're doing a good job with it. We tweaked our lineup, we put in our zone, we tweaked some things across the board because we had to. We have to to make up for the lack of a really talented player. Not to mention Pat Steeves â€" he has done some different things for us with positions. He's another strong 6-7 body that we can throw in there. So lose those two guys, and not only do we get smaller, we get a lot less experienced. So the fact that we're still winning games shows that we're growing and our chemistry is building, and we're doing a great job in that regard.
On the status of Watantabe and Steeves
I think they're close. I'm not sure exactly what the time table is for them to be 100 percent game ready, but they are working their tails off in the pool and in the rehab room. Our medical staff is really going a great job with those guys. They're close. I don't know exactly when the time table is, but obviously sooner than later would be great for both those guys. Until we get them back we're going to play with the guys we have. We have a next-man-up mentality and we're going to keep rocking out with the guys we have, and we're doing a good job right now just kind of surviving with those guys. Once they come back, we'll all be able to build off what we've built in their absence and continue to progress in a positive direction.
On holding UCF to 59 points
We're starting to key in on scouting reports a little better. Early in the season, we were having some mental lapses, and that's something that young teams go through. When I think back to Joe McDonald and Patricio Garnio back when they were freshman and we were starting four freshman, the amount of young mistakes we were having back then was unbelievable. But they grew â€" and they grew into a team that won 28 games in their senior season. So it's a growing process for those guys. But again, we're young. We're growing. We're having a lot less defensive lapses. We did a really great job on Williams today. He shoots about nine threes a game, extremely talented shooter, high volume guy on top of that. I think up until halftime he was 1-of-11 or something like that and he ended up with three threes which is fine, he shot eight. We did a good job keying in on him today. I think it frustrated him some. That's another sign of growth, really locking in on the scouting report, locking in on personnel and figuring out where we need to be and when we need to be checking in. Obviously Tacko is hard to miss, so it's easy to key in on him for the scouting report. But Matt Williams, elusive shooter, we did a really good job and he ended up the game shooting 4-15 and that's a real part of the reason why we won.
On where he wants the team to be going into conference play
Having a young team is both a gift and a curse. You have to suffer through some growing pains at times, but then the ceiling is so unbelievably high to get better. If we focus and key in on the things we talk about on a daily basis, that we see in film, and that we stress on a daily basis, I think we can get so much better. I'm hell-bent on having us reach our potential and I think our potential is really high. We are young, but we are talented. If we continue to grow and be willing to be coached and be willing to sacrifice and share the ball and do all the things that we talk about, take care of the ball and pass up good shots for great shots, some of the things we're starting to do a little better job of, I think we could be really good. But we're nowhere to close to where I want to be and where I think we can be.
