Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech vs. Kansas State Post-Game Quotes
February 14, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 14, 2008
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Kansas State Head Coach Frank Martin
On the play of Texas Tech guard Alan Voskuil
"It didn't surprise us because that's what he does: make open shots. We made sure we gave him as many open shots as you can humanly give him and to his credit he played like a guy that wanted to win a game for his coach. He's to be given credit, and the whole team is to be given credit; they came out and played with unbelievable energy and protected their home court. I couldn't be happier for Pat [Knight]; Pat's going to be an unbelievable basketball coach for a lot of years."
On what he told Pat Knight before the game
"I'm just happy for him. He told me he's happy for me and the job we've done with our guys and I told him I couldn't be happier for somebody. I know how loyal he's been to this school, to this program, he's had other opportunities and he's stayed the course. That's what life is all about, loyalty, and waiting your turn, and he's done it the right way. Let's not forget, some of us learn our coaching from different people, he's learned life from who I think is the best. It's no surprise that they played as well as they did tonight."
On being in first place in the conference and losing on the road
"The league is hard; last time I checked Texas Tech hasn't lost a home game in this arena. They did what they've done all year, which is protect this court."
On whether his team lost their composure tonight
"I don't know if we lost our cool, I think we just got caught up in the moment. If we would have lost our cool, there's no way in the world that we would have continued our focus and figure out a way to almost get over the hump there. What we did do, is have the breakdowns that you can't have to win on the road. If you want to win on the road, you better play 40 minutes. You can't play 32 minutes, you can't play 28 minutes, you can't play the last 10 minutes in the game; you've got to play 40, and unfortunately for us in that middle part of the game we weren't very good."
Texas Tech Head Coach Pat Knight
Opening Comments
"I've got go thank my staff and my players because they did an unbelievable job for two weeks. Even though we lost our first two games and even though they were road games, the kids have given me everything they have. My staff has been unbelievable. They've been supportive and have been getting prepared for these games, and that's the reason we won this game, my staff and my players."
On what they did defensively to contain Kansas State
"We just wanted to make it hard on them and make them uncomfortable, which we really did in the first half. We let up a little bit when we got the lead pretty big, and that's been a problem. We tell our team that they play comfortable. They made a run at us, and when you've got two NBA players like that, their team is going to make a run. I kept trying to tell my team not to get frustrated, because KSU was hitting shots that a lot of teams we play don't hit. In timeouts, they were getting a little frustrated and I kept telling them, 'Hey, that kid could be the No. 1 pick in the draft, don't worry about it. Just keep on being aggressive and fighting,'"
On the performance of his players tonight
"Alan Voskuil was unbelievable; he just flat out shot the basketball and played. No one knows this, but Martin Zeno came in this morning and had the flu and we did not think he was going to play. I'm sitting there all day thinking, 'I'm not going to have Martin Zeno against Kansas State,' The poor kid was on an IV getting fluids all the way up until warm-ups in the bathroom. I played him 37 minutes even though I told him I'd give him a little bit of a break, but I just couldn't do it. I thought everybody contributed, the guys off the bench, everybody. Michael Prince went in and did what he had to do, he got two big rebounds. Our big guys battled, two of them fouled out, but that's they had to do, they had fouls to give and they had to make it tough on these guys. Burgess handled the ball when we needed him to, Trevor Cook played like we thought Trevor Cook could play. I can go down the line because all of these players were unbelievable."
On getting his first career win
"It feels unbelievable, but it feels good for these kids too. They're just as relieved as I am just because of the situation we've been in. You know yourself that you know what you're doing, but you just want to prove it to other people. I can tell everyone, 'The players are playing well in practice,' but until they do it for real, no one's really going to believe me. I think these kids really showed a lot of people today."
On whether he has spoken to his father yet
"Oh yeah, he's waiting for me in the locker room. Everybody was there; Coach [Gerald] Myers, Chancellor Hance, they came in and it was nice. My dad looked good the other day, but he looked a little worn after this one."
