Nov. 6, 2010
Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery 
Wisconsin 84, UW-La Crosse 59
Post-Game Quotes
Bo Ryan
On the size difference between the teams: “Well sometimes when you get in games like this you start to try to over-do it early because no matter how you try to tell guys anything, they’re thinking they’re going to get 15 minutes. It’s kind of like guys are thinking, ‘I might not be out here for that long.’ I was really happy that we did work the ball and we did take good shots. Sometimes guys get a little antsy when they don’t do that, and that was a positive. I liked the spurts that we had. If that isn’t a record for the number of combinations that a team has ever had on the floor then I’d like to see the next. Some of the things, like the matchups out there and the things that we did, I probably could’ve done a better job of having bigs at big spots, smalls at wings and perimeters. I wanted to try to get a look at a lot of people, so it served its purpose. Some guys got exploited a little bit, got stretched a little far or not enough, but that’s what I expect with a team that runs an offense, that’s why it’s so much better going against the state conference than some of those teams that were doing all one-on-one stuff because you’re covering an offense.”
On what its like for a smaller school team to come in and play a team like Wisconsin: “We guarded La Crosse better when I was at Plateville than we did tonight. You think the Plateville kids would give them those easy, outside shots? Come on. Yeah, I flash back a little bit. Our guys did okay though. There’s no way in the world you want to give D-3 schools open looks, because you wont win HORSE against them.”
On Wquinton Smith’s play tonight: “He’s just low to the ground, obviously. But I thought he did a good job of taking care of the ball; he broke the defense down a few times. And maybe it didn’t lead directly to an assist that he got credit for, but because of the way he broke the defense down, he got it to somebody who got it to someone for an open shot. Wquinton was tough, I like what he gave us.”
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Wisconsin players
Wquinton Smith
On confidence on the court tonight: “I got a lot more confidence over the years, backing up Jordan Taylor and Mike Bruesewitz. In the back court, a lot of people say we are inexperienced, but we are really coming on strong. Josh Gasser, Ben Brust, Jordan, and I, we make sure we push each other every day, and that’s the main thing we have to do. We see other guards, and if we’re not ready, not pushing each other in practices, we won’t be ready for the other guards."
“Today I feel I could have played better defensively, but as the year goes on I know I will get a little more solid, and could be taught by Coach Bo Ryan a little more.”
Jon Leuer
On thoughts on the back court play tonight: “They are doing a great job so far, they might not be that experienced but they are getting there. It’s good to see in practice every day how hard they go.”
“Obviously we have a big role to file with Trevon Hughes and Jason Bohannon from last year. These guys are willing to work hard and push each other every day, and they are a fun group to play with. They are unselfish, always willing to find the open guy, and when you have guards like that it makes it better for the whole team.”
On opening five minutes of the game: “We always want to get the ball inside early and get a rhythm going because that is your highest percentage in shots. I was trying to be aggressive and take advantage of the opportunities that I got, and as I said before, our guards and our big guys did a great job of looking to get the ball outside. We obviously had a size advantage, so we wanted to take advantage of that.”
On UW-La Crosse’s play tonight: “They have their system that they run, and they run it very well. They were able to execute and get some good looks. Also, they had a couple guys get hot from three; a lot of those shots were really tough shots that they hit. We definitely feel we have to get better defensively, and we are going to continue to work at that. You have to give them credit on a lot of those shots, because we had a hand in their face, and they were able to keep going.”
Keaton Nankivil
On having a role to tutor the new freshmen players: “We are a team that’s based a lot on seniority; you can see that in the way we play. When we have freshmen come in this summer, they are with us and we have the opportunity to work with them before the coaches do. A lot of those guys, when they have questions and stuff, the first thing they do is spout it out to us, because the coaches aren’t around. We get to teach them that way; the good thing about them is they’ve all listened. I think they have made great strides, as Wquintin said, with Josh and Ben in the back court, they get to work with Jordan and Wquintin every day, so they are getting to learn in that way and Evan gets to work in the front with us.”
On 15 offensive rebounds: “A lot of it is just aggression early on, that’s one thing the coaches really try pound in our heads. It’s a loose ball every time, and when we have players like Mike and Jon who can really hit the glass hard, and Ryan Evans did a good job tonight. At the same time I think it’s going to get a little harder down the road when sizes and that kind of stuff equals out.”
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UW-La Crosse head coach Ken Koelbl
Opening statement: "This was a great opportunity for us. I know a lot of teams have said that, and we wanted to come in here and get something out of it. I thought we did. We obviously know the Badgers are a very good basketball team, and we knew we were going to have our hands full. What I was most pleased with was the way we battled in the second half. I thought we fought really hard, got back in it, made some plays and adjusted well to playing a pretty good team. Bo Ryan was in our league for a very long time and I was glad to see him leave, and I'm glad I don't have to compete against him on a regular basis. He's got a very good team. He does an excellent job. I was pleased with our guys though. I thought we handled it very well."
On Tony Mane's importance: "He does a lot for us. There is no doubt about it on the offensive end. What I really like about Tony is he has really grown as a player. He's become much more complete. He always was a very good scorer and he can create shots, he can make some tough ones and sometimes as a coach, you look at some of those shots and you question whether it's a good shot. I've seen him make a lot of those and really what he does is he stretches the defense. You have to pay a lot of attention to him and hopefully that will create a lot of opportunities for our other guys. Tony is a special player."
On how Mane can improve: "What he has been doing, and this is where he has grown so much, is that he is leading other players. He's taking guys under his wing and showing them the way. We've got a lot of young players in our program and he's doing a fantastic job showing them the way it needs to be done to be good."
On what he took away from the game: "I look at (this game) as did we get something out of this? Can this help us get better as a team? I would definitely say yes. This is a big stage for us to play on. We knew it was going to be challenging, but our guys showed that they are capable of being a good basketball team. We've got players that can make plays and do some solid things and I think it was a positive experience for us."
