Nov. 19, 2011
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Postgame Quotes
Wisconsin vs. Wofford
Kohl Center - Madison, Wis.
Nov. 19, 2011
Wisconsin Head Coach Bo Ryan
On what led to the 19-0 Wisconsin run:
"Well, it happened at the defensive end. That zero is what I like seeing. Our offense was generated from defense. Wofford is a good team, and they're going to be a lot better in about three weeks because of what they do. You could see how hard they work on each possession. They hurt a lot of teams inside and have some pretty good action on their inside game. I felt Jared [Berggren] did a great job down low fighting."
On guard Josh Gasser and his shooting so far this season:
"First of all you've got to believe it's going in. His follow through and his trajectory of the ball help. He's practiced and he's worked. He wants to be a contributor, and contribute he has."
On forward Ryan Evans overall performance:
"What we've always said about Ryan is that he has the potential to be a good all-around player. Every team needs a few of those. Ryan is pretty good at every facet of the game, and his challenge is to always just get better at each one."
On what idea he has of how good this team could be defensively:
"It's way too early to tell that. I know they're making the effort and they're not settling for being average. They know what's been before them and they know what they're trying to do because they know what they want to leave behind when they're done playing here. If you have people that commit to that, it tends to make the whole better."
Sophomore G, Josh Gasser
On his improved shooting this year:
“I definitely think I have more confidence this year. That just comes from maturing, going from freshman year to sophomore year. I worked really hard in the offseason on my shot. A lot of guys knock down shots when they’re open. I found myself open a couple of times and was just able to knock them down. A couple of times last year I found myself in the same position but they just weren’t falling. I’m definitely a little more confident, but they’re just falling this year.
On the team’s defensive prowess thus far:
“We stress that every day in practice, and Wofford’s a great team. They run their stuff really well; they’ve got really good shooters. We played a pretty good game defensively, but we made a couple mistakes that we can fix. We stress defense every day—Coach Ryan does a good job of that. We’ve got players that buy into that, and if we keep it up and hold them to tough shots, then we should be successful.
Junior F, Ryan Evans
On the 19-0 second quarter run, especially the defense:
“We always like a run like that, but I think it started with defense. We got going on defense—I dove for one, Jared [Berggren] dove for one—so I think that was huge. Then having a guy like Josh [Gasser] being able to knock down shots—I think he gave me two assists during that run—that makes it easy for me. Also, a guy like Jordan Taylor who’s really just distributing it now and instilling confidence in us, I really commend him for that because we all know what he can do. He’s just playing real team ball right now, and we know what he can do and what he’ll need to do eventually down the line.
On how he’s improved since the last game against Wofford:
“It’s kind of like Josh [Gasser]. I’m more confident, I’ve continued to put in work, and my teammates are confident in me. All that just helps me to be a better player.”
Junior F, Jared Berggren
On having guys on the floor who can hit from outside, especially the good-shooting big men:
“It’s definitely a strength of ours, having all five guys on the floor can step out and shoot it. That is definitely tough to guard, and it has been successful. It’s been a big part of Coach Ryan’s offensive system throughout these years. So I think that is a big attribute for us. I don’t know that you can really say that I’ve been shooting too well. The last game I shot real poorly, today I was 1-5 from three, so I don’t really know what they’re talking about. I think if I could knock some down we’d be even tougher to stop.”
On the team defense to start the season:
“Obviously you want to be a defensive-minded team. Coach Ryan’s a defensive-minded coach, it’s something we work on every day in practice, like Josh [Gasser] said. And like he said, we have guys who buy in, and we have a certain way of getting things done. When guys all buy into it, it gives us a chance to be successful. We keep improving every day. I thought we had a pretty good effort tonight, but obviously there are some areas that we can improve on. We’ll get to work on Monday and see the film and try to improve on that. We’ll try to keep improving every day and try to be successful.”
Wofford Head Coach, Mike Young
Opening statement:
“Hats off to a very good Wisconsin team. We played them two years ago. I’m comparing the two teams. I’d say that (how) this team just turns you inside-out is they really shoot the basketball- (Jared) Berggren, (Mike) Bruesewitz. (Ryan) Evans stepped back there and made a three, and then (Ben) Brust and on and on. That’s hard. That is really, really hard. They found some things late in the first half. Credit it to the Badgers. They were that much better tonight than we were.”
On not starting (Drew) Crowell:
“He’s been a little sick. He had a stomach bug. He didn’t practice Tuesday, Wednesday and very limited on Thursday. That was the reason there.”
On Wisconsin’s 19-0 run:
“Well, if you recall there was a moving screen. Those guys never foul. Those guys in white, [Badgers] they never foul. Moving screen, we made the three that would’ve cut it 16-13. As I told them before the game, we’re going to get a great shot every possession, but it’s probably only going to be one. We got some good shots, and then things start to back off the cliff a little bit, and when you’re out there with two freshmen and they lose their minds and it gets sideways on you. Wisconsin had a lot to do with that. I think they’re very good.”
On going up against a tough team in Wisconsin:
“It’s very hard, and in typical Coach (Bo) Ryan fashion they’re going to spread you out, and continue to turn that thing over. If they do get late in the clock, they’re going to go ball-screen and pop out of the thing. It requires a level of awareness and a level of toughness to guard that time-and-time again. It’s such a grind-playing the Badgers. To be frank, we’re just not quite ready for that with this young bunch.”
On Brad Loesing’s importance to Wofford’s offense:
“He’s started every game in his career here but two. He’s been a great player for us. Now he is thrust into a different role with the graduation of several very good players. He is still adjusting to that, and we’re still adjusting to that. We need for him to be a really good player for us. I thought his shot selection was fine, but we have to take a look at some things. But he’s a very good players, and he will be fine. Jordan Taylor had something to do with his shooting percentage, too.”
On going up against Wisconsin’s guards:
“I hope it’s not a product of us not being very good shooters. If you go back as we will tonight, it’s an amazing statistic in this game when you take a look at made threes. They made nine tonight, well they took 23, and we took 19. Take a look at 3-point shot with any field goal attempts that are contested and field goal attempts that are not contested, our shots were a lot more contested than their shots. Consequently, they get the bottom of the basket at a better clip than we do. I think that has a great deal to do with it.”
