#14 Tye Fagan | Senior
On motivation today and going 9-for-9 from the field...
"Not starting the other day wasn't necessarily motivation for me, but it was the fact that we were 0-4 in conference play and that's the biggest motivation you need. If you claim to be a winner, losing games should motivate you more than anything. Starting or not starting, none of that matters except for winning. Losing games is what motivates me."
On dumping Gatorade on Coach Crean and if that was an indication of how bad they wanted to win...
"Yes it was. Before the game, last night and today we just kept reminding each other the last few days that we need to get back to having fun. Dumping Gatorade on him wasn't necessarily about the win, but getting back to having fun and enjoying the game like we were the first seven games."
On the energy and confidence different in the team today...
"It was, we were motivated. I think we went into the second half up one, and we wanted to keep that. We just wanted to stay the course, take on any run. It was a game of runs, and we knew they were going to bring that and fight, because they are a great team. We wanted to persevere to get a road win and our first conference win."
On how dangerous they are with their shooting...
"It makes us very dangerous as would any team. For us, it's dangerous because it creates spacing, lanes for cuts, openings for guys to get to the rim and finish or get fouled. We created a havoc for the defense and that's what we need."
On K.D. Johnson's shot and how he impacts the team...
"I've seen it since he's got here. He's gotten better since he's got here. For us, he's our biggest energy giver, we all love to feed off his energy and the crazy thing is he gets his energy from us. He tries to feed off our energy so it's a mutual relationship. He's great for the team, he's aggressive, he can get to the lane and he made some big time shots for us."
On what the difference was in the free throw performance tonight...
"Focus. We haven't been shooting as well as we want from the line, but the last few days especially we've been working on free throws. Shooting them when you're tired, everyone has been in the gym getting extra reps in. We've just been trying to focus because it has hurt us in some of the games we have lost. We're just trying to continue to improve there, and we did today."
On what they can continue the rest of the season after this win...
"We're learning every day, but what I think we figured out today is something that we knew the last four games we just didn't execute. When we plan together as a team and get everyone involved, the spacing, cutting and togetherness is there. On defense, which was the biggest part today, they hit some big shots. But, we were together and never folded, we continued to fight and that's something that has to be there every game each game in and each game out. Today was a great example of that."
On Wheeler and how he breaks down the defense...
"That's what he does for us, he brings the pace to the team, keeps our speed up and makes plays for all of his teammates. He was aggressive towards the end, he got fouled, made some big free throws. I remember telling him each time he went to the line, to give me one. He made all of them, and I said to him, 'You've got ice in your veins boy, that's good! Big time players make big shots.' He did that for us."
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