Marquette University Athletics
Marquette-Tulsa Post-Game Press Conference
3/14/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 14, 2002
Recap?|? Final Stats
Marquette Basketball Post-Game Quotes
Tulsa 71, Marquette 69
NCAA First Round
March 14, 2002, Edward Jones Dome
Marquette Head Coach Tom Crean on the game...
"We knew we were going to be in an absolute war. I don't think we could have estimated their quickness until we started the game, they are probably the quickest team we have played all year, and we have played a lot of very good basketball teams."
Crean on the final play...
"We had our best ball handler with the ball, we had our best driver receiving the pass, we had two of our best shooters on the floor, it just didn't happen for us today."
Crean on Tulsa...
"They are tournament tested and battle tested, they have great balance. They explode up the floor and they move the ball well."
Crean on not calling a time out at the end of the game...
"The only way was if I was going to call a time out was if we needed a three to tie. We knew we were going to see a zone and our play was drawn up to go against a zone our a man. The last thing I said was to get the best shot, we were only down two. We didn't get the best shot. "
Crean on the final play...
"I think we might not have had the right reads (defensively). I wanted to free (Olouma) Nnamaka up with a shot or a drive. There were four pretty good options in that play. They did a good job of containing Nnamaka. We were in good rebounding position, if I would have called time out I would have ran the same play."
Crean on the NCAA Tournament atmosphere...
"There was no way to totally prepare themselves for this atmosphere. Hopefully, the young guys in this program will be better prepared for this in the future. There is nothing that I could have done about it."
Crean on the season...
"I don't think anyone is happy losing, it didn't happen. We still have 26 wins, we had a 10 game winning streak and a 12 game winning streak. I think we'll look back at that in time and feel good about it. We just didn't play well enough today to win. The entire year, our team never panicked when things didn't go right, that happened today and that is what I'm most proud of, especially with such a young team."
Crean on the game...
"We made a great comeback, but we didn't get back on defense and we didn't block out. We have to get back on defense and have to get offensive rebounds. The keys were transition defense and blocking out. If we would have done a better job of that, we might not have been in that position."
Marquette guard Cordell Henry on the final play...
"We knew what play we were going to run, we had a number of options, the shot just didn't go in."
Henry on his four years at Marquette...
"It's been a great four years, I didn't want it to end like this, but that is life. We are going forward, the program is definately on an uprise. I'm still a part of this team."
Henry on the team never giving up...
"We were just going to keep battling, if we were down 20 or 30, we had to keep battling."
Marquette forward Dwyane Wade on the end of the game...
"We were trying to get the best shot possible. We got the ball in the hands of the players we wanted..."
Wade on his near put back at the end of the game...
"I just lost the ball, it happened so fast. It was over after that."
Wade on NCAA Tournament intensity...
"Any tournament game we have played so far, the intensity is higher. Both teams tonight played a great game, the intensity was there. That is the way a tournament game should be, down to the wire."
