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Baylor, SFA Postgame Quotes

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Men's Basketball 11/14/2015 12:00:00 AM
Nov. 14, 2015

Recap | Box Score | Notes | USATSI Gallery

22/21 BAYLOR 97 (1-0), NR/RV STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 55 (0-1)
Friday, Nov. 13, 2015
Ferrell Center (Waco, Texas)
Attendance: 7,041


BAYLOR POSTGAME QUOTES

BAYLOR HEAD COACH Scott Drew

Opening Statementà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦

"Well they scrimmaged Texas and won by 18, they beat North Texas in a scrimmage by 26, so we knew coming in that this was going to be a really good team. They finished 29-5 last year and we couldn't have written it up any better. The one question you have coming in is you lose your two leaders in assists and you're playing a team that last year caused the fifth or sixth-most turnovers in the country. Their defense makes you turn it over. 31 to eight - that's a miracle. I mean, credit goes off to our upperclassmen. They started it off, but a lot of people didn't realize just how hard that feat would be."

On the pregame perceptions that Baylor would be weak at point guardà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"This is a game where you have to be strong at point guard. Since they're denying every pass, you've got to make a play off the bounce, and Lester did that. Take out his two turnovers at the end of the first half, and he was exceptional."

On decision to start Ish Wainright this gameà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"Ish, since practice has started, has played really well. He was 258, now he's 228. You take a 30-pound weight vest off you, you're quicker and you're a lot more athletic. Ish has always been a great teammate, he's always made winning plays, and he can make a lot more now because of his conditioning. He deserves a lot of credit, and our nutritionist deserves a lot of credit, but he's the one that's done the hard work and I know he's going to be a crowd favorite for sure."

On six guys scoring in double figures and the balance of the offenseà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"If we can get this all year long, shoot 64%, 56% from three, 31 assists to eight turnovers, then I won't lose any hair and it'll be a heck of a year. Now the big thing is, you know, one game things look great. We started out the year knowing that we had two challenging games. Sunday's a big traveling day. It takes forever to get to Eugene. Then you're playing in part of the ESPN marathon, so we've got to be ready to go, and our bodies have got to be ready, and that's going to be a tough task for us."

SENIOR Rico Gathers
On the outcome of the gameà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"I think when you prepare a month in advance, it kind of gives you that edge to go out there and basically execute everything you know you've been working on for the past month. We've been preparing for them ever since camp, and our last scrimmage was against Houston, who played similar basketball. So, reps are reps."

On getting back on the court after last season's NCAA tourneyà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"It was big. For me, the season really felt surreal up until this point, going into my last year. It just hit me on the floor that the season is here. Once I was out there, it was just a continuation from last year. Not really worrying about that last loss, but just continuing to build on the team's success."

SENIOR Lester Medford
On playing under controlà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"Yeah, it's just about letting the game come to me. Coach just wants me to play at a pace now and make sure I'm playing smarter than the other team."

On calming Taurean Prince down after second technical foulà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"I'd rather have to calm my guys down than have to pump them up. So, I mean I don't tell them to calm down, but I just tell them to be smart about their decisions and to just leave it out there on the court."

SFA POSTGAME QUOTES

SFA HEAD COACH BRAD UNDERWOOD

Opening statement...
"Congratulations to Baylor. I can honestly say that I am a little bit in shock with my team and extremely impressed with theirs. I don't know if I ever had a team give up 70% on the field goal percentage in one half. 31 assists and eight turnovers is not what we usually do on the defensive end. You've got to give Lester Medford a tremendous amount of credit. I am extremely impressed with him. They got tremendous play from all the rest of the guys and they took advantage of what was there. From my perspective, this was more of what we were not, after two scrimmages, one against Texas and one with North Texas. I am in shock, and, again, I don't want to take anything away from Baylor."

On what was missing...
"We've been 85 and 86 percent from the free throw line in our scrimmages. Then you can start with turnovers, which is where Lester was tremendous. We missed some shots early, free throws, and missed a few lay-ups. We had good offensive flow early, and then it just steam rolled. We were not nearly tough enough. We've got young guys out there that we are trying to play. Everybody has a bad night. When Clide Geffrard and Ty Charles don't have a field goal, we are not going to win most nights."

On the severity of the lossà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"It happens. I've been around 29 years. I am in disbelief more than anything and I did not see it coming. Again, they get all of the credit. I'll scratch my head on the bus ride home, and we'll see if we can be a little better on our next one. "

On Baylor playing Big 12 opponentsà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"Tonight, they'll beat a lot of people. The one thing about the Big 12 is that it is the hardest conference in America to win on the road. Things change on the road, so you've got to be so tough and have so much experience. Everybody has pros and everybody on the sideline is a good coach. So you've got to have a lot of things go your way to win on the road. This is a very good Baylor team. That front line is tremendous. I loved Scott's move by starting (Ishmail) Wainright, which was a young man that did not even play last year against us. Having (Johnathan) Motley come in off the bench, it gives them a spark."

SENIOR THOMAS WALKUP
On what went wrongà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"We were not ready to play and we got pounded on a ton of different levels."

On how to bounce backà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"This one is over, so we put it behind us. We've got to start preparation on Northern Iowa and get back at it. There is nothing we can do about this one, now."

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Players Mentioned

Lester Medford

#11 Lester Medford

G
5' 10"
Junior
Rico Gathers

#2 Rico Gathers

F
6' 8"
Freshman
Taurean Prince

#35 Taurean Prince

F
6' 7"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Lester Medford

#11 Lester Medford

5' 10"
Junior
G
Rico Gathers

#2 Rico Gathers

6' 8"
Freshman
F
Taurean Prince

#35 Taurean Prince

6' 7"
Freshman
F