POSTGAME QUOTE SHEET
WICHITA STATE 85, ORAL ROBERTS 80
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 2, 2020
WICHITA, KAN./ CHARLES KOCH ARENA (100)
ISAAC BROWN, TYSON ETIENNE, CLARENCE JACKSON, ALTERIQUE GILBERT
 

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Head Coach ISAAC BROWN on…
 
… Opening Statement:
"It felt good getting the win. It definitely felt good. I'm just so glad those guys stayed together and battled. You know, we hit some adversity in that game. (ORU) was shooting the ball really well. We got down nine, but the leadership showed up. Those guys stayed together, and we defended late, got a couple of stops and were able to win the game."
 
… on his first career win:
"I'm excited about the win, but I know we've got to play a lot better, because it's about to get a lot tougher. So, my mind is on just cleaning up our mistakes. We've got to rebound better. We've got to take better shots. We've got to execute better. We've got to guard better."
 
… Tyson Etienne's performance:
"Once he got it going, we rode him. He hit one or two shots, and we started calling a lot of plays, trying to get the ball to him. We actually moved him to the point some when we could call some other sets for him. He's a tremendous shooter, and he stepped up and made some big shots tonight. And he drove the ball well and got to the foul line. He played a big-time game. We need that from him."
 
… trying to create more assists in the second half:
"We felt like we weren't sharing in the basketball, and that was one of the keys coming into the game. I kind of figured that's what happened, since this our first time playing since March and we've got two or three new guys. We just wanted shot selection to be one of the top things, and I didn't think we had a good shot selection early on. But later in the game, I thought some guys made some plays and drove the ball and were able to get some better shots."
 
… Alterique Gilbert's two key assists near the end of the game:
"Yes, those are set plays. We ran a play where we tried to put Alterique in a ball screen with Tyson coming up to the top. Gilbert was able to drive the ball and create a help situation and he hit Clarence Jackson in the corner for a wide open three. In the other play he broke the defense down and got Morris Udeze an easy basket. And that's what he brings to our team. He's a guy that can create for others and also create his own shot."
 
… Clarence Jackson's performance:
"I thought he played great. You know, for his first time playing a college basketball game, he brought a lot of energy off the bench. He may have led us in rebounds tonight with eight. I mean he's 6'6" and an Energizer bunny, that's what he does. He goes to the offensive glass, he defends at a high level, and he can guard one through four. He brought a lot of energy off the bench, which we desperately needed."
 
… the Shockers free throw advantage:
"Coach Gudino, it was his scout tonight, and he talked about that. It was one of the keys to the game, getting to the paint, because they're a help team. We wanted to drive to the paint, create wide open threes, and make their guys powerless and we did a good job. I think we shot 20-something free throws and that was the difference in the game. You know what I'm saying? When you can't make wide open shots, you've got to create fouls, and we did that by driving, getting into paint, kicking it out, driving getting into paint, giving Morris Udeze and them easy looks for layups, so they helped us tremendously in the way we could get to the free throw line. Because early on in the game, we struggled shooting from three."
 

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Sophomore Guard TYSON ETIENNE on…
 
… playing with eight guys:
"It's fun. You get to play. I mean, just to be on the court is a beautiful thing. I think God we got on the court and it was a blessing that we're out here. You know, so just to be on court and playing at Koch Arena, despite not having our support system behind us. I know it was a great thing for us to come up and get the win with a new coach, new team, eight players."
 
… getting Isaac Brown his first win:
"Oh, it was great. We were all hyped. It was coach IB's very first game. We wanted the win for ourselves, but we wanted it for him, too."
 
…the mood in the locker room:
"Despite everything that's been going on around our team over the past couple months, our locker room is the best it's ever been. We're all having each other's back. It's fun coming into work, because, you know, we all like each other, we all mess with each other. And, you know, we just keep rallying each other when something bad happens. We just help eachother as part of the process. Whatever happens is supposed to happen. We just come together and weather the storm."
 
… the mentality that's displayed in practice:
"Heart. Effort. We're low-manned right now. We don't have all of our guns, but we have our fight. You're gonna get a talented basketball club at the end of the day. All of us have individual skills that comes together as a great team product. So you're gonna get what Shocker fans expect to get from their teams, despite everything that's going on. None of us have lost our talent, our athleticism, or our intelligence. So, we'll go out there and play and as everything starts to get underway, we'll be ready to produce."
 

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Sophomore Forward CLARENCE JACKSON on…
 
… playing in his first game as a Shocker:
"It's amazing, man. I'm here now, so I've got to perform every night. Just imagine if we had Shocker nation (in the arena), right? That's the only thing I'm thinking about.
 
… his go-ahead three late in the game:
"Everyday in practice, Coach Lou (Gudino) tells me to shoot the ball. I knew that was my time to step up. AG (Alterique Gilbert) is a wizard with the ball, so I know at any given time he can just wrap it around and give it to you."
 

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Redshirt Senior ALTERIQUE GILBERT on…
 
… playing competitive basketball after a long layoff:
"Oh, man, it was great. Just to be back on the court again with everything going on in the world. This team has been through a lot of adversity the past couple of months, so it's just good to be on the court."
 
… the preparation coming into the game:
"I think the hardest thing for us was trying to simulate that game atmosphere in practice. We played four-on-four for about two weeks. Coming into the game, we didn't really know how things would go. We just wanted to come out and play hard which is in the school's tradition. And that's what we tried to do."
 
… on making the offense more fluid in the second half:
"Yeah, I think that comes with a new team, a little jitters too, but we just had to settle down a little bit. I think everybody was kind of anxious, excited. We've been waiting for a while now. Once we kind of settled down and started to move the ball a little bit with more fluidity on offense, it was good for us."