POSTGAME QUOTE SHEET:
WICHITA STATE 70, TEMPLE 67
Feb. 7, 2021 | WICHITA, KAN. | CHARLES KOCH ARENA (2,625)
ISAAC BROWN, DEXTER DENNIS, TYSON ETIENNE, TREY WADE
Head Coach
ISSAC BROWN on…
Opening Statement:
"Temple is good basketball team. They got great size. It's 6'5" at the point spot. 6'5" at the two spot. I thought we did a good job early on in defending, we just couldn't keep them off the offensive glass. Dunn (Damian Dunn) is a big-time player and he got 20 tonight. We sent a lot of people at him. Dexter got in foul trouble. We executed down the stretch. It was kind of hard to run a lot of our sets because we're in foul trouble with Morris Udezze, Jo (Josephat Bilau) was a little injured, and Isaiah Poohbear Chandler wasn't with us tonight. He had some family issues that he had to attend to. But I thought for the most part, we had to play break down basketball because we had guys at different positions. But right there at the end, when we got Morris back in, we were able to execute a play. We got a layup, and we got some big stops late. We just got to do a better job on the glass. Again, they got 18 offensive rebounds. But I was just so happy that the guys competed and sometimes you win games that are not pretty. But the bottom line, they pulled it out."
… What it takes to win scrappy games
"I think we got good guards that are experienced in the backcourt.
Alterique Gilbert, you know, played all those years at UConn. He's one of those guys that he may not be scoring early on, but late, he's not going to turn it over and he can get us in all our spots. And then you got Tyson, you know, he's a weapon. He's leading the conference in scoring at any given time, he can make some plays. I thought Dexter stepped up and made a big three when we needed it. And then
Trey Wade was good tonight. Morris got in foul trouble, but he made a big basket late. But I think those guys are just experienced, and they know exactly what to do late in the game. They didn't turn it over and they made the right play."
… Temple's multiple offensive rebounds:
"We just talked about it in the huddle about competing. That's what we wrote on the board: competing for 40 minutes and being able to win the rebounding battle, and I thought the last two minutes of the game, we broke even. We didn't give them any second shots. We just got to keep practicing at it. You know, every day we're doing box out drills. But that's a big physical basketball team, but we still got to be able to keep them off the glass."
… The work he sees Tyson Etienne putting in:
"You know, he just put the work in this summer. He is always the first guy in the gym, last guy to leave. He's constantly working on his ball handling. He's constantly working on his body. I remember he was wearing a large shirt. Now he's wearing an extra large care, Gary's done a great job in the weight room, getting him big and physical and he does a great job in eating right, and making sure he has enough water in his system to make sure he can play a lot of minutes."
… His Super Bowl prediction:
"You know what I am cheering for Sarah Bailey Thomas. The referee is the first female referee ever in the Super Bowl and me and her went to high school together when I was in the 12th she was in the 9th and she was a fantastic basketball player and a softball player, as well. So I'm just gonna be cheering that she does a great job tonight like I know she will but I will be pulling for the Chiefs."
Junior guard
DEXTER DENNIS on…
... The weird feelings the game gave off:
"Yeah, it did feel like a little weird game, kind of like the Central Florida game. It just wasn't pretty. It was what we call an ugly win. But I think we've been battling a lot of adversity this year. The message in the locker room is always stay in the moment stay in the present, control what we can control. I think in those moments, there's not really a sense of panic anymore. We're a little bit older. So, I think everybody just kind of know, relax, take a deep breath and just do what we can do and try to get a win."
… Being more locked in on rebounding:
"We just have to lock in and focus on doing it on top of doing other things we're doing so We got to bunker down because we don't want that to really catch up to us later on in the season. In any close games that can be difference. I thought there was the difference earlier in the game and they were getting a lot of second chance opportunities, third chance opportunities as well. So, yeah, we got to bunker down and just get it done."
… His Super Bowl prediction
Very uncommitted to any team. He did not want to get attacked on social media later.
Sophomore guard
TYSON ETIENNE on…
… His and-one layup near the end of the game:
"Just had to find a way to get a bucket at the end. I saw the baseline empty on that side. Everybody was loaded up to the other side, so I knew at least I could draw a foul trying to get to the free throw line. I put a lot of time in the weight room and I was able to get it up in time. My teammates just did a great job of moving without the ball, giving me the lane."
… How possessions become tougher as the game ends:
"You know, it's a small window affair I say like, the last four minutes of the game. You really gotta be on point. I see different defenses, but my team, we have great coaches, we got great players. We come up with the right ways to attack. Sometimes it's not me necessarily scoring the ball, you know, but somehow, I'm involved in the action. Since they give me a lot of attention that opens up other guys that score. So, you know, it just really comes down to the situation, but we do a good job of reading."
… Not caring who comes in clutch for the team:
"You know, it's like I said, we play basketball to have fun, to be able to make plays in that moment, it's a beautiful thing. It's not necessarily about the awards or anything, it's about are you guys getting wins, is your team winning together. So just to be able for me to make that play, you know, for us to get the win is a great job. But if anybody would have made the play, you know, it's a great feeling because we came out with the W."
… The wacky flow of the game:
"Oh, it was a hard win. Maybe it's the Super Bowl Sunday game. Maybe everybody's worried about the game later? I don't know. But yeah, you know, they got a lot of offensive rebounds something we definitely have to clean up, you can't allow a team to come into our building, get that many offensive rebounds. But as terms as the rhythm you know, nobody really found the flow. You know, it all came down and made hustle plays. We made the tough shots at the end of the game. Sometimes basketball games come down to that we have to win ugly, but a win is a win."
… His Super Bowl Prediction
"TB 12. Sorry."
Senior forward
TREY WADE on…
… The number of rebounds Temple was grabbing:
"Man, it just seems that balls aren't gonna be going our way sometimes but all that is stuff we really try to work on. I think we're a little undersized this year so it's a little different but that doesn't change our mentality. We still try to go out and get every rebound. We just got to keep working."
… His Super Bowl prediction:
"Man, I'm gonna go with the Bucs."
