Dec. 23, 2007
Post Game Quotes
December 22, 2007
K-State Freshman forward Michael Beasley
On being in the "Zone"...
"I was just going with the flow, just going with the wind. Lucky for me, the wind blew me to a special place."
On the K-State run that brought the team back from a 10-point deficit...
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"It felt good I guess. I'm more happy that we got the win, that we beat them by a lot of points. It felt good though, I'm also happy that we got the win. Points don't really matter to me."
On his hot start to the second half...
"Somebody on their team said `Beasley who' before they went into the locker room at halftime - that kind of upset me."
On hitting three three-pointers...
"I was shooting like Kevin Durant. Did you see those, those were hot. The third one, I didn't think was going in. I didn't know I was going to shoot three threes. I've never done that before, it felt good."
Again on being in the "Zone"...
"I don't think I've been in the zone yet. I'm hoping to get there. It's like the 10th floor and I think I've reached the sixth maybe. I took over the game, I would say so - it was pretty good I guess. I wasn't in a zone though; I was just taking open shots, playing as a team. I don't think I took any ill-advised shots. I think I got a couple assists. We're just playing as a team."
K-State Senior guard Clent Stewart
On Michael Beasley's performance...
"Mike's a tremendous talent. He told me at halftime that he was going to get 30 this half. I look at him and said, ok you've gotten 30 in a couple games but not in a half. He said I'm going to get 30 this half, watch. He went out there and he was motivated. If you say anything to him to motivate him, if you're on the opposite team you don't want to do that. He can score at will. He went out there and started making shots, just doing what he does."
On losing momentum after a quick start to the first half...
"We came out and got the lead and we have to be able to maintain. I think coach said our last bucket in the first half was with like four minutes left. We have to come out and keep pressing on. When you get a big lead you have to keep pressing on, you can't relax."
K-State Head Coach Frank Martin
On his halftime message...
"I told them at halftime that I could come in there and scream and rant and rave (but I didn't). We have a guy on the bench that charts our shots - we missed 12 three-foot shots in the first half. I thought we played fairly well defensively, I thought our guys were communicating. Our biggest weakness as a team is that we don't communicate on the floor. That's because of inexperience. That's why experienced teams are so good, because they talk to one another the whole 40 minutes. We're getting better at it. We were good in the first half but then we were so inept on offense. Part of our ineptitude is our inability to make three-foot shots. I told them at halftime, I hope you guys have some pride about who you are, because you practiced well and it's a crying shame that we can't come out here and play well. I think Mike was just pissed off at himself for not performing well in the first half and went out there and put on a show."
On how good Michael Beasley's performance was...
"Good. If you have 40 (points) and 15 (rebounds) in 23 minutes, and 40 points on 22 shots - you look at those numbers, regardless of how you cut them, they're good."
On the need to motivate Michael Beasley...
"I've told you guys over and over, he cares about winning. He's not into his numbers. He cares about winning. He was pretty good defensively, as far as doing the things that we needed as a whole to succeed. Mike did his job there defensively. He had a couple lapses here and there. I told the team during a timeout that he had a breakdown one time, he got beat of the dribble and I said ok he made a mistake but he's only grabbed every rebound and scored every time down the floor, can somebody help him out here. Mike wants to win, that's what he cares about."
On the most special thing he's seen from Michael Beasley...
"He's a great kid. I'm happy that he succeeds because he makes our team succeed, but I'm more happy because he's such a great kid. When you coach kids that are sincerely interested in winning, as a coach you enjoy seeing them have success. He's talented, anybody who tells you differently would be a fool. People might have laughed at me earlier in the year when I was trying to say how good he is. He's a good player. He is who he is and he takes pride in who he is. He's as good as anybody I've ever been around at the age of 18."
On his message to Bill Walker after picking up his fourth foul...
"He's just an aggressive player. I just went down there to make sure he understood that I wasn't putting him back in, I didn't see any sense in it in a 35-point game. Bill's just like Mike (Beasley), he wants to win. Bill's a little different than Mike because Bill wears his emotions on his sleeve where Mike kind of hides his emotions. But they've both have that fire inside to win."
On an opposing player shouting "Beasley who?" before half...
"We told (Mike) that at halftime. (One of the Rams) said it and we told him that at halftime. I hope that question was answered."
