Stanford started fast and managed to fight off several lulls to convincingly beat Washington 94-78. The Huskies came into the game as the conference's best defense and Reid Travis appeared determined to demolish that reputation one possession at a time. Travis posted a career high 33 points and 23 came in the first half.
Dorian Pickens put in 20 points on five three pointers and also had six rebounds and five assists. Michael Humphrey had 15 and Osacr da Silva hit two threes as part of his 14-point effort. Daejon Davis only had four points, but he only committed one turnover compared to nine assists.
Saturday is senior day and also a celebration of the 1998 Final Four team. The ceremony for seniors Michael Humphrey and Dorian Pickens will occur before the game and the recognition for the 1998 team will be at halftime.
Jerod Haase
On Reid Travis' play: "He was the real deal. It's one thing to say hey we want to get the ball to the middle of the zone and it's another thing to get it there and do something with it. He's as good as there is in the country at finishing through contact. The other thing is he has the skill set to be able to put the ball on the ground and go around people, so it's not just strength and it's not just guard skills. He has the combination of both."
You had 47 free throw attempts, so what do you attribute that to?
"I think we attacked the rim. We talked a lot about either trying to attack the rim or get good looks from three. We didn't want to settle for 12 and 15 footers. The next question is probably why can't we make more of them? (Stanford was 27 of 47)That's coaching and I'll make sure I do a better job coaching that."
How do you feel you did against the press?
"If I was grading us I'd give us a C-. At times we broke it. It's a fine line -- and not just the press, but the second half -- of playing aggressive, going after it and trying to blow it open and being passive. It had an ebb and flow between the two and the sweet spot we want to get to where we're very aggressive ... but making simple plays. We didn't quite find that sweet spot. We either got too aggressive or too casual. In the press offense I thought we were a little bit too passive -- similar to the game. At times we did turn up the floor and make the next pass. We have some youth that is still learning what to do. Some guys are in positions they haven't been in past years. Having said all that we're going to continue to improve."
You've talked in the past about building a big lead in the first half and remaining aggressive in the second half. How would you evaluate that tonight?
"It was the longest second half I think in the history of basketball. I don't even know what I think anymore. My mind is just worn out. Yes, we want to keep building it and have the knockout punch. It was just right when we got to the point where maybe we could deliver a knockout punch they made a three or got a steal. That's when we got a little bit tentative."
Can you talk about KZ's night on defense?
"He's still figuring it out and there were some real positives guarding the basketball. He had four blocked shots. That shows how long he is and how good he can be guarding the basketball. At times his passing can be just off the charts. The times he makes mistakes it's more -- I'd say the No. 1 thing he is lacking right now is experience. The more experience he gets he'll be in that position over and over again. I think he can have the growth that we've seen in guys like Oscar and Daejon this year."
On Daejon Davis' game: "It's fantastic. Each game is a little bit different flow with what he's doing and sometimes it's scoring. I would certainly sign up for nine assists and one turnover every day from him."
Dorian Pickens
What did you see from Reid Travis tonight?
"You saw a beast in there. Anytime he got the ball in the high post he was able to get to the cup, find teammates, finish plays strong and get to the line. He really gets us going offensively, especially with their kind of defense they keep the middle open and that's perfect for him to get in and operate. We trust him fully to go in there and dominate when the opportunity is there. He crashes the board hard and gets possessions for our team. He played outstanding today and I couldn't be more happy for him."
Reid Travis
Did you know you would have a big night?
"I had a feeling I would have a big night because we played them the first time, so had a lot of film on them already. They're bigs like to stay back by the basket and let their guards fan out. I knew if I can get big and operate in the high post I'd have a good game if I can make quick moves and finish at the basket. It helped me early on to see a few go in and make some free throws from there. I was aggressive in that mindset."
Dorian Pickens put in 20 points on five three pointers and also had six rebounds and five assists. Michael Humphrey had 15 and Osacr da Silva hit two threes as part of his 14-point effort. Daejon Davis only had four points, but he only committed one turnover compared to nine assists.
Saturday is senior day and also a celebration of the 1998 Final Four team. The ceremony for seniors Michael Humphrey and Dorian Pickens will occur before the game and the recognition for the 1998 team will be at halftime.
Jerod Haase
On Reid Travis' play: "He was the real deal. It's one thing to say hey we want to get the ball to the middle of the zone and it's another thing to get it there and do something with it. He's as good as there is in the country at finishing through contact. The other thing is he has the skill set to be able to put the ball on the ground and go around people, so it's not just strength and it's not just guard skills. He has the combination of both."
You had 47 free throw attempts, so what do you attribute that to?
"I think we attacked the rim. We talked a lot about either trying to attack the rim or get good looks from three. We didn't want to settle for 12 and 15 footers. The next question is probably why can't we make more of them? (Stanford was 27 of 47)That's coaching and I'll make sure I do a better job coaching that."
How do you feel you did against the press?
"If I was grading us I'd give us a C-. At times we broke it. It's a fine line -- and not just the press, but the second half -- of playing aggressive, going after it and trying to blow it open and being passive. It had an ebb and flow between the two and the sweet spot we want to get to where we're very aggressive ... but making simple plays. We didn't quite find that sweet spot. We either got too aggressive or too casual. In the press offense I thought we were a little bit too passive -- similar to the game. At times we did turn up the floor and make the next pass. We have some youth that is still learning what to do. Some guys are in positions they haven't been in past years. Having said all that we're going to continue to improve."
You've talked in the past about building a big lead in the first half and remaining aggressive in the second half. How would you evaluate that tonight?
"It was the longest second half I think in the history of basketball. I don't even know what I think anymore. My mind is just worn out. Yes, we want to keep building it and have the knockout punch. It was just right when we got to the point where maybe we could deliver a knockout punch they made a three or got a steal. That's when we got a little bit tentative."
Can you talk about KZ's night on defense?
"He's still figuring it out and there were some real positives guarding the basketball. He had four blocked shots. That shows how long he is and how good he can be guarding the basketball. At times his passing can be just off the charts. The times he makes mistakes it's more -- I'd say the No. 1 thing he is lacking right now is experience. The more experience he gets he'll be in that position over and over again. I think he can have the growth that we've seen in guys like Oscar and Daejon this year."
On Daejon Davis' game: "It's fantastic. Each game is a little bit different flow with what he's doing and sometimes it's scoring. I would certainly sign up for nine assists and one turnover every day from him."
Dorian Pickens
What did you see from Reid Travis tonight?
"You saw a beast in there. Anytime he got the ball in the high post he was able to get to the cup, find teammates, finish plays strong and get to the line. He really gets us going offensively, especially with their kind of defense they keep the middle open and that's perfect for him to get in and operate. We trust him fully to go in there and dominate when the opportunity is there. He crashes the board hard and gets possessions for our team. He played outstanding today and I couldn't be more happy for him."
Reid Travis
Did you know you would have a big night?
"I had a feeling I would have a big night because we played them the first time, so had a lot of film on them already. They're bigs like to stay back by the basket and let their guards fan out. I knew if I can get big and operate in the high post I'd have a good game if I can make quick moves and finish at the basket. It helped me early on to see a few go in and make some free throws from there. I was aggressive in that mindset."
