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BIG 12 CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 8, 2012Markel BrownTravis FordKeiton PageBrian WilliamsKANSAS CITY, MISSOURI Missouri – 88 THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Oklahoma State head coach Travis Ford and student‑athletes Markel Brown, Keiton Page, and Brian Williams. Coach, we'll call on you first. COACH FORD: Just, first, congratulate Missouri, and, secondly, just how proud I am of our basketball team. I think you saw in the second half kind of what we've exemplified: A team that never gives up, a team that's going to fight until the end, a team that has felt adversity, we felt adversity in the first half playing against one of the best teams in America who was playing great. That's tough to go against. But give them credit. I think fatigue was a little bit of factor. We used up a lot of energy last night. Quick turnaround. Not to make an excuse. I think Missouri played up on that. That was something they probably talked about: Hey, Oklahoma State doesn't have a whole lot of players, those guys have been playing a lot of minutes. They played late last night. Let's go at them early. But not to make any excuses. Our guys played hard. We just went up against a team tonight, and I've told my staff this a while ago, when Missouri‑‑ when you let Missouri play to their strength, if they're playing to their strength, there's not many teams better in the country. There's not. When they're playing their best, they can beat anybody really at their best, I believe. They're that good. And when they're on a roll and you give them confidence early, they're as good as it gets. I give them credit. But our guys, I'll tell you, for us to come back and win the second half, to keep playing, these three guys up here really carried us in the second half. I'm just proud of the way they've handled themselves this year. Very proud of their effort. As we told them, we've laid the foundation for what I think itÂ’s going to be a very good basketball team. We were led by one of the best players in the country, one of the best seniors in the country in Keiton Page. But very proud of these guys and how hard they've played and how they've represented us. THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student‑athletes. Q. Keiton, how hard is it going to be for you to know that you're going to be taking off that jersey, Oklahoma State; that you've worn with so much pride for four years? How emotional is it for you right now? KEITON PAGE: It's going to be tough, especially coming from a guy that's wanted to be a Cowboy since he was little. It's been the best‑‑ it's been a fast four years, but it's definitely been the best four years of my life. To play with great, great teammates and then put in a great opportunity under this coaching staff and great position, and just a million memories I've never forget. Q. Brian and Markel, can you kind of talk about Keiton's contributions to this team this season and over his career? MARKEL BROWN: He's contributed a lot to this program. A guy like Keiton, I don't think there will ever be another one. Just a great leader on the court and also off the court. He's led the way for us this whole season. He showed us a lot that we can take with us for next year. BRIAN WILLIAMS: He's a great player, great scorer. Even better leader in person, and we'll definitely miss him next year. COACH FORD: Keiton and Markel are roommates. It's tough for Markel to say a lot of positive things about Keiton. They're usually going back and forth against each other, so that's pretty good for Markel, because they're usually going back and forth at each other. But, no, that's the truth. Q. Can you guys talk about what that defense was like in the first half, how stifling that was for you guys to face? BRIAN WILLIAMS: Well, they played great defense. I give them credit for that. But we weren't knocking down shots. And it was just a rough first half. But we had a better second one. But I think it was a little too late. We dug ourselves too big of a hole. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. Questions for Coach. Q. I don't know if you know this, you were too busy giving a hug to Keiton, but when you took him out 53seconds left, it wasn't just people wearing orange shirts that gave him a standing ovation, it was people wearing all different colored shirts that gave him a standing ovation. COACH FORD: That doesn't surprise me. If you love the game of basketball, then you love Keiton Page, because he's what it's about. And if you don't like Keiton Page, then there's something wrong with you. I mean, there really is. We celebrated Keiton in the locker room after the game. And I told our guys. I said, You guys, some of you are very temperamental, but you're talking about a young man who I have really been hard on for several years early in his career. Handled it like a champ, like a pro. And he's come back, and senior year become one of the best college basketball players in the country. And he has taught this team so many things that they'll hopefully be able to carry with them to make them a better team, a better player. I joke about Markel and Keiton. You know, they've been roommates for a couple of years now, past two years, and they're extremely tight. And he's been so good for Markel, and Markel's been good for him. But, yeah, to see‑‑ I noticed it. I felt it. And I think obviously it's well deserved. But I think he's meant a lot to a lot of people, and I think everybody just respects Keiton Page and what he stands for and what he has accomplished. I mean, he's accomplished a lot. We were trying to get him his 300th 3 at the end. I think Brian goaltended his 300th 3. I think it was going in. And then I debated do I leave him in there to try to get it, but I felt he deserved to see the impact that he's made on so many people in a positive manner and how many people have enjoyed‑‑ I can't go anywhere, I can't go recruiting, I can't go anywhere, anywhere, in the United States without somebody commenting to me, Boy, I loved that Keiton Page, I love that Keiton Page, I love watching him play. And I told them so do I. So do I. So it's going to take a while for it to sink in for me that I'm not going to be coaching him. Q. Can you talk about that run at the start of the first half, that 24‑3 run, and what it did to you? COACH FORD: I think it started with their defense. Their defense was just stifling. They played with such great energy. We were kind of in slow motion, and they were in fast motion. We told our team that. We were trying‑‑ our guys I could see it in their eyes, similar to how it went in Columbia. They're a veteran‑experienced, tough‑physically basketball team. I mean they're physical. They may not be the tallest team, but they're a physical basketball team. And we're just the opposite right now. We're young. And they played to their strengths. Their defense led the offense, and in the half court they were making 3s. So give them all the credit. Again, I've commented on it. I can't begin to describe what a great job Frank Haith has done with this Missouri basketball team. It's one of the best coaching jobs I've seen this year. Q. Do you expect to see Keiton on your bench as a GA next season, on your staff, and what do you think his future is as being a basketball coach? COACH FORD: If he doesn't get drafted in the first round or something like that, yeah, hopefully he'll come back and coach. I'm trying to promote him on the NBA teams, hey, you might want to put him on your team. He wants to get into coaching. His dad's one of the great high school coaches in Oklahoma. His brother's into coaching now and is doing a great job this year. He kind of wants to follow in the footsteps and I think he wants to try college possibly. Yes, he knows he has a place on my staff anytime he wants it. Q. In the season where so much goes wrong, how much did it kind of keep your head from exploding that you had a guy like Keiton that does everything right for you? COACH FORD: Oh, no‑‑ you know, we've talked about it and I talked to my wife and I said how much I wish we were sitting here 28‑4 for Keiton Page alone. We'll get there. But I wish he could experience it. But with that said, I've enjoyed coaching this team in the past two months as much as any team I've ever coached. And that's saying a lot because I've had a lot of fun coaching a lot of teams, but I've really enjoyed coaching this basketball team the past couple of months, really enjoyed it. And I think Keiton and I have talked about this. I think Keiton Page will look back on this as not like the years where we were going to the NCAA Tournament and things, but as one of the rewarding year for him. Maybe not the best year, but a rewarding year overall in what he's accomplished and the group of guys and kind of‑‑ some of you guys have been around us the last two months, but you haven't been around us as much, it's a lot like we are. It's been a fun group, it really has. It's been a very positive group. Good attitudes. Good personality. Fun to be around off the court. And he's a big part of that. So I think even though he would love to have won 25 games, I think he'll look back on this. And we've talked about this. It was fun. It was a young team we overachieved to an extent. We believe that. We maximized our abilities, and he by far was the leader going out and being an All‑Conference player, averaging 18points a game in this league, with some young guys. He's like the grandfather of the team. Everybody just followed him and everybody played off of him and other guys stepped up on certain nights. And I think he's going to‑‑ and, again, we've talked about it. He's enjoying it. He's had fun. He's going to look back on this as a fun year, especially the way we finished it. Q.  Put this season in a nutshell for me and where do you go from here? COACH FORD: Well, it's been challenging in a lot of areas, but also very positive in a lot of areas. The schedule‑‑ you know you look at our schedule, again, was one of the toughest schedules in America. Sagarin had us I think second the other day. That had a lot to do with a lot of the things that happened with the schedule, period, and then the injuries. The schedule and the injuries were the two things that were the biggest adversity. You know, we lose J.P., who has been through the league before. We were really excited about getting him to the league and seeing how he would respond. We were excited about that. And then you lose Le'Bryan and Phil had multiple injuries. And then you're left with freshmen. And you didn't‑‑ it could have went in a lot of different areas, but it went up. And so many things happened for crazy reasons. You don't really understand it. But we chose to look at the glass half full than half empty, and it's been‑‑ it's been a fun two months, rewarding two months for us when you get a team that's overachieving and maximizing abilities and you've got some kids that are bright‑eyed and bushy‑tailed and playing hard and you've got a senior out there that just continues to impress and continues to do more than you think he can do. You're like, well, he can't do that again. He scores 40 against Texas. I'm like, whew, people are really going to shut him down now. Nobody is going to let him shoot. And then he comes back and gets 29 the next game and then goes just on a terror. We laid the foundation. We have some guys that played tonight that will be returning, a lot of experience. We have a lot of guys that did not play tonight that were in the locker room that we expect to get back full‑go. And we have some guys that will make an impact. We're getting our schedule right. There are some changes I've made. We're getting it right. So things are definitely headed up. There's no question there was a point in the season where there was a lull. And for a couple of weeks there I was‑‑ we were all strung but then we started taking off. It's crazy how things work out. Some things happen for a reason. And sometimes things happen when you think wow, and it turns out to be a positive thing. But the injuries and the schedule were the two toughest things for our basketball team. But, again, our guys have been resilient and hopefully we've learned from it. We are losing a great player. We are losing 18points a game. And we're going to have other guys step up, but we had guys tonight that can do that, we have guys that are sitting out that can do that, and we've got guys coming in that are going to help. But his leadership, I can't overstate the leadership that Keiton Page showed those young guys. I can't overstate it. It is phenomenal. It's the best I've ever seen. Ever seen. The best leadership that I've ever seen from a player. And he goes out and scores 18 in the game. But a lot of work to be done. But right now that's kind of it, quickly. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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