Wake Forest Athletics
Post Game Quotes
11/3/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 3, 2005
Wake Forest Head Coach Skip Prosser
On the game:
"I thought that Winston-Salem State played really well. They did a good job of spreading us out and driving on us, which I thought was a better strategy against a bigger team. It gives us a lot to work on. It's not all bad that it was a close game. I think there is a plethora of things we did poorly, and I'll have better answer for that when I see the tape. Again, I thought Winston-Salem State had a very good game plan going in and executed it pretty well."
On Michael Drum:
"He practiced pretty well. That's how we usually judge it. He was steady. He made a couple shots for us, made some nice drives, penetrations, good passes. He doesn't necessarily wow you with his athleticism, but I thought he was steady and the kid made some good plays. Even the shots he missed went half way down."
On the freshman guards:
"I think they played like freshmen guards. Harvey (Hale) hit a big shot for us and I thought (Shamaine Dukes) played pretty well when Justin Gray had to come out with fouls. This is a team that will try to struggle to win every game."
On what the team needs to work on:
"Obviously our three-point shooting wasn't good and our free throw shooting was not good. The good thing for us is that we saw a lot of different looks. There was soft pressure, hard pressure, mix it up and keep us off balanced. We have some guys that will have to step up and be primary players for us. It was good for them to be exposed to different looks from Winston-Salem State."
Winston-Salem State Head Coach Philip Stitt
How exciting did it get down the stretch:
"It was exciting the entire game. Obviously, when you get down the stretch in any ball game that is tight it is exciting. It gives your team more of an adrenaline rush."
What does your team take from this game:
It was a tremendous effort by a group of young men. It was an effort that I have not seen over the last two weeks of practice. The last two weeks of practice have been the worst we have ever had."
"For some reason, we stepped it up tonight. We executed some of our plays and if we can execute them against Wake Forest. Hopefully, we can do that in our league. It is a long year and we have a lot of basketball ahead of us."
"We actually had a chance to win the game. I do not care who you are playing, any loss is has a bad feeling."
"We hung in there. I really can't say enough about the effort of our guys."
On the effectiveness of their zone:
"It was a 3-2 and we were just trying to match up. For most of the night, we had at least two or three of the older guys that sort of knew what they were doing. It did help us be effective."
On the ratio of turnovers to assists for both teams:
"That is what we are kind of used to with our team. Of course with Wake, Justin (Gray) has a bit of an adjustment ahead of him. It is not an easy position to play. People are going to come at him, but he will adjust. He is too good of a player."
"I have the confidence in Justin. Wake Forest will be just fine."
"We tried to trap him to get the ball out of his hands. In our eyes, he is the most dangerous guy on the court."
Wake Forest senior guard Justin Gray
On the game:
"We have a lot of guys playing different roles, but you can't take anything from Winston-Salem State. They came out and played hard and made big shots. It is our first game, and we're taking it game-by-game. If we can come in and win that game, that's our goal. And tonight we got that win."
On playing and focusing on each game:
"Every game we have to work hard. No game can you come out and think it's a cakewalk. Guys play hard every night, and that's what we're trying to get to the younger guys and guys who haven't played a lot. We're going to have to bring it every night, and some nights your shots aren't going to fall. You just have to come back the next night and play hard."
On the first game playing point guard:
"I think I did a pretty good job as far as getting the team into offenses. I have to cut down on my turnovers and keep playing hard. I know coach will get on me to push the ball a bit more, but it's my first game and I'll get better."
Wake Forest senior forward Eric Williams
On the game:
"It felt different. I'm used to Justin Gray playing the two (guard) and Chris (Paul) at point. It will take some time getting used to Justin playing the point. The first game is out of the way, even if it is an exhibition game. We know what to expect now, and we know what to correct."
On Winston-Salem State:
"We're really close with Winston-Salem State. We knew they were going to come out and play hard. This means a lot to everybody - to us, to them, to the community. It's a long time coming game. They came out and played with a lot of heart."
On Michael Drum:
"Drum is a player that a lot of people are going to sleep on and they shouldn't. He's always playing hard and always playing well. If coach puts him as a role player, he's going to play his role and then some. A lot of people are going to sleep on him, and they'll be at fault for that."
