Wake Forest Athletics
Selection Sunday Quotes
3/13/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 13, 2005
Wake Forest Junior Guard Justin Gray
On not getting a No. 1 seed...
"I think we all hoped for it deep down inside, but coach tries to remind us that a one and two seed are very similar, we play the same type of teams. There are 65 teams in the tournament and they are all good, we must play well in every round. I think this year we all felt confident that we would be in the tournament and not a bubble team and we are blessed to be a No. 2 seed."
On the excitement from Chattanooga's perspective...
"This is an exciting game for us too. It's the NCAA Tournament. We have to evaluate them (Chattanooga) as a strong opponent and Coach Prosser will get us well-prepared for them."
On the loss to NC State in the ACC Tournament...
"It hurts, but we have to move on. That game is behind us. NC State is a tournament team, but so is Chattanooga, we have to focus on them right now."
On going to Cleveland and not Charlotte...
"I didn't think we would get to play in Charlotte, to be honest. But we are happy to be a No. 2 seed. We like our bracket and we hope we'll play well against the teams in it and make it to Albuquerque next weekend."
On the pressure...
"There is always pressure in the NCAA Tournament. There are only 65 teams left in the season and every round eliminates half of the ones left. We know that it's one and done now. We've handled it well this season and I think we are ready for the challenge of added pressure during the tournament."
Wake Forest Senior Guard Taron Downey...
On not getting a No. 1 seed...
"We're not really that disappointed, but what can we do about it anyway? We have to go into the tournament, get some wins and try not to get wrapped up in all of the seedings."
On this being your senior year and last NCAA tournament...
"I think that will motivate me and my classmates. We have to put the rest of the season behind us and put all of our effort into the next few weeks. We know it's now or never, we'll be home for good if we lose. The competition is tough wether you are a No. 1 seed or a No. 16 seed."
On where the team is defensively...
"I think we have room for improvement. There is room for improvement in all aspects of our game. The fact that we know we can still get better will hopefully motivate us and will take us further into the tournament." On the excitement from Chattanooga's perspective... "I like being the underdog, so I know how they are feeling. We cannot take them lightly, we have to both bring our A-games this week."
Wake Forest Head Coach Skip Prosser...
Any disappointment not being a No. 1 seed...
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed, but overall we are happy to be back in the tournament and excited about going to Cleveland. Chattanooga is a very strong team and we must focus on getting past them first and foremost."
On the excitement from Chattanooga's perspective...
"We've been a marked team for a while this season, so hopefully we are used to that by now. We will bring our best effort against Chattanooga and not take this game lightly. Our team has rebounded well from losses so far this season and we look to do that again this week. The whole tournament is about who guards and plays the best for forty minutes. It is one and done at this point in the season."
On the pressure, how do you get your team to still enjoy the rest of the season...
"We have to accept the pressure and hopefully not stress about it. We'll have good, hard practices this week which will hopefully lead to good, hard play in our game this week."
