Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest-Mount Olive Postgame Quotes
11/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 6, 2008
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2008-09 Wake Forest Men's Basketball
Postgame Quotes - The Mount Olive Game
November 6, 2008
Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum - Winston-Salem, N.C.
Wake Forest Head Coach Dino Gaudio
On the game...
"That was a great success because nobody got hurt. I though after the first eight minutes when the score was 16-14 that we settled in a little bit. I think for the first time in this arena we had a little bit of the jitters. The first half we went on a little 28-0 run so it wasn't too bad. I think this year we are really trying to concentrate on our defense and not giving up three-point shots. We gave up 37.2 percent from behind the three-point line last year. The other thing we are working on is funneling stuff to the big guys. For the first time in a long time, since I have been coaching, we have some shot blockers. I told the kids in eight years I don't think we've ever shared the ball better. I was really pleased."
On James Johnson not playing tonight...
"I'm just going to be really tight with the younger guys. I'd rather be stricter with those guys than not. He might be playing at other places. It's nothing grave. He is a great kid but we are just going to really keep things tight with this young group."
On the play of Tony Woods...
"I think what you saw out of him tonight is what we have been seeing all preseason. He is a low-post player that goes block to block, rebounds the ball, and he tries to dunk everything. He is a work in progress. Some of those big kids come out and think they are three-point shooters. He knows who he is and he has been practicing very, very well."
On Jeff Teague's performance at point guard...
"He can take on an expanded role this season. Many of our sets we just change the number on it and it's for Jeff (Teague) or for Ishmael (Smith). We played without two starters tonight, Ish Smith and James Johnson, and it went well for those guys that were in there. I don't think we played great but I was pleased with their effort. I though they played pretty hard."
Wake Forest Players
#44 David Weaver, Forward/Center
On the game...
"It felt good out there. I think if we play like we did tonight, we're going to have a really good chance to do a lot of damage in the ACC and in the preseason. The young guys played with a lot of intensity and the older guys played with a lot of chemistry today. If we keep that going throughout the season, we're going to be alright."
On the team's height...
"It's a little weird at first because I'm used to being one of the bigger guys on the floor. I'm playing at one of the forward spots. It was weird at first, but after awhile you get used to it."
On what he liked best about tonight's game...
"I liked how we shared the ball tonight. We had a ton of assists tonight. That shows that we're going to be really unselfish and that's going to go a long way."
#42 L.D. Williams, Guard
On Jeff Teague...
"He's one of the best guards in the country. Everybody knows (Jeff) Teague can score, but I think he showed a different element to his game tonight in giving up the ball to a lot of different guys. A lot of people think of him as a score first point guard, but he has court vision too. He's got a little flare to his game that makes it fun to play with him."
Mount Olive Head Coach Joey Higginbotham
Opening statement...
"It was a good night for our guys. We came in here and had nothing to lose and we had a lot to gain. We are a better team leaving this gym than we were when we came. Wake Forest is an extremely talented team. Everything they have gotten so far in the preseason they definitely deserve. They have some talented freshmen. I know they're playing without Ish (Smith). It's interesting because we're both playing without our starting point guards. We're just trying to fill that void and find that person to step up. It's a challenge everyday. Hopefully they'll both be back for both of us and we'll both continue to build on this game. Hopefully we made them a little better. They definitely made us a better team."
On the injury to Kendrick Easley...
"He's got a bruise not on his back, but on his shoulder. It's a pretty bad bruise. I guess they call it a stinger. It's swollen pretty bad. I'll be honest with you, I thought it would be a lot worse than what it is now."
On what his team gets out of tonight's game...
"We came in and we wanted to compete and battle for 40 minutes. Wake Forest is extremely talented. They're in the top level of teams in the country. We want to compete at the top of our level. They're bigger, stronger but our guys did not back down. I told him whether we were up 20 or down 20, we wanted to compete and our guys competed. We have a lot of new guys. Getting that intensity every time they step on the court is what we're trying to develop right now. We're getting there. We have one more tune up Sunday before we open up next weekend. It's an exciting bunch. I told them I was proud that they fought until the buzzer. Buzzer to buzzer we played hard."
On the difficulty of scouting Wake Forest with its new freshmen...
"I had seen all three freshmen play three or four times in the summer. They're all extremely talented. Al-Farouq Aminu is a special player with his versatility. We're going to be watching him on TV making a lot of money. Jeff Teague is a great player. I think he's a little more comfortable off the ball with Ish (Smith) in there. Tonight was great for us. Those freshmen are extremely talented."
