Postgame Quotes - Wake Forest vs. NC State
2/13/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 13, 2011
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Wake Forest Head Coach Jeff Bzdelik
Opening Statement...
"Prior to the Miami game we had two energetic practices, and you're going to play like you practice. The last two days leading up to this particular game, our practices weren't very good. And we played today like the way we practiced the last couple of days. Why is that? You can ask the players. Yesterday our practice in the morning wasn't very good at all. If we were so called hungover from a tough loss, that happens. We need to mature, get over it, move on. To use that as an excuse shows our lack of maturity and leadership. We know we are much better than what we showed today, but that is meaningless at this point. And like this whole season has been, it's been a learning experience. I am confident that our young players will learn from this experience here."
On stopping NC State...
"It starts defensively. They scored I believe on 21 of the 30 possessions in the second half. Containing the ball, all five guys engaged. When at times you're struggling to score, you certainly cannot let that defuse your defensive energy."
On the team's lack of physicality...
"That's a good question. We tried to double in the posts. We worked on blocking off. I'm sure people out there think that we don't work on blocking people off. We work on it every single day--every single day. I'm sure when I go back and watch this film, I'll see where we didn't. All that we've tried to do over the last couple of days was focus in on not allowing points in the paint; they got 20 in the first half and wound up with 46 for the game."
On how to get the transition game going...
"Well, it would help if we got stops instead of always inbounding the ball. Everyone needs to run hard. Everyone. Running is actually harder and it takes more discipline than running anything else because you have to sprint every time down the court, and you might not get the ball."
NC State Head Coach Sidney Lowe
Opening Statement...
"I thought that this was the best game we have put together in awhile on both ends of the floor. It's been awhile since we have had several guys who game out and played well for us. We could see the difference in this ball game and I thought it was a tremendous effort by our kids both on the offensive end and the defensive end. I thought Lorenzo Brown did a great job, and he is a tremendous player. I thought C.J. Leslie did an excellent job defensively as well as offensively. I think it was just really a total team effort, which is indicated by our 22 assists."
On the ball being inside and outside...
"I didn't know if it was going to be available, but we felt that they might trap Tracy in the post, which he did a great job of being patient. We talked in the locker room about playing together and playing all out. I thought he made some great passes. We weren't sure, we knew it wasn't going to be easy getting it in there, but we were just trying to be prepared that if they did trap, which they did, we had the open man."
On starting C.J. Leslie after suspending him for the Duke game...
"It wasn't so much about sending a message, it was the policy, and I said from the beginning it was just the one game. I'm not a coach that holds grudges. They are young men, who are going to make mistakes, but it is up to us as coaches to help them understand and he worked his tail off. He was great in practice, and he came out and played well today."
On starting three freshmen...
"I had been thinking about it. These young men are going to be here for awhile, and we are trying to find the team that might get us off to a good start. I just felt that with Ryan [Harrow] and his ability to create and score, and Lorenzo [Brown] and [C.J.] Leslie, and their ability to score and run the floor, it was the right decision to start them. That's our future, and if they're going to get the experience, I thought it'd be a great opportunity to start them in this game."