Postgame Quotes - Duke 91, Wake forest 73
1/19/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 19, 2012
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Post-Game Quotes
Duke 91, Wake Forest 73
January 19, 2011
Cameron Indoor Stadium - Durham, N.C.
Courtesy of Duke Sports Information
Wake Forest head coach Jeff Bzdelik
Opening Statement:
"Duke has a lot of fire power, and they were able to do a great job at spacing the court because of their ability to shoot from not one player or two players, but several players. We let [Andre] Dawkins out of our sight and lost him several times in the first half. He was able to get Duke some good separation after the first 20 minutes. We fought, battled and did our best to close the gap. We competed hard, but again with the separation that they were able to achieve with the first half, threw some put backs off the offensive glass ... We'll move on."
On the three timeouts he called during the first half after three-pointers from Dawkins:
"We were running and chasing them off the screens like we wanted to. We were allowing them to go either side instead of forcing him to go off one particular side to give us defensively some kind of advantage because they do a good job running hard off those screens and to make him go off one side as opposed to either side. Also, when we were in the zone, we lost him a couple of times and that wasn't our game plan going in. Again, that is two or three three-pointers that run contested in those kinds of situations, and combine that again with some offensive put backs, they got the separation that they needed."
On what was difficult getting stops:
"They also made some tough shots. Bank one in and they've got some really good players that can make shots. I'll be quite frank with you. We went under those hand offs at times. Again, those were some defensive mistakes. You can't go under those hand offs - that gives them air space. So a couple of defensive break- offs combined with some really good players making shots. There is a difference."
On what he liked about his team:
"I liked a lot of things. We competed. We battled. We fought. We had some good shot opportunities ourselves. We did not make them. Again, Duke has a lot of fire power, and they were able to display that and use that tonight. When Dawkins wasn't making shots, some other guys were making tough shots too. I give them a lot of credit. We move on. Our team fought and that we can build on."
On how C.J Harris played tonight:
"He was just very efficient. He was 6-for-8 from the floor and getting to the free throw line. He shot the ball extremely well. He competed out there He was just very efficient and strong. He displayed good leadership to our younger players."
On whether he was pleased with the way Travis McKie responded from Saturday:
"Yeah, I am pleased with the whole team and how they turned it around from Saturday in terms of their competiveness and the way they stuck together."
On what his team has to do differently on Saturday vs. Boston College:
"Defensively, we need to be a little bit more solid guarding the ball and knowing that we can't go under on hand offs for example. We have to do a better job getting through screens. We have to do a better job at not giving teams second chance opportunities. Duke got 18 points off the offensive glass. We can talk about the three-point shooting and this and that, but you have to finish the possessions. We did not finish possessions on the defensive end. You just cut that in half. We can talk about the tough shots they made. We lost a guy here and there, but the bottom line is that you have to finish possessions defensively, plain and simple."
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski:
Opening Statement:
"I thought our guys did a good job tonight. And I thought [Wake Forest] did a good job. I thought [head coach] Jeff [Bzdelik] did what his team would do - throw away their last game and really pay attention to what they've done the whole season, which is play good basketball. They were 10-6 before the last game, and their offense is well-conceived. Their kids play hard, and we had to play well to win. I thought Andre [Dawkins]'s performance in the first half was phenomenal and that gave us that 13-point lead. He was a key for them in the second half and it opened it up. I was impressed with Seth [Curry]'s performance in the second half with three fouls. Because Andre was getting so much attention, it kind of opened up some things for us. And then Austin [Rivers] and Ryan [Kelly] coming off the bench was outstanding. So good performance, quick turnaround and a huge game on Saturday."
On Rivers' performance coming off the bench:
"I don't like the word `bench.' I don't know where that word comes from. Bench means that he sat on the bench. To me, he scored 20 points and played 32 minutes. Everybody should be benched like that. It's our look at trying to look at different lineups, different ways of doing this team. Was Ryan [Kelly] benched? I mean, we just started a different group, just like we started a different group in the second half against Clemson. Eight of our guys have started, so when one guy isn't starting, it doesn't mean he's awful. It means we're looking at a little bit different thing or way of doing the game. And that's just the way our team has to be."
On the team's mindset in the second half:
"I think Seth's really a good player. He had a frustrating first half. So we went right to a play for him - for his jump shot and it was in and out. I think you have to show confidence in your guys, and so if we see a matchup or we think something will help a certain kid, we're going to go to him. And then he just got turned on there. I thought he was outstanding in the second half."
"They were focused so much on Andre, so it opened some things up. When your guys are playing well, it's tough to concentrate on one guy. It creates some openings for people."
On the frontcourt matchups against Wake Forest:
"I like our big guys. We need to be not one-dimensional. And so we're trying to go in to them. We didn't score as much as I think we should have. And then we got a good matchup with Ryan for about four exchanges in a row and we just went exclusively to him and he was very aggressive."
On how Rivers responded to being challenged by the coaching staff:
"There's no alternative. I would hope that every player, every person on a team would want to be pushed to do their best. And if both people are doing the pushing, then it's outstanding. And I'm not saying that's not the case with Austin. If only one person's doing the pushing, then that's not so good. And for the most part, our guys, we push together. We're trying to get better - just trying to get better."
On the quick turnaround to get ready for Florida State on Saturday:
"It's quick. They had until Tuesday. They're the hottest team in the league right now. They're playing lights-out basketball. We've got to Maui and we played, we've gone on a foreign tour and played. Hopefully the difficult schedule we've played and the frequency of games in a short period of time has helped us. We're going to need that this Saturday because they're real good and they're real long. They're long and they're old. They're an old team. And in college basketball, when you're old, that means you're very experienced. Besides their big kid who's in the Air Force, but all those kids - [Xavier] Gibson, their front line. We're playing men on Saturday afternoon - there's no question about it. Hopefully we're men."
