Postgame Quotes - Boston College at Wake Forest
2/25/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2012
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Postgame Quotes
Wake Forest 85, Boston College 56
February 25, 2012 - Lawrence Joel Coliseum
Wake Forest Head Coach Jeff Bzdelik
Coach Bzdelik's Opening Statement...
We played well. We shared the basketball, 19 assists; we didn't turn the ball over. We were efficient offensively with our possessions, we defended well, rebounded well, hustled well, and everybody took part in that effort. I'm very pleased, and we need to continue to work and get better and we appreciate the fans that were here.
On playing the most `complete' game this season...
I would have to say yes, Boston College. They've played people very tough, and you look at their scorers and we knew that we would have a dog fight coming in here. We responded and played well.
On Boston College scoring frequently in the first few minutes...
Our pick and roll defense wasn't very good in the opening minutes of this game. They were able to drive down the lane on us, and so we called a time-out and made some adjustments on our pick and roll defense. It's everybody doing their part in defending ball screens. We also adjusted to our post defense, so they were catching it too deep and we weren't putting enough post pressure on them. What does that involve? All five players put pressure on the passer, not allowing the post-up player to catch deep, and then dug in when necessary. It was those two factors post-defense and pick and roll defense that we made adjustments too and we did a better job of as the game went on.
Looking at performances by Wake's three primary ball handlers...
We did not give them easy pointers off bad turnovers. That includes efficient offense--we did a great job of taking high-quality shots and then we made them. It was just a great effort, and I'm really happy for our players.
On the team's confidence...
You could talk all you want to about confidence--we've said this before. You have to experience success to build confidence. It takes a tough-minded person to not have success and then still be confident. At the same time, we've practiced well this week, and to be honesty with you, I told them before to just play like they've been practicing.
On the freshness of having a full week of practice...
We gave them Sunday and Monday off, and on Tuesday we had individual workouts, so we were rejuvenated so speak, so our players responded well to this week. We told them that a day off it's not really a day off--it's preparation for the game on Saturday by taking care of your body, eating right, sleeping right, getting proper rest, seeing our training staff for any aches and pains, and those are quality days in terms of getting better if they handle it the right way, and they certainly did.
On Carson's game today...
Carson's worst enemy is himself. It really is. The young man has so much talent--he just needs to believe in himself. I certainly belief in him and I tell him that very frequently. It really comes down to him believing in himself. He has great hands, a great IQ for the game, he's a terrific young man. He's only a sophomore and it takes big guys time to let their body catch up in terms with their mind and understanding their strength, game and experience level. He has a great future in front of him, and he's an integral part in our plans for our future success.
"Successful people are only momentarily discouraged"
Sophomore Forward Travis McKie
On the win...
"It was great to enjoy the ACC win on the home floor and shutting out so many ACC players was a good win for us."
On Carson's performance today...
"Carson has been struggling in the last couple of games in confidence and his shots and he hit some great 3s, so that's going to be great for him."
On the week off leading up to the game...
"The week off definitely help with resting our legs and our bodies and getting mentally and physically refreshed. We showed up to win. We want to be competitive every game we play, and we need to continue that mindset from every game we play from here."
Freshman Guard Chase Fischer
On beating Boston College twice...
"I think in the first game [against BC], we had really good match-ups and executed our game plan, and we wanted to piggy-back off what we did the first time. We executed our game plan to the tee with getting it deep in the post and watching their cutters. They're one of the best three-point shooting teams in the ACC so eliminating their 3s was important. CJ and Travis had big nights and we had a lot of well-balanced scoring; everyone was moving the ball and there were lots of assists."
Boston College Head Coach Steve Donahue
Opening Statement...
"I give Wake Forest a lot of credit. I thought Jeff (Bzdelik) had his kids ready to go. Obviously I'm not happy with our performance, but I'll say that Wake played very good and with great energy. I thought they really competed better than us. They shared the ball on the offensive end and made it difficult for us on the defensive end."
On Boston College's defensive struggles throughout the game...
"I think they just ran some stagger screens that gave us a lot of trouble. Guys ran into screens, and unfortunately we just did not have enough ball pressure and resolve to get through screens. I thought they got a lot of open looks. I think mental and physical fatigue sets in and we just don't execute like we should."
On the three-point shooting ability of Carson Desrosiers...
"Well that's what Carson does, and he can make that. They were open shots, and they are high percentage shots for him. I think if you get him playing well like that, he can be very effective for Wake Forest down the stretch here."
On Wake Forest's defensive effort...
"I didn't think their defense was that tenacious, to be honest with you. I'm going to go back to mental and physical fatigue for us. With all those freshmen out there, we just weren't prepared for that type of stuff and I thought Wake Forest really fed off of that with great energy.
