Postgame Quotes - Wake Forest 90, Jacksonville 83
11/18/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 18, 2013
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Wake Forest Head Coach Jeff Bzdelik
Opening statement...
"Jacksonville is a team that plays very, very hard and they keep coming at you. They keep attacking, and they really scrap. They're well coached, very athletic, and we played very, very well the first eight minutes of that basketball game tonight. Then we got a little sloppy, coupled with Jacksonville's relentless effort, and they came back and took the lead. But our team showed a lot of grit and mental toughness and reclaimed this basketball game, so I'm very proud of them. We'll just continue to work hard every day to get better, and we will. I'm very proud of my players."
On giving up the early lead...
"We missed some shots and had some defensive breakdowns. They kept scrapping. We've got to defend better. At one point in the second half, they had been in the paint nine out of the first 11 possessions. We've got to keep people out of the paint, and we've got to guard the ball better. We started standing around a little bit, we took a couple of quick threes, we missed a couple of opportunities around the rim, we got a little sloppy--all those things kind of added up."
On the play of sophomore guard Devin Thomas...
"He plays with unbelievable passion and energy, second to no one. He rebounds as well as anybody and I always said he was a great passer. He has a great vision. I'm always on our guys about getting the ball inside to him because if you get the ball inside to him and he doesn't have a quick move to the rim. He will find cutters and he will find open guys. He has a high basketball IQ in that regard. So getting the ball inside is really important to us for a lot of reasons--the opportunity to score inside and the opportunity to go inside out."
On the play of fifth-year guard Coron Williams...
"People have to be aware of him, and it really opens up the court. The way you have good offense is to have great spacing, and in order to have great spacing you have to have players that have to be guarded. He really does a great job of that. He shoots it quick and really extends the defense."
Jacksonville Head Coach Cliff Warren Quotes
On Jacksonville's effort...
"I was very proud of what our guy's effort tonight. We had spurts in the first half, but I was very proud of what they did in the second half, coming back against a really good team. Unfortunately, we didn't do a good enough job getting rebounds. They did an excellent job getting on offensive glass. Wake had 25 offensive rebounds, but our guys definitely battled and I'm proud of their effort tonight."
How Jacksonville came back...
"I thought we did a great job of executing on offense when we got defensive stops, steals, and turnovers. When Wake did miss and we were forced to get the defensive rebound, I thought we raced the ball up the court and got easy transition baskets. We didn't take advantage of the free throw as well as I thought we would have, but when we did get those defensive rebounds, we really converted on the other end quickly."
On how Jacksonville stayed competitive when down by 15...
"I think our guys just understand that it is a long game. They understand that whoever we are playing we are going to continue to fight and give good effort until the end. I told our guys not to worry about the score. As long as we are doing the things that we practice every day, I'm fine with that."
On beating Wake Forest off the dribble...
"I thought we did beat Wake off the bounce and got in the lane in spurts, but then we gave up to many offensive rebounds. I think we were scrambling trying to contest shots. Going in, we knew which guys were the main shooters and which guys were more drivers than shooters. We didn't do a good enough job when we got deflections or when the ball bounced our way. We didn't gather those long rebounds either. They just did an awesome job of going to the glass."
Sophomore Forward Devin Thomas
On the win...
"It was a close game. We had to come back in the second half. It was a hard-fought game. We knew it was going to be a hard-fought game. They gave Florida State some trouble, so we knew we had to come to play today."
On Codi Miller-McIntyre's great start this season...
"He's doing a very good job for us. He was thinking too much at the beginning of the second half. All he needed to do was calm down. Once we start running in the open court, we just have to get him the ball. He can just take it to the rack every time."
Senior Forward Travis McKie
On his performance...
"I played pretty well. I took a lot more shots than I wanted to. I have to finish better around the rim, but they came out and played hard and made the game close. We sustained their run and we did our own."
On Jacksonville's second half comeback...
"We knew they were going to make a run. They're a very good team. They just put their head down and finish at the rim. We knew they were going to be a tough out. We just wanted to sustain that run in the second half. We knew they were capable of doing that, but we stayed the course and we won the game
On Codi Miller-McIntyre's play this season...
"He's just being aggressive. I think last year, he was kind of passive in his plays. I think this year he gets on a break and goes straight to the rim, and it's going well for him."
On continuing to play well this season...
"I try to continue to be aggressive. I think in the first few games, I was trying to feel out how the young guys were going to react. But I want to get myself a lot more involved in the game."
