Postgame Quotes - Wake Forest vs. Minnesota
12/2/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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Wake Forest Head Coach Danny Manning
Opening Statement:
"Tonight was a game where we came out in the first half and we probably didn't execute and play the way that we needed to play. We were able to battle back and cut it to one before half. In the second half, we didn't do a good job of staying in front of the basketball. They were able to get into the paint and kick it out to their shooters. They shot a great percentage from the field. Give them credit for making shots but we have to continue to work and get better defensively."
On what aspects of defense they need to improve on...
"We didn't do a good job at staying in front of the basketball. They were able to get their shoulders past us, get into the paint, force help and kick it out to their shooters. One we have to do a much better job of guarding our man and staying in front of the basketball. Then, two, we have to do a better job at finishing possessions. There were a couple of times we give them one contested shot and we don't come up with the rebound or give them one contested shot and we don't come up with a loose ball. And those broken play situations really hurt you."
On how they prepare for the ACC opener at odd time in season....
"It's no different than if it wasn't the ACC opener. We still have our principles that we want to play to defensively. We will come in. We will work on shell. We will work on everything we have been working on, we just have to continue to get better at it. I believe in the system. I know the system works. We just have to go out there and make sure we do the things necessary for it to work."
On the chance to improve considering how early in the season it is...
"It doesn't matter what part of the season we are in. Our expectations won't change. It won't change no matter who's in the game. Our expectations to go out and compete and win won't change regardless we got five walk-ons on or five scholarship players. That's our coaching staff's mentality. Period."
Sophomore Guard Miles Overton
On giving up a large amount of threes...
"I think one of the things we preach in practice is defense, getting out in front of the ball, getting out in the passing lanes, and tonight we just didn't execute."
On the defense throughout the game...
"Coach [Manning] puts us in the right positions, I think effort is a big thing we need to work on. Sometimes we need to get out of ourselves and play for each other, just go out there, work hard, and play like [Aaron Rountree]."
On cutting the deficit to one point at halftime...
"Going into the locker room we were kind of happy that we made our way back into the game, but at the same time we know if we play the way we did at the stretch at the end of the first half from the beginning, that we probably would have been up 5 or 10 points. That's just something we have to work on, stretching out good minutes and playing with the same intensity that we do when we're down."
Junior Forward Aaron Rountree III
On the flow of the game...
"It was tough to come back from a lot of those plays. I know right before halftime spirits were up, but we still didn't come back hard enough. [Joey King] knocked down some shots for their team at the beginning of the second half and that helped them for sure. Coming in with four three's in two minutes, it's hard to beat anyone."
On the defensive effort
"I think we had a greater sense of urgency in the first half. I think a lot of our guys got deflated and that should never happen, but that's what it came to."
On starting ACC play this weekend...
"Right now it's a pretty somber mood in the locker room but we will bounce back tomorrow in practice and get ready for our conference opener. It's the start of a new season. It's in a new spot. I don't think we play another conference game for a month so it's big. All we want to do is start out with a win. Honestly, that's all that's on our mind. We are getting ready for NC State, that's a big rivalry game for us. They are another team in the Big Four; so we just need a win to start the conference play right."
Minnesota Head Coach Richard Pitino
Opening Statement:
"Well I'm certainly, really really proud of our second half offensively. To shoot 57 percent, 58 percent from the three, 92 percent from the foul line was tremendous. We had said all along that we aren't too concerned about foul shooting, certainly that proved tonight that we weren't. I thought we did a very good job sustaining their runs and just coming back and getting stronger, tougher, as the game went on and that was really good for our team. I'm very happy with it and very excited to get a road win against a quality ACC team."
On the full court and ball pressure...
"We've done a really good job turning teams over and getting steals. I think we average 11 steals per game. Our problem is, we turn the ball over. We turned them over 18 times but we had 20 turnovers. So if we can ever get those numbers down, we do a pretty good job turning teams over, getting steals, being aggressive, but we cannot allow them to turn us over as well."
On Andre Hollins' baskets energizing the team...
"You certainly can't expect him to shoot seven threes. I mean that would be nice, but if he can continue to make good shots, he'll do some good things. I liked the fact he had seven rebounds. He got a number of deflections and played a lot of minutes. Fought through fatigue; he was in the zone. He's been doing a lot of really good things, besides certainly in New York he was missing some shots, but he's been doing a lot of really good things. I'm happy he got to taste some success tonight."
